Luciano
I had sent the driver home, in no mood to be driven as the events of the day had put a huge damper on my mood. The kid, a dark haired, heavily tattooed twenty two year old whose mother must have taught he was the prettiest kid in the world since she named him Romeo, was more than happy to let me drive, apparently scared shit of my anger.
“Romeo?” I called as he hurried out of the seat, trying and failing miserably to hide his delight at not having to share a car with me.
“Yes boss?” He answered, a brief look of panic crossing his face. Kid must be scared shitless I had changed my mind.
I shook my head smirking, “You seem a little bit too happy not to be doing your job today Romeo?” I asked.
He looked terrified, “What? Boss-”
“What?” I stared into his eyes, the smirk disappearing now and replaced by my most intimidating snarl, “You want me to drive home alone?”
Poor Romeo looked like he was going to cry, “Boss, No!”
“Am I too grumpy for you?”
“I swear on my mother boss!” His voice went several octaves high now as he shrunk away from me, “I am not, I mean, you are not-”
“Then why were you so eager to leave?”
He shut his mouth quickly, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead and above his upper lip, his eyes darting around like he was looking for an escape route in case things went south.
I let him sweat for a moment, briefly enjoying his discomfort, before deciding to let him go.
“Disappear boy.” He might not really deserve the torture but at least my mood was a bit lighter. He scampered away, almost whimpering like a scared dog. At first walking at a brisk pace but then breaking into a jog when he was a few meters away.
I smiled, maybe today was finally going to take a turn for the better then.
* * *
On the drive home, I tried to take my mind of things. Georgia, the Mafia, Alfredo and his cabal, everything else.
I was going to go home, snuggle next to Raven and not think about anything else for the next… I glanced at my watch, 8pm.
Well, for the next four hours then. I was going to have a long, fitful night sleep and tomorrow, begin the hustle again. Fiddling through the radio, I settled on some Frank Sinatra, nodding as the tune filled the car.
I hadn’t appreciated him when I was a kid, my father in the other time loved him. Blasting his music whenever he came to pick me up from school. I had hated it then, until the first day I saw my dad kill a man.
Heard is actually more appropriate, I had only heard the shot. Apparently he was leaking sensitive Mafia secrets to the police. My Dad had invited him to dinner and after some small talk, had taken him tl the basement. I sat at the stairs that night, listening to his loud screaming and yelling and pleading, along with my father’s calm voice. After a while, the screaming got a bit louder but was immediately silenced by a single gunshot, followed by an eerie silence. A few seconds later, Frank Sinatra’s voice started coming up from the shut door. I had stood up from my place on the stairs and went back into my room, shaking.
I pulled into my driveway, just as I saw Georgia’s car speeding down the other road.
“Oh fuck.” I swore, stopping and leaping out of the car. If she was still here, and still that angry, there could only be one reasonable explanation.
She had had another fight with Raven, and it must have ended badly.
I jogged up the stairs, taking two at a time. I had been gone for a long time, had she just come back here to have a fight? That woman was resilient as fuck!
I dashed into the hallway, immediately heading for Raven’s door. The doctor’s Buick was still parkes outside so he was still here. Maybe he stopped Georgia from doing something incredibly stupid. I didn’t have too much hope for that, he stood no chance.
As I approached Raven’s room, I heard some sounds. Her voice was easy to make out, the doctor’s was obvious too. It sounded like she was? Sobbing?
It wasn’t till I got really close that I could catch what they were saying, and it made my blood boil.
It’s okay, Raven.” I heard the doctor say calmly.
Raven? Not Miss Gonzalez? Were they on first name basis now? What the fuck?
“In my experience,” he continued, his voice a bit louder now, “It takes courage to recognize when you need support. You don’t have to face this alone. Let me help you get back on your feet.”
What the fuck was going on? I approached the door, my hand shaking from fear and rage. A part of me wanted to turn around and go back, not see what was going on there, feign ignorance. What you don’t know can’t kill you right?
I had almost done so when I heard Raven, her voice cracking as she sniffled,
” I… I don’t know if I can.”
I stopped on my tracks, my hand hovering over the lock. I still had the chance to turn around and leave, never have to deal with what was behind that door, this was the event horizon, the point of no return, no turning back.
“Trust me, Raven.” I heard the good doctor replied, his voice calm and soothing, “Accepting help doesn’t make you weak; it makes you human. Together, we’ll get through this difficult time.”
Oh, hell fucking no. I swung the door open, immediately greeted by the sight of him wrapping his gnarly old hands around her, having the audacity to plant a kiss on her cheek.
“It’s Okay Miss Gonzalez,” he said gently as she snuggled up to him, “You will be fi-”
“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?”
The words were out of my mouth even before I realized I had said them, or that I yelled.
They jerked apart as she looked up in horror. A look of initial confusion on her face was immediately replaced by terror. The doctor himself shook, his hands trembling as he gently lifted himself off the bed.
“Luciano!” She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
I stood speechless, staring at the both of them, my mouth slightly open. Her hair was a mess, tousled in a way that somehow still enhanced her beauty. Her eyes were red, as though she just woke up, or had been crying, or both.
“Luciano, it’s not what it looks like, I promise!”
If her voice was pleading now. I didn’t hear it, I couldn’t hear it, my vision had turned red, I wanted nothing but to pull out my Glock and unload the entire clip on the fucking doctor.
“Mr Moretti,” he said, swallowing hard, his Adam’s apple going up and down, “I swear, It’s not-”
I crossed the room even before I realized I had moved, my fingers circling thin his neck as I applied force, feeling him stutter under me.
“LUCIANO PLEASE!”
I didn’t care, I gritted my teeth as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his hand tapping my fingers desperately as he sputtered, wheezing.
“YOU ARE GOING TO KILL HIM!” Raven was by my side, hitting my arm desperately.
“LET HIM FUCKING DIE!”
“STOP, PLEASE, LET ME EXPLAIN!”
His taps were getting weaker now, summoning all my will power, I let him go, watching him collapse on the floor as he wheezed, trying to take in as much air as possible, coughing.
“GET OUT, GET OUT NOW!” I yelled, watching him with disgust.
He struggled to his feet, staggering out, still holding his neck as the places my fingers had clamped down on turned red.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Raven yelled, her eyes were no longer pleading now, they were blazing in anger.
“WRONG WITH ME? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?”
“HE IS MY DOCTOR FOR FUCK SAKE!”
I stared at her, trying to calm myself and slow down for a second. All the fight had suddenly gone from me, she glared back, furious.
I dropped my head, sticking my hands in my pocket and letting out a huge sigh, “Raven, I am sorry. It’s just been a very long day.”
“What are you sorry for?”
She wasn’t going to make this easy at all, “For losing my temper and raising my voice.”
She raised an eyebrow, “Is that fucking all?”
“And for not trusting you, okay? It was unfair and uncalled for.”
“Damn right it was, don’t you trust me?”
“I do.”
“Then fucking act like it.”
I stepped up to her, hugging her tight and breathing in the scent of her hair as her arms curled around my waist. “I will, my love, I will.”