XXVIII

I infiltrate my house and scurry inside to see my entire family seated around the dining room table, eating dinner.

"We need someone to manage those imports, but who?" I hear James say. "I can't think of anyone responsible enough." Mom replies as she raises her fork to take a bite of steak, before she notices me and lowers it.

"Good. You're here." She announces. I walk over to the table and take a seat at the very head, helping myself to a small scoop of potatoes.

I need to find out what's going on with Nico.

"Status update on Nico?" I ask, looking at mom but opening the question to others. My sister takes a large swig of wine and sighs. "He was spotted a few miles outside of New Jersey, which most likely means he's heading back to Luca." She utters.

I can see Francesca is wound up about this topic. She was always close with Nico and his betrayal clearly hurt her the most. She didn't see it coming - none of us did.

Regret races through my mind as I begin to rethink my past decisions. Why didn't I kill him or Luca? I am so fucking stupid.

I have never been one to forgive. Giving out second chances are extremely rare for me. Respect should be earned, not given. The last thing I need is this city thinking I'm soft after sparing the life of someone who betrayed me.

"They are building an even bigger army, but we have backup." James explains. I raise an eyebrow at him and he settles his pint glass down on the table. "We have fully joint forces with the Italian's and the Spanish. They are flying over now." He adds.

"But we can't live in caution. We have to make the most of our lives." Francesca says. "Agreed." I reply.

I rise on my feet and load my plate up with a few dishes on the table. One generous scoop of rosemary scalloped potatoes, a medium rare stake with garlic butter, and some long stem broccoli. "We have to live our lives up. Live with no cares in the world." Harvey contributes to the convocation. I smile and nod in agreement, cutting a thin piece of steak off. "We just have to make sure we are prepared for anything." I say.

"And we are." My mother replies.

I give her a smug look and shove a forkful of potatoes in my mouth. "Cheers to that." I call out, raising my glass. We all stand up and cheers our glasses together with a clash. I drink steadily as the meal progresses. The remainder of dinner is spent with my brother telling an overdramatic story about how he got a waiter fired for spilling wine on his lap.

With Dad gone, my family never really felt complete, but now it is finally starting to feel whole again. I imagine what I could have done differently the day Dad died. If only I could have told him how much he helped me become who I am today.

We wrap dinner up and I assist mom in carrying the dirty dishes out into the kitchen. I hand one final dish to a maid and seat myself at the spacious island. Mom hums to herself whilst making coffee. A lusty hum in cheerful tones, as if she doesn't have a care in the world.

She offers me a coffee and I accept. I take a sip of it, having an instant regret when my tongue begins to burn. "Owch." I laugh as I wipe my mouth with a napkin. She blows straight into her mug and places it down for a moment to cool.

"You know, as you're technically leader now, you should be taking care of some of the business in this family." She says, averting her gaze from her coffee to me. "I know, and I promise I will be more involved." I reply.

She smiles as if I told her exactly what she wanted to hear.

I'll admit, I have been pretty distracted lately, focusing on the wrong things. I need to sort myself out and get back into my old habits.

I finish my coffee and head into the living room to relax for a bit. I sink onto the couch and groan as I think back to tonights events. I am such an idiot. Having sex with Marco. He's so obnoxious its sexy. I want to punch him, scratch him, hurt him, and then have him overpower me, pin me down, and screw me senseless. I don't know what I want more, to kiss him or to kill him.

The plan was to fuck him out of my system, but that hasn't really worked.

He challenges me and I like it.

I pinch myself hard.

He's an asshole.

"What are you thinking about?" Harvey asks as him and James stalk into the living room. I wait for them to take a seat before responding. "Just thinking about Nico and how we have to put an end to him." I lie. I was definitely not thinking about Nico.

"I get it. But don't be a grumpy Gertrude." James says as he flicks my nose. I wince and push his hand away, smiling slightly. The two boys laugh and fist bump but stop when they see how unimpressed I am.

"We should all go out tomorrow night." Harvey suggests, waiting for me to approve. Francesca immediately bursts into the room as if she was waiting outside. "Yes! We have to go out. I'll text Amelia." She says.

"You're inviting the Cortez's?" I ask in an instant. She looks up from her phone and squints her eyes at me. "Yeah. Is that okay?" She questions. My head shakes automatically before I convert the shakes into nods. "Yeah. It will be fun."

Honestly, I'm dreading it. Me and Marco out together could go one of two ways.

Terrible or terrible.

Harvey and James both begin to wander towards the door before James stops in his tracks and turns his head to me. "Remember to be up bright and early for training tomorrow, Lana!" He yells enthusiastically before throwing me a wink. I flip him off and let out an huffy sigh.

Fantastic.

***

06:30.

"Rise and shine!" James yells as he practically kicks my bedroom door down. He jogs into my room with a suspicious grin on his face and flings my curtains open. Light pours into the room and I grab my pillow, almost suffocating myself with it, trying to shield the sunlight out.

"Seriously, James." I mumble into the pillow. He chuckles and snatches the pillow from me. "Get up." He demands. I reluctantly obey him and roll out of bed, stumbling into the bathroom.

I splash ice cold water onto my face and brush my teeth before pulling a sports bra and leggings from my closet. I shut myself in the bathroom and dress myself, tying my hair into a loose ponytail. James doesn't even give me time to breathe before he grabs me by the arm. "Great, lets go." He says, dragging me out of the door. I accept my fate and follow his steps to the cars parked outside.

The car ride is short and sweet, only lasting around five minutes, giving me a little time to wake myself up. We approach the training centre and a few memories arise in my mind from the last time I was here.

With dad.

I shake the thoughts out of my head as I push the door open for me and James. I look around to see a knife throwing station, a boxing ring, punching bags, and much more. The layout of the room remains pretty much the same as it has been in the past.

I take a step onto a mat in the middle of the room and see an unfamiliar man waiting for me - already warmed up, his firm muscles covered in sweat. His muscular torso is hardly covered by his tank top and I struggle to shift my glance from his muscles.

The sound of James's voice snaps me out of my daze. "You work with Logan on this station and I'll be waiting in the ring for you after."

I don't even have a chance to nod before he walks away, leaving me and the trainer alone together.

"Hello, Milana." He calls out. I look at him with slight suspicion. "You know me?" I question.

My eyes stray to his and he directs a few steps towards me. "Everybody knows your name around here." He explains. I nod in understanding. I used to be a threat to this city, killing people for even the littlest amount of disrespect.

"Alright, let's get started, shall we?" He asks, motioning for me to move towards him. I stride over to him and stand straight. His eyes linger on mine for a moment, searching them as if there's something he wants to say, before he moves into a formal stance.

I easily learn all of the slow and fast combinations of Tai Chi fighting style, however my attention is often distracted by his muscular body.

"Take up a stance, Milana." He demands. I stand facing him, spreading my legs to either side with my hands behind my back.

"How do you plan to defend yourself with your arms behind you?" He asks.

I chuckle.

"I have the art of distraction on my side." I speak with a cocky smile. He smiles back, but his gaze becomes blurry, and naturally slides down my body. However, Logan quickly regains his posture and looks straight into my eyes.

"Oh, I'm sure it's something else that counts in your favour."

His words strike me silent and I replay them over and over again in my mind. Maybe this class will be fun after all...

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