Mafia Princess Read online

  "They're coming here. They're coming for us."

  Chapter 13

  After Alexis' attack, Lucas couldn't help but feel overly protective of her. Once they got over their misunderstanding he walked her to and from every class he could which sometimes meant running from one side of the school to the other. He was constantly watching the crowds of students moving around them, watching for any sign that one of them wanted to cause the girl tucked against his side, harm. He never saw a threat, but it didn't stop him from doing it day after day. He just couldn't stop seeing her lying on the bricks out cold, her blood on the wall.

  By the next week he could tell that she was just humouring him. Emilia on the other hand wasn't quite so accommodating. Alexis was late coming out of a class due to the teacher wanting to discuss something with her when Emilia sidled up next to him.

  "Look Luc, I get it you've got a thing for Lex, but constantly being around is starting to look a little stalkerish." Out of all the things he'd thought she would say, that hadn't been one of them. He was so shocked that he didn't know how to respond at all.

  "I'm kidding, sort of," she added with a small smirk playing on her lips. "I do get it. Seeing her like that, you can't unsee it. You know the next day I was so angry that she'd come to school all to prove a point to people who didn't matter that I snapped at her. She thought you were mad at her, and she was all ready to let you go so you wouldn't have to deal with her 'drama', and I couldn't help thinking that she should've been more concerned with herself. It didn't help that you hadn't stopped texting me asking how she was."

  Lucas remembered that day well. He hadn't slept at all the night before, and when Emilia had finally texted him back telling him that Alexis was having lunch at the front of the school, he'd left his friends with barely a 'seeya later'. When Alexis had run into him and he'd noticed the tears in her eyes, it tugged at his heart.

  "If you hadn't sent that text when you did, I might not have caught her in time, and things might've ended up differently."

  Emilia had considered this as well, but after seeing the two of them together, she had come to only one conclusion.

  "I don't think so. The two of you just work too well together. It might've taken you a little longer to get together, but you would've ended up together no matter what."

  "I didn't take you as someone who believed in fate," Lucas smiled down at her.

  "Well if you're going to be in Alexis' life then it's about time we got to know each other properly," Emilia pointed out. That's when it dawned on him, he hadn't asked Alexis to be his girlfriend yet, not officially anyway.

  "Shit," he muttered under his breath, but not low enough for Emilia to not hear.

  "Finally clicked did it?"

  All he could do was stare at her in disbelief.

  "It's only the most discussed topic behind closed doors for the past week," was all she gave as an explanation before Alexis exited the classroom.

  Lucas smiled at her as he took her tiny hand in his and as the three of them headed to his car, he couldn't help but wonder at how Emilia had known.

  Chapter 14

  "Okay now that we've covered the basics, lets work on bursting." Carmen and Alexis had been in the training room for almost two hours now. Carmen had started them off with some basic Krav Maga, knowing her daughter didn't have the patience and discipline for Karate.

  "Throw a punch and I'm going to show you how to block and burst in and attack at the same time. What this does is it closes the distance between you and your opponent limiting the ways in which they can keep attacking you. It always gives you simultaneous blocking and attacking opportunity. Now go."

  Alexis swung out at her mother, not worrying anymore that she'd actually make contact. Before she knew what had happened, her right arm was locked up in her mum's left, and her mum's knee was pressing against her thigh. Releasing her daughter, Carmen took a step back and allowed her to get her bearings back. When Alexis nodded at her, she went again, but slower this time, explaining what she was doing as she did it.

  "Block the attack, as you're doing that you reach out with your other hand and grasp their shoulder, wrap your arm around theirs and hold your hand against your chest, step into their personal space and bring your knee up as you pull them towards you. For a guy this would be a lot more painful but it's still going to hurt if you're attacked by a woman. Next time I'll show you how to move your opponent from this position to one where you dislocate their shoulder and make them regret ever coming at you. Now I'm going to do the move one more time, and then it's your turn."

  Another half an hour later and the two women were calling it quits for the day. They were both exhausted and sweaty but exhilarated at the same time. Alexis felt a new sense of power that she'd never felt before. The lesson had just been basic, but she was more excited about their next training session then she ever had been about self-defence training before. She knew that tomorrow her body would hate her for using all the muscles she didn't even know existed, but it was worth it to feel like she could protect herself properly.

  Before she made her way upstairs for a much-needed shower, Alexis turned back to her mum and wrapped her in a hug.

  "Thank you. Seriously, I love you so much."

  She squeezed her arms tighter around her mum in an effort to convey just how much it all meant to her. Words would never be enough.

