His Chosen Mafia Queen

Chapter 13

Sophia’s pov

We’re now driving to who knows where, and the

silence in the car is comfortable. After that back and

forth in my apartment, this silence is needed. I can’t

believe he called my bluff so well while getting me

back. Valentino looks serious as he drives, clearly

paying attention to everything around us. His free

hand is leaning on the clutch, and I feel like

grabbing it and placing it on my thigh, but I’m not

going to do that right now.

The city fades as we move further and further away

from the city. The scenery is replaced with stretches

of land and some industrial buildings here and

there.

“So, where are we going exactly?” I ask while

looking out the windows…it looks like no man’s

land.

He chuckles before responding: “It technically is…

you won’t find this area populated with people, well,at least not the kind of people you would want to

hang out with.”

“Then why are we here? are taking mr on one of

your jobs?”

He looked at me with a serious expression, “No,

you’re not ready for that, and I wouldn’t want you

involved in that.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, danger and blah blah blah…

when will you accept that you can’t control me. If I

want to be in or around your world, I’m going too.”

“I won’t ever want you to be around danger, but I do

understand that you will fight me every step of the

way on this. Which is why I am taking you to my

private gun range. You have to learn how to protect

yourself in more ways than just with your fist.”

The car now comes to a stop at a tall gate tucked

between a brick wall. V lowers his window and

enters a code on a small keypad that’s hidden

behind a metal panel. The gate begins to swing

open a second later. If I weren’t paying attention, I

would have mistaken this place for some kind of old

factory’s land. There were no signs leading us here,and no indication that anything existed between all

of this greenery and old buildings. As we drive

through the gate, it begins to close right away.

“So being in the middle of nowhere is your idea of

safety?”

He smirks: “Not safety, this is my idea of controlled

privacy.”

Once we get to the end of the driveway, Valentino

parks the car and turns off the engine, then looks at

me. “Are you ready?”

My heart begins to race with anxiety and

excitement. I respond by shaking my head yes while

smiling.”

“Good, now we’re going to learn how to shoot to

make sure you don’t die.”

His comment wipes the smile off my face, and I

respond with a single nod. He’s right. I’m excited,

but I also have to show him that I’m taking this as

seriously as he is. The sound of the gravel

underneath our feet seemed so much louder against

the silence of being in the middle of nowhere. Oncewe step inside in front of a big grey building with

barely any windows, Valentino looks at me

questionably: “Are you sure this is what you want to

do?”

“Yes,” I respond confidently.

He nods: “Okay, let’s go in.”

Once we enter, it feels as if I entered a different

world. The inside of the building looks modern,

clean, and everything looks well-organized. There’s

a desk in front of Valentino’s dad.

“Son, how are you?”

“I’m good dad, and you? How are you holding up?”

“I’m well…I may not be as young as I used to be,

but I can still handle things.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

“Is that Little Sophia, I see?” he asks.

“Hi, it’s been years, I’m glad to see you’re doing

well.”“Are you here to learn to shoot?…why would you

want to learn?” He asks curiously.

“Yes, I’m training her to defend herself.”

“That’s good. A woman should know how to defend

herself, especially if she’s going to be around

Valentino.”

“Exactly, see, at least he gets it,” I state while

looking at Valentino, gesturing to his dad.

Valentino rolls his eyes, “She won’t need to worry

about that, as long as I’m around.

“So stubborn; this one,” replies his father while

looking at me and gesturing to his son.

“I know, but he eventually gives in,” I tease while

playfully touching Valentino’s arm.

“He always had a soft spot for you.” He responds

while looking between us.

V looks at me briefly, then towards the opening of

the room that contains the various types of targets:

“Anyone here?” He asks his dad seriously.“You wound me, son..you know I wouldn’t talk this

way in front of the men.”

“I know, I just wanted to know who was here.”

He raises his hands to the side: “Just your old

man.”

“Oh, nonsense, you’re still young,” I reply to try to

ease the tension I felt.

“See, I knew I always liked you, Sophia.”

