Duchess Trilogy: Book 1: Mafia

Chapter Thirteen: The Sneak Out

Brie's POV

The weekend that we were planning to do Janja's bachelorette party was postponed due to needing to be in a low profile for a week. Janja was highly disappointed but understood after certain events a couple of days ago.

Janja told Froot and me that the guys decided to go on a risky mission and pulled out a drug heist on the Latorio family, and because of those events, we were in hiding in case there was some backlash with the other families. It shook me to the core because the only ones who knew about it were Ryan and me. I played it off like I didn't know anything about them both, but inside, I was upset with Ryan. All these events showed that I shouldn't have trusted Ryan with the information as they decided to risk their lives and change their plans for some dumb mission. I should have just kept it to myself and fought harder to lie.

I glanced over to Janja and knew she was extremely upset that Don didn't let her or Froot in on the heist and wanted to have a little blood on their hands. Now Janja wants to rebel and have a good time without giving a damn what he wanted after this.

Janja decided it was best to head to the basement on the other side of the estate, where the gym was, and to blow off some steam. I went ahead and joined them to see if it would help me feel any better. As we were working out, Janja was watching me and knew that I didn't know anything about self-defense or weaponry. She grabbed some archery gear and had me come follow her and Froot. We walked over to the archery, and Froot demonstrated how to bow properly. As I was watching her, we both heard a commotion and glanced over to see some of the Castellano family members with Ryan and Simon. They glanced our way, but we didn't show anything. Instead, we turned around to what we were doing and continued like they weren't around.

Some of the Castellanos wanted to join in on our fun, but Janja told them to back off. When Vittorio didn't listen and got too close, Janja threw a knife at him and missed his shoulder by inches, hitting the nearest wall. All the guys then backed off and left us alone. I felt Ryan's glance towards me, but I didn't look his way and kept my back on him. As he was walking away to the opposite side of the gym, where the pool tables were, I caught a glance at him and noticed he was in an arm sling. My only guess was from the heist that the gentlemen and he did.

"Honestly deserves it." I think to myself.

Janja and Froot then began teaching me about archery and working on hand placements. I nod, focusing on every detail. They both were surprised that I knew where to put my hands on holding the bow, and then they watched me stretch the bow to a perfect pullback. Janja got a little too excited and then asked me to try to take a shot.

Froot then ran to the closest target and placed a new paper target board. She ran back to us, and then I drew back the archery weapon. I put the back of the bow towards my chin and found a good spot to line up my target. I take a deep breath, waiting for the right moment to relax, and then let go.

Glancing at the target, I pictured Ryan as being an asshole to me throughout this new world. I let go of the bow and watched the arrow, then hit straight in the middle. Froot and Janja's mouths dropped, then let out a cheer. Blinking and seeing the target by itself once more, I surprised myself by making it on the first shot. The girls patted my back, and I couldn't help but glance at the guys. They all seemed to be nervous, including Ryan. I gave a smirk to all the guys and then turned back to the girls and grabbed some more bows to practice with.

Some time passed, the guys left early, and it was just the girls and me. We stayed around for a couple of hours, working up a sweat. Many of the targets I shot were within the range, and I couldn't be happier learning this so quickly. My trouble now is trying to shoot and hit the target from a farther distance. Froot reassured me that it takes time and practice for me to get it. She then left the gym. Janja decided to head to the sauna room, leaving me alone in the gym for the time being.