Power & Pleasure

Chapter 16

Mateo looked at me and laughed. A deep, full blown laugh. I just stared at him, pinching my leg. This had to be a dream -- all of this had to be a dream. There is no way that my heartless, stone cold boss, who's also a mafia king (and also kinda acts like we're dating) is laughing. And there is no way that 15 minutes ago, I was leaning out of his car, with the best adrenaline rush I ever felt, shooting at people. 

One pinch, ow! Another pinch, double ow! Three pinches, triple ow! 

The spot that I was pinching on my thigh is now red, and Mateo is now calming down... still slightly laughing. I just stare at him, unsure of what to do. Maybe he's drunk off of wine? No, that can't be -- he only have two glasses; and the way he was driving the car was certainly not in a drunk manner. Then what the hell does he find so funny about what I said?

Once he calms down, Mateo looks at me and notices that I'm not laughing. His brows immediately furrow, "Toni, you can't be serious? You want to do that, again? You want to shoot at people and risk dying again? I don't think so."

I'm unsure of what to say. Honestly, I didn't even think I would tell him the truth about how it made me feel... but here we are. I just look down at my hands and start fiddling with them. I'm not really sure I know why I told Mateo how it made me feel, because I know he won't let me do anything about it. He's way too over protective of me like that.

After about a minute, Mateo kneels down and grabs my hands, forcing me to look at him, "Toni, I don't want you to get hurt. Seriously what you did is amazing, and for your first time handling a gun, I'm impressed. But the last thing I want to do is drag you into this life, this lifestyle. It's dangerous, and I don't want to have to worry about you." Something about the last sentence pissed me off, and that's when my emotion turned from embarrassment to anger.

"Mateo, I didn't ask for you to worry about me. And honestly, it's my life. If I want to get involved in this lifestyle, I can -- you really can't stop me. I'm tired of you, and everyone else, thinking that I'm some child who needs to be taken care of. I'm 28 years old and I've barely experienced life. The craziest thing I've ever done is take an Uber at 2am, wow so crazy," I say, getting out of the car and walking around in circles. I can't really go anywhere since we're on the side of the road but I need to get out of the seat. I'm upset, I'm frustrated, I'm embarrassed. 

I mean, it's true. I'm 28 years old and my life is boring. I don't do anything interest. The highlight of my week is drinking wine with my friends on Friday night and going shopping at the thrift store on Saturday. Occasionally on Wednesdays, I'll go to the lowkey plant shop and buy a new plant. I want fun, I want adventure, I want danger. I'm chasing something crazy in my life, and this is it.

Mateo grabs my shoulders to stop me from walking in circles and gets me out of my thoughts. He stares at me for a moment before he looks at me. I can't handle the silence so I just blurt out what I'm thinking, "Mateo, I crave fun. I need something that dangerous, something that is different then my normal, comfortable life. I know you said you want to keep me safe, but you said it yourself -- you'll always make sure I'm safe. So why can't I do it? Why can't I join in and dapple my hands in the Mafia?" I look at him with my most pleading eyes I have. 

He just stares at me for a moment before he lets out a breathe and lets go of my shoulders. He walks away for a minute, pinching the bridge of his nose and mumbling something under his breathe. Finally, he walks back up and looks at me.

"Toni, you understand what you're saying right? Like you understand that it's not something you can do for five minutes then leave? Once you're in, you're in. I can let you 'go' but you're always going to have to watch you back, make sure you're safe. It's a life long thing," He says, grabbing my hands and talking quietly.

"I know, I get it."

"Whenever we do something: deals, shootouts, information breaches; you stay with me. Understand? You'll be my newest right hand man, in a way. Obviously you won't be doing as much dirty work as the others, you're not ready for that yet and frankly, I don't think I want you too. But, you'll always be by my side. You'll be like, my Mafia Princess. I'm the Mafia King, you're the Mafia Princess," He says, smiling softly and looking at me.

"If you're the king, shouldn't I be queen though?" I say with a confused tone. I mean, how can I be princess but he's king -- unless he thinks of me as a daughter. Which would then be really weird, honestly.

Mateo chuckling, throwing his head back before looking back down at me. "Mafia queen isn't really a thing. Any guy who is a Mafia King, their wives or girlfriends are referred to as a Mafia Princess. Not sure who made the rules, but that's how it goes." I blush at that statement. If he wants me to be his Mafia princess, does that mean he refers to me as his girlfriend? That will have to be a conversation for another day.

I nod, letting Mateo know that I heard him. He pulls me into his arms, giving me a long kiss on the head before he says, "Toni I promise, I'm going to protect you always. You want in this lifestyle, you want to do this with me -- fine. But I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you're okay."

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The rest of the car ride was fine. Mateo told me that I need to undergo some self-defense training, along with proper gun training before I can start on "jobs" with them, as they call it. He also said that him and I will spend on evening going over everything: who our enemies are, our allies, who to trust and who not to trust... those things. He said that he'll tell me all the important things and bring me up to speed on everything. He said that since I'll pretty much never be leaving his side, I'll also be learning how to operations work, like weapon trading and information breaching.

Once we get back home, Catalina and Valeria are sitting on the couch, along with a few other members of the house -- including Carlos and Chris. Catalina gets up and gives me a weak smile and hug before she whispers in my ear, "I was getting worried something happened." I give her a small smile, hugging back and letting her know I'll tell her about the date later.

Chris comes up to Mateo and lets him know about the accident that happened on the highway. Apparently the entire Mafia already knows, along with the Mafia of those who crashed. Mateo laughs, before he says, "Yeah, I know. They were coming after us. But Antonella shot their front windshield then front tire... making the car go on fire."

My cheeks immediately go red -- as if I'm not standing in a room with men and women who have done way worse then that. Catalina's and Valeria's jaws drop, as Carlos laughs and Chris gives me a pat on the back. Mateo then wraps his arm around my waist and decides to tell everyone the even bigger news.

"Oh, and Antonella is my new Mafia Princess."

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Author's Note:

Hey everyone; thanks for reading! This chapter wasn't too interesting -- but some things did happen!

Alright, tell me how you guys are feeling about the chapter. Antonella is now getting involved in the Mafia, do we think that'll turn badly? Also, how do you think everyone will handle the news? Let me know!

Thanks for the continuous support -- I never imagined we'd be at 120 views. I love you all!

xoxo,

Ashley