TW: Rape. Non-descript but mentioned.
Artemisia
Waking up that morning was the strangest thing I had experienced in a very long time. Years even.
Dramatic, I know, but it was so foreign to me.
I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings, the cream linen curtains cascaded the floor to ceiling windows with a gentleness that made it more difficult for me to remember where I was. Something so gentle in the home of someone so ruthless.
My body tensed for a moment as I registered the weight of the arm wrapped around my stomach, and the feeling of the rock-hard chest pressed against my back. But it vanished as quick as it came, because I knew who this body enveloping mine belonged to.
I wasn't in a position where I had to jump up and get my things together as stealthily as possible before doing a disappearing act.
I felt safe here.
I was in the tattooed arms of Anton, who remained asleep behind me as I pushed myself further into him and allowed a long, slow sigh to emerge from my lips.
This was peaceful, almost too peaceful, and it made me ask whether this had gone too far. I refused to let myself consider relationships that went past sex, after all life had to offer I didn't feel all too trusting of many.
Yet here I was, relaxing back into the body of a man who took lives like he took vodka, whilst his grip around my waist only tightened and a sigh emerged from his lips behind me. I shut my eyes with a soft smile, the pondering thoughts being pushed to the back of my mind as he dipped his head and placed a kiss on the back of my shoulder before trailing his lips up to my neck.
"Good morning angel," he mumbled against my neck before placing kisses over the hickeys he had left yesterday. I smiled, it wasn't the first time he'd called me that, and I would be lying if it didn't make my stomach flip.
I turned in his arms and watched as he lifted himself to hover over me, a small smile on his face as I played with his silver chain in between my fingers. Anton leant down, almost like he was doing a push up, and pressed his lips to mine in a deep kiss that led to half an hour of early morning sex.
And we were back to where we started.
I'd made it after changing to the seven am training on time, the hickeys on my neck not going unnoticed as I received some playful jeers from Alvaro and Sam, ignoring the unhappy gaze that Jacob had settled on me as we got to work.
My head was elsewhere however, and I found myself slacking in training as I attempted to get the thoughts of Anton and Leandro out of my head, and it started to work as I sparred with Alvaro two hours in, but it was short lived.
"Jacob, Arté, Alvaro, let's go." David called, my shoulders dropped with a groan and I turned with a look of irritation to expect to see an impatient David, but no. I saw an impatient Leandro and Domenico with him too.
I narrowed my eyes at the man before being nudged by Alvaro to get out the ring and with a huff I took off the black gloves and ducked under the ropes.
I looked a mess, and the burning stare I was receiving from the Italian man wasn't helping my assured confidence as I walked towards them and followed Jacob into David's office.
Why did I care what Leandro thought?
The two men followed us in and I got settled in my usual spot, leaning against the wall behind David's desk with folded arms and pursed lips, before looking up once more to find Leandro's eyes fixed on me once more.
"Is there something on my face?" I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him. I assumed it maybe would have been to do with the fact that I was just in a sports bra and shorts, but apparently not.
"More like your neck," Leandro said lazily as he lifted his gaze from my body and walked to one of the arm chairs in the corner of the room.
I lifted my hand to my neck and rolled my eyes, wanting to kick both Anton and Leandro equally as hard, but before I could make a remark Jacob was tossing his hoodie at me. I caught it and held it up with a look of confusion, but when I read the look in his eyes I understood that maybe it would have been best.
"Fine," I muttered, pulling the hoodie that swallowed me whole on.
"We've got an update from Gianluca, he sent Domenico a message an hour ago saying he was coming to New York and would be at the gala tonight." Leandro muttered, and I watched as his fist tightened and relaxed as he relayed the news. "You're supposed to be going to that with Raul, no?"
I tore my eyes away from him as he turned to look at me, "Yeah, I am."
"Well, good for you that Anton and I are both having to make a late entrance. You'll be able to get stuff on both of them without either of us getting in your way." He sighed
"Arté, this means you're gonna have to be really clever about what you say to Raul tonight. He can't walk away from this suspecting anything." David said, and I saw the look of concern in his eyes. It was rare for him to be nervous.
"Got it," I nodded, pushing my back harder into the wall to ground myself.
"Good, same set up as last time, Jacob and Alvaro on surveillance and I'll be with them." David said, and I made a move to go to the door, taking it that my presence wasn't needed any longer.
"Artemisia," his deep voice spoke suddenly, cutting through the silence with his commanding tone. I turned to face him, keeping a look of boredom on my face. "Make sure you cover up the animal bites you've got on your neck, don't want Raul thinking you've caught anything." Leandro muttered, and for all Alvaro found it comical, Leandro found it less than as he ran a tense hand down his thigh.
