Love Mafia | Rewritten

10: Truth Revealed

"Come on, my beautiful," Luc says, his hand pulls me into the room. I stare. Its filled with people fighting in rings and smells of smoke and alcohol.
"Stay next to me at all times," Luc orders, "If you don't, people are going to hurt you."
I nod and his hand tightens around mine. He weaves me in between the crowds. I watch each fight curiously. Luc stops, sensing my want to linger, and says, "I didn't know you were interested in fighting."
"I love the sport," I tell him.
He smiles and kisses my forehead. After pulling away he whispers, "You'll never stop surprising me, Ariel."
I smile. He kisses me softly and then pulls away. He leads me through the screaming crowds. We reach a door with a man outside it. He looks at us suspiciously. Luc says, "Dis-lui que Lucifer est ici recouvrer sa dette."
Luc has gone from the man I know into the cold, heartless mafia boss. The guard nods and opens the door. He goes in and in a few seconds comes back out and says, "Tu peux entres, Lucifer, mais pas la fille."
He nods and tosses a roll of money at the bodyguard. Then orders, "Regarde-la ou tu meurs,”
The guard nods and Luc turns to me. He tells me, "Don't go anywhere."
"I won't," I reply. He walks into the room and I sigh. I sit down on the bench. I watch the fighting ring that is closest to me. It's a teenager, maybe fifteen. He is put against a twenty-five year old. The twenty-five year old is beating him badly. I watch as bets are thrown towards the twenty-five year old. He is smirking at the kid. The crowd cheering wildly at the blood coming from the teenager. I shiver at the sickos who are loving this. The older guy keeps hitting the kid until the teen curls up into a ball trying to protect his body. It saddens my heart.
I watch as the fifteen year old stumbles out of the ring. I leap up and run to him. I feel arms grab me and hold me back. I scream and struggle against them. My whole body telling me to protect the poor, bruised kid. The one who will curl up on the ground and take the hits without even crying. I struggle to protect that kid. He is trying to stay on his feet, but can't. He falls and I struggle harder. I can't escape.
I watch as the kid is put in handcuffs by someone. I stop struggling, confused. A voice in my ear says, "That was his last chance."
"And you wouldn't let me help him!" I turn to Luc, shoving on his chest.
"I wouldn't let you help him to protect you," he tells me.
"What the hell?" I question, pausing for a second. Luc always knows more about what's going on than I do.
"He was on trial for mass murder of gang members. Fighting was his choice. Justice is served two ways. Fight for your life or suicide."
"And does anyone choose suicide?" I ask.
"It's considered the dishonorable way out," Luc explains, "And at least fighting a gang's champion gives you a chance to survive. That boy was given a chance. He let it slip between his fingers."
"That's not what I would call that!" I shout angrily, "It was unfair!"
"I fought a very similar man when I was his age and I won," Luc informs me, leading me through the crowd again. His body seems on edge, but his voice comes out smooth, "That's how I got to be where I am. People fear me because of that. People didn't respect me. I was ten years old running a drug business. Five years later, I fought a thirty year old champion and won. Their respect for me finally came through. But the five years between ten years old and fifteen were hard. I had people trying to assassinate me. People who questioned me. I consider those years my dark years, because I ruled through complete fear. You questioned me, you died."
I stare into his blue eyes. He whispers, "I've never regretted any of it, until I met you. Until I found out you owed me a big debt that wasn't even your fault."
He pauses and then whispers, "You're in debt to me because of your parents and that's why you aren't on a deadline like everyone else. You're just the only remaining person I can get my money from."
"And I'm glad you did come to me. Otherwise I would never have met you," I say, then add, "Everyone has their dark years. The years of their life they won't ever talk about because even the memories tear them apart. It's okay, Luc."
I lean in, my lips hesitating for a brief second before I kiss him. His lips are soft against mine. After a second I pull away slowly. He smiles and laces his hand through mine.
He weaves us through the area and finally to the exit. He pulls me through the door and into his arms.
He kisses me gently and whispers, "I love you so much, my baby girl."
A man comes up and asks Luc something in Italian. Luc replies to him and he goes off. Luc turns to me and says, "He is getting my car."
"We walked here," I say confused, "Why aren't we walking back?"
"I want to take you on a date," Luc replies, not meeting my eyes.
"Is that okay?" I say cautiously, "I mean you don't have anyone in second. I mean this could put you in so much risk."
"I'll be fine," he responds, "But I appreciate the concern. We took most of his men out in that battle. He won't start another battle until he can get more men."
I smile and kiss him. A motor interrupts us. I turn to see a white Mercedes-Benz, a convertible one with its roof down. My jaw drops. Luc says, "You ever rode in one?"
"No!" I say with a gasp realizing it's his.
"Well consider this checked off your bucket list," he says, smirking. He knows I'm impressed.
We get in and he takes off. I can feel the smoothness of the car. The speed ready to go, right there underneath your fingertips… and it causes me to flinch. Luc says, not noticing my fear, "You want to see how fast it can go?"
"That's kind of reckless," I mutter as his face flickers between someone else's. The boy I lost to the speed, the boy I lost to the adrenaline. The boy who never gave a damn.
"I know," he shouts, still not noticing or just not caring, "That's the point."
The light turns green. I brace myself, fingers digging into the seat as Luc pushes his foot into the pedal. I feel the car's engine take it in stride. I watch as the speedometer hits past eighty and climbs higher. I grab Luc's arm, scared, my nails bite his skin. Luc shouts, "Relax, beautiful. I'm experienced at this."
His words hit a home run to the boy I knew. I shiver, trying to bury the memory and enjoy this. Luc's foot hits the pedal again and we go even faster. I let go of his arm and focus on having fun. The wind tosses my hair and I smile. The only rush I'll ever get is from wind hitting me, ripping at my skin. I raise my hands letting the air take them. Luc, suddenly, turns sharply and I scream. I check the speedometer to see it at a stunning 140. I grab his arm, again scared. He laughs and says, "I told you to relax. I won't do anything that could hurt you."
At the next redlight Luc turns to me and says, "Having fun?"
"Yes," I retort, not lying, "When I am not afraid for my life."
He laughs, a smile taking over his face. A car pulls up next to us. I hear a voice ask, "You want to go, Mr. Rich Blood?"
Luc smirks and says, "What do you think you're gonna do with that Camaro?"
"More than you," the guy taunts.
Luc rolls his eyes, winks at me, and holds up a roll of money. He bets, "You're on!"
The guy smirks back and I say, "Really Luc? We don't have the time."
"It'll take me exactly nine seconds to win," Luc tells me, blowing my comment off, "You think you got that much time, babe?"
I sigh and say, "When you get us killed it isn't my fault."
"We will be fine," he reassures and the light turns green. He takes off fast, speed reaching 160. My nails bite into my thighs as I try to keep my intense fear in. The other guy keeps up with us for a little, until I feel Luc press the gas more. My vision goes wonky when he does. Then we leave him behind.