The next morning, I woke to a knock on the door. I reached across the bed but the space beside me was empty. With a groan, I stood. The pain had subsided drastically and I was just slightly uncomfortable.
I opened the door and Lance smiled at me.
“You ready to train?”
“Yes! Just give me 10 minutes to shower.”
“Alright. I'll be out back on the patio.”
I quickly jumped in the shower. I scrubbed my skin until it was red, still trying to scrub away the Mark left on my skin.
Ten minutes later, I made my way across the lawn toward the warehouse. Lance strolled next to me, humming a tune.
“Lance, please stop humming.”
He laughed at me and began humming louder. I punched his shoulder.
“Ow!” He yelped. “I don't think you need much training with that arm.”
I rolled my eyes at him but a small smile graced my lips.
We stepped through the big doors on the warehouse. Boxes adorned the walls. The place was very organized. No doubt my father's doing.
“So, your sister?”
“Yeah?” I smirked over at him.
“She's your age, I'm assuming? Since you're twins?”
“Mhm?”
“Okay, just wondering.”
I bumped my shoulder with his as we made it to the stairs. “Why are you so interested in her?” I joked.
He grabbed my arm and stopped me. I turned to look at him. His face was serious so I dropped my smile.
“Lyla, at the ball, I told you that I had a crush on you. And I did. Except, it was a little more than a silly crush. I thought I could just get over it but I couldn't. Then, a woman walks in who looks almost identical to you, and my whole world flips. Maybe, I don't know. Maybe she's meant for me. Maybe that's why I met you.”
My eyes widened at his confession. “Wow.”
He nodded. “Anyways, let's get down there, yeah?”
I smiled up at him. “Yeah.”
We walked down the steps and Lance opened a door. I was met with the smell of blood and sweat. It burned my nostrils but yet filled my body with a wild feeling of anticipation.
Men were everywhere. Some punching heavy bags, others punching each other. There was a gym area to the side and there were men there as well. Niccolai made his way toward me.
“Welcome, love. You're the first woman to step foot down here.”
“It's 'No girls allowed',” Lance winked at me.
“Why is that?”
“The women here don't train. They stay out of harms way. Women are meant for the home. Cleaning, cooking, raising the children, all that. The men handle the business.”
I scrunched my nose in disgust. I didn't like that idea.
Why do men get to do all the heavy lifting?
“Don't worry, dear cousin of mine. You get to have your nose all in the business. You are the Mafia Queen after all.”
I smirked at him. “Let's get to work.”
…….
A few hours later, I plopped on the mat, sweat making a trail down my face.
Lance made me go to the gym area first to stretch and work my muscles before I went to the mat with Niccolai.
Let me just say, Niccolai did not take it easy on me. As soon as I stepped foot on the mat, he threw out his leg and knocked my feet out from under me. Landing on my ass, I swung my foot out and caught his, causing him to do the same.
“Nice one,” he smirked at me.
We went on like this for hours. Fighting each other until my muscles gave out. I'm sure to have a few bruises tomorrow but I'm not angry because he'll have a few as well. This is what I want. I want to feel powerful.
I stood from the mat and walked over to grab a towel. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him. He was leaning against the wall next to the door, eyes glued to me.
How long has he been there? Did he see my fight with Niccolai?
I grabbed my towel and a water before walking to him. I could feel sweat drip between my boobs. I only had on a sports bra and shorts at this point. I slung my tank top off sometime during the fight.
“How long have you been there?” I called. He pushed himself off the wall and walked to me quickly.
As soon as he was close enough, he reached out and grabbed my hips. Pulling me to him, he crashed his lips to mine. I sighed and leaned into him. Our bodies molded together as I wove my arms around his neck.
Suddenly, I was lifted from the ground and thrown on a mat to the side of us. My back hit the ground, knocking the breath out of me. I coughed, trying to recover.
“What the fuck?” I yelled. He glared down at me.
“You never ever let your guard down Lyla.”
I stood quickly and punched him in the stomach. My knuckles cracked on the impact and he didn't even budge. I growled and jumped up. Pulling myself up his body, I wrapped my legs around his head and left arm. I began squeezing my legs tightly, pulling his arm up as hard as I could. I felt him waiver before throwing us both down on the mat. I hit the mat on my side this time, my elbow digging into my side. I groaning in pain as I rolled away from him. He grabbed my ankle and pulled me under him. He pinned my flailing limbs down as I attempted to punch and kick him. Thinking quickly, I threw my leg up, kneeing him in the balls and crawled away quickly. He groaned in pain and rolled unto his back.
As he withered in pain, I thought of a strategy. He would recover soon and I needed to think quick. I rolled my shoulders back as he began to stand. He may be a good foot taller than me, but I was going to make that his disadvantage. I quickly ran toward him before dropping and sliding under his legs. On my way through, I grabbed on of his ankles and yanked, causing him to land on his face. This only seemed to anger him. I quickly jumped on top of his back and grabbed the hair on the back of his skull. I began beating his head into the ground.
“Lyla!” I heard someone roar. I turned my head and looked over at Lance, who looked terrified. “Stop.”
I looked down and saw Jaxon wiping the blood that was now gushing from his nose. “Shit,” I stood quickly and backed away from him. He rose quietly. I looked around at all the men who were now staring at me, shock evident in their features.
I looked back at Jaxon, scared of what I would see. When my eyes met his, I saw nothing but admiration.
“Well done, my love. You kicked my ass,” he smirked. Looking out to all of the other men surrounding us, he spoke. “There you have it men. Your Queen. Do you have any doubt now that she can rule you?”
One by one, the men around us shook their heads. All eyes were on me. I looked at Niccolai who looked highly amused.
“She kicked the ass of the most powerful man in our Mafia.”
“Most powerful other than one,” I heard my father's voice behind me. He had a smirk on his face. “Go clean up Jaxon. Meet Lyla and I in the armory in 20.”
“Yes sir.”
“Lyla, come.” He began walking back to the stairwell. I followed behind him quickly.
“What am I doing now?”
“Time you learn how to properly shoot every gun we own as well as how to defend yourself with other weapons.”
I smirked at him. “Finally! I've been waiting for this part all day.”
“I'm going to start you off slow. A pistol, a shotgun, knives, things like that. The more accurate you become on those, we'll move on to bigger.”
My father led me out of the warehouse to another building standing slightly smaller behind it.
The smell of gunpowder was strong as we opened the doors. There was so many shots being fired at once, it almost sounded like a song. Oddly enough, the sound comforted me. Perhaps I was always meant for this life.
My father led me to a room. Inside, guns hung on racks on the walls. Knives and other weapons adorned the tables.
“Lyla,” my dad called. I turned my head and a gun was tossed to me. I caught it with ease and lifted it to the light. It was some sort of revolver. The handle was white pearl. It contrasted beautifully with the black barrel. I looked closely and saw my name engraved into the barrel. It was absolutely beautiful.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“It's all yours. .38 Revolver. I figure it should be a good start. You ready?”
I smiled at him. “Definitely.”
>>>>>
The Bodyguard of the Mafia boss's daughter (part 28/32)