It's a new day on the beach. I am here but Tommaso, Marco and Alessio are not. We agreed to let the past be, and move forward from the tragedy that bonds us. And yet, here I am, putting everyone around me in danger to set a score, an invisible line between what is just and what is not. An eye for an eye. A life for a life.
I close my eyes and smell the air knowing that everyday is precious, every minute matters, and every second should be cherished. The deep rumble of a motorcycle driving up behind me on the pavement next to the beach interrupts my thoughts. I turn around to look at the driver who happens to not be wearing a helmet. His hair is slick and oily, pulled back to reveal an aging face and a hidden strength beneath a pair of soft eyes.
"Adelaide Ancona" the man calls, to which I automatically respond with a nod. In light of my acknowledgement he comes closer and hands me a pair of keys. Attached to the key ring is a horn, a symbol of good luck.
"Who are you?" I ask him, confused by the keys that are now in the palm of my hand.
"I work for Valentino, Miss" the answer of a servant, a check piece. He continues, "Valentino sent me to inform you that the local's bar is as of now your property" he concludes. I look back at the keys in my palm with shock. When I finally look up its because I hear the deep rumble of a motorcycle flying past me into the distance. Maybe taking down the Locals won't be as hard as I envisioned. Then again, Valentino's gesture makes me want him a whole lot more. He is entrusting me with his business, telling me I am ready for power, control.
My phone rings suddenly, causing me to snap out of my trance.
"Hello?" I answer with the phone to my ear, not recognizing the number.
"Hey Ana. It's me." The voice of my own beautiful devil answers and against my own will, my heart flutters and drops to my stomach.
"I got your present" I inform him, knowing that it's the reason he called in the first place.
"Do you like it?" I smile into the phone.
"What does it mean?"
"It means I want to trust you. And I want you to trust me." I shut my eyes. We will never be a team. He confuses my silence for acceptance.
"That's my girl." Greed and hunger are two different things, just like jewelry and power. Why ask for gold when you can take it? The bar is a diamond necklace. How and when I wear it, that's my power. I can use it to uncover the Locals.
"Can I see you tonight?" I ask, biting my lip and waiting nervously for the response. After we had sex I left him, but I need him. Everywhere. Valentino is the only person that could ever make me feel insecure. I have shot people, but somehow the prospect of being rejected by him is scarier. It's not just about desire anymore, however. I need information on the Locals to keep my friends alive. What better way to get it than by getting behind enemy lines?
"Are you sure that's what you want?" The surprise in his voice is undeniable and almost hurtful. But of course, understandable. If it wasn't for Giovanni I wouldn't be asking, no matter how much I wanted to.
"Yes. More than you can imagine." I sigh heavily.
"I can imagine, Ana" his voice holds dark promises of what's to come, and memories of our time together.
"I don't think I'll ever get enough of you..." Valentino groans on the other side of the line, making me smile. I affect him, and we both know it. After being nearly killed I can't wait to be close to him.
"I have some business to attend to right now but I'll be at your house in a couple hours" Grinning I hang up the phone and run home. When I finally get back, Veste is standing in front of my building. He is pacing back and forward. When he finally sees me in front of him from a distance he stops abruptly. For a second we are both immobile. Then, I move, approaching him without fear, but anger.
"What the fuck are you doing here, vigliacco?" I demand, furious. My palm is twitching and I really want to slap him.
"Is it true?" He asks, his jaw rigid. The last time I saw Veste he had tears in his eyes. He had left me to be raped by a group of dirty, disgusting men and when he told me he had cried. I don't know whether he was sad that I was raped, or that I blamed him for it. Or perhaps he was just jealous that he didn't get to be a part of it. As I looked at him now I saw he felt betrayed, angry and hurt.
"Is what true?" A small and ugly grin plays on the side of his mouth. He kicks the dirt beneath his feet before looking back up at me. After a moment of silence my old friend speaks.
"Are you Valentino's whore?" His words penetrate my chest, hitting my heart like a sword. Looking directly into his eyes, I approach until we are standing toe to toe. Then I pull my head back and bang it against his nose, breaking it. He falls to the ground, holding his bleeding face. Instead of calling me names he is staring at me in shock. That's right, I am not the same girl you left on the beach.
"No one calls me a whore. No one! Don't ever speak to me like that again, Veste. If you do I will do more than just break your nose." I walk past him and into the apartment. He doesn't move, or talk. Veste lays there, holding his bleeding nose. I walk around him and inside my apartment.
The house is empty and silence haunts the place I once felt at home in. Shivering, I undress and take a shower. Naked in front of the mirror I brush my long hair and put on some light makeup. Wearing a plain white short dress I head to the kitchen and start cooking. When I was a child, my mom and I used to bake together, mostly because she wanted to prove to my father she could cook if she wanted to. But as time passed and our lives split and I stopped. It feels odd to invite someone so abnormal and devious into such a mundane house to be a part of a common routine such as cooking. No bullets or guns, just baking powder and eggs.
When I turn around to put my cookies in the oven, he is standing by the front door looking like a model at a photoshoot. In jeans and a fitted black t-shirt he looks mischievous and deadly, but beautiful and relaxed all the same. Like a tsunami in the midst of a quiet and content ocean. Surprisingly I am not startled but excited. Only now that he is in front of me I am reminded by how much I actually miss his touch.