“Dad, we have a long day ahead of us, please hand

us a starter kit,” Valentino asks in a respectful but

strong way, that let’s his father know it’s now time

for business.

He turns, unlocks the gated cabinet, then places a

set of ear protection, safety glasses, and a hard

black case on the counter. He looks at me seriously,

and it reminds me of the intimidating man I saw all

of those years ago. “Rule number one - you respect

your weapon. Treat it with care and pray you never

have to use it.”

“I understand,” I reply immediately.“Good. Rule number two - Listen to Valentino, I

trained him myself, and he doesn’t miss details.”

“I will, I promise.”

“Good,” he says and Slides tge case closer to

Valentino, then continues speaking: rule number

three - keep your finger off the trigger until you’re

ready to fire. Most importantly, rule number four -

don’t ever point the gun at anything you’re not

willing to destroy.”

I nod, then Valentino opens the case and reveals a

sleek, dark gun. “This isn’t a game, you need to

listen to me and do exactly what I say, and if at any

point you feel uncomfortable or like you want to

stop, we will, “ he states seriously.

“Understood,” I respond in an equally serious tone.

His father looks between Valentino and I

thoughtfully, and I get the sense that he approves of

our interaction proudly.

Valentino gestures to the goggles and ear

protection. Once we’re geared up, he lifts the gun

as if it’s light as a feather. He checks it twice,

thoroughly, then holds it out to me with the barrelpointing downward. I hesitate for a couple of

seconds before grabbing the handle. The weight

surprises me. It looked so weightless when V

grabbed it out of the case, so I wasn’t expecting the

weight.

“Relax your shoulders,” he instructs while placing

his hands over mine. His touch is firm but not

overpowering. “If you tense up, you won’t have the

control you need.” I nod and take a slow breath,

then relax my shoulders. This isn’t an easy task,

because I’m hyper aware of Valentino’s chest on my

back and his arms around me as his hands are over

mine on the gun. “That’s it, you’re doing well,”

compliments.

“You say that like you didn’t think I’ll be able to do

this,” I respond.

He lowly chuckles in my ear: “I knew you could do

it, I only hoped you would get scared and change

your mind.”

“Never,” I respond while pushing a shoulder back to

nudge him.Valentino’s dad clears his throat, and that pops the

little bubble it felt like we were in.

“Let’s get started,” V states as he moves away from

me, grabs the gun, places it in the case, closes it,

then grabs bullets and gestures to the entrance of

the shooting lanes.

Once we enter the area, I pick a lane towards the

opposite end of the room. Valentino removes the

gun from the case and shows me how to load the

bullets. He pushes a button that makes the paper

target cone close to us, then points out each part of

the silhouette while explaining what areas would be

kill shots and what areas would be non-fatal. Then

he pushes the button again, causing the paper to

move back into position. He then grabs the gun

again and demonstrates the proper stance, and

takes a shot, which causes me to jump. I never

realized how loud they actually are up close; now

the ear protection makes sense.

“Are you ready to try it now?”

I nod in response, so he hands me the gun, and I

get in position. Pointing the gun straight ahead, I

take a deep breath and then release it slowly.“Whenever you’re ready, pull the trigger.”

I take another deep breath, then I pull the trigger,

and the kickback makes the bullet miss where I was

aiming.

“What the hell!… I was aiming at the paper,” I yelled.

Valentino laughs in response, then clears his throat

when I give him a look. “Sorry…did I forget to

mention the kickback?” He responds, then laughs

again.

“That wasn’t funny, V.”

“It truly was…you didn’t even hit the paper.”

“That’s because you didn’t tell me that could

happen I respond matter-of-factly.”

“Prove it,” he challenges.

“Fine, I will,” I respond before positioning myself

again. I fire off the rest of the clip and then place the

gun down. Seconds later, I press the button to bring

the target close.Valentino whistles low as he looks at the paper:

“Good job, you hit every kill shot perfectly…only

one person has ever gotten them all this quickly…in

case you’re wondering, that person was me.”

“It was easy once I knew what to expect from the

gun.”

“Was it now?

“Yup,” I respond, then I get closer to him and

whisper in his ear. “All I had to do was imagine you

annoying me.”