I met his gaze as I spoke next, my enraged eyes meeting his dark ones.
"Yeah, well you keep yours on a leash tonight. I can't be bothered for any of her drama," I snapped back before spinning on my heels and walking out the room, anger coursing through me.
That was enough of this place for me today, and I left on my own accord, telling Sam to ask Alvaro or Jacob what had me in such a foul mood, before deciding to run home as a means to get rid of my own anger.
-
I gazed at myself in the reflection of the windows outside the hotel, wondering if white was the best option, but I settled on the fact that it was considering the attention I was getting.
No, I wasn't happy about the attention, I was happy about the fact that Raul would see that he had competition, and the man seemed to be one of those who was careless in proving his masculinity.
Even if it meant spilling secrets that could have his entire family killed when traced back to him.
And when we walked into the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria I felt an excitement wash over me, I had a good feeling that tonight I was going to get somewhere with this man. It reminded me of what my life was like prior to Leandro's presence, how much I loved the thrill of the chase.
So, I got to work.
Raul was handsy, but I knew better than to say anything. I was just looking forward to the moment that the infamous Gianluca would show up.
Raul and I stood talking to a hedge fund manager and I kept my sweetest smile plastered on my lips as my eyes pulled away to scan the room at intervals. We'd been going from guest to guest for an hour now, and I had to keep on introducing myself as Artemisia Pericelo, the poker player.
It wasn't a lie. I was fucking phenomenal at poker.
However, the usual comments of men being sexist and impressed at the same time started to make me bored, and I was counting down the moments until this Gianluca came into sight, or Anton and Leandro would be making an entrance.
I got lucky however, because as we began to walk to the bar Raul spotted the man before I could, and a smirk came to his lips.
"I want to introduce you to someone," he said as we walked through crowd of people to the bar that ran across the entire length of the room.
"Who?" I asked innocently, my grip on his arm tightening a little as a false sign of comfort.
"You know the men I said my boss and I are working against, he's one of their guys, and he's had enough of his own boss." Raul smirked as I looked up at him, I knew better than to say anything at all in a situation like this, so I allowed him to lead us to the man who stood at 5'10 in a navy blue suit with a smirk on his lips as he stared at me.
"Raul," he greeted with a thick accent. "Who's this?"
"Artemisia," I smiled, avoiding my last name being announced in case of any link to my father being made.
"Lovely to meet you Artemisia," he smiled, I couldn't recognise this man, and I had a feeling that he was far removed from the operation, perhaps being kept in Italy to run things there until the Torromandi operation spread further down the east coast.
"You too," I smiled gently before turning to the bar and getting myself a whiskey. I stayed in-tune with the conversation happening behind me however, detecting Gianluca's hesitant tone as he began to speak.
"You can trust her," Raul said lowly, "I've done the checks, no traces to anyone."
I let out a sigh of relief as the bartender handed me my drink, and I spun around with the same graceful smile on my face as I turned back to the men.
"Well, Leo didn't seem bothered about me coming. He said it would be good for me to see how things worked here." Gianluca said, and I kept quiet as I innocently gazed over at him.
"Good, well we need to know as much as possible." Raul said, placing a hand on the small of my back.
"He seems to be uninterested in a possible takeover, I mentioned it briefly today. He said he would be willing to talk about options with you guys. It kind of gave me the impression that he was open to a partnership." Gianluca said as he kept eye contact with Raul.
I had a moment of sympathy. Leandro's clean up job had possibly affected attitude as a whole, more than just the immediate families, this guy could have lost his father and was probably never even given a reason as to why he was killed.
But then I checked myself. Since when did I care about consequences? Especially consequences that impacted people who worked with the Torromandi's.
"We won't have a partnership, we want a takeover, and we'll force them into it." Raul said, "Your safety, and the safety of the Russian will be first priority if we continue to have your cooperation. We want you in the plan."
I furrowed a brow, one that didn't raise suspicion, Raul had never explicitly told me what he did but it was easy to infer it from his words as the naïve woman he assumed me to be.
"Agreed, there is no room. How are you going to execute that though?" Gianluca asked as I stepped into Raul's side a little more, easing him into talking with the smugness that the act provided him with.
"Some of the politicians around here don't have the best reputation, blackmail is a beautiful thing. If we blackmail them, they'll give us the deals they have with Leandro and Anton. We can threaten to expose them all." Raul shrugged. I lifted the glass to my lips as I felt Gianluca's gaze settle on me.
"And when? Leo can't do suspense, he likes to move with things quickly so he'll approach you sooner or later." Gianluca said
"Soon, the boss is getting more intel on them from a PI."