I run towards him and wrap my legs around his midsection. His hands find their way on my thighs, which he uses to guide himself between. I push myself as close to him as I can, pressing my lips to his. He strides forwards until I feel a cold marble surface underneath me, holding me up. He grips the back of my neck and presses his lips harder into mine, devouring me. We are so close I can feel him harden between my thighs. Gasping for air I break the kiss and expose my neck, which he kisses with equal passion. One of his hands goes underneath my dress where he finds my naked breast, massaging it before putting it into his mouth. We are grinding against each other so hard I think I am going to come. After our clothes are off, we finally merge. We barely manage to get into the bedroom before Valentino slides out a condom and pushes inside of me, gentle at first and then with more force. He makes me forget... and finally I let myself feel.
"Did you really give me the bar to show me you trust me?" I ask him cautiously with a burning curiosity for his answer.
"I thought you liked it" Valentino answers, evading the meaning behind my inquiry.
"I do, but...why me?" I insist
"Why do you think?" I think about it for a long time as he strokes my naked back. He makes me feel safe, the only person that makes me feel safe.
"As an apology for the circumstances surrounding the way we met?" I ask, almost wishfully.
"Not my style, babe" of course not. I smile, hiding my face under his chin and tracing his abs with my fingers.
"Then why?" I ask once more. He sighs heavily before gripping my chin and pulling it up so that he can look me in the eyes.
"You were born for the throne." He states staring into my eyes before planting a kiss on my forehead. "Throne", a word for a monarch, a ruler, a crown. The word "throne" implies supremacy and dictatorship. There is nothing about it that indicates to democracy, rules or government.
"What does that mean?" I ask, frozen by his seriousness, confused by his hidden smile and the meaning laced behind his words. What throne? The locals' throne? Instead of answering he rolls us over, putting me under submission, at his mercy. He smiles eagerly, biting my throat like an animal and sucking on the skin. It almost hurts until he puts on another condom and slides inside me again. I expect this time to be as hard and intense as before but instead its slow and gentle and eager. I don't think I'll ever get enough of him. Knowing I will eventually kill him makes me hold onto him with such force I think my nails leave marks on his back. My legs tighten around him, holding him prisoner between my thighs. He growls, speeding his movements. I meet him at every thrust, just as eager. We come too soon, and before I can breathe, I want him again.
In each other's arms we stay, hiding from the world and the war that is boiling outside these thin walls. What I want most is to have both my revenge, and him. But that would be impossible. I move away from the warmth of his body and into the kitchen where I had left the keys to the bar. It is just cold metal, yet so much more.
"Good morning" Valentino nearly whispers, appearing behind me. I turn around to meet his eyes, finding that he is not just looking at me, he is studying me with a calculating gaze that begs the question 'what do you want?'. I force a smile but don't drop the keys, instead I grip them tighter in my fist.
"You gonna stab me with those?" He smiles playfully reminding me that he always seems to know what will happen but won't do anything about it. All he has to do is look at you. This time the smile that appears on my lips is for real.
"Not yet" he grins.
"You are so beautiful" We are so close I have to remember that I have a life outside of this house. When his hand goes to the back of my neck, pulling me towards him, I pull back.
"It's Monday" I sigh. His hand doesn't drop, but he is no longer pulling me in for a kiss, only gravity is.
"Monday needs a vacation" I laugh, he is so right.
"I have to go to school" I state the obvious, more to myself than him. He nods in acknowledgement, pressing his lips to mine letting them linger for a second longer than usual before going back to my bedroom.
After showering and getting dressed, which Valentino watches me do wordlessly lying on my bed in only his underwear, showing off his mouth watering abs, I start to head for the door.
"Did you get home alright last night?" he asks just as I am about to open the door. My heart stops in my chest. I turn around and smile.
"Yeah" I reply with an easy shrug. He nods thoughtfully.
"And you slept alright?" he continues. I tell myself he is just being sweet, the way boyfriends usually are.
"Of course. Where is this coming from?" I try to sound casual, but my voice quivers at the end. There is no way he could know about Giovanni.
"Nowhere, just curious." He answers, smiling. I smile back. He gets up from my bed, stalking towards me with a predatory gaze. "You wouldn't betray me, would you?" I shake my head, willing my breath to remain even. I take a slight step back, which he rewards by taking my head between his large hands and kissing me, biting my bottom lip in the process. He releases me and without so much as a second glance, stalks back into the bedroom. Tasting a metallic liquid on my tongue I bring my fingers to my bottom lip. When I pull my hand back, I notice blood. As soon as I hear the shower being turned on, I run out the door.
I almost don't see it, but on my doorstep is an open envelope and a package. I look around but there is no one, yet the envelope is opened. Perhaps whomever left it opened it. I pick it up with caution, its white, light, with red margins. I part the sides to find a note folded in half. It gives me an hour and a date for tonight, underneath is a pair of coordinates. The letter is signed '-G' for Giovanni. Could this be the reason Valentino had asked me where I'd been last night? No, it can't be. If he did find the note, and figured out what it meant, I'd be dead by now. So of course, it can't be him. I am just being paranoid. And even if he did find it, would he know what it meant?
Inside the heavy package there is a gun. It's black, heavy and clean. I shove it in my backpack and head down the apartment stairs. I have twelve hours to come up with something to tell Giovanni, some piece of valuable information, just enough to keep me alive. It all starts with the Local's bar, which I now conveniently own. And the gun... to kill Valentino.