Athena
The FBI was a rather busy place. With the legalization of guns, drug trafficking, and a lot of other shit that made the world a terrible place, they had their hands full. It was easy then, for me to slip through their crowd of agents unnoticed. I walked into the headquarters, dressed in black pants and a blue shirt that half the agents present wore. A few nods here and there would make it seem like I belonged there- and maybe I did.
I caught my reflection on one of the glass windows of a unit. My caramel brown hair was tied into a strict ponytail, leaving my green eyes to pop out. I narrowed my eyes and pressed my full lips into a thin line.
Maybe I didn't fit in there at all.
"You in?" Frederick's raspy voice reached my ears through the earpiece stuck in it, breaking my reverie.
"What do you think?" I asked, climbing down a set of stairs into the basement. "Last I checked this earpiece thingy doesn't work if I am not in the vicinity, Freddy,"
"Cheeky as always, kiddo," He grunted. "Get your ass in here quickly."
"Well you sound excited," I mumbled, approaching a steel door that was bolted shut. Right on it was a facial detector and a fingerprint machine.
With an impatient sigh, I placed my finger and face in the detecting range. "This new job better be exciting."
The door opened after a beep, revealing a unit of the FBI that only a selected few knew about. The Undercover Ops. Behind the doors were cyber geniuses and several specialists in all the fields of crime, a fucking mine of information. And at the center of it, all was Frederick Gonzalez, my foster father.
"Huzzah!" Someone yelled as I walked in. "The goddess herself has arrived!"
"Shut up Cole-" I snapped and would have continued if my voice didn't drown in the sea of my colleagues as they hooted and hollered.
My face flamed up slightly but I kept the glare stuck on my face. "Do you all not have something better to do?!"
"Ah come on Athena," Cole teased, approaching me. "Don't be such a downer. Give yourself some credit. Woman, you single-handedly infiltrated Eduardo's Casita and exposed his ass to the breeze!"
"I did it all with your help," I mumbled, stepping away from him.
"Of course, modest as always!" He yelled, clapping his hands. The crowd joined him and I closed my eyes pushing through them, ignoring their smiles and muttered words. I had simply done my job.
Nothing more, nothing less.
"That was quite the reception," Frederick teased when I eventually managed to enter his office. His glass walls made it easy for him to see everyone and for everyone to see him. His brown eyes were filled with mirth as he gestured to the seat before him.
"I'd rather stand," I sniffed, folding my hands. "I don't like being here for too long. Makes me feel fucking naked."
He chuckled and nodded. I followed the movement of his salt and pepper hair as he slid a file across the desk. "Here's your next target,"
"Who is he?" I asked, picking up the file. Frederick simply shrugged and gestured for me to open it.
I frowned, my eyes narrowed into slits as I looked up at him and then back at the opened file in my hands. The name, Luciano Moretti, glared at me. "No fucking way. I'll kill him and you know that!"
"No you won't," Frederick deadpanned.
"I'll fucking kill him!" I screamed, tossing the file on his desk. "You know how bad I want to kill him. How much I want to see him suffer. You can't give me this assignment and not expect it to get compromised. I hate him, Frederick! I hate him so much I have spent the past two years thinking about stabbing his fucking eyes out!"
Frederick winced and dragged a hand down his face. "That's gory, Thena."
I slapped a hand down his table, staring him deep in the eyes. "You can't send me there- unless you want me to kill him, you can't send me there!"
"I thought you wanted revenge, Athena," Frederick said, cocking his head to the side as his warm eyes regarded him. "I guess I was wrong."
He was baiting me. I knew it. He knew that I knew it, but did it anyway. We glared at each other for a while before I sniffed and sat down on the chair he had provided earlier.
"What are the details?" I asked. "And wipe that smirk off your face!"
****
"Miss Raven Gonzalez?" A woman with skin so pale, called out.
I put up my hands, keeping a small smile on my face, and rose to my feet. "Here,"
I was in the rather large reception room of the headquarters of the great Moretti Industries. My target sat fourteen floors above us, probably sipping on the blood of the many people he had killed.
The blood of my father included.
"Bastard," I muttered, clenching my fists tightly.
"What was that Miss Gonzalez?" The fair woman asked as I approached her.
"Ah nothing," I choked out, unclenching my fists and forcing a sweet smile onto my face.
Damn it. I shouldn't have broken character. Today, I wasn't Athena Henderson. I wasn't a girl on a mission to avenge her father's death. I was Raven Gonzalez. Some random sweet girl from the suburbs- and I had to act the part.
"Come with me then. Mr. Moretti has scheduled your interview to last the next thirty minutes before his next meeting. And he does not like to be kept waiting." She said, directing me towards the elevator.
