For The Empire - Sempre

Chapter 17

After getting lost a few more times, I finally ask Marco to help me find the gym. He and Lucy, of course, made a huge mess in the kitchen and flour-covered both of them.

It reminded me so much of when JP and I would bake together at their age. But the memories only add to my current annoyance and frustrated state.

Marco shows me where the sparring gloves and headgear are after we walk in.

"You want to go around or two?" He asks me cheekily.

"Let me get some energy out first. I don't want to hurt you, kid," I tease as he rolls his eyes at me. "You can hold the bag while I punch and kick," I tell him. "You've been training then?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much all we did when we lived in Italy, well that and homeschool. But we train at least three times a week now. JP is even training Carmen, but don't take offense to this, some girls aren't meant to fight, and that is totally Carmen. Now Lola, on the other hand, may only be turning five next month, but she's got a lot of fire in her; she's very scrappy," Marco says, laughing, and I laugh along with him.

"Carmen has a lot of fight in her, too. She just needs to be shown how to bring it out and harness it, trust me."

But he just shakes his head at me, chuckling.

We spend the next little while taking turns hitting and kicking the punching bag.

"Well, let's see what you got, Marco." I jog around the mat. He tightens his gloved hands with his teeth and then holds one hand out to me; we tap hands and then begin circling each other.

Marco moves quickly, and I feel the air whoosh past me when I dodge and weave out of the way. I move in and sweep his leg, and he falls to the mat, but he moves before I can get him in a hold, and he grabs my foot to do an ankle lock.

I turn the opposite way getting out of his hold and grab his arm and pull him into an umbar. He taps when I lift my hips, pulling his arm back, putting pressure on his elbow.

"You can't leave your arms hanging out, Marco, remember?" Santino chides Marco as he shakes his head. JP and a few of the men have joined us now, including Lucy.

JP is now dressed in basketball shorts and a cut-off shirt. My eyes trail along his large arms and new tattoos. "How about you take someone more on your level?" JP asks me, grinning.

"Okay. Santino, let's go," I say jokingly. The men and the others react to my jab.

Santino shakes his head. "You might have been the one always to pin him in the past, but I think you'll be surprised at how far John Paul has come, Stella."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Be careful what you wish for, kid," Santino says, smiling at me.

JP puts on sparring gloves but skips the headgear. "Don't you want to protect that delicate head of yours, Capo?" I tease.

JP smiles, "Tell you what, if you pin me first, then I'll put it on."

I move in quickly with a quick combination, but he blocks my hits, and then he moves forward, throwing his own combination at me, but I duck and move out of his range.

We go back and forth for a while before I decide to make my old move on him.

I fake a punch and climb over him and pull him down with me, but it wasn't as easy to pull him down as I remember, and it probably has to do with how much bulk he's added.

The crowd that has now gathered reacts to the impact he makes on the mat, but he doesn't stay down long enough for me to do a hold on him.

"I'm sensing some aggression, principessa, but it also seems you're out of practice. Been dancing more than sparring it looks like," JP taunts, "I hate to point out the obvious, but I don't think a pole is going to help you in a life or death situation."