Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
“What do you think I should do?”
“First of all, the both of you have to meet and sort this out before I sort it out myself and none of you are going to like the method I use.”
Rhea did not doubt Mimi’s words one bit because she had atypical ways of solving problems sometimes.
Mimi reminded her, “I’m a pregnant woman, Rhea, and my baby needs its father, every day.”
More like you need Victor every day, Rhea read between the lines.
“Moreover,” Mimi went on to say, “You said that I’m your ticket out of here. All we have to do now is think of a plan to bust you out.”
“It wouldn’t be for long though…” Rhea moved closer to her saying, “My mother doesn’t know that I know about it yet, but Lukas summoned Eric and I think it has to do with Elijah.”
“Oh, that,” Mimi said.
“You know about it.”
“Victor doesn’t want me to know about the details, he’s using the baby as an excuse and that I shouldn’t stress it. However….” Mimi fluffed her hair with pride, “With my connection, it wasn’t hard to get. All I know is that members of Luciano’s family want revenge for the lives of their men lost thanks to Elijah and although the deed is carried out in Lukas’s name as the head, the truth is that Daniel is the head of the committee overlooking the case.”
A chill traveled down Rhea’s back knowing that this wasn’t going to end well with Daniel involved. If that was the case, then her plan of running back to the base and living with Lukas again was futile. With tension this high between her family and Lukas, her mother would gladly conclude that Lukas had kidnapped her once again and no doubt would escalate into a war.
What was she going to do?
“Eric left already with his men. We have to know the details of their meeting. Did they reach an agreement? Or whether the conflict escalated? Only then can we be able to plot a way for me to meet with Lukas,” Rhea told her.
With Natalie around, there was no way she could leave today. Also, her mother was not a fool and was extremely cautious. She must know already that she and Mimi were up to no good.
“As much as I hate to say this, but I might need Elijah’s number,”
“What?!” Rhea was alarmed. Why would Mimi want that bastard’s number?
She lowered her tone this time, “Why?”
Mimi never does things without a reason.
“I have a feeling that your mother doesn’t like me much and might try to stop me from coming in the next time and I don’t think there might be another truck for him to hide under the next time.”
“You did what?!” Rhea was horrified, looking at her friend with wide eyes.
Mimi shrugged it off, “I’m good. Look, nothing happened.”
“You crazy woman!” Rhea shook her hard. She was dumbfounded. What was she going to do with this dumb friend of hers?
However, Rhea was filled with emotions that she simply hugged the crazy girl instead.
“What am I going to do without you?” Rhea wondered. Mimi has been such a faithful friend to her.
“So this is the plan…” Mimi told her after they were done with their emotional hug.
” I think Elijah is feeling guilty for what he did -“
“As if,” Rhea scoffed. She was never going to trust him ever again.
“The point is I might be able to exploit his guilt.”
“Okay, keep going.” Rhea was interested in the plan.
The both of them drew closer and whispered their plans. Both of them made contributions; nodding their head when the idea seemed feasible and shaking their head when it was the opposite.
By the time they were done, there was a glow to Rhea’s unhealthy pallor compared to before. She felt confident now and for the first time in a long time, believed that things would go well. All they had to do was make sure Natalie would not be in the way of their plans.
Push Peeple’s Buttons
“Is it only me or did your father put on some makeup?” Victor pointed out as soon as they arrived at the scene in his convertible.
Although Lukas arrived early, his father was here before him and it didn’t surprise him that his father was working hard for this case. What’s the catch? He still hasn’t figured it out, but it sounded too good to be true.
Lukas knew his father and he doesn’t do this out of his great magnanimous heart – that is if he had one – unless there was something he hoped to achieve. Be it small or great, there was always an ulterior motive. And until then, he couldn’t trust him.
Other than looking at the man out of mere curiosity, Lukas didn’t say anything as they got out of the car. The fading injuries on his face were hidden with the makeup and Lukas’s heart swelled with joy that for once, he was able to retaliate and defend the things that mattered to him and not take his shit like the good kid he was before.
He was gradually breaking out of the mentality that Daniel was lord over his life and would have always had an influence on him. He was breaking out of that bondage of captivity imprinted in him from a young age. Although it was all baby steps, Lukas believed that it was progress.
If there was anything Lukas was sure of now, it was the fact that he would never be like the man. Daniel claimed that he turned out that way because Natalie never reciprocated his love, and looked down on him because of his occupation. Although Rhea didn’t look down on him, at least in the end, she betrayed him and it hurt like shit.
However, Lukas didn’t take it out on others around him… okay, maybe he did a little. But the point is, he didn’t kidnap the woman’s best friend, which in his case would have been Mimi – and Victor would murder him in his sleep and fake it as a suicide.
They said the quiet ones were always the deadly ones because as innocent as his cousin Victor looked, he had pretty dark and twisted ways of sending one to the grave. His pretty M.O had given him his title as the Enforcer.
And thinking about it now, Lukas knew he has been an emotional wreck lately, that it wouldn’t be hard for his people to believe that he loved Rhea too much, enough to take his own life – perhaps, except his nosy father who would suspect foul plan. My son isn’t that weak, he would claim. The good thing is that he could trust his father to get him justice. Haha, funny, not funny.
…..
In one word, what Lukas is trying to say is, he didn’t capture some innocent woman, separate her from her family and knock her up because he is mad at Rhea’s betrayal. That was the most stupid thing that he has ever heard. Whatever happened between him and Natalie doesn’t excuse what Daniel did to his monster.
And since he didn’t mete out the same treatment to other women, Lukas knew with finality that he couldn’t be like his father as he had feared becoming all through his life. Rhea was right. Even if he carried out illegal stuff as an occupation, he wasn’t his father. He was different and better than Daniel. He was above the man and he knew it.
That was why Daniel kept forcing him to become like him. Punishing and tormenting him, looking for ways to change him and it didn’t happen. He was Lukas Luciano, not Daniel Luciano, two different people! And he would never be like him. Come rain, come sunshine, Lukas was determined.
“Whether he did or not, that’s none of my business,” Lukas grumbled as he stepped out of the car from the driver’s side of the seat and Victor did the same.
As agreed upon, each side could only come with three representatives to eliminate any form of tension or foul play. Aside from his father, who was the committee chairman Of course – note the sarcasm – Lukas chose to come with Victor whom he knew always had his back. He doesn’t trust Daniel one bit. What if his father stabs him in the back? So yes, Lukas was merely taking precautions from his own father.
This was a neutral ground for both parties and has been quite an old tradition in their world. Anyone who defiles the hallowed ground first, the other party has the right to retaliate and would be supported by other crime families. The rule was quite serious.
“Isn’t this amazing? Our small family, coming together for a purpose. Conflict does bring people together, don’t you think so?” Daniel said as soon as Lukas fell in line beside and thankfully Victor was in the middle, standing between both of them.
Lukas didn’t look at his father but he did shake his head in pity. The man seriously needed a life – and a woman. But then he wouldn’t put any woman through hell on earth by pairing her up with his father. So maybe Daniel deserves his loneliness and pining for Natalie all through his life seems to be a good punishment.