He grunts low: “You wound me…be careful not to

talk that way around my men, they might view it as

a threat.”

I gasp in response. “I didn’t mean it in a threatening

way, I wouldn’t hurt you…even when you get on my

nerves.”

“I know that, but they don’t. This playful banter

between us can only be done in private, around my

dad, O, and Carmen…I wouldn’t let anyone try to

hurt you, but we do have to be mindful that my men

and take orders, actions first, ask questions later…being that they don’t know you yet or what you

mean to me or who you are to me, it’s best to keep

things around them professional.”

“Understood, what about when we’re in private?”

He smiles mischievously: “In private, you could do

whatever you want to me.”

His response makes my breath hitch and heat rush

to my cheeks. I clear my throat, suddenly aware that

we’re still very close. I look from his lips to his eyes,

then state, “You’re a tease.”

“Don’t act like you don’t enjoy it,” he responds with

a smile.

I roll my eyes while blushing because he’s not

wrong, I just don’t care to admit it right now. Then I

look back at my perfectly hit target.

“We’re not done yet,” he responds while replacing

the target sheet.”

“That wasn’t impressive enough for you?” I ask,

bewildered.“It was impressive, but being able to make those

same shots when you’re tired, and your muscles

ache or your focus slips…Repetition is key.”

He loads the gun, then hands it to me, this time he

stands away from me. Not having him close

removes some of the safety feeling I had in case I

did something wrong.

“Begin.” He commands.

I raise my arms and this time my arms feel the

weight a bit more but it’s still manageable.

“Stop thinking and shoot.”

“I will once I’m ready.”

“You won’t always have time to feel like you're

ready. Sometimes you will just have to act fast.”

“Fine,” I state before shooting. By the time I’m

done, I start to feel the strain on my muscles.

“Good, replace the target and do it again.”I do as he states and reload my gun after changing

the target. This time, it takes me a bit longer

between each shot.

“You’re losing speed.”

“I know,” I respond curtly.

“This is a matter of life and death, that target is

coming for you, Sophia, what are you going to do?”

“Stop him,” I respond.

“What’s that? I can’t hear you!” He yells.

“Stop him!” I yell back.

“Then do it now, before he kills your gold fish!” He

yells.

I can’t help but laugh.

“Focus,” he responds.

“Right!…fuck you, asshole, you won’t kill my

goldfish Valentino Junior!” I yell before letting out

the rest of my bullets.There’s a silence in the room afterward as I try to

catch my breath. Then I look at Valentino, and I see

him with a very amused expression on his face.

“What?” I ask between breaths.

“Valentino junior? You named your goldfish after

me?”

I shrug, then we both laugh loudly.

“Time for another round, remember, don’t lose your

focus.”

“Got it,” I reply as I start to load my gun like it’s

second nature.

Once I’m about to pull the trigger for a second shot,

I get startled by the sound of Valentino’s gun going

off a couple of lanes from mine. “You scared me.”

“There may be times when there will be other

people shooting. You can’t get distracted by it.

People may scream, cry, laugh, fun, hide, drop to

the ground, groan in pain, but you have to stay

focused…. let's try again.”I nod my head in agreement. We both do two

rounds of both of us shooting at the same time, and

I’m no longer jumping at the sound of another gun

going off.

“Good he states…lets do another round to test your

concentration.”

My muscles are yelling at me, but I nod in

agreement either way. I go through the all too

familiar process now with barely a second thought.

We both begin shooting, and before I notice that it’s

only my gun being shot, I feel his heat on my back

and his breath on the back of my neck. He then

asks: “Do you trust me?” I shake my head in

response. He says, “Good,” then proceeds to wrap

his arms around my waist in a bear hug. “Shoot,” he

instructs. Squeezing the trigger, the bullet misses

the paper. “Breath…focus on your target.”

“That’s a little hard to do right now, V.”

“Trust me, you can do it. Distractions can come in

any form, and you have to be ready for them.”

I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart. The

heat of his body wrapped around this closely ismessing with my senses. His cologne mixed with

the smell of danger from the guns, weirdly, isn’t

making this any easier. I never would have imagined

I would be here embracing danger.

“Get out of your head and shoot.”

I manage to focus and shoot the target several

times until Valentino starts passing his hands slowly

down the sides of my arms, causing warmth to

travel through me. “Finish it off,” he states as he

grabs the magazine and slowly trails it up my hand,

then up my arm, then sideways on my body,

following my collar bone, and stops at the center of

my chest, just above my cleavage. Why was that so

hot? At this point, I think our s****l tension is more

dangerous than the weapon in my hand. I think to

myself as I grab the magazine and load my gun.

When he wraps his arms around me again and

places his chin on my shoulder. Shortly after, I

release mayhem on the target quickly, earning

another whistle of approval from Valentino.

He releases me, then presses the button to move

the target as I put the gun down.

“You did really well. I’m impressed.”“Thank you,” I respond with a curtsy.

“Don’t get cocky yet. I have to see how you do

against moving targets.

I groan in displeasure.

“We can always stop, and I handle the

interrogation.”

“No, I’m fine, what do you have in mind?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fun.”

“Really?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

“What about the gun?”

“Bring it, you earned it. That gun is now yours. We’ll

get you a couple of mags and load them up before

we go.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”I squeal in response and hug him, which causes him

to laugh. “I never would have imagined you getting

excited to be given a gun.”

“Me neither, but you’re bringing out a different side

of me.”

Moments later, we’re at an obstacle course wearing

overalls, gloves, boots, and a mask. Then I see

Owen and Carmen with three other people I

recognize from our building approaching us. They’re

geared up with the same outfits as us; the only

difference is that I’m the only one with a ribbon on

my arm. I look at Valentino curiously, and he

responds with a short nod before greeting everyone

and filling them in.

“Everyone, this is Sophia, she’s mine, and if anyone

hurts her, they’ll answer to me personally.” They all

nodded in understanding why saying yes, Boss.

Even though Owen and Carmen know me, they

respond with the same respect as everyone else.

This must be how it is when Valentino is in business

mode.

“I asked you all here because I am training Sophia,

as she will be the one taking the lead on Al’s maninterrogation. She is a fast learner and has aced

everything I’ve thrown at her. Now, if her final lesson

is being able to shoot moving targets, which is

where all of you come in. Sophia will be on a team

on her own, and she needs to take all of us out.

Don’t make this easy on her. Treat this training as a

real hit mission. The weapons of choice will be

those paintball guns. The sizes vary, so grab

whatever you’re most comfortable with. Any

questions?”

I raise my hand, and all eyes turn to me: “Will it turn

if I get hit?”

Everyone shakes their head yes, and V speaks:

“They sting, but we all have protection gear, so

don’t worry, you’ll barely feel it. Any other

questions?”

“Any no shoot areas?” asks Carmen mischievously,

and the guys instinctively cover their Family jewels

area, except Valentino.

“I think everyone will be happy that you are on their

team today, Carmen,” responds Valentino while

laughing.I lock eyes with Carmen, and we both smile.

“Ladies first,” V states as he gestures to the guns.

Carmen grabs a big gun, but I grab the smallest

one. If I’m going to have 6 people coming after me, I

need to be smart with my choices. My muscles are

already achy from hours at the gun range, so a

lighter gun is definitely the way to go. Once I walk

back to my spot, Valentino gives me a nod of

approval. Then he joins the guys in getting their

guns.

“Sophia, you ready?” Valentino asks when they all

get back to me.

I shake my head yes. “Good, we’ll give you a head

start,” he responds. I run into the obstacle course.

There’s no way I will beat all of them without being

strategic. They’re all trained professionals with

blood on their hands. They could do this in their

sleep. I’m able to find a spot behind a bush that I

can camp out at for a little bit.

Moments later, I see one of Valentino’s men walking

by a wall close by, so I take my shot and get him in

the leg. “Ah f**k” he states before limping off to theside. That did not look like it didn’t hurt. I’m going to

get Valentino back for lying to me.

