guns and roses

recruits

valentina-
the days before the wedding flew by.
we spent our time eating, fucking, drinking whiskey, fucking some more, and watching movies.
"good morning angel." i heard a deep gruff voice state.
i run my hands through my tangled hair and glance at my phone
7:57 am

why would he wake me up this early.
"ugh. what do you want alexander"
i say with a muffled tone as i shove my face back into my pillow. it smells of him.

"todays the wedding my love"
fuck. at 18 i'll be married two days before my birthday. what the actual fuck is wrong with my life.

i start to roll out of the bed but im immediately met with the end of my side. i keep rolling until i hit the floor, gaining a chuckle from the deep pits of alex's throat. i narrow my eyes at him looking with displeasure.
"thanks for helping me up you asswipe"
"asswipe? that's a new one" he says rhetorically.

"you know. i've been holding back from smacking you because you've been nice lately."
he rolls his eyes and stands ridged "get up. you have things to do"
it's so early my eyes are still heavy.
i lay back in bed trying to get at least 30 more minutes of peace and blissful sleep.

"i'm serious valentina. we have work to do today"
he catches my attention. i push myself from the bed and slip on a black pair of leggings and a red oversized shirt. i throw my hair in a bun and make my way downstairs.

"what do you mean work?" i ask intrigued in what he means
"we have recruits to train. i can't just slack off and fuck you every day, some of us actually have a business to run. grab something quick to eat. we have to be there soon." he says blandly

my eyes glance to the bowl of fruit on the granite counter top. i snag an apple and make my way out the door, stopping to put on my sneakers.
the warehouse is about an hour away.
"can i drive?" i ask him this almost everytime we leave the house and he always says no.

he thinks on it for a second before throwing me the keys. "don't wreck my car valentina" he says warning me.
"wouldn't dream of it princess" i state sarcastically
he struts his way over and opens my door for me. its rinse and repeat. i ask to drive, he says no, and then opens my door. this time was different. he said yes

" where are we going" i ask, looking at him from the drivers side i realize how handsome he genuinely is. his tattoos stop at the base of his jaw and travel down his neck and shoulders.
just a few days ago i had my nails dug into his back and now he's letting me drive his car? if i knew sex could get you what you wanted i would have lost my virginity ages ago.

i throw the car in reverse and back out of my parking spot, careful not to hit any of the other cars. he would definitely kill me.

"i'll give you directions just drive." he seems on edge today. i leave it be and drive towards manhattan.
"you know, you don't always have to be so serious" i tell him.
"being serious keeps me from being killed"

okay then. not in the mood to talk.
an hour flies by. were 5 minutes away from the warehouse when i hear a deep sigh
"i'm sorry for snapping at you. i'm frustrated."

i look at him with a question slowly seeping out of my mouth
"i hate training recruits. they're dumb and all they want to do is kill something. which in turn could get them and others killed"

i nod understandingly. i've never had to train recruits but my father had, and he always complained too.
i glance back in the review mirror. the same car has been tailing us since we left.

"alex" i say worriedly
"that car behind us. it's been following us since we got on main street right outside the house."
alexander looks at me unbothered.
"loose him." he gives me the thumbs up to do what i need to loose a tail.
i might not be the most skilled person in the world. but i was a damn good driver.

i speed up and switch lanes without a blinker, cars are honking and people are yelling, flipping me off, but i pay no attention to it. there's a big truck coming up. i put my foot to the floor and gas the car. the engine roars down the street as i drop into gear.
you know what they say. drop a gear and disappear.
i switch back to my original lane and turn into the warehouse parking lot.
we finally lost the car.
"who was that?"

alexander looks at me with worry behind his eyes. not plastered on his face but definitely behind his eyes.
"i'm not sure but were going to figure it out."

i nod hesitantly and exit the car. alexander and i walk into the building hand in hand.
we reach big metal doors and alexander opens them with ease. "let's go" he says flatly.

"hey!" i say raising my voice an octave above what it was before "take a beat before we walk in. your angry and i can tell but you can't take it out on them"
he nods and pulls in a breath slowly, then exhaling quickly.

we walk ourselves into the room.
in the center of the room is a large boxing ring, punching bags line the walls.

it's filled with teens, ages 16-19 probably. they're chatting amongst themselves when they notice alexander and i "don" they all speak in unison.
"listen carefully. you are here for your orientation. i will read a list of names and tell you where you'll go. if your name is not read you'll exit the building. clear?"
"yes don"

he begins reading names
"alyssa volkov"
"james harden"
"lexis alessia"
"all of your will report to my office on monday for gun training"
another list of names
"ali nunez"
"justina volkov"
"ginger salvez"
"you three will be training with my wife on knives. if your name was not called you've been cut. leave" alexander was over this and i could tell.

a group of 15 or so teens leave the building. "you are all who made the cut. i know each and every one of your families. don't disappoint me."
we leave the warehouse and make our way back to the house.
its wedding time.