"A good one?" Gianluca asked
"Joseph Blake," Raul mentioned, and my body relaxed. Joseph wouldn't sell me out, and I knew that he would be playing my game too. He was the man I got my intel from about Gianluca and Illiya. Question was why he didn't tell me.
"Good," Gianluca nodded, "and her?"
He nodded at me, and I was slightly taken back by his casual nature. I gave Raul a look of confusion before settling my gaze on Gianluca once more. Raul chuckled as his hand slipped around my waist and pulled me firmly against his side.
"She'll be of great use when we need to do some persuasion." Raul smirked, and I gave a small smile, feeling intimidated by the Italian across from me, but also annoyed with the Mexican by my side.
Who did he think he was to just assume that this character I had created was going to sit by him? I hadn't even kissed the man yet, and if this was his way of trying to protect me from Gianluca then fair enough, but the look he gave me after he'd said those words made me believe otherwise.
However, my head shot to the entrance of the ballroom, and I watched as Anton came in with a woman on his arm. A beautiful blonde who's eyes were such a crystal blue, and for some reason, I felt myself tense totally.
No, it wasn't the fact that he and Raul were about to interact. It was the fact that he had another woman on his arm and seemed to be enjoying her company.
And then it got worse as Leandro strolled in with Clemmie, a look of total indifference as powerful men greeted him and his wife.
I looked back to the two men I was with, but Gianluca was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did he go?" I asked innocently
"His boss just got here, can't be seen with me." Raul smirked as he looked down at me. He placed a hand on my cheek, and I knew that he was about to kiss me. So, for the cause, I let him.
It was selfish, his lips were harsh against mine, his arm pulling me around to press my body into his, and his other hand gripped the back of my neck.
I smiled against his lips before pulling away, keeping a look of composure as I placed a hand on his chest, about to say something before we were interrupted with the clearing of someone's throat.
I looked over my shoulder to see Anton and the woman he had brought along. Anton had a face like thunder as he watched me step back to the side of Raul, and I was grateful that at least I wasn't the only one who found it difficult.
"Anton," Raul greeted curtly as he shook the Russian's hand.
"Good to see you Raul. Who's this?" He said, his eyes fixed on me to the point of making me want to cower behind the enemy.
"This is Artemisia," He introduced, and I gave Anton a smile before looking over at the woman on his left. She looked irritated, a burning glare coming my way, and I wondered if she meant more to Anton than I had originally thought.
But before anything else could be said, Leandro joined the group with Clemmie on his arm.
"Leandro," Raul greeted, his stern composure not changing under the circumstances. "This is Artemisia."
I held my breath as he shook my hand, and looked over to Clemmie who had a look of irritation on her face, but she knew better than to say anything. It had probably been explained to her beforehand.
"How's business Raul?" Leandro asked, a small smirk on his lips. "You've been doing a lot of talking, with everyone but us."
Raul chuckled, "Just getting to know people Leandro,"
"I'm sure," Anton muttered as he stared at me, "We should have dinner, the three of us." Anton suggested, and Raul nodded.
"Sounds good," he nodded, "but, if you'll excuse us, Artemisia and I were about to leave."
"So soon?" Leandro asked
Raul chuckled, "she's been with me for more than an hour, these things are so boring that she deserves to have some fun."
I smiled as I relaxed my body against his side, feeling his grip on my waist tighten as he began to pull me away, and that was it. We were leaving, and I was back on task.
-
Leandro
There were very few things that got on my nerves, but arrogance never failed to.
Raul was arrogant, too arrogant for his own good.
It was one thing being arrogant when you'd made a secure claim for yourself, it was another thing being arrogant when everyone around you knew you looked like a fool.
He was foolish to be so open about being in New York, foolish to show his face at so many events, foolish to even think that I would consider a deal.
He was foolish to think that I wouldn't detect the rat problem, with or without Artemisia.
Raul and Manuel were foolish men, foolishness fuelled by their arrogance, and Anton and I were having none of it.
The night had ended, it was two in the morning and I was sat in my study smoking, still dressed in the same suit without the jacket and the tie, sleeves rolled up, and my head down as I stared at my desk.
However, I was pulled out of it by my phone blaring and an unknown number coming up. Hesitantly I answered the call, pulling my mind away from my anger.
"Leo?" The unmistakable voice asked, she sounded breathless and scared, I could hear the chatter of people around her.
"What's wrong Arté?" I immediately asked, straightening out.
"Where are you?"
"Home, why?" I asked, she sounded like she was trying not to panic. Her silence was loud, rarely did the woman not have an answer. "Artemisia, tell me what's happened."
