I Am Keeley

Chapter 27: You Little Tease

Luca's POV

I sat in that diner till the morning sun began to shine through the frosty windows and people began to fill the booths. My back was stiff from sitting at this counter and pushing around the hashbrowns and eggs on my plate for so damn long.

I love Keeley, and I know she loves me, but can she really love me if I've not shown her my life before she walked into it? Will she still love me after seeing what my life is like, my life away from her? I've never allowed myself to be open with her about what I do out of fear she'll leave me. But, Keeley's got demons of her own. And if she's not willing to accept me for mine when I'm willing to accept hers, is the relationship really worth it?

I've sat in this diner since the stranger left, thinking to myself about what I could do to show her I'm all in and that she doesn't have to protect me from the horrors of her life. I had finally come up with an idea, but I'm not sure how well it's going to go over.

I pay my bill and leave, already planning out how to get this past her father. Is there a chance Dominic will say no? I'd be surprised if he didn't, but it's worth a shot.

When I pull up into the driveway fifteen minutes later, I turn the ignition off and take in a deep breath. The sun is low in the sky, but you can already tell it's going to be blue skies all day.

I finally work up the confidence to exit my car and go into the house, making it a point to go straight to her father's office. The halls are oddly quiet and it makes my nerves skyrocket. You'd have to be stupid to ask Dominic for anything, much less to take his daughter away for the weekend and introduce her to another mafia's group who handles the dirty work. But lucky for me, I'm sort of madly in love with someone who is worth looking stupid for.

I knock on the heavy door three times and wait for him to invite me in. The moment he does, I ease open the door and slip in. I shut it behind me, and when I turn to face him, I nearly shit my pants.

Now, I handle hard situations very well. Being in the line of work we are, you have to be. I can kill without blinking, I can negotiate agreements with drug lords, and I can appear deathly if I choose. I've been trained to handle all of those things. What I have not been trained for, however, is talking to my girlfriend's mob-boss father about taking her away to a different state only a week and a half after a drug cartel tried to kill her.

He sat behind his mahogany desk with his arms folded across his chest. A fire crackled in the fireplace and the shades behind his desk had been drawn open so sunlight could flood the room.

"Yes, Luca?" he asked motioning for me to sit down. I walked towards one of the leather chairs situated in front of his desk and took a seat.

"As you know already, Keeley and I got into a pretty big fight this morning," I began, my voice surprisingly calm and collected.

He leans back in his chair and rests his right ankle over his left knee, his hands folded in his lap.

"Yes, I was there," he spoke. I couldn't gauge how he was feeling as I shifted in my seat.

"Well, I got to thinking, and Keeley doesn't know that much about me. She's never asked, but I've also never offered up any details. I love her, and I want to show her my life."

"What are you getting at?" Dominic asked like he already knew I was going to ask him something he wasn't going to be on board with.

My father has a strict set of rules he has placed since we've been living in America. The first rule? Don't frustrate, piss off, or anger Dominic. The Capos have given each other permission to stab any of their kids should there be a good reason, although I had a feeling this rule did not apply to Keeley. I also thought this last part was just for a good laugh, but it's all I can think about right now.