The Mafia Leader

6

Ava

We were one our way to the car when I heard a voice. "Ava?" I turned around, looking at the group of people in front of me.
"Can I help you?" I asked. "Do I know you?" Kieran was standing beside me, and must of felt the nerves too, because he took my hand.
"Ava Franks, right? You were in my gym class in high school." The tall tan boy said.
"That's my name. You are?"
"You don't remember me?"
"What is your name?" Kieran said. He looked to him.
"Kadin Walker." He said looking to me.
"You must be thinking of someone else." I said. Kieran stood in front of me, smiling gently but sternly at him.
"I agree."
"You seriously don't recognize me? We were friends."
"Where?" I asked.
"High school."
"Name of the school?"
"Clemetmoore High." I backed up.
"Kieran we should go." I said. "I don't know this man." Two men walked over, creating a barrier between me and the Kadin guy. Suddenly the guy jumped at Kieran. One of the guards grabbed me, walking me to the car as Kieran and the other guard dealt with the man.
"Go help him!" I said.
"I'm to get you to the car ma'am." He said calmly, before opening the door. I got in and he went to the front of the car. "Take the back way. Drive safe." The driver nodded. As we pulled away, he ran back into the building.
"Ma'am, when we get to the hotel, I will walk you in." The driver said to me.
"What's going on?"
"Mr. Esposito will be waiting when you arrive inside the hotel lobby with three guards. There is a jacket, sunglasses, and a hat in the back. Put them on." I noticed that he wasn't taking a straight route. He was making sure we weren't being followed. When we got to the hotel, I followed his instruction, and found myself in our hotel room soon after. I was sitting on the couch in the living area with his father.
"Are you okay mio caro?" I nodded.
"What about Kieran? That guy just jumped him!" Suddenly the door opened, and I looked over. Kieran stood in the doorway, wiping blood from his lip. He shut the door. His shirt was splattered with blood, as well as his knuckles being bruised.
"Good to see you made it back okay, girasole." I didn't notice until then that I'd been crying. He seemed unbothered by the goings on.
"Are you okay?" I said softly. He nodded to me.
"Papa, I'm going to change." His father nodded.
"Okay." When he came back, he was wearing a black T-shirt. I could tell his hands hurt, because I could now see that they were not only bruised, but bleeding.
"Are you okay?" I asked him again.
"I'm fine, why?" I glanced to his hands. "Ah. No, I'm okay, girasole." I blushed softly.
"Your hands." I said.
"It's fine."
"You are bleeding." He looked down at his hands.
"So I am."
"So you are?! That's it?!" I said, finding myself upset now. He seemed just as surprised as me.
"Girasole-" I cut him off, once again surprising us both.
"Don't you dare woo me with your Italian right now! I just watched you get jumped by some random guy over me! And then you come back to the hotel and act like it didn't happen!" Kieran's face showed no sympathy. "You don't even ask me verbally if I'm okay, just assume that since I got back here, that I'm okay. And don't you dare ask me now! I'm not okay! You are hurt, and I'm scared, and I want my dad!" I said, snapping into a ball of tears as his father hugged me.
"I need to tell you something, mio caro." His father said. "And I need you to be brave for me."

Kieran

Holy shit. He was going to tell her. "Do you think you can do that for me?" He said gently, lifting her chin. I sat down in the armchair across from them.
"Okay." She said softly. He looked to me
"When I was young, my father told me that I would take on the family business. Which you know. But there's more to the family business. When my father stepped down, I also received the title of Don." He said to her.
"Don?" She repeated, confusion on her face. I piped up.
"He means, Mafia Don." I said softly. She looked at me.
"That's why daddy had to come away with you?" She looked at him and he nodded. "What happened?"
"Mio caro, I don't-"
"I need to know." She said.
"Someone released something. A list of investors in my company. Which you know. But they sold that list to a rival Mafia. One which hates me. And they started to come after the people on the list."
"My father?"
"He knows. He's known since we were children." She nodded.
"Okay."
"Okay?" I said, surprised.
"Well I've known your father all my life." She said, wiping away her tears. She looked to him. "I don't think that changes much. Considering the fact that you've protected me from that fact all these years, yeah. I don't think it changes anything." He smiled at her.
"Oh, mio caro." He said as he hugged her.
"And thank you Kieran." She said.
"For what?" I asked. She pulled away from his hug and walked over kissing my cheek gently.
"For keeping his secret." She said softly. "You didn't have to. But you did anyway." I nodded. "I think I'm going to go for a swim."
"Okay, mio caro." He said, and she grabbed our shopping bags, walking to her room. "You like her." He said. I glared at him. "You do. I can see it in your face."
"So what if I do? Which I don't." I said. He sighed.
"She'd do you some good." He went over to her door. "Ava?"
"Yes?"
"Kieran asked if you wouldn't mind him joining you?"
"No, I don't mind."
"Okay." I grumbled at my father and went to change into my swim trunks. There were a black, blue, and red graffiti style. When I walked out of my room, I could see she was already in the pool. Wearing the black one. And the robe was off to the side on a lounge chair. I walked out and she turned around, blushing. I got in, swimming over to her.
"How's the view?" She looked out over the city.
"Beautiful." She said softly. We swam and chatted for a while, before she splashed me. I gasped, looking at her grinning face.
"You didn't."
"I did." I splashed her, earning a squeal. The splash contest ended with me winning. She sighed as she caught her breath, looking out over the edge of the pool. "Who was that guy?" I stood next to her.
"Vicktor Hannapoli. Russian mob."
"Why was he asking about me?"
"Because. Pretty women are easy targets."
"They are not."
"You are an easy target. Whether you like it or not." She paused for a moment.
"You think I'm pretty?" I smirked as I rolled my hands.
"That's what you took away from that?" She was blushing. "But yes, you are beautiful. As I was saying. Pretty women are easy marks. Especially when you have no idea about your ties to the mafia." I motioned to her. "But now that you know you're on their radar, you can prepare for it."
"Prepare?"
"Carry a taser with you, bear spray, learn self defense if you wish." I said.
"I know how to defend myself."
"Not against them." I said. "Maybe a high school bully. But these people have been training for years. You wouldn't stand a chance against them."
"Then teach me."