  ◆◆◆

  "So how did the first lesson go?" Tony asked as he dished out dinner. While he was not adverse to making dinner, or even helping his wife while she made dinner it felt somewhat comical that the main women in his life were being violent while he was being a domestic god.

  "Really good. Mum taught me how to lock someone's arm in mine so they can't take it back, and tomorrow she's going to show me how to move from invading someone space to putting them in a headlock."

  Alexis' excitement over something as simple as a headlock brought a smile to Tony's face. The events of Monday afternoon had scared him beyond belief. His baby girl hadn't been admitted to a hospital since the day she was born. And while she had owned up to having a bit of a headache when she got home from school on Tuesday, he could tell that there was something she wasn't telling. She hated to admit that she was wrong, hated admitting she needed help even more.

  "Sounds like you made good progress. You were down there for a while."

  "Well she's a natural born fighter our kid," Carmen smiled proudly at their daughter.

  The praise made Alexis sit up a little straighter in her seat. As loving and compassionate as Carmen was towards her family, she didn't heap praise on her child like Alexis had seen so many other mothers do. So when Alexis did something that elicited such compliments, she couldn't help but want to burst.

  "Alexis, there is something we need to tell you." Putting his fork down next to his plate, Tony knew that it was now or never. They'd put off telling Alexis about her cousin's death for two days now. She was obviously feeling better. If they waited any longer, it would look as though they were hiding it from her.

  "Your cousin Ricky, he died a few days ago. His funeral is on Sunday."

  It took a few moments for her to absorb the words that had just been said. It was almost surreal. Ricky wasn't just part of the Family, he was family.

  Blood.

  Alexis had never lost someone related to her before. Sure her mum's parents had died, but that was before she had been born. Ricky had been one of those cousins that she saw a few times a year for big birthdays and Christmas, but he'd always been around and he was always coming back soon. His next visit would've been for her sixteenth birthday in a few months.

  "How did he die?" She already knew how though. It was this life they lived. Everyone in the Family died eventually, and ninety-eight percent of them died because of something related to the Family.

  "That's not important hun. We're holding the wake here though, so there's going to be a lot of set up happening on Saturday. His parents shouldn't have to worry abou
t entertaining at a time like this," Carmen explained. She dreaded having all the women of the family here that day, in her kitchen, fighting amongst themselves while preparing the food. However Carmen also knew that there was no way she could pull all of this together on her own without hiring an army of people. And that just wasn't the way that they did things.

  "You don't need to be here on Saturday, everyone is going to be here, and I know it can be a bit much for you."

  Alexis appreciated her mum's offer, but she also knew how insane the family drove her mum. Dad wouldn't be allowed in the kitchen; these women were old fashioned.

  "It's okay, I'll be here. After all you need a buffer, and I loved Ricky. I should be here to help."

  This time it was Tony's turn to smile proudly at his little girl. She always stepped up to the plate when it counted.

  ◆◆◆

  By the next morning Lucas had thought up an elaborate plan to ask Alexis to be his girlfriend. He was going to take her on a night hike of the national forest park and they were going to sit under the stars. He'd get some chocolate truffles from the chocolate factory she'd told him about near their school, bring a few blankets, it'd be perfect.

  At least that's what he thought until he saw her face Friday morning. He'd come to her homeroom before the morning bell so he could ask her out for Saturday night, but seeing her standing there not even noticing the countless number of people brushing past her to deposit their own bags or grabbing books, the thought flew from his mind. She looked like the ground had fallen out from under her.

  "Lex? What's wrong?" She didn't seem to hear him at all. When he reached out and touched her arm she jerked back to reality.

  "Woah Lex, it's just me. What's wrong?" There was conflict going on in her mind. He could see it in her eyes. Finally she spoke but her voice was shaky.

  "My cousin, Ricky, he um, he died."

  Lucas pulled her into his arms in a heartbeat. Hers wrapped around his waist like she was drowning and he was her only lifeline. They stayed like that for a few minutes until she pulled away. He didn't need to look down to know that there would be wet patches on his shirt, not from the way she was trying to subtly wipe her eyes.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall all over you like that." She laughed at herself but there wasn't any real humour.

  "Well feel free to fall all over me any time you like," Lucas smiled down at her. When she looked up at him, she let out a genuine chuckle, though it only last for a second before her eyes filled with tears again. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders Lucas guided her somewhere more secluded, away from all the prying eyes of their classmates.

  Lucas found them a quiet spot between the back of the science block and the old library that was now being converted into an industrial kitchen for the culinary students.

  "Do you wanna talk about it?" Lucas leaned against the wall with her standing between his legs. He let her play with his hands in hers as she got her bearings. He figured that she must be close to her cousin Ricky but couldn't personally relate. His dad was an only child and all of his mum's family was in England, which is where she preferred that they stay.