Shit, almost didn’t hear one of the guys coming, and

now he's closer than what Id like. As he gets in front

of me, I slowly stand up, shove him forward, and

shoot him in the back while saying “sorry”.

He responds by saying “nice one,” then he walks to

the sidelines.

I know my spot is compromised, and I should move

my position. Looking around, I spot a big wall and

decide to run across quickly, but I am spotted, and

a paintball splatters against the edge of the wall.

Fuck, I think to myself, and decide to stay put until J

hears the person get close. As soon as they do, I

creep around the other side of the wall and shoot

them in the guy in the back. He turns, looks at me,

and nods, then walks to join the other guys. Three

down, three more to go, I think to myself. Deciding

to continue moving, I spot a really big tire, so I run

to it and climb inside it. I try to focus on the sounds

around me, and moments later, I hear the crunch of

some dry leaves and peek out of the tire. I can see

Owen a distance away, but I have no idea how far

this thing can actually shoot. I decide to stay put,

but while doing so, I get spotted by Carmen, andshe starts shooting in my direction. “f**k” I think to

myself and roll out of the tire while staying close to

the ground. Carmen is relentless and keeps

shooting as she approaches. I don’t know how, but I

manage to leap behind a broken piece of cement

wall without getting hit, and I start firing back. We

kept on this way for several seconds until I heard.

“Aye, Damn it, you got me in the boob,” followed by

a low laugh. I stifle my urge to laugh when I hear

Owen run up to Carmen to make sure she’s okay.

Taking complete advantage, I run in the direction

Owen came from and notice a ladder against a wall,

and decide to climb it and perch up on the wall.

From up here, I could see Carmen walking to the

sideline and Owen checking the area I was in.

I can see him turn back in the other direction and

search for me behind a big tree, then behind a hay

barrel. Once he notices that one of the guys on the

sidelines spotted me. He started shooting at me.

Once one of his bullets passes by my mask but

does not hit me, I know it’s time to shoot back. My

paintball lands on his shoulder. He responds by

saluting and then joins Carmen and the guys.

Now it’s down to Valentino and me. Standing up, I

scan the course, but some of my vantage point is

blocked. I have no choice but to go down the

ladder. Once back on the ground, I slowly run whilemaking sure to hide around random items. I have no

idea where Valentino is, but judging by how

everyone on the sidelines is hyper-focused in my

direction, I know he’s close. I just can’t hear or see

him anywhere.

Suddenly, there’s an arm around my neck. “Are we

fighting dirty Valentino?”

“Sometimes people don’t play by the same rules.

What are you going to do now? Give up?”

“Never,” I respond while dropping my gun, then

getting out of his grip easily as I did back in my

office. Which causes him to drop his gun from his

other hand. He stops and looks at me to see what I

would do next, so I put up my stance, and he nods

in approval, then removes his helmet, and I follow

suit. He then gestures for me to come at him, so I

charge at him with a swing, but he dodges it. I

decide letting him come to me would be better, so I

stand up unbothered. He responds by approaching

me. As soon as he goes to grab me, I grab his arm

and twist it behind him. He taps my hand while

stating “good” to signal that I release it. Once I let

go, I sweep his leg, making his step falter, causing

him to fall. Once he’s down, I climb over him and

aim my paintball gun at him. “Give up,” I demand.And he laughs. “No…pull the trigger, Sophia. Your

enemies will rarely give up.” I move my gun to the

side and shoot the grass on the side of his face,

causing paint to spray on his cheek. He looks at me

seriously, then states: “You didn't follow the order.”

“I won’t ever hurt you,” I respond while I wipe the

paint off his cheek. He gently grabs my hand and

then kisses it. “I wouldn’t hurt you either, Sophia.”

The way he looks at me with all sincerity as he said

that makes me act without thinking. I lick my lips,

and he licks his in return, then I lean down closer to

his face and place my lips on his. When I lift back

up, we stare at each other in silence for a moment.

He breaks the silence: “There’s no turning back

now, Sop,” he states before pulling me closer to him

and kisses me passionately. I completely forgot that

we were here alone until I heard everyone cheering

on the sidelines.