Luciano
Her reaction surprised me. I had really thought she would jump at the chance. She has asked me for it right? She had asked me about him. Why was she backing away now?
“Raven?” I asked again, looking at her as she seemed speechless, “Are you okay?”
“Uhm, yeah, yeah of course.” She stuttered, seemingly snapping out of her reverie, “I am fine.”
“Can you answer my question?”
She placed the back of her palm on her forehead, “You know, I didn’t hear you quite clearly, can you repeat the question?”
That wasn’t true, she definitely did. And her reaction suggested she didn’t want to have the conversation, part of me wanted to drop the entire issue, not press her too much on it and just roll over and go to bed forgetting the entire thing, but I didn’t. She was hiding something and the other part of me was determined to find out what.
“Frederick’s grave.” I repeated slowly, watching her face for any reaction, “I am going to New York for some business, I was wondering if you wanted to see it, you know, pay your last respects.”
“Oh,” she said, “Yeah, uhm, sure I see.”
I raised an eyebrow, “You see? What is that supposed to mean?”
She sighed, “It means I will think about it Luciano,”
“I don’t understand, just a few hours ago you were throwing a tantrum because I didn’t want to tell you what happened to his remains, now you know you don’t want to see him?”
“It’s not that easy Luciano, it’s very complicated.”
“What exactly is complicated Raven?” She was definitely hiding something from me.
“I am not sure, I guess I am not ready to see him, it’s too soon.”
“Raven you are not making sense at all… ”
“Can we just drop it?” She interrupted, her voice rising slightly. I glared at her, my eyes twitching in frustration.
“Are you hiding anything from me Raven?”
She looked up at me sharply, “What do you mean by that?”
“You get angry and throw a tantrum when you couldn’t get where he was from me and now you can’t even visit him?”
Her voice was pleading now, “Please Luciano, can we drop this.”
I fell silent. I wasn’t sure why exactly I was angry, but I was.
“Luciano?” She sounded like she was going to break down in tears soon, I wasn’t ready for that.
“I think I will sleep on the couch.”
“Please-”
I was already out of the bed, shutting the door behind me as firmly as I could.
I walked into the living room, hearing her hurry after me.
“Luciano wait, listen to me please.”
“There is nothing to talk about Raven.”
“Can you stop acting like a fucking child and face me?” Her voice had risen now.
I ignored her, lying down on the couch and turning away from her.
“You seriously aren’t going to say anything?”
Silence.
“Is this how we are going to do this? Fight everytime because you are too fucking childish to communicate?”
If she was aiming to piss me off and start an argument, she had succeeded. I sprang up from the couch, my heart pounding with anger as I turned to face her. “Me? Not communicating?”
“Yes!”
“Riddle me this Raven, how can you talk and pontificate about communication when you can’t even give me a coherent reason why you don’t want to fucking visit the stepfather you pestered me so much about?”
“I told you,” she replied, frustration rising in her voice as it began to crack,.”It’s complicated!”
“Uncomplicate it then!” I yelled back, “How fucking difficult can it possibly be huh?”
She remained silent, even in the darkness I could almost see the frustration in her eyes as she breathed heavily.
“What?” I pressed, “Cat got your tongue? You have no defense now?”
“Luciano, sometimes you can just be cruel you know that?”
“No,” I replied. “Wiping out any challenge to my power and keeping them down, that is cruel. Demanding the woman I am with be honest with me on a very sensitive issue, that is just seeking accountability.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“This isn’t about that.”
“Don’t you?”
I shook my head, thks entire argument was turning out to be pointless, an exercise in futility. “This isn’t going anywhere this night Raven. “Just go to bed.”
Without waiting to see if she heard me, I went back to the couch, turning away from her again. She stood there for a while before leaning over to kiss my forehead, her lips making contact with my skin for a fleeting second before she stood up, “Goodnight Luciano.”
I ignored her as she walked away, into the bedroom, not saying anything she shut the door behind her.
A few moments later, I heard slight sobbing sounds from her. I tried to shut my brain away from the sound but I couldn’t. Even when she stopped, the echoes kept replaying in my head until sleep came, finally.
* * *
I had called Enzo as soon as day broke but he didn’t arrive until evening. Apparently he was running errands for Giuseppe.
I leaned back in the dimly lit room, my gaze piercing through the evening air as I locked eyes with Enzo. He was dependable, that I knew for sure. His actions at the warehouse during the shootout had cemented his place as the only person I could trust now, Giuseppe aside of course. And the mission he was about to carry out required utmost discretion.
Raven might be unsure about going to New York with me, but I was sure she was going to come around, she had to. I was going to try to use the opportunity to handle some business too.
“You called for me boss?” Enzo asked, his eyes enthusiastic and eager. It was another reason I decided to pick him for the mission, he was still quite naive and for lack of a better word, easy to mold.
“I need you for a very important task Enzo, and one I can only trust you to carry out.”
He leaned forward, “Of course boss, anything at all.”
“Enzo, it’s time. We need to move swiftly and discreetly. Prepare secret transport, fake passports, and secure the finest security detail for Raven and me. We’re leaving for New York tonight.”
He nodded again, his brows furrowing in concentration,
“Consider it done, boss.”
“I want it done as soon as possible, no delays at all, Enzo.”
“I will ensure that no trace of your departure remains. The passports will be flawless, and the transport will be waiting for you at the designated location.”
My eyes narrowed, a predatory glint appearing in my gaze.
“And don’t forget, Enzo,” I hissed, “No mistakes. The consequences for slip-ups are unforgiving.”
“You have my word, boss.”
A tense silence settled in the room as we exchanged a fleeting glance. The stakes were high, and failure was not an option. We both knew that survival depended on meticulous planning and absolute precision.
“Can I ask a question boss?”
I raised an eyebrow, a few days ago he could hardly breathe in my presence, now he was asking questions?
“Sure, what do you want to know?”
“Do we need to this boss? Risking your life for her?”
My jaw clenched, determination etched into every line of my face.
“Raven is my light, Enzo.”
“I understand that boss.”
“No.” I replied chuckling, the kid very clearly didn’t get it yet. “I don’t think you understand kid, She’s the hope that keeps me going. If anything happens to her, if as much as a single hair on her head gets hurt, I will make sure I hunt down who is responsible, to every fucking end of the earth and make sure they hurt a million times more than her. Is that clear?”
He swallowed heavily, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, the nervousness back. “Yes boss.”
“Are you fucking sure you understand?”
“Protecting her is my utmost priority, Boss.” He said, nodding.
“Good, then we are on the same page.”
* * *
She was sitting on a chair facing the window when I came in. As soon as I shut the door behind me, she jerked, turning around. “Luciano.”
I stuck my hands in my pockets, “Raven.”
She stood up but kept the distance between us, I detected a hint of nervousness in her eyes, “I have been waiting for a while.”
“Well,” I said, unbuttoning my shirt, “I was at a meeting, making arrangements for New York.”
“Oh.”
I waited for her to say something, but when she didn’t, I walked into the bathroom, bending over the sink to wash my face. I heard her come in behind me, shutting the door.
“Raven… ”
Her hands wrapped around me from behind, “I am sorry about this morning Luciano.”
I patted her gently, turning around to kiss her forehead, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
We stood like that for a while, just content being in each other’s presence.
“Does this mean you are coming with me?”
“Of course. “