Athena
You had to give it to Luciano, he had the entire “shock value” thing down well enough.
To say I felt like I had been hit by a bus moving a thousand miles per hour would have been a massive understatement. I had spent all day thinking about escaping the world he offered, the world I had been forced to grow in, the world I had forcibly participated in for all my life, that had nearly killed me multiple times and had scarred me so much it was probably best not to even think about it.
I had confided in him, hoping he would help me find a solution to my problem, to have something akin to normalcy in my life, even if it was for a little while.
And instead, he had completely blindsided me with the offer to accept it all as my new reality.
Like I said, he really knew what got a woman going.
“What?” I managed to drop, my only intelligible word yet.
His lips twitched as he fought to not smile, “You look pretty surprised Raven.”
“I wonder fucking why Luciano,” I spat, frustration rising in my voice. The entire situation was starting to get annoying, how dare he? Who the hell did he think he was? springing this on me from nowhere and expecting me to just abandon everything and follow him into his damned world. “Have you lost your mind?”
He shrugged, leaning back on the chair, “You know, I have asked myself that exact same question almost everyday I am with you and I still don’t have the answer.” He turned to glance at me, “So truthfully, I don’t know. What I do know is that I want you by my side, and that’s what is most important.”
I stared at him, incredulity etched in my face, “You have lost your mind Luciano,”
“Why? Go on, humor me, why is it that crazy an idea?”
“You want me to work with the very fucking people that killed my father? With the very world I have spent practically all my life trying to bring down and yet you wonder why I might possibly have a problem with that?”
He sighed, a sad look crossing his face. “I thought we had gotten over this.”
“Over what?”
“This,” he said, standing up suddenly and sticking his hands in his pockets, “This thing, your vendetta against me.”
Oh, I could see where he was going, “This isn’t about you Luciano.”
“You spent all that time trying to bring me down, I am pretty sure I have a lot to do with it.”
“I was wrong, Okay? I had the wrong person, I admit it but isn’t that all done now?”
“And yet you don’t want to work with me?”
“Luciano, I know what you do, I know what you do, I know how your world works, I don’t want to be a part of that.”
“You don’t think I can protect you?” He sounded almost, hurt?
“That’s not the point for crying out loud,” I said, my voice rising a few notes higher now, “You aren’t fucking listening Luciano.”
He shrugged, “It sounds like it is.”
“You are an asshole.”
He opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly froze, his eyes staring into distance, a point behind me. I spun around to see a police man working straight toward us, his eyes fixed on us.
I felt my heart rate double as panic washed over me. We had been found, we had been fucking found.
Luciano pulled me into a hug, “Be calm.” He whispered into my ear, “Let me take care of this.”
“Hello there.” The cop said as he walked over to us, “Is everything all right here?”
“Yes officer.” He said, flashing his most charming smile, “Just having an argument with my wife over here.”
Wife? Somehow hearing him call me that created a warm fuzz in my stomach.
The cop glanced at me, “Are you okay ma’am?”
I smiled too, “Yes officer, he can just be stubborn sometimes, but we are fine.”
The guy looked at us again, some suspicion still in his eyes before he nodded, “You too stay outta trouble okay? And stop making such a ruckus.”
“Apologies officer.” Luciano said, pulling me gently by the arm, “We were just on our way out.”
Without another word, we left him there, even though I could feel his eyes staring at us until we both got into the car, Luciano driving off.
That was close.
* * *
Luciano and I sat quietly in the car, the air crackling with tension. After a few minutes driving, he leaned in, the sly smile coming back to his lips. “Raven, my dearest, why do you resist?”
I raised an eyebrow, “What is this? Your impression of Jafar?”
“Do you like it?”
I tilted my head’s sideways as he turned into Main Street, “Not particularly, it could use some work.”
He chuckled before going back to the road, and driving in silence for a while. But I could tell he was thinking, because I was, and I suspected our argument wasn’t over yet, not even close and it wasn’t long until he proved my suspicions right.
“You know we would make an excellent team, you and I.”
I groaned, “Luciano please, not now.”
“I am serious!” He said, glancing at me, “Together, we could rule this underworld, creating a legacy far greater than either of us could imagine.”
I looked up to meet his gaze, my voice laced with sarcasm, “Oh, Luciano, how lucky I am to be offered the opportunity to become the queen of your dark empire.”
“Who is doing stupid impressions now?” He cut in, rolling his eyes.
“Tell me,” I continued, “Will I receive a crown made of thorns or perhaps a scepter dripping with blood?”
“Oh come on, be a little more original my dear, solid gold engraved with diamonds and emeralds will serve more,” he clucked his tongue,”You see, they match your eyes.”
“You are insane, and unreasonable.” I added, for good measure.
Luciano laughed, his eyes sparkling with mischief “Come now, my dear. Don’t be so cynical. The underworld holds secrets and power beyond your wildest dreams. You’d be a fool to turn your back on it.”
“Secrets, power, and a lifetime of constantly looking over my shoulder?” I spat, crossing my arms, “No, thanks. I’ll pass, Luciano. I don’t need your tainted promises.”
I had seen enough, all my years serving in the FBI, working in their world was perhaps the only way to ensure you were never going to live a quiet, peaceful life, no matter how powerful you got. There was always someone behind you, trying to get you away. To that person, you weren’t a human being, just an obstacle to whatever twisted goal they had.
I couldn’t imagine myself living like that, and I didn’t want it for him either.
Not that I cared very much, of course…
Luciano leaned in closer, lowering his voice “You underestimate me, Raven.”
“I am pretty sure I don’t Luciano.”
“With you by my side, we’d be untouchable. We could navigate this treacherous world together, forging our own path.”
“Untouchable?” I asked, pulling out of his voice. I could see the cracks trying to push into my resolve, he was right, but that didn’t mean I would go down without a fight, “No, Luciano. You forget that darkness breeds darkness. You’re asking me to embrace a life of shadows, deceit, and constant paranoia. I refuse.”
He scoffed, “Don’t be naive Raven. You have already been doing that for a while now.”
That shut me up immediately, he was once again, right.
“Are you truly happy in this darkness?” I asked, regaining my voice.
“Happiness is subjective, my dear.” He said, his eyes didn’t leave the road, but I could hear the seriousness in his tone now. “But power, control, they are undeniable. You have a choice, Raven. You can either embrace the potential within you or resign yourself to a life of mediocrity.”
Another spell where we said nothing settled in again.
“Aren’t you afraid Luciano?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“Of what?”
“I don’t know, that I would be too weak, or too stupid, or too emotional” I could hear my own voice cracking now. I had never necessarily been a crier, even less so after all the shit I had been through, but Luciano had this habit of revealing parts of me I didn’t know existed, case in point, I was just about to accept an invitation to one of the most dangerous entities in the world just so I could be with him.
“I have watched you take down multiple men, twice your size almost effortlessly,” he replied, smiling.
I turned to glance at him, it was time to say the quiet part out loud.
“Aren’t you afraid I’d betray you to the police?”
The moment those words left my mouth, I regretted saying them, and when he didn’t answer, just stared at me gazing into my eyes for more than a few seconds straight, I was afraid the worst had happened, that I had lost him forever.
“No Raven,” he said finally, his voice so quiet, it was almost just a whisper, “No I am not.”