My brows furrowed. "Interview? I was referred by his last PA and was already reviewed by his team. Why is there another interview?"
She shrugged. "Mr. Moretti likes to be thorough,"
Of course, he does. He was so thorough that seven years ago, he left my father dead in our living room. I would never forget that day. I would never forget coming home from school to see my father white and bleeding, stabbed severally, and branded with an M insignia on his chest.
The Mafia Insignia.
Luciano Moretti, the mafia lord, killed my father. It was only fair that I ended him as well. Subconsciously I touched the hairpin that held my hair up in a bun. Embedded in it was a little knife. Good, I nodded. If for a minute, he suspects me, I'd end him swiftly.
The elevator pinged open and we stepped out into the hallway. At the end of it was an office so large, it took up the width of the entire floor. Blood pumped wildly in my veins with each step we took. An interview meant it would be just us. Just the two of us. I could drive a knife up his gut and get the hell out. After all my years of plotting and coming up with the perfect revenge scheme, I could end it all.
The secretary motioned for me to wait outside and pushed the door to the office open.
"Mr. Moretti? The new PA is here." I heard her report.
This was it.
"Let her in," A deep voice with a rather silvery tone to it, spoke up.
My heart thumped faster and I stepped back to calm my raging nerves. I couldn't kill him. Not until I got the information Frederick needed. The FBI knew with certainty that Luciano was the Lord of the Italian Mafia that has plagued New York for many years, but they had no solid proof. And until I got that proof, my dreams of killing him would have to be pushed aside.
Afterward, I assured myself, Afterwards, I would end him.
"You can go in now, Miss Raven." The secretary said and stepped aside.
Taking in deep breaths, I smoothened my dress and walked into the lion's den, a bright smile on my face.
Luciano Moretti sat behind his desk, the epitome of a brooding dark man. I had seen his pictures before. Heck, I had even tailed him on some days when all I could think about was killing him. But all of that barely prepared me to meet him face to face.
He was a large, intimidating man. Dressed in a suit that clung to his bulky frame, his eyes were a dark coffee brown that bored intensely into my skin. His hair, black as midnight, was slicked backward with gel and arranged in fine rows. He had a square jaw that ticked with each passing minute as if he was angry at something but the overall expression on his face was… blank.
I had to give it to him, he was dashingly handsome, and perhaps if we were in a different world where he wasn't a mafia lord and didn't kill my father, I would have melted like fucking butter before him.
"Miss Gonzalez?" He said, clasping his hands together.
"Yes sir," I gritted, keeping the smile on my face as wide as possible.
"Let us begin."
AthenaSure thing, Bastard. Holding his steely gaze, I plopped my ass on the chair before him. My nerves tingle, itching with an impulsive desire to use my hairpin. He was simply a few meters across. All it would take was one swipe at his carotid artery and he was gone.My eyes drifted down to his bulging bicep stretching the Italian suit he wore and mentally shook my head. He was the Lord of the mafia for goodness sake. I doubted he would be that easy to kill. Besides, he was wary of me at the moment. He might hide behind a blank face, but personally interviewing me showed that he wanted to assess my reactions. He wanted to know who he was dealing with. "Mrs. Emile Mourinho referred you," He spoke, fishing out a file from the numerous that occupied his table. "She says you're capable enough to handle being my assistant." "Yes Mr. Moretti," I said with a grin. "I had my MBA in Brunswick. Though it's such a less prominent place, I have worked with professors who have the tightest s
AthenaI checked my makeup once again in the rearview mirror of the Audi I sat in, a queasy feeling nestled in my belly. I was so anxious, it was fucking ridiculous. I had taken down powerful men by infiltrating their very lives. I had fought gangs and bad guys ever since I was taken in by Frederick at sixteen. I could fight my way through booby traps, through deathly lasers, through a fucking prison gate, and yet... Yet I was anxious. Perhaps there were enough reasons for me to be. I wore a dress I had sworn I would never get caught in. A cream-colored body con. It clung to me like a second skin and while I admit that I looked amazing in it, I wasn't comfortable strutting through the building like that. Especially with the rather open neckline. Heck, I could see the mounds of my breasts propped against each other like two hills. I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew Luciano liked his women bold, willing, and pliant. However, considering this was my second day as his PA, coming on to
