Omerta

Chapter 9

        Maria quickly grabbed my hand in hers and our bodies grew tense with the sounds just outside the door. If it was Nicolas I figured he'd address himself so we wouldn't be scared once the secret door opened. Instead all these scenarios flooded my mind on what I would actually do if someone dangerous were to come through that entrance. I have no skills in fighting and I don't have a weapon. 

Even if I did have a weapon would one lesson from Nico be enough for me to even be able to pull off something like that? If I didn't protect the lady of the Luciano family would I be to blame? Would that be a death sentence for me? 

I felt more expendable here than I ever have in my entire life. I used to be the protected one. I was the girl, the baby, and daddy's princess and I took that for granted because now that I'm here and nobody is looking out for me I feel vulnerable and exposed. 

        Maria placed her finger over her lips to tell me to keep quiet. Neither of us moved. When the door swung open my body was ready to jolt into action, but froze at the sight of Nicolas calmly entering. "Damn you! You just scared the shit out of us," I couldn't contain myself for expressing. His dark brows furrowed for a moment at my outburst. His eyes scanned over me as I had risen from my seat and naturally my eyes ended up doing the same to him. 

        He looked like a textbook criminal with how he carried himself and his physical appearance. Fit tee, tattoos, muscles, strong jaw, and calculating eyes. Handsome, supermodel status criminal. It was almost like, if James Dean and El Chapo had a child together. He was a balance of beautiful and ugly. He was walking sex and sin. He made me fear him, and yet when his hands were on me earlier I was distracted in a different way. His touch burns hot.

        "Everything is under control. Gia," his deep voice called my name making my eyes snap up to his. "Dom said you speak a little bit of Spanish," he told me more than he even labeled it as a question. But I still nodded yes. "Good. You're coming with me," he said with no further explanation. He kept the door to the safe room wide open and started walking through it. We followed after him, but I was trying to ask questions along the way. 

"Will you shut up?" he snapped at me. Anger bubbled in my chest but I exhaled and waited. I still hadn't even put shoes on from earlier in the evening when I'd come to dinner barefoot. He told me to go change and I rushed off to do so. Well, I stopped into the kitchen and took a few more bites of food, and then rushed off to do so.

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        When we pulled up to the waterfront I was familiar with the area. My dad had actually brought me here before and told me he wanted to talk to his fishing buddies. There are docks here with large cargo ships, and the warehouse just off of that was where Nicolas was leading me now. "What is this place?" I asked, knowing what my dad said before was all lies that my childhood was built off of. 

"One of many branches of business. We need you to translate inside," he told me without slowing down. I had seen him tuck his gun into his pants and it made me worry that they were bringing me somewhere dangerous. "My spanish isn't great though" I warned him. He didn't seem to care about what I had to say.

        A large garage style door opened for us as we approached the building. I couldn't help noticing the whole area smelt like dirty seaweed which wasn't a pleasant aroma at all. The ground looked perpetually moist and puddles formed in odd places. Once inside the ceilings were very high and the voices easily echoed from wall to wall. I immediately saw what we'd come here for. 

Tied to a single chair was a man and surrounding him were mostly faces I knew, but some I didn't. Nicolas's eyes stayed fixated on the man in the chair.