Empire of Blood

VII

Milan stood rooted in her spot, not daring to look back at the man that had once been her one and only companion and the main reason she had made such a drastic life choice at the tender age of fourteen.

“What brings you here?” Luca asked, not an ounce of emotion in his tone.

“I came to see an old friend,” Leon answered, moving forward to stand beside Milan. Milan gulped and turned to the side, trying to hide her face.

Would he even recognize me? She thought to herself. It had been five years since they had last met but Milan barely looked any different from her fourteen-year-old self. The only difference was that her features had matured and as a result, she had lost most of her baby fat. If he were to look close enough, sure enough he would recognize her straight away. She still had the large cat-like amber eyes which he claimed were the most unique eyes in the world. She also still had the same heart shaped beauty mark on her right cheek, which she had desperately tried to hide by leaving her hair down only for him to tuck her hair behind her ears and claim that it was a symbol of her golden warm heart and that she should feel proud of her unique trait. She was sure that the moment he saw her mark, he would know exactly who she was.

“I see,” Luca said, “make sure you don’t create a mess in my bar,” he warned, causing Leon to chuckle.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a matter that will get the Feds involved.”

Luca didn’t say anything else but he had a skeptical look on his face.

“Who is this?” Leon suddenly asked, referring to me. Before he could actually get a good look of me though, I jumped off my seat and into Luca’s arms.

He seemed surprised for a second but within seconds, his expression turned into a cocky grin.

“Didn’t you want to show me your room?” Milan winked at him suggestively, causing his grin to widen.

“I’d love to chat but I have important business to take care of,” Luca said to Leon without taking his eyes off of Milan.

He then pulled her towards the direction of his office with a sense of urgency in his step. It was like he was on a mission and nothing nor anyone could stop him.

He all but kicked his door open and pushed her inside before closing the door behind him.

Milan felt her heart rate quicken at the predatory look on his face but she tried her hardest to seem as nonchalant as possible.

Luca took walked so close to Milan that their noses were almost touching. He bent down a placed a rough kiss on her cheek.

“Tell me,” he spoke, his breath fanning her ear, “what is your relationship with Leon?”

Milan’s eyes widened and she took an involuntary step back, only for her back to hit a wall she had not realized was there before.

“E-Excuse me?”

Luca’s eyes darkened and he took a threatening step towards her, “Don’t lie to me, little girl. I don’t deal with liars well.”

Milan could tell he was not happy with her at all. She quickly straightened herself and looked him dead in the eye. “I do not have any relation with him.”

“Then please explain why you tried your hardest to hide from him.”

Milan was about to answer when he continued, “To the point that you suddenly suggested you wanted to sleep with me right after strongly rejecting me.”

Luca had a discerning eye, he was the best at noticing the small detail. If Milan wanted to keep a secret from him, she needed to try harder.

“I have no relationship with Leon Alexiou,” she repeated herself. “My father just did some business with him in the past and I simply did not feel comfortable in his presence.”

Her response was not a lie, however she did keep the fine detail to herself.

“The old friend he came to see at the bar has nothing to do with you, sì?”

“I do not know who he is here to see,” she truthfully answered. She didn’t know and she didn’t care all that much. Her only goal was to complete her mission on a successful note.

“Great,” Luca stated. “I only have one rule in this world and that is that I will not ever mess with an associate’s current or former partner.”

“You do not have to worry,” Milan smiled at him. “However, I really do not wish to sleep with you tonight.”

Luca narrowed his brows for a second before he smiled.“You happen to be the only woman I have held a conversation with for more than five minutes, Miss. Ossani. That alone makes you more special than everyone else.” Milan feigned a shy smile but deep down she felt disgusted by the man before her. “Does that mean you’ll take me to dinner, Mr. Andiamo?”

 “You’re very straight forward,” Luca chuckled. “I don’t see a point in beating around the bush.”

“Are you free tomorrow evening?” Milan pretended to think about it before she nodded, “I should be.”

“I will pick you up at 6PM. Be ready on time or our date will be cancelled.” “No problem,” Milan grinned. “Now will you take me home?”

Luca Andiamo grinned like the Cheshire cat, seemingly liking Milan's upfront approach. Without a word, he took her hand and lead her to his car.