AthenaWhen the Elevator doors slid open on the first floor, a group of men dressed in blue shirts and black trousers in the hallway looked at me like I was a foreign object. A very interesting foreign object. Taking a deep breath and straightening my back, I walked slowly towards them, flipping my hair for effect. "Hello pretty lady," One of them grinned, rushing to meet me first. "Are you lost?" I giggled and shook my head, holding my hand out. "I'm Raven. I'm the big guy's new PA." "Really? You the one who spoke on the phone some minutes ago?" One of them grunted, joining his friend to look at me while the others kept their distance. "Boss is a fucking lucky man." "So damn lucky," his friend agreed, nodding. Dammit, I couldn't waste time talking. If I took too long, Luciano could begin to suspect me. Or even worse, he could meet me here trying to get his security men to talk. "So... I had a question that was bothering me," I mumbled, pouting my lips. "I was hoping you good
Athena"What?" I breathed, my eyes narrowed into slits. He was going to kiss me. I could feel his warm breath on my face, and my stomach did rather funny flips. His hand, the one that had been stroking my cheeks, suddenly tightened around my jaw forcefully, fingers digging in with painful force. His expression darkened and his eyes I had thought blazed with desire flared in anger. At that moment, I could see the man everyone feared. Luciano Moretti."Keep this up-," he said in a calm deadly voice. "-and your job is fucking over Raven. I detest slackers and I am simply bidding time until your cup is full." "Is that a threat?" I spat, unable to bridle my tongue in anger. He was threatening me?! How fucking hilarious. "Is that a retort, Miss Gonzalez?" He fumed, gripping my jaw harder. I could feel the blood rush to the skin under his fingertips. Ah, fuck being a meek woman. I wanted to scream and tear at his face. No scratch that, I wanted to reach for my pin, and stick it into his
The telephone on my table rang and for a minute I eyed it wondering who the hell was calling. Even though I was Luciano's PA and a lot of people would call me, I was fucking sick of it. My last mission hadn't involved talking to so many people. Especially people who were potential criminals, considering they were doing business with the Devil himself. I looked behind me, through the glass walls, and sneered at him. He sat majestically at his desk, holding a phone to his ear as he stared right back at me. Bastard! was the word that came to mind. Fucking bastard. The past week had been so hectic, I'd considered turning in my resignation letter just to be over it. I had to hand it to him, Luciano was a very meticulous businessman. He focused on his industry, guarding it like an eagle over her chicks and if he was just about any other man, that would have been so fucking hot. I bit my lip, considering him for a while. His hair was gelled back. No surprise there. He was such a routine-
Luciano"What did you find?" Marcus grunted at my question. "Nothing. It seems Darren's made off with the rest of the drugs."My lips pulled tightly at the corners, and I could feel the digging of my nails into my palm. It was quite rare to see someone try to steal from me. Very fucking rare. Everyone knew the damn repercussions of taking what was mine and they made sure to stay clear. Rules were important to run a successful organization. When the people adhere to rules, there is order and peace. But when one person flouts it?I leaned against my chair, toying with a pen I had taken off my desk. It was barely four in the evening. I couldn't just up and leave my company to take off after some idiot who thought he could steal from me and get out alive. "Boss?" Marcus' voice reached my ears through the earpiece. "Should I take care of him?" I hummed, indicating that I was still thinking. There was a reason the police couldn't pin me down. And that was because I was never impulsive.
AthenaThe sky was barely lit at four in the morning. Wisps of the sunrise were beginning to show, reminding me that I had to get my ass home for work. But I didn't want to. Not yet. I crouched on the roof of a building close to Luciano's home, holding binoculars to my face. My black outfit blended with the night sky and it would be very unlikely to spot me. Gripping my binoculars tighter, I watched the men troop around Luciano's home. He lived in a freaking skyscraper. His building, as it were, occupied the penthouse. It wasn't that surprising. Especially with the mass of money he owned legally, not to mention illegally. The men positioned around his home were placed rather strategically. To any passersby, they would seem like a bunch of homeless men waiting by rich people's homes so they could get a dime or two. But they couldn't fool me. I had been there for four fucking hours, in the damn cold, to know they were watchmen. Anyone who approached the building was thoroughly searc
Athena"What the hell?" My words came out breathless as a familiar musky scent overwhelmed my senses. I blinked, taking in the sight before me. Luciano had me pressed up against his shelf, his eyes narrowed with a piercing gaze. His brows were creased in anger. Anger or desire. Or a mixture of both. With him, one could never be too sure. He breathed evenly- almost too evenly as if he was trying to keep his breath in check. His hands were on either side of my face, gripping the shelf as he bore down on me. I could feel the heat radiating off him, encircling me in a warmth that felt so damn enticing. And that made me fucking uncomfortable. Keep your head in the game, Athena, I snapped at myself mentally. I was supposed to seduce him, not the other way around. Never the other way around. Slipping my hand between us, I rested my palm lightly on his chest, feeling his heartbeat thrum rapidly underneath my fingertips. I heard him exhale lightly and smiled. "What are you doing Luciano?