Chapter 16 #3
“No, I can do it myself.” Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Luca nodding, a pleased look taking over his face.
I place my finger on the trigger and try to keep the chaos from my mind.
I take a deep breath and press it, feeling my body shiver.
I press it again and again, reload the ammunition, and keep firing until the fear and discomfort disappear, and only peace and relief take over my body.
I look toward the target with a smile on my face, feeling tranquility take over my brain, reminding me of the feeling of power that a firearm can give.
The sound of clapping takes over the room, echoing in the practically empty warehouse.
I look at Luca and see his gaze focused on the warehouse door, where a man of about fifty is smiling and continuing to clap as if he were watching the show of his life.
Luca’s face is hard and cold; I reload the gun, ignoring his gaze on me, and walk toward Luca with the gun in my hand.
“Won’t you introduce me to your fiancée?
After all, you left me stranded at the meeting because of her.
” He gazes at me, smirking, and I try my best to maintain a calm and unwavering posture.
“Since you’re apparently in no mood to talk, I’ll introduce myself; I’m the Camorra’s, Consigliere Giovanni! ”
He comes toward me, and Luca watches his every move carefully. Giovanni extends his hand to me and shakes it. As soon as our hands touch, he exerts some force with the clear intention of causing me pain, and Luca looks capable of killing. “Chiara Mancini, the bride…”
As soon as the allusion to the wedding leaves my lips, the amusement disappears from his face.
“It seems the changes have already begun, and you’re not even Capo Luca yet.
You’reambitious, don’t you think? Since when a woman from the mafia uses weapons, it’s bad enough you are marrying an outsider; don’t tell me you want to make a soldier out of her, too. ”
I see Luca’s fists clenched and no matter what I say, I know it is the time he attacks the man in front of him.
“Women should be able to defend themselves, don’t you think, uncle?
After all, danger can come from where we least expect it.
” The face of the man in front of us seems to light up with anger.
“You should call off the wedding with that little whore; she’ll bring nothing but dishonor to the Camorra.
” I feel my breath stop at his words, and I see that behind him, Francesco and Paolo are ready to do whatever Luca commands.
“If I was in charge of the Camorra, nothing like this would happen; maybe I should talk to the Underboss to see if they agree to this marriage.”
Luca seems to see blood and walks toward his uncle with a cruel gaze and a terrifying smile on his face. I unlock the gun in my hand and hurry to stand in front of Luca, next to his uncle, trying to avoid a war within the Camorra.
“It’s a shame that you’re not a Capo, isn’t it?
Not everyone is born to be a king; I think that’s your case.
” The way his face contorts shows that he wants to attack me, to beat me; I see his gaze on Luca, and I know he wouldn’t dare; he’d never beat Luca.
“You know, this little outsider whore, can cancel all the Camorra’s weaponry, and have all the guns, including the one in your holster, be confiscated; after all, they’re not registered.
I can say that you stole Salvator Weapons; I’m the heir and one of the shareholders.
And no, I will not become a soldier; I could if it was my will; however, anything I desire is at my disposal.
I have one of the greatest fortunes in the world; mafias and governments depend on my family’s business.
I May look like a helpless girl, but I’m not; why do you think Luca is marrying me?
Don’t stand in my way, or you’ll regret it; that’s the promise.
I can make your life a living hell if I want! ”
“For a moment, I almost believed it!” A loud laugh floods the room; I raise my gun toward him, pointing it at his head, making the laugh die in his throat.
Luca goes to his uncle’s side, running his blade lightly over his face.
“I could kill you right now out of disrespect; no one would miss you. I’ll take over from Capo in a few months, and Frederico will be the new Consigliere.
No one would care if you died, uncle, so be careful; the next time you disrespect my fiancée, I won’t be benevolent; I’ll kill you. ”
He doesn’t say a wordand quickly leaves the warehouse without looking back; Francesco and Paolo come toward us with smiles on their faces. I hand my gun to Luca and look at him, seeing his face gradually calm down.
“God help anyone who disrespects the queen!” Francesco’s voice is amused, and he makes a little bow in front of me, making me roll my eyes.
“God won’t be able to help, I’ll kill them, and not even divine intervention will stop me!”
I let out a slight smile at the strength in Luca’s voice. I approach him, holding his arm and making his eyes meet mine. “Maybe we really should make changes; if you start now when you become Capo, things will be closer to what you want for the Camorra.”
Francesco and Paolo approach, looking interested in the topic; Luca raises an eyebrow, looking intrigued. “What do you suggest?”
“No big deal. I think you should save the big changes when you take power as a show of strength. But after what happened, after the attack, I think the Camorra should open its own hospital.” Luca looks at me in confusion, crossing his arms in front of his body and gesturing for me to continue.
“Normal hospitals are clearly not safe, lots of questions, and you can’t increase security in the way you should, without raising suspicion.
So open a hospital, something legal, that can also help with money laundering; Camorra doctors would work there, and you’d hire surgeons.
You can serve normal clients so as not to appear strange and reserve one or two floors in case high-ranking Camorra members and soldiers need to be hospitalized.
You decide how much security there will be, and you don’t have to report shootings or anything that is not in our interest get to the authorities, this way you can hide it; it’s your business.
You can safeguard the medical care of members, and even births can be held there, so you can be sure that nothing will happen to the families of the Camorra without fear orwithout going home early, just in case. ”
“That’s a great idea!” I smile at the words of Luca.
It is ridiculous how happy I am with his approval, with his attention on me in general.
Will it ever stop being so? Looking at him with a little smile on his face and proud eyes, I think not.
God, I love this man, and I will do anything to make him the best Capo the Camorra has ever seen…
“That would save us headaches, and no one would stick their nose in our business.”
***
I feel someone touch my hair affectionately, and I keep my eyes closed, enjoying the caress.
“Happy birthday, amore!” As soon as Luca’s voice sings through my room, I open my eyes immediately and see him sitting with his back against the bedside table, looking at me gently, giving him a smile, still feeling his caress in my hair.
Its smell slowly takes over my senses, my body relaxes, and my heart beats fast as if I was running a marathon.
“I thought you were in Sicily in meetings; your mother said you were meeting with the soldiers and Underboss in preparation for the succession of power.”
“I couldn’t miss your birthday Principessa!” The smile on his face is sweet, and I can’t help thinking how the way he looks at me has changed since the day we met.My sick and madly passionate heart melts, beating hard in the hope that one day, he may be able to love me as much as I love him.
I sit down on the bed, feeling his hands immediately go to my waist, pulling my body toward him, making my back rest against his chest; I rest my head on his shoulder, looking at his handsome face and feeling his lips come to meet mine.
“I’m glad you’re here; it’s the best surprise I could have received!”
A challenging smile plays on his lips. “The best, are you sure?” I nod, unable to stop smiling as I look at him. “Better than getting to know our house?”
“Our house?” I look at him confusedly; we haven’t talked about where we’re going to live yet. I imagined we’d use one of our families’ properties until we found the ideal place. “You’ve decided you want to stay in one of your family’s properties?”
A pleasant laugh rings through the room.
“I bought us a house four months before the attack, a villa, a real Italian palazzo. We’ve been renovating and adapting it for the necessary amenities, including virtual assistants.
All the amenities, technology, and security that money can buy were included in the house, let’s call it future in the past.”
I look at him, feeling tears gathering in my eyes; he bought a house for us to live in together long before I knew we wouldn’t be married for two years. It sounds incredible…
“Now all you have to do is decorate it, make it our home!”
I smile at him, seeing his gaze focused on my face and softness taking over. “Thank you!”
As soon as the car passes through the large gates, a long driveway between trees leads to the majestic neoclassical mansion that will be my home.
I look at the three-story white house in the distance and can only smile.
The car stops next to the fountain in front of the house; a marble statue of an angel holding a spear stands tall and majestic in the center.
“It’s beautiful!”
Luca opens my door, offering me his hand to get out of the car.
“There are ten bedrooms in total, twelve bathrooms; there’s a cinema room, a library, a game room, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a panic room, a gym, as well as a small training and weapons room.
We have a tennis court, which seems a bit unnecessary, but it was already built, a small yard, which my mother insisted we keep, and a small playground. ”
I look at Luca, a little surprised. “A playground?”
“Yes, I think the last owners had children, the park was built, including a tree house. The toys were old and worn out, as was the tree house, so we replaced everything with something more modern and up-to-date.”
A giant smile appears on my lips. “You prepared our children’s playground?”
“I thought it was the smartest thing to do, the space was already adapted, so I renovated it. There’s even a playroom on the second floor, so you can decide what to do with it.”
“I think we can keep it that way, maybe decorate it to our liking, maybe buy a few things, and when the time comes, they’ll have everything ready.” A loving smile appears on Luca’s lips, and he pulls my body closer to his.
“Our children will be lucky to have you as their mother!” I can’t hold back the smile and the little tears gathering in my eyes.
“They will be born into a dangerous world, but we won’t let anything happen to them; they will be safe.”
“I will protect you with my life, you and our children!”
“I know!” I embrace Luca, listening to his heart bare in a steady and calm way, and his head rests on mine, and a kiss is deposited in my hair.
I’ll be fine; we’ll be fine, no matter what life holds for us; we’ll be together; we have oneanother; it’s all that matters.
I am well if we continue like this in the arms of each other until the painful end!