  Alexis wanted to tell him everything right then and there. They were secluded enough that she doubted anyone would overhear them, and she trusted him to not tell anyone. He'd stuck around despite all the drama she came with, and he'd been so protective of her since the Hale sibling ambush, but she knew that those reasons weren't enough. He hadn't even officially asked her to be his girlfriend. What was to stop him from just walking away from what they had whenever he got tired of dealing with her?

  Then again, she supposed that even being in an actual relationship wouldn't necessarily stop him from leaving if that's what he wanted to do. Provided she trusted him with her secret that is.

  Looking up at him, Alexis couldn't help but lose herself in his hazelnut brown eyes. There was so much concern and caring, all of it for her. So she decided to tell him as much of the truth as she could.

  "My parents told me last night that my cousin Ricky died on Tuesday. He works down south most of the year so I only see him for special occasions, but he was just one of those really fun and laid back cousins, you know?"

  She remembered the time he'd caught her sneaking more cake after she was meant to be asleep while their parents were outside having a nightcap. Rather than telling her off or ratting her out, he'd cut them a slice each, then they'd gone back to her room and watched a movie until she fell asleep. She was almost twelve and he had just turned eighteen. She knew that he'd earnt his button by then and was more than welcome to have a drink with the other adults, but he'd chosen to spend time with her instead.

  "He was like a big brother and now he's just... gone. The next time I would've seen him was my birthday. I've known people who have died before but never someone who was blood family."

  Lucas didn't say anything, just stood there as she absentmindedly played with his fingers.

  Giving his hands one last squeeze Alexis hopped up onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Lucas' cheek.

  "Thank you for being here for me, you didn't have to."

  "Actually yes, I did. I'll always be there for you when you need me," he said, a sweet smile spreading across his lips.

  Maybe she could tell him everything someday soon after all.

  Chapter 15

  The Angelo household spent the whole of Friday night preparing for the onslaught of the weekend. Come 8 a.m. the next morning, their house and kitchen would be filled with aunts and uncles to help set up for the wake.

  Not all of them were involved with the Family business, so anything that could be perceived as sensitive information needed to be locked away. Not that anything of a sensitive nature was left lying about anyway, but they were a snoopy and assuming bunch.

  Tony's office had a new lock installed. He had caught some of the younger cousins practicing their lock picking skills at the last family get together. You can't pick an electronic pin pad.

  Carmen bubble wrapped all the expensive and very breakable ornaments and put them in the attic. Alexis mostly texted with Lucas and Emilia and brought her parents more of this or that. Her parents had a system, and they didn't like anyone messing with the system.

  When Saturday morning came, Alexis wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and sleep for another three hours. Four tops. It had been a long ass week, very draining.

  Especially when Seth and Brennan started being weird and passive aggressive again for no reason.

  Before she had even had a chance to tell them on Wednesday morning that she and Lucas had ended up working things out, they had started ignoring her and wouldn't respond to her with anything more than a grunt. She'd gotten fed up with them half way through recess, told them to pull their heads out of their asses and grow up.

  Lucas was however a godsend. After they had cleared up the confusion on Tuesday, he'd barely left her side other than to go to his own classes. Emilia had commented that he was acting more like a bodyguard than a boyfriend, but Alexis decided to leave him be for a little while longer. She knew how guilty he felt about her getting jumped on Monday. She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to protect her but until she was further along in her training with her mum, she didn't want to say anything she couldn't back up. It was also a bit of a comfort having him around all the time.

  As for the Hale siblings, they hadn't appeared back at school since they ran off on Monday. Their parents were claiming that they had run away from home, but there was no police report made or a missing child’s notice so it was more likely that they were locked up at home until things blew over.

  They wouldn't blow over though. As far as Mr McNeil was concerned they were all expelled with the exception of April, who had been in the office serving out her in-school suspension. Alexis wasn't looking forward to April's return to classes next week, but maybe the little bitch had learnt her lesson.

  Texting Lucas good morning, Alexis dragged herself out of bed and st
arted getting dressed. It was going to be a long day, and she wasn't going to make it longer for her mum by drawing things out. In fact when she stepped into the kitchen to get breakfast five minutes later her mum had to do a double take.

  "Holy shit! Tony I owe you five dollars!" Carmen shouted out to wherever her husband was hiding.

  "Ha, told you so!" Walking into the kitchen, Tony was dressed in shorts and one of his 'outside work' shirts.

  "What did you tell mum?"

  Dropping a kiss on his daughter's head as he passed, Tony grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter.