“He knows,” Luca said.
“You realize the moment Gianna finds out you are attending college, she’s going to want that too,” Matteo muttered.
I gave a shrug. “Then let her.” Luca sent me a warning glare. I knew he still didn’t trust Gianna, but that was his problem.
“How did it go?” Luca asked as he walked toward me and pulled me against him for a possessive kiss. His eyes were drawn to Romero, not me.
“It went well,” I said. “Romero was the perfect boyfriend.”
Luca chuckled.
“Did Aria at least put out?” Matteo asked with a grin.
Romero laughed.
Luca smirked, then he lowered his dominant gaze to me. Mine, that’s what his eyes said.Romero joined Luca and me in the gym, but a few other soldiers were there as well when we entered the old warehouse.
Before I joined Luca in the ring, Romero whispered. “Use your speed. Luca will never be able to move as fast as you with your small body.”
I sent him a smile before I climbed into the ring. Luca hadn’t bothered with a shirt this time and was only wearing fighting shorts. My eyes trailed over his six-pack, his pecs, his broad shoulders. Looking at him, I could think of many things I’d rather be doing than fight. Luca’s answering smirk made it clear he knew exactly what I was thinking.
Even my speed wasn’t enough to outsmart Luca. He seemed to guess my every move, and when I landed on my back for what felt like the hundredth time with him crouching over me, I let out an exasperated sigh. Luca’s eyes were dominant but soft as they looked down at me.
Then I heard one of the teenage boys, who had been doing bench presses, say something along the lines that he wouldn’t mind fighting me either, and my body tensed at Luca’s expression.
He pushed to his feet and pulled me with him.
It was like a switch had been turned as he faced the group of three boys. They were perhaps sixteen or seventeen, and their faces flashed with fear the moment they realized Luca had heard them.
I touched Luca’s wrist lightly. “Luca, they are boys.”
His eyes settled on the boys, ignoring me. “They are my soldiers.”
Romero moved toward the ring and parted the ropes for me. “Come on, Aria.” I let him help me out of the boxing ring.
Luca motioned for the boys to come closer. “Show me your tattoos,” he ordered.
One after the other the boys pulled their shirts over their heads, revealing the Famiglia tattoo over their hearts. They were more muscled than I’d thought.
Luca pointed at the tallest, and the boy didn’t hesitate to climb into the ring even though he looked like he was going to wet himself. He was tall but only reached Luca’s nose.
“He isn’t going to hurt them, right?” I asked Romero, who had his arms crossed over his muscled chest and was watching without mercy.
“They are his soldiers.”
As if that answered my question. “They are boys.”
“They stopped being boys when they were inducted into the Famiglia.”
“You wanted to fight,” Luca said coldly. “Now fight me, Demetrio.”
The boy hesitated only a second before he attacked. Luca dodged the attack, gripped the boy and flung him into the ropes. Demetrio tried to catch his fall but Luca punched him in the ribs. The boy went to his knees with a pained gasp, yet Luca knew no mercy. He gripped the boy by the throat and punched him in the stomach. Demetrio fell to his knees, wheezing. Luca got behind the boy and wrapped his arm around his throat with a look that sent a shiver down my back. I flinched when he tightened his grip until the boy’s head turned red. Romero gripped my wrist because I had made a move to interfere. Was he going to kill the boy?
Luca stepped back, relaxing his hold and Demetrio fell forward, coughing. For several moments, he lay sprawled out on the floor of the ring, then Luca held out his hand and Demetrio took it. Luca jerked him to his feet and released him. The boy scrambled out of the ring. Luca pointed at the next boy. “Orfeo.”
The boy hung his head and climbed into the ring. I turned around and walked back into the changing room. Luca had to make sure his soldiers respected him, but it was difficult to watch him being like that. These were boys. I wasn’t naïve, I knew boys in our world were raised from a young age to be tough. They had to be to become Made Men, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Luca would be the same way with a son. Father had always been hard on Fabi, and I doubted that had changed since I had moved to New York.
I took a quick shower, always uncomfortable in the changing room because I knew I was blocking it for everyone else as long as I was inside. I pulled my clothes on when the door opened. I didn’t have to look up to know who it was. When I raised my eyes Luca stood across from me, his chest covered in sweat and blood, but his expression had lost the brutality. I stepped up on the wooden bench between us to bring us to eye level.