Chapter 3Luca

Chapter 3

Luca

I've been waiting across the street from Lou's Printery for about fifteen minutes. Sam, Ciara and I were supposed to come to some kind of agreement with Lou about the underground gambling den he was operating while reneging on his debt. Since taking over Madame Mercado's territories, we realized just how much the old geezer was worth in loans and real estate. Now that she was dead, many of her debtors thought the debts were cancelled.

"Hey bro," Sam greeted. As he walked over after parking his car behind mine.

I grunted my greeting, being pissed that Ciara seemed to like Nando's brother, Sandy. The fuck he had that I didn't? I recognized my emotions as jealousy and I hated that I felt that way, but Nando's brother rubbed me the wrong way with his damn mysterious shit. I didn't know why women fell for that.

"What's bugging you?" he asked, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

I pulled my coat closer and leaned against the hood of my car while keeping my eyes on the store front. We were waiting for Ciara to arrive as she was supposed to be a part of this operation. It wasn't anything Sam and I couldn't handle, but she needed more experience, and this was a good opportunity for that.

"Nothing's bugging me man," I told him. "What's up with you?"

"I have a feeling Ciara doesn't like me man," Sam complained. "She's pretty aloof around me."

I placed a reassuring hand on Sam's shoulder. "She's aloof around everybody, except for that bastard."

"Who you talkin' ‘bout?"

As I was about to respond, her motorcycle rode up and stopped right in front of the car. She took her helmet off first, immediately setting her eyes on me. Our eyes locked and I could feel her stare boring a hole into my retina. Damn, she was sexy as hell getting off that motorbike. A ball of heat slammed me in the belly as she approached me, never taking her eyes away.

"Hey sexy mama," I crooned as she pushed Sam away and came to stand directly in front of me.

"What's the fuck's wrong with you?" she demanded.

I was taken aback by her angry tone and her words. "What you talking about, Baby?"

"First off, I'm not your baby, and why the hell do you keep bringing me food? I'm not a charity case!"

So here we had the most recent reason she was mad at me. I brought her breakfast this morning before arriving here. She was still sleeping when I dropped off the food at her apartment and her brother received it before heading out to school.

"I know you're not a charity case, alright," I replied defensively. "But I noticed that you miss a lot of meals, especially breakfast. And the work we do often calls for long hours without a break. It's better to have a good meal in the morning than going hungry all day."

"Why do you care anyway?'

"How can I not care?" I returned. "You're my colleague and my woman."

She stepped closer, pointing a finger at my nose. "You're one cocky bastard whose gonna learn that he can't always have what he wants. Now let's go."

At least she didn't say I wasn't her woman. Sam led the way across the street and entered the building. The place seemed empty as we approached the front desk, therefore we passed through the reception area and entered through a door, which led to a back room. It was also empty. As we were about to depart the room, Ciara stepped forward and pressed her ear to the wall.

"There's something behind these walls."

Sam stepped forward, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Before Ciara could do anything, Sam pushed her aside. "Step aside. This is man's business."

I pulled Sam back. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You know, she's a girl," he remarked. "She might get hurt."

Ciara advanced. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I'm just looking out for you," Sam said.

She scoffed. "No, you're just pissed to have a woman on your team. I see the way you've treated me these past few months and I won't stand for it no more."

Shoving Sam aside, Ciara closed in on the wall and kicked it in. We spared no time in opening the hole to reveal three men scuttling to reach a door on the far right. With the speed of light Ciara was inside the hole and lunged for the nearest one to her. I raced ahead and grabbed the one that reached me first, while Sam caught the other.

The room was fitted with a long wooden table stacked with cash, a money counter, ledgers, and a laptop. In one corner was a table with empty ramen containers, coffee cups, sandwich rappers. A single bed was anchored to one wall alongside a door leading to a bathroom. The sound of footsteps could be heard entering the building from the front. I butted my man and Sam choke hold his, while Ciara throat punched her guy, sending him to the ground.

As soon as Ciara's man hit the ground four figures came into view. Before we had a chance to breathe, one of them let off a round. I could hear Ciara's phone ring and was praying that she would let it go to voicemail as we were now outnumbered with three more men entering from the front. Sam and I fired at the men. A shot zinged past my ear, and I had to take cover behind the table.

Meanwhile, Ciara took out her phone and spoke into it while shooting at a man who entered the room. The shot hit him in the chest, and he fell to the ground. Meanwhile, she spoke on the phone as if nothing had happened. I was flabbergasted that she could carry out such a task while uninterrupted. She picked off another one as I regained my composure and took out two. I noticed then that Sam was not near me. He had been the one closest to the entrance and I thought he was still engaged in the fight. It was Ciara who noticed that he was down and went over to cover him. She fell two more men, and I was left with the last few who I took out quickly.

"Woman?" I sprang over to her, grabbed her face, and kissed her hard.

It must have taken her by surprise because she didn't react until I let her go. "What the fuck was that?"

"You handled yourself like a boss."

Meantime my heart was racing and my dick throbbing. I never expected that kiss to be so electrifying. It wasn't meant to be sexual, but everything about Ciara was sexual and I couldn't help being turned on by her. Silently she turned and walked out of the shop, stepping over dead bodies.