"He, well he tried to, I mean he did--" She cut herself off and my entire body stiffened, an immediate surge of rage running through me as I finished the end of her sentence in my head.
"Did you deal with him?" I asked, my voice was low as I did my best to keep calm.
"That's the thing, I couldn't fight him off properly, he would have suspected something, so I just..."
Her voice drifted out, I couldn't hear emotion, I could hear her shutting down on me. Maybe she was wondering why she even called, or maybe she was trying to process it. I didn't know, but what I did know was that she needed someone, and she had called me.
"Where are you Arté, I'll pick you up." I said, standing from my desk and grabbing my keys from the draw.
"I--It's okay,"
"Artemisia, where are you." I said, my tone was almost one of warning, but I couldn't help the anger I felt.
"By the Howard Hotel," she said quietly.
"I'll be there in ten minutes, don't move." I said as I walked at pace through the halls, nodding to a guard standing by the door, and unlocking the silver range rover that stood at the front of the house.
I felt nothing but anger, nothing but rage, and nothing but an intense desire to kill anyone who had ever harmed her; but then again, I would have to kill myself.
I thought about it, how once again I had put her in harms way with my insistence that she should be the one to carry out this hit. I thought about how I'd sat by and done nothing, and then about how I had to sit on those phone calls and pretended as if her captors' words didn't impact me.
I'd thought about it all, and before I knew it I was pulling up to the hotel. Artemisia walked out of the foyer immediately and towards the car, she looked drained, and I noticed red marks on her neck that weren't the result of hickeys.
My anger had soared.
"Where does he live?" I muttered as I pulled out.
"Doesn't matter Leo," she mumbled as she looked out the window. "He just got a bit ahead of himself."
I looked at her as we pulled into traffic, and I saw the emptiness of her expression. She was so drained that she didn't even have the ability to express it.
"Arté," I murmured, pulling her gaze to me. "What can I do to make this better?"
She pursed her lips as I held her gaze, trying to find something in her eyes that told me she was here and present, but I couldn't.
"Drop me home? I don't know why I called you." She said, so quietly it was almost a whisper. I took a deep breath before nodding, but I couldn't let her be alone tonight.
We sat in silence for a few minutes as I drove through the streets of Manhattan, my gaze flickering to her every now and again as she leant the side of her head against the window.
"He could make out those hickeys under my makeup after a while," she murmured, "that's how it started to get out of hand."
I felt my grip on the wheel tighten, a sickening feeling overcoming me. "What did he say?" I rasped
She let out a dry chuckle, "He said that a slut like me should know that he doesn't share." My jaw tightened as I gulped, feeling the anger run through me. I was growing restless, desperate to grab my gun and find him. "He said that if I wanted to keep my place in this world, then I should know what's good for me and let him fuck me, and then he said that i should feel lucky that he wasn't going to toss me to the side like the others, that he planned on keeping me around."
Her voice was so detached and airy, as if she was telling me about a minor disagreement she'd had with someone.
"Artemisia," I breathed, "where does he live." I muttered, my gaze fixed on the road but my jaw clenched so hard I felt it could break.
Artemisia didn't say anything however, she just reached her hand across and placed it on my bicep, trailing the tips of her fingers across the span, letting out a brief sigh.
"I just want to go home Leo," she said gently, looking over at me, and I saw the first hint of emotion in her eyes that night. "Please."
"Okay," I nodded in defeat, the simple act of her touch doing enough to make me give up my position.
She trailed her hand up to my shoulder and squeezed it gently in thanks before withdrawing her hand and looking out the window once more as we entered her familiar upscale neighbourhood. It made me wonder how many hits she'd had to carry out, how much money she made from each, and whether she actually wanted the life she had.
But then I looked over at her once more as we turned a corner and I saw the sadness that had made it's way to her expression, a look of solemnity shrouded her being as she remained deep in thought.
"I don't want to leave you alone tonight Arté," I said in the midst of the silence, and she turned her head to look at me with a look of indifference.
"Are you offering to stay?" She asked as I pulled into the valet in front of her building.
"Yeah, I am."
She kept her gaze fixed to mine for a moment, before nodding and exiting the car. I handed my keys to the on-call valet who provided me with a ticket as we walked into the building and I followed her towards the lift, her white dress making her seem like a living phantom as she sailed through the modern foyer.
She looked back at me as she stood by the lift before stepping into it and turning to face me as I walked in. Her eyes were filled with uncertainty, and based off the way she was playing with the ring on her finger I could tell that she felt nervous.
However, this nervousness wasn't as a result of my presence. She had something to say to me, and I wanted her to say it.