THIRD PERSON'S POV
Twenty-four hours ago….
Luciano turned on his computer. Sat behind his car while his henchman turned to close brother named James. Drove him to his hotel.
From afar, one would see him as a young man wearing a black ensemble with a half-on, half-off hoodie above his jumper and bomber jacket.
The number of tattoos already penetrating each corner of his clothing would show him to be someone who had lost his way. And he could do better if he found a good company in a conservative society.
But that was just a farfetched dream if you asked his opinion.
He was 'the Bullet' in the world.
He oversaw fifty deaths of the most well-protected, untouchable cartel leaders all around the world.
Those were a few in the numbers known. The number of the unknown would be a hundred times more if he kept count.
He did the mission of killing all the bosses in just two weeks. And he did all that killing alone.
He was a one-man army. The most feared man in Italy, if not the entire world.
But up close, he was very human, extremely sensitive, and a lovely young man who didn't want to see his loved ones or anyone hurt.
He was so human that he had a bit of sweat covering his forehead and anyone from far or nearby could tell he was in pain if he looked too close.
But he was hiding his gunshot wound from James so as not to worry him. By pressing hard on his ribs where blood was escaping. Blood dripped through his pants, to his black Converse shoes, and down to his toes.
Luciano had hacked into his uncle's phone and laptop to keep himself busy. He had made it his mission to stay one step ahead of his uncle's plans and try to correct the wrongs his family had brought into the world.
His uncle was worse than his father and every day he grew deeper and deeper into the dark.
Today, Don Mauro was meeting another girl who would be another of Don Mauro's victims.
And Luciano wanted to try saving this one. He had tried so many times, but each time. He was too late.
He only found dead bodies before he could save any of the previous girls. He ran a background check on the girl's name and his eyes went wide open. Her name was Keirah and she was a chattered computer engineer from Harvard. They painted her picture as a pioneer in the current era in the Medical Robotics of biomedical engineering.
What was a career-oriented and beautiful girl, living miles away like her, doing in dating apps searching for men to fuck?
He had used his Finsta Free book account to request to be her friend, and it never took long before she accepted his request. Nothing was alarming about her. That scared him.
Anyone that didn't look dangerous was more dangerous in the Mafia world.
She had a completely different life, a more reserved life on social media.
It made Luciano question whether she lived a double life.
Was she a spy?
He smiled at the possibility that she was not one of those on his uncle's side. He wished for someone to be against his uncle for once and to be of help to him. She would be the first person to do so.
The more Luciano perused her free book account, the more he couldn't hide his interest in her.
For a sapiosexual like him, she was giving him all the right vibes. “Fuck, this one is dangerous.” He murmured, lost in thought.
“Are you okay?” James turned back to watch him. His eyes protectively narrowed at Luciano.
They always did when he suddenly felt Luciano was in danger. James never missed showing up in Luciano's defense.
James's inquiry alarmed Luciano out of thought. He never intended for James to hear what he was thinking.
And to his defense, he abruptly turned stone-cold. Into his newly found character, putting up a strong face, hiding his pain that mostly came from the bullet wound in his ribs.
“I am okay. Get me to the hotel.” He commanded in a calm voice.
Luciano's voice, even at his immature age, extruded power and authority. Which made James turn back to the wheel. Quickly, he focused on getting Luciano to the hotel, as instructed.
The car came to a speedy stop, and James walked out of the car and walked to the back of the car, opening the car door for him.
Luciano closed his laptop and walked out of his car into the Casablanca Regency Hotel. As he took steps into the elevator, he felt eyes watching him and he smiled.
A rush of adrenaline flowed through him. It had been a while since someone had the guts to try doing that with him.
Because everyone knew not to cross the line and take out the bullet inside him.
Not even his biggest scare.
His uncle. Would try to send a sniper to him at Casablanca. Whoever was snicking behind him was bringing out the worst in him.
Luciano walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the penthouse. Before the elevator could close, a woman dressed in all black, just like him hiding under a cap, walked in to join him.
Luciano stood still and alert, waiting for any reaction and interested to know which floor the woman who had joined him in the elevator planned to go to. Spying on what she truly got up her sleeve. If truly, she was spying on him.
It was getting interesting for him. Then there was silence. The woman stood still, with no movement.
The elevator closed with a bang, and it started moving up. Luciano turned to the woman standing beside him. “Aren't you going to press the button?”
Luciano set her up with what he believed was a tricky question. He wanted to know who she was first before everything went down.
Luciano expected two answers that would give him a clue about who sent her.
For one, it is the answer he is used to, from people who can't read or speak English and get lost in Casablanca.
For the other, there would be silence, which would mean the elevator would no longer be a safe place.
The only button that was showing was his penthouse, and no one was allowed to the penthouse floor except him and his family. It was his sanctuary and his home.
“No, I am not.” She answered calmly.
No one prepared Luciano for the answer she had given him. Nor was he prepared for her accent.
Her accent... It troubled him. She had the same accent as his. All his life he had heard no one speak his accent except for his late mother. “You are bleeding. Haven't you learned to bandage yourself until now?” She is a doctor. Not another doctor. Doctors recently were people he did not want around. “Why do you care? If you are a doctor wanting to pick your nose where it doesn't belong. Stay away from me,” he shouted as he turned around and tried to press the exit button to let her off. But she pulled him back before he could do anything. He turned around and held her by the neck, suffocating her as he pushed her to the wall of the elevator. “ARE YOU HERE TO KILL ME? DID SOMEONE SEND YOU HERE TO KILL ME? WHO SENT YOU AND WHAT DOES WHOEVER SENT YOU WANT FROM ME?” He yelled violently. Then…. The force she used to pull him back said otherwise to his thoughts. She was not any woman. This woman was from his mafia world. She held his two arms on her neck with just one hand and unt
“Mmmhhhh ...... Did you say home?” Luciano narrowed his eyes at her. Then he laughed sarcastically. Hiding her face from the elevator cameras. The woman raised her eyes to Luciano. “Make me understand something first. Where have you been for the past twenty-two years? What was my mother's bodyguard doing when someone shot her dead?” He continued shouting angrily. The pain of losing his mother was re-living in his mind and body. “Your father held your mother hostage. He used her as leverage for our pack. Your father threatened to kill her if we tried anything, and your mother promised us for years that she was planning a way to get you both out. “She wanted to run away with you, before, when you were two years old, to return to the pack and failed. When she tried again….” “I guess… You remember because you were there…. when she got shot and killed. In front of your eyes.” Listening to her like this triggered a memory and Luciano remembered his father's warning. Salvatore Solana, Lu
She was crazy. She couldn't find anything meaningful more than coming to him with one crazy hell of a story. Werewolf?! He thought to himself. He removed his hands from hers. Luckily, the elevator had opened, and he did not have to deal with this woman anymore. He motioned with his finger for her to walk out of the elevator before turning her back and threatening her. He was still scared of her, but he needed to make sure he spoke to her through her craziness so that she didn't think of ever coming back into his presence. “Do not follow me. I will shoot you if you do. I do not see a bulletproof on you, which means you will die if I shoot you. “I have made it my habit to not kill innocent people, women, and children, but if you cause any threat to my life, just like what you just did in this elevator, you won't live to see another day. Now go and never return here again.” He couldn't spare time for that kind of bullshit she was spitting. “You have approximately sixty days until th
Luciano sat at the bar, speaking his mind to himself. “What am I doing at the bar if I can't drink?” He shook his head. Because at the moment the debate going on in his head was driving him crazy. I need this. I need a bit of fresh breath. The bartender poured a glass and extended it to him. A temptation. “I SAID NO ALCOHOL TODAY,” Luciano shouted at the bartender. He had been telling the bartender to stop bringing him alcohol nonstop. Trying hard to keep his focus on his plan. The authority in his voice made the bartender tremble as he murmured again. “I am so sorry, boss.” The bartender in shock was mostly wondering how he got Luciano to talk back at him once again on the same day. The bartender was one among the people who wondered and were disturbed by Luciano's behavior. They had so many unanswered questions about a lot of the things Luciano did. For example, how the woman Luciano walked to the bedroom with from the bar understood what he wanted. Because the woman would spea
Keirah was dancing beautifully, mesmerizing everyone. Lost in music with no awareness of her surroundings and the danger awaiting her. She was unbelievably beautiful. Her pictures in the Free book did not do her justice. She wore a cropped T-shirt and torn jeans. And she had positioned a beautiful ring perfectly on her belly button, which was on her tiny, fast-moving waist. The waist she moved seductively. Her eyes closed; She must be a runway model. Luciano thought to himself. Her body and facial features were intense and insanely feminine. Then she opened her eyes, scanning the crowd until their eyes met. “She is beautiful.” Words came out of Luciano's mouth without his knowledge. Almond-shaped eyes, sculptured eyebrows, sculpted high cheekbones, her lips already a focal point on her face for him. The lips that would call for a kiss every time. And then there was a look in her eyes he couldn't understand. She had a mix of scare and desire all at once and all over her face. Is i
She was so perfect and innocent. And to his surprise, she gave in more than he expected. He hoped she would give in just as much to walk away with him. Hand in hand, off the dance floor. Luciano kept reminding himself in his head every minute that followed with Keirah in his presence. That he was there to hypnotize her and steal her off the dance floor. He was there to save her from his uncle and nothing else. He recited the plan over and over to do the impossible of everything he needed to do to win her out of there. And walked with her to his room as his woman. That way, he could tell her what his uncle intended for her and warn her of men like his uncle. But he got it all wrong. He planned wrong. He didn't plan beyond the plan; he didn't know he would have to deal with her beauty clouding all his senses when they danced. He didn't plan for her scent, which hypnotized him over and over. Because that was now the only thing he could see and feel. He watched Keirah's beautiful fa
Luciano failed to hold his body still, shaking from fear and the unknown as he watched his uncle walk away with Keirah in his arms, into his private elevator. For the first time, it was so hard to bury his humanity. Pain… The pain he had never felt crossed him. Karma was making him pay for always staying on the sideline when Don Mauro held innocent women captive. And did terrible things to them, and Luciano chose not to intervene. Those women had someone like him, too. Someone who felt this much pain or more. Cement and Concrete stood back, guarding him as they laughed in his face. They expected no retaliation from Luciano. That told him everything he didn't want to know about himself. He was a loser, and his uncle knew it. He did not want to fight his uncle over a woman he had just met hours ago. The woman chose his uncle over him. He stayed. Luciano couldn't manage everything running through his head and went directly to the bar, forsaking everything and ready to drown hims
“It's not like you, Luciano. It's a sign... I am telling you…. Look at you…... Don't you want to give yourself a chance and see what the whole obsession is about?” “I don't want to know.” Luciano turned around to face James, who was standing behind him. “I am so scared to know. It's not about the dance or how my body is already worked out because of her.” Luciano pauses, with worries written all over his face. “Then what is going on?” “I am bothered by the level I get connected with her. At deeper levels, I have never come close, even to myself. “It was as if we were one. We spoke in our minds. I am running crazy.” “So, it's true you have feelings for her? How?” Luciano turned to see Cement and Concrete still at the elevator door on guard. “Shshhshhh…. Keep quiet. If my uncle finds out something outrageous like those feelings for her, it will make it worse for her.” “This is not about your uncle Luciano… Don't diverge the question. Look into your heart. “How did you feel about