Chapter 36
The following morning, Giana headed down the villa's stone steps toward the rifle range with all the grace of a newborn giraffe learning to walk.
Every muscle below her waist had staged a coordinated rebellion, sending up strongly worded complaints with each careful step.
God, she hoped there was some ibuprofen in the arrangement of drugs that she had downed that morning.
She had woken alone, but the first thing she saw was a still-warm espresso, a glass of water, tablets, and a note from Rodrigo:
Giana
Doctor Rossi wants you to take these. In addition, I have ensured that one of them is a morning-after pill, and he can arrange birth control tablets should you wish it. I want you to know that your womb is yours, and you alone will decide what to do with it.
Enjoy gun practice,
Rodrigo.
Giana had loved him that little bit more for thinking of that and giving her the option to take it or not.
She had it drilled into her from a young age by her very Catholic mother that she was put on earth to be a virgin until she married the man her parents chose for her and had his babies.
She was ridiculously glad Rodrigo didn't share that opinion, even if she was sore in places she didn't know she had that morning.
Worth it, though. Absolutely fucking worth it, she thought, trying not grin like an idiot.
The rifle range sat in a clearing behind the villa's eastern wing, surrounded by cypress trees. Frederica and Athena were already there, checking weapons with the kind of casual competence that made Giana a little jealous. Would she ever be that comfortable with guns?
They both spotted Giana approaching before they looked back at each other and grinned like wolves.
"Oh, Christ," Giana muttered, heat burning up her chest.
"Well, well, well." Frederica straightened, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Looks like someone found out how magical Rodrigo's balls were."
Giana snorted. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Athena's eyes gleamed with unholy amusement. She leaned against the weapons table, arms crossed. "Don't be coy. The whole of Tuscany heard you screaming his name last night. Pretty sure some of the neighbors are filing noise complaints."
"And you're walking like you got fucked six ways to Sunday," Frederica added with a wide grin. "Which, judging by the symphony that kept us up past midnight, is exactly what happened."
Giana wanted to sink into the Tuscan earth and become one with the soil.
These were women who had probably seen and done things that would make her mafia-adjacent trauma look like a Disney film.
She didn't know why, but they had decided to befriend her, and that meant she was going to get teased like everyone else.
"At least I'm getting laid," she shot back. "When was your last time, Fred? I'm sure Dario would help if you asked him nicely, and then you could sample some of the magic for yourself."
Frederica stuck up her middle finger at her. "In Dario's wildest dreams."
Athena laughed. "Oh, she's got teeth this morning, Freddy. I like it."
"Teeth and apparently very little ability to walk in a straight line." Frederica's teasing turned to concern. "Seriously, though. You're okay, right?"
The question caught Giana off guard. These women barely knew her. They were here on a job, hired muscle protecting the Colleoni interests because Rodrigo had asked them. They had no reason to care whether Giana was actually okay or just putting on a brave face, yet they asked anyway.
Something in Giana's chest tightened. "I'm better than okay. I'm just not used to the morning-after muscle ache."
"First time with him?" Athena guessed. There was no judgment in the question, just curiosity.
"First time with anyone not battery powered." The words came out before Giana could stop them.
Frederica tilted her head. "By choice?"
"By circumstance and choice." Giana shrugged, trying for casual and probably missing by a mile. "I didn't exactly get a chance to date in my six weeks of freedom."
"So Rodrigo's your first actual man?" Frederica's voice was carefully neutral.
"Ah, yes," Giana replied. She watched their faces for pity but didn't find any.
Athena whistled low. "Shit. That's a lot of pressure to put on one night."
"It didn't feel like pressure." Giana's voice went soft despite herself. "It felt…right."
"And physically? He treated you properly?" Frederica asked.
"He treated me like I was something precious and something he wanted to devour at the same time.
" The memory sent heat pooling low in Giana's belly, warring with the pleasant ache already there.
"He was... God, it was so much better than I thought it would be.
I mean, don't get me wrong, my vibrator has been a loyal companion… "
"Been there," Frederica interjected.
"It doesn't have hands. Or that voice. Or the way he looked at me like I was the only thing in the entire world that mattered." Giana heard herself gushing and couldn't seem to stop. "And his mouth… Dio mio, his mouth."
"Okay, we don't need the play-by-play," Athena said, but she was grinning. "Though I'm glad Rodrigo's got skills to match that ego."
"Skills to exceed that ego," Giana corrected. "Multiple times. Enthusiastically."
"Good for you, girl." Athena pushed off from the table, genuine pleasure in her expression. "About damn time it happened. The sexual tension between you two was painful to watch."
Giana's brows shot up. "Was it that obvious?"
"Honey, it was like watching two magnets trying not to slam together," Frederica said dryly. "The whole compound's been taking bets on when you would finally cave."
"Fantastic. So my sex life is public entertainment?" Giana groaned.
"In a mercenary compound during lockdown? Absolutely." Frederica handed her a pair of safety glasses and ear protection. "Now, let's see if you can still shoot straight while walking like a cowboy. We've got work to do."
The rifle range was simple, but a well-maintained fifty meters of clear ground with paper targets at varying distances. The weapons table held an impressive array: handguns, rifles, even a few specialty pieces that looked like they'd been designed specifically for killing people in creative ways.
"Ever fired a gun before?" Athena asked, loading one with swift, practiced movements.
"I had lessons until my parents died, so I know the basics, but it's been a while."
Frederica nodded. "Okay, let's see what you remember and go from there."
They spent the next hour on fundamentals. Stance, grip, sight alignment. Frederica was a patient teacher despite her sarcasm, correcting Giana's form with gentle adjustments and demonstrations. Athena provided running commentary that ranged from helpful to absolutely unhinged.
"Breathe out when you squeeze the trigger," Frederica instructed, standing behind Giana and adjusting her elbow. "You're tensing up."
"I'm holding a weapon designed to kill people. Tension seems appropriate."
"Tension makes you miss. Missing makes you dead." Frederica's voice was matter-of-fact. "Again. Focus on the target, not the gun."
Giana fired. The shot went wide, kicking up dirt a foot to the left of the target.
"Better," Athena called from where she was field-stripping a rifle with disturbing ease. "At least you hit the same postal code this time."
"Your encouragement is overwhelming."
"You want encouragement, get a cheerleader. You want to stay alive, learn to shoot straight."
Three more rounds, each one closer to center mass. The recoil traveled up Giana's arms, the sharp crack of gunfire punctuating the morning air.
This was about survival and protecting herself in a world where violence was currency and weakness got you killed. She couldn't always rely on other people to rescue her.
"Good," Frederica said when Giana finally put three rounds in the target's chest. "You're learning fast. Now let's work on speed."
They cycled through a Glock 19, a smaller Sig Sauer P365 that Frederica recommended for concealed carry, even a sleek little Beretta that Athena said was 'cute but still deadly, like a stabby kitten.'
"Bullets work on most things," Athena said, adjusting Giana's grip an hour later. "But if you ever face something that doesn't go down with a body shot, go for the head. Or the heart. Or whatever's glowing."
Giana lowered the gun. "What do you mean by glowing?"
Frederica and Athena exchanged a look before the latter said, "Magic shit can sometimes glow. Destroying the head or the heart seems to work on everything I've encountered so far."
"You're fucking with me, right?" Giana asked, but they both wore deadly serious expressions.
"The world's bigger than you think," Frederica said carefully. "Magic is real and can do fucked-up things. Best be prepared for everything in my experience."
By lunchtime, Giana's arms ached, and her ears rang despite the protection. Beneath it all, her body still hummed with the lingering echoes of last night, every sore muscle a reminder of Rodrigo's hands, his mouth, the way he had taken her apart.
"You're smiling," Frederica observed during a water break. "Thinking about Rodrigo's big puppy dog eyes?"
"Thinking about how much everything hurts."
"Good hurt or bad hurt?" Athena asked, genuine concern cutting through her usual irreverence.
Giana considered. "The kind of hurt that makes me want to do it again to get the muscles working again."
"Then you should." Frederica took a long drink from her water bottle. "Tonight, tomorrow, whenever. Here's some unsolicited advice from someone who's been around the block a few times."
"I'm listening," Giana said.
"Don't let a control freak like Rodrigo set the pace." Frederica's eyes were serious. "He's clearly into you and knows what he's doing, but if you want something? Ask for it. Want to try something? Suggest it. Want to pin him down and ride him until he forgets his own name? Do it."
"Yeah, show him who is really in charge," Athena added with a wicked grin. "Big boss or not, he's still just a guy. Something tells me he would fucking love it if you took charge."
Heat flooded through Giana as she imagined Rodrigo on his back, that iron control finally cracking, her name on his lips…
"I see you thinking about it," Frederica said with a teasing smile. "Don't forget sex is supposed to be fun, Giana. Even the intense, feelings-heavy, life-changing kind."
"Especially that kind," Athena corrected. "The best sex happens when you stop worrying about looking sexy and just enjoy yourself. Be messy. Be loud. Always ask for what you want."
Last night, Rodrigo had wrung pleasure from Giana's body like it was his holy mission. He made her feel powerful, wanted, and seen in ways she had never experienced. Why the hell shouldn't she return the favor? There were a few things she really, really wanted to try out.
"Okay, back to work," Frederica said, cutting through her increasingly dirty thoughts. "Now, let's see if you can hit a moving target."
The next hour was brutal. Athena operated a mechanical system that sent targets sliding across the range at varying speeds while Frederica called out scenarios.
"Threat at three o'clock, closing fast."
"Multiple hostiles, prioritize nearest."
"One shot, make it count."
Giana missed more than she hit, but the hits were getting better. By the time they called it, she had actually managed to nail a moving target twice in a row.
"Not bad for your first real session," Athena said, helping her clean the weapons. "Keep practicing, and you might actually survive if shit goes sideways."
"Such high praise," Giana said with a laugh.
"From me it is," Athena replied. "You did good today, Giana."
Frederica bumped Giana's shoulder companionably. "And tonight, you show that stuck-up Colleoni what you're made of."
Giana shook her head. "You two are terrible influences."
"That's the best kind of influence," Athena countered. "Now go shower off the gunpowder and coordinate your next attack. I recommend wearing your birthday suit. Nothing makes a statement like confident nudity."
"I hate you both," Giana replied, covering her face with her hands.
"No, you don't. You love that you've got people in your corner. Even if we are crude, violent mercenaries with questionable life choices."
She did, Giana realized. These fierce, dangerous women who barely knew her had spent the morning not just teaching her to shoot but making sure she was okay. Making sure she knew she had choices, had power, had worth beyond what any man, even one she loved, decided to give her.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "For all of this."
"Thank us by not dying," Athena replied. "And by putting that man of yours through his paces tonight. I swear, Rodrigo is wound so tight he is going to explode if Falcone doesn't hurry up and attack us soon. Help him blow off some steam, or Leo is going to shoot him in the ass with a tranq."
Giana's head fell back as she laughed. "I'll do my best."
Walking back to the villa, Giana's mind was racing ahead. Tonight. Tomorrow. How many nights did they have before the silence ended and real life came crashing back in? She had spent so long being careful, making herself small, so she would be safe. Maybe it was time to be brave instead.
Giana had almost lost Rodrigo yesterday and could lose him in the fight to come. She didn't want to waste the time they had left by being a chicken shit.
Behind her, Athena's voice carried across the range. "Twenty euros says she has him begging by midnight."
"You're on," Frederica replied. "But I think it will be before dinner."
Giana grinned and kept walking, already planning her next moves.