Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
“Aren’t stressed men, sexy?” He winked, flirting with his wife.
“Oh, they are,” Natalie leaned in to kiss him on the face and then smooches him on the lips once, twice, and thrice. She whispered into his ear, “I know something that might be able to relieve your stress.”
At once, the temperature in the room increased and Eric’s heart rate quickened, already having a clue where this was headed.
“Really?” He leaned in to kiss her but Natalie pulled away at the last minute, teasing him. She then pulled away from him and went to lock the door. If there was anything they learned so far, it was to never leave the door open with Rose around. She had a knack for ruining the moment.
Once Natalie was back, Eric drew her into his arms and had his lips on hers. The best thing that has ever happened to him was marrying this woman and he has never regretted it one bit.
However, when his hands crept into her nightgown, Natalie slapped his hands away and broke apart to say to him, “Tonight, it’s all about you.” Her husband was tired and she was going to do everything to energize him!
So she pushed him down to the bed and Eric laid back comfortably and spread his legs having gotten the clue. Tonight was going to be great.
The Luciano Family’s Handwork
Rhea was fast asleep in her room when she heard a creaking sound and her eyes flashed open. With recent training and accidents, she has become quite sensitive to her environment. But at that moment, one thing made sense to her, she was not alone in her room.
It was still night since her room was still dark and she had turned off the light. With her back turned, Rhea could feel the presence getting closer. With the attempt at being subtle, Rhea could tell whoever that person is was not on her side.
How did he or she get in anyway? The security was tight unless there was a mole. Rhea bet that it was Richardo again, he was really desperate to end her since she was the only thing that would hurt Lukas deeply.
What was she going to do? Her thought was racing. She could scream, sure, that would draw attention but it doesn’t guarantee her safety. She could fight the intruder, but it could be a man and he might be stronger than her.
No, she had to fight, Rhea decided. No matter what option she took right now, there was no guarantee she would survive. If she was going to die, she would not go down easily. With that thought in mind, Rhea reacted by kicking out her sheet and blocking the intruder’s view.
With that distraction in the darkness, Rhea took off and got to the door. But just as she was about to turn the knob, a shot rang out and the next thing she felt was hot piercing pain in her abdomen. The breath was knocked out of her breath and she managed to open the door before falling through it.
Her breath was now a wheeze and lifting her head, she saw Lukas running in her direction with horror written on his face. However, as if he were on a treadmill, no matter how much strength he exerted, he just couldn’t get to her and only kept screaming her name in desperation.
Feeling a shadow hover over her, Rhea turned to stare at the intruder now standing over her. To her horror, it was the same woman whom Samson had devoured earlier in the day. Suddenly, as if she conjured the poor creature, to her side was the lion lying in a pool of its blood.
…..
“No!” Rhea screeched in agony, this can’t be happening. However, the cocking of the gun brought back her attention to the woman whom she just realized had no face but endless darkness.
“Richardo sends a message,” The woman said with an unnatural voice before she pulled the trigger and shot her right in the head.
“No!” Rhea woke up with a scream, scrambling off the bed and nearly injuring herself in the process. However, none of that mattered to her as she hurried over to the dresser and began to check her appearance.
There was no bullet in her head and lifting her shirt, there was no trace of a bullet either. Everything had been a dream. She only had a nightmare that scared the shit out of her. Rhea looked further into the mirror, her eyes were wild and it was puffy around the sides as if she had been crying during the dream.
Damn it, that son of a bitch Richardo had to die for her to be ever safe. The dream was an ominous sign already and she wasn’t going to take it for granted.
Her phone rang out of nowhere, startling her. Rhea calmed her racing heart, there was nothing to be scared of. She was safe here, she told herself. Picking her phone from the nightstand, Rhea was relieved to see that it was Lukas calling. She cleared her throat and wiped the sweat on her forehead.
“Hello love,” Rhea said with a chippy voice, hoping he was not going to suspect a thing. Lukas got enough problems on his plate and she did not want to bother him with her nightmares. That was her problem to deal with.
“Hey, love.” Lukas said, “I’m sorry for waking you this early. I just wanted to make sure that you were…. safe.”
Rhea glanced at the clock on the wall it was barely six in the morning. The nightmare woke her quite early.
“No, it’s no problem. I was up already.”
“Why? You couldn’t sleep? Did you have any nightmares? I know yesterday’s incident -“
“No, I want to have a run.” Rhea lied, “I need to get myself in shape, and exercising helps clear my mind.”
“I was worrying over nothing then. In that case, have a nice run okay.”
“Sure.”
“I love you, Rhea Valerie.” He said all of a sudden, making her heart miss a beat.
“I love you too, Lukas Xavier Luciano.” Rhea blushed hard at the end. Why were they being so lovey-dovey this morning? It was quite embarrassing, she grinned like a fool.
Rhea ended the call and put on her running tracks. While she had not planned this, exercise was indeed good for her mind. On her way out, Redhead tagged along which was quite surprising – Rhea thought the chihuahua had changed loyalties considering he was always with Rose twenty-four, seven.
She ran across the far-stretched property. The Draven had enough space with acres of land, almost making the place secluded. Rhea decided to rest after a while when Redhead began to bark in a direction furiously.
It was the vineyard and Rhea had no business going there, but the dog wouldn’t let it go and so she decided to check it out. However, what Rhea never expected to see when she got to the spot was the headless body and a scream left her mouth.
What the heck?
She scrambled away to go call for help, only to hear another scream from somewhere. What was happening? Were they under attack?
“Ephraim!” She screamed his name when she spotted him outside. However, when she got to him, he was reading the message on a white cloth probably written with blood.
[Three down, two left]
Oh no, it dawned on Rhea.
This was the Luciano family’s handwork.
The War Arrived On His Doorstep
Amid the traumatic incident the previous day, Lukas woke up feeling happy. He had gotten news last night that Eric was going to agree to the deal and that was enough reason to celebrate. He didn’t have to worry about both families going to war, Eric was giving in to his request. With him as a member of the Commission, the other families would support him in this war.
But then everything was not good news because he received a report this early morning that the lawyer handling their resources was found dead. The news left a sour taste on Lukas’s tongue knowing that Richardo was responsible for it – the lawyer was killed in a horrid manner with his eyes plucked out.
It was obvious that Richardo held grudges against him for killing Macy and there was no negotiation in this war. Apart from Consiglieres, lawyers were known as mediators and when killed by a rival family, it meant there was no dialogue, no bargaining. It was an all-out war, cold, violent, and death.
Hence the first thing that came to Lukas’s mind was calling Rhea and making sure that she was okay. Sure, she was safe under Draven’s family care, but this was a sensitive time and it pays to be careful.
When Rhea told him she was going for a run, he didn’t know how to feel about it. He wanted her inside the house where nothing could happen to her. There could always be a mole in the defense – just like what happened to him. Moreover, she was pregnant, was she in a position to go running? Wouldn’t it affect the baby?
But then, Lukas didn’t bring any of it knowing Rhea was stubborn and would always do whatever she wanted. Moreover, she needed the space with everything happening so far. So he decided to trust her judgment instead and prayed God protected them – Rhea and his baby. Lukas was not a big believer, but in desperate times, he wouldn’t mind believing in a God.
He was still on the call when Samuel came in and he signaled him not to say a word knowing Rhea was quick on picking up on conversations. He didn’t want her to begin to worry over him, this was his responsibility to take care of, not hers. And he would emerge successfully, that was a promise.