Chapter Six

Continued:

"I'm scared to know she's lying in a bed not far away from your collection of guns," she states.

"I'll move them," I nod. I hadn't thought about this, but she's right. Bianca will be trained to some extent. To what? I don't know, but having my guns at her fingertips probably isn't the best of ideas.

"What if...What if she continues with this tirade of wanting him?"

"Soon, she'll be my wife. I won't let her take him from you, not that he deserves you."

"I'm sorry you've been brought into this mess," she sighs.

"Could be worse; I could be marrying a girl I have no fucking interest in."

"You like her?" She perks up.

"I did before she hurt you. Perhaps that'll come back, perhaps it won't. Either way, she belongs to me now, and I won't leave room for childish behaviour. She'll grow up real fucking fast. You don't need to worry, Queen."

"You're not planning on fighting Dimitri over this?" I wish I could...

"I owe him, and we need her to keep things secret. It's the only way. I won't put myself before everyone else in this compound."

"Before me, you mean?" she asks me.

"Before you..."

"She seems resourceful; you should keep an eye on her," she warns.

"She seems pretty depleted at the moment, regretful even. She hasn't stopped crying all night; the sounds are giving me a headache," I half lie. The whimpering sounds from the room could be related to anything, but I guess she regrets things now. And she should; half of her family is dead because of her.

"I used to think I knew her, but there's a side to her I've never met. Maybe she's faking it all; who knows?"

That feeling of being watched ripples through me, making me look up at the house. Sure enough, there Luca stands in the dark, watching yet again as I replay what Emma just said.

"He's not going to be happy," I note.

"You're my brother; what can he do? Besides, he—."

"He?" I repeat her last word.

"Nearly losing me has scared him; he's more like the old Luca than ever before. Things have shifted for the better."

"Don't become complacent, Queen. Some people cover up their bad to trick you," I recite my worries.

"Are you saying that because you truly believe it or because you're still hurt that he distrusted you?"

"Who knows?" I scoff. "I once thought I knew the real Luca. It seems I never did; perhaps none of us do. He's so intent on earning that title that he's lost himself along the way."

"Can you keep a secret, Niko?" She asks.

"That's my speciality," I scoff again. All I do is keep secrets for people around here.

"You don't know the real Luca. If you did, you'd know he doesn't want to be Don."

"I'm not sure he has a fucking choice," I spit.

"You're wrong; he obviously still needs to ask for your help. But now that we're married, he wants to surrender...to me."

"What?!" I shout.

"As I said, you've never known the real Luca. Will you help us?"

"You sure you want to head this family, take on that responsibility, queen?" I fret.

"I've never been surer of anything in my life," she tells me with confidence. Gritting my teeth, I nod to reassure her I'm on board. I'm fucking not, but I'm not about to land myself in Luca's shoes of being in the wrong.

"I'll look into the process," I nod.

"Remember, keep it quiet. We haven't told Dimitri yet."

"That's going to be fun," I call to her as she leaves me, obviously having been summoned by Luca. I glance up at Luca, who's watching me intently; I give a quick nod and then turn back around to finish my spliff.

I worked into the early hours of the morning, dotting i's and crossing t's. I needed a distraction, as my anger threatened to wake Bianca up.

It turns out she's been making herself as homely as possible. When I checked on her, I found my clothes dumped haphazardly on my bed, and I also noted my clothes on her body.

I stood in the doorway contemplating tying her hands above her head and waking her up to orgasm denial. She deserved it; I should have done it. But she looked so peaceful sleeping there on 'her' side of the bed. So I got to work finishing Luca's jobs for him. Then I got a call from one of my informers from Dimitri's men, making up my mind not to wake Bianca at all.

"Dimitri has a wake-up call, a personal shipment is incoming. Luca's needed down the docks," is all Elliot says before he drops the phone call. And I know Luca will get a phone call simultaneously, so I rise from my desk, taking a spliff with me as I light it up. Sure enough, he exits his room just as I lean back on the wall opposite his office.

"Best answer that," I smile at his vibrating phone. Isn't it just wonderful when you already know what someone else doesn't?

"Father?" He answers, listening intently thereafter.

He looks at me with a frown. I'm not sure what his father said, but he isn't too pleased with me.

To be continued: