One Night Assassin

|CHAPTER 12| |Why would you?|

|CHAPTER 12|

|Why would you?|

"Punch harder!" Listening to his command, I oblige by swinging with my left arm harder and hitting the punching glove Adriano was wearing with all my upper body.

"Good. Now try left kick swing," he commands and I once again, do as told; ending in a perfect round off kick.

"Not half bad, Petrov," Adriano says with a smirk as I go back to punching the gloves on his hands, making a smile begin to grow on mine as well. Really not to toot my own horn, but I've actually progressed really well from the last month and something weeks, I haven't really been keeping track. 

"Thanks, Nightmare. Could say the same for you, old man, but I think your ego's already boosted high enough to fly to Mars," I say during a pause for affect before going back to punching. Looking up with a suppressed laugh coiling through my lips, I see his smile fall into a poker face before dropping the punching gloves. He then begins to rip off the gloves before throwing them down and walking up to me in a speedy fashion.

"Oh okay, Petrov. So cocky and boastful now that the princess knows how to fight, come at me and fight the 'old man' then," he says as he tries to suppress the grin on his face. Running up to me, he stops a foot before me before going into a fighting stance. With a shrug, I shake out my arms before following his stance.

"Bring it- wait, what's your last name again?" I say with a scrunched up face in question while going back to my normal stance. Seeing that 'really?' look come from Adriano before finally remembering.

"Oh right! Bring it, Russo." And with one last chuckle from Adriano, he comes up swinging with his right arm. I swiftly dodge it before going under his arm and switching positions. Adriano arches his eyebrows in awe before shaking himself out again.

"Not bad, kid. But next time, you might want to watch and make sure the person isn't gonna find another way of getting you to the ground. Such as having a knife," he says emphasizing the word, making me roll my eyes. He acts as if we haven't been doing this for the past month and a half.

"Okay, dad, I got it. Just stop talking already and fight me." I run at him before swinging both left twice and right. And of course, it got dodged as I figured. After another good three minutes of doing the same moves with the same repetitive techniques, and only getting one hit in, I begin to get tired. 

Yes, the big boastful princess got tired, laugh it up.

Thinking, I begin to go through my mind of a way I could win without having to actually beat Adriano's ass to the ground. Getting the twisted idea in my head, I smile. I knew the idea was a chump move, but at this point, I just wanted to be able to say 'I beat Adriano Russo at something'. And I'd gladly take that 'something' involve fighting.

Moving forward, I 'twist' my right ankle before dramatically falling down on the boxing floor. 

"Ouch, time out. I-I think I seriously injured it," I say while sucking air between my teeth. Looking up to see Adriano's expression, it was a look between something of sympathy and concern. The look actually makes me feel a bit guilty for what I'm about to do.

"Here, let me see," he says before kneeling down on one knee and studying my ankle while picking it up. I look down at my ankle before looking up to study his facial features again. His forehead crinkled in curiosity like it did the day he took me out on that mission, making me get lost a bit at the little things he did that made me want to smile in delight.

"I don't see any bruising, are you sur-" snapping out of my lovely day dream, I grab him by the loop of his arm before harshly yanking him to the ground. Completely spent and out of breath, I pin him to the mat as best I can by his wrist. In which was not a very secure hold I could add. 

"Now who's the kid? I'd say it has to be the person who's bound to the mat right now. Wouldn't you say the same, old man?" I say getting an inch from his face, purposefully teasing, and not in the way you would think. I totally get knocked off track when I hear a loud chuckle reverberate from Adriano's chest, making my grin turn into a quizzical expression. But before I could even part my lips to question him, I'm the one bound to the mat. 

I look up at Adriano with shock clear on my face. He gets his face inches from mine before whispering in my ear.

"I'd say, do think I'd actually hit you, kid?" He pulls back, my face probably showing that same look of udder shock and confusion. He gives me a small smirk, probably not knowing what it's doing to my insides at the sight of his beautiful chiseled face smiling. 

But you could see it clear as day, the look you give your little sister, even the look you give your best friend. That look is the same exact look Adriano was giving me right now as he stares down at me. And surprisingly, it hurt more than it should've. And before I knew it, the smile was off of his face, as was his legs around my torso as he slapped my shoulder before getting up.

"Come on, kid. Time for a lunch break. Anything you'd like in particular?" He says but my mind is off on bigger and badder things.

Is it bad that I'm disappointed that Adriano told me the truth? And no, it's not the reason you'd probably think. But it's because I feel like ever since he told me the truth about that night, he thinks he's able to treat me like his smaller sister. It's like getting friend zoned everyday by your crush. So it's basically a rehash of my high school life.

Oh right, I'd guess it's best for everyone to hear the truth now, right?

•ONE WEEK AGO•

|Night of the 'date'|

"You and I... never had sex."

I spit every last drop of tea that was in my mouth out, making me turn to look at Adriano's facial expression turn into something along the lines of humor filled and contentment.

"We, uh- We never-" Not finding the words no matter how hard I searched for them.

"We never did it, had s*x, f****d. However you say it, we didn't do it," he says nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders. I mask the shock with confusion and shake my head.

"But, I remember the night after. I remember what we did in the bathroom an-" not wanting to go more into depth on how I felt the morning after, I shut my mouth and continue to walk forward. But obviously not soon enough because I hear a small snort come from him, making me turn to look and see the wide tooth grin he had on his face.

"Okay, Fiore. Really, think about that night. You are correct on one thing, we did do something, but we never did it. You understand where I'm getting at here?" 

Thinking back to the night, it hit me.

"Oh. My. God."

The cold air against my chest then turned into a soft, warm and firm body as he connected our lips once again. The sound of a belt buckle then pulled me back to reality. Before I knew it, his pants were down to about mid thigh and he was placing himself at my entrance. And with one last gasp of air, he-

Stopped...

I feel his head slump on my shoulder in defeat before filling his hot breath on my bare chest.

"What in the hell am I doing?" I hear him mumble almost inaudibly before eventually feeling all weight release off my body. Confused, I open my mouth to question what was going on, but before I could let even a word slip out, I see the man slipping on his underwear and pants. Everything was happening too quickly to notice and things began to blur together. 

"Here," I hear him say softly but firmly before putting the jacket he had on over my bare body. 

Feeling the tiredness affect of the small amount of alcohol begin to wear me down, slowly but surely.

"Where're we going?" I question while struggling to keep my eyelids open. 

"Dear God, Luna. You barely even had any alcohol and you're already buzzed. Damn, you're lucky I'm not some r****t or serial killer," I hear the man say as he continually shoves me down some hallway. The sound of my name triggering an alarm, but I couldn't remembered if I actually told him my name or not.

"Wait, did I tell you my name?"

"Yeah, at the club. You can think about it while you sleep off the alcohol," he says before opening the door to some bedroom. Opening my mouth in awe when I look around at the large room.

"Woah! This room is huge!" I'm practically slurring out at this point. Too busy looking all around the room, I don't notice the nightstand until I run into it leg first; ending in hitting my inner thigh in the process.

"Son of a b***h!" I more hiss than yell, hearing a snort that sounded more like a suppressed laugh when I yell my profanity.

"You would laugh you... Man," I say before feeling the soft cushion of the mattress hit my side softly. Hearing another chortle come from him in the meanwhile.

"Yeah, yeah. Go to sleep you lightweight," he says before covering me with the covers, making me snuggle into the warmth before starting to drift off, but not before asking at least one last cognizant question.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, you won't remember in the morning anyway so have at it," he says after he leans down to look in my face, not even getting fazed by the last of his sentence.

"Why didn't you do anything with me tonight?" A moment of silence, dead silence. Until he finally took a breath in and begin to speak.

"Too many to even count on a hand, Fiore. Now go to sleep."

"Put it in a nutshell," I say with my eyes now already closed, making him snort at my comment.

"Let just say, your father was a good man, as was my wife a good woman." Everything was fading to black.

Father? Wife? 

"Goodnight, kid."

But before I could even put thoughts into reality, I was drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

"Hey, are you still there?" 

I couldn't believe it, the truth literally lied right in front of my eyes this whole time. Everything was pretty much said -s***h- happened in front of me.

"I don't understand. Why? Why would you lie to me in the first place? Hell, lie to other people?! I get the wife part. But why did you lie to me about having s*x with one another? I mean, that's totally cros-" I try to finish, but I feel Adriano's hand on mine before I could finish my preaching.

"Well if you'd shut up for long enough, I could tell you," he says with a loud sigh before slowly taking his hand off my lips, making all jumbled thoughts even out.

"I like for people to believe that I've moved on from my wife. Even though the truth is she's the last woman I'd ever slept with. I've tried sleeping with other women to maybe forget the pain of the past, but I'd always end up telling them to f**k off at the end of the night. And I knew if I told you the truth, you'd never let people believe you, you'd just correct them and tell them the truth. And I'd much rather let people think I'm a man w***e rather than a man who can't get his s**t together." 

I didn't know what to feel anymore. I felt remorse and empathy for the most part. I know what it's like to loose a loved one so close to your heart, and I couldn't imagine the place his in when coming to losing the love of your life. And not to mention how shocked I was to here this man hadn't slept with anyone since his wife passed.

"Plus, I never really told anyone. They just assumed," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, cracking a small smile to ease the tension, making me follow with the same smile.

"You know, if I wouldn't have seen this other side of Adriano Russo, I would've cursed him out before storming off in a huff. But now that I've seen the weaker, more human side of him, I think it's okay for me to let the poor guy off with a warning, don't you think? He's been through enough already," I say putting a hand on his back in a playful comforting manner before smiling a wide toothy grin.

"Why thank you for your forgiveness, princess. I think the poor man deserves some pity in his life," he says mellow dramatically before walking off into another direction, making me look to see it's where we parked the motorcycle. As he gets on, he looks at me for a beat before patting the back of the seat.

"You coming? Or would you prefer to walk home in the dead of night?" With one last roll of my eyes, I c***k a smile before doing as said and hoping on the back of the bike.

•CURRENT TIME•

"Did you hear me?" 

"Huh? I'm sorry, no. What were you saying?" I ask Adriano as I snap from my daydream of picking at my sandwich, making him pick me up by my chin and stare me straight him straight in his eyes. My heart rate picking up at his smiling face as well as the proximity we are from across the table.

"Okay, you've been really out of it today. But I was trying to tell you that we've got a plan to go in on one of the places that the drug lord's right hand man could be. We're planning on going next week, so we're gonna need to put in our all with the training before next Friday," he said after letting go of my face, now wearing a serious expression.

I wish I could understand the need for all of these extra missions. All we need to do is find out where the man that are protecting him, and get those guys. Because once those guys are caught, he has nothing to keep him ticking, nothing to protect him from the people who are after him. It's a lot easier than trying to find one man in one big ass city.

"Well, you know if we could jus-" I begin to say, about to explain my plan, but get cut off when I hear a scrap of a chair next to me. Looking next to me, I see that it's Blake.

"Wow, never would've expected to see you guys here. Small world, wouldn't ya' say?" I hear Blake's voice say with a smirk on his face, seeming to try and purposely irk Adriano in the process as he smacks the gum he had in his mouth. Looking over at me, he sends a smirk and wink my way before looking back over to Adriano. But not a wink in a really flirty way, more in a greeting way.

"Yes, very small world, Blake. Now if you'd excuse us, we have some important business to work on. And I think if you're not going to do the same, you need to leave." Blake then throws his hands up in surrender before slowly standing up. I give Adriano an incredulous look  at his rude behavior, but only getting a head shake in response.

"Alright, I get when I'm not wanted," he says before beginning to put the chair back at its original spot. He then goes back to our table before placing his hands on it as if to announce something, and does just that after looking over at Adriano.

"Guarda, sono venuto qui per dirti. Il vecchio vuole che Luna venga in qualche parte della prossima settimana per prendere il 'test'."(Look, I just came here to tell you. The old man wants Luna to come in sometime next week to take the 'test'.) 

Not one clue onto what Blake said, I stare at them with a look of lost. But knowing that whatever it could've been, was bad told by the serious expression on Blake's face and Adriano's reaction next.

"Stai scherzando, giusto?" (You're joking, right?) Adriano says after furiously rubbing his face in thought. Not sure if I should bud in or not, I chose the ladder.

"Um, is there something wrong?" Both of the men turn to look at me with the same hard expression, making me wish I chose a different ladder.

"No, uh. I'll just explain later, okay?" Adriano says after taking a deep breath in, in return just getting a head nod in compliance from me.

"Anyways, I think my deed here is done my people," Blake says before getting up and straightening his posture.

"Since the work part is done. Luna, are you going to the club with us this weekend? I mean, only if your big brother lets you," he says sarcastically before slowly turning his head to look at Adriano, making me snicker at Adriano's scowl at Blake.

"Yeah, is it okay if I could go out with you and the big kids, big bro," I say purposefully trying to get on his nerve. And succeeding when I get the same scowl in return from him.

"It's fine, Luna. You have my number, so just call me if he won't take you, alright?" Blake says in a genuinely nice tone while looking down at me. He then gives me a warm smile before walking out the sandwich shops door.

Composing myself, I look forward to see Adriano is arching his eyebrow in mischief at me while yet still glaring.

"What?" I ask in genuine confusion and curiosity.

"You have a thing for the kid, don't you?" His tone was no longer playful, but serious and stern. As if he was asking me where I hid the map to a secret hidden treasure.

"Wha- No! Why would I like someone I've seen three times tops in the last month?" I say confused onto why he even mentioned something like that up so abruptly. He just raises his eyebrows as if to shrug off the question before getting up with his gym bag over his shoulder. 

"Good," he mumbles before beginning to make his way out. Following his lead, I get my stuff before standing up.

"Why would you even bring something like that up in the first place? And why does it matter if I like someone or not?" I say as we both exit the sandwich shop. Looking over, I see his facial expression cold and emotionless, rather than the playful arrogant that it usually is.

"Because, I don't want you liking him. I actually couldn't care less on who you like or go out with, but just not him. He may seem like a sweet guy, but I think that kid has more skeletons in his closet than me." He looks over at me with a look of urgency and seriousness, making my stomach drop at the cold stare.

"Well lucky for you, I have my car back. So I won't be having any escort service for the night. Including not having Blake take me." I hear a loud sigh in defeat come from Adriano. Knowing it's the fact I just admitted I'm going to the club that got to him.

"I'll take you," he surprises me when saying aloud, making me almost trip over my own feet in shock.

"Wait. What? Why?"

"Because knowing you, you're gonna end up drinking too much and I don't want that on my hands. So I'll be your DD for the night," he says, making a smile form across my lips and the fact I'm actually breaking his wall little by little.

"Awe, I'm finally getting to you. I knew the grinches' heart was bound to grow twice its size this year at least once," I say as I playfully poke at his shoulder, making him roll his eyes before letting out a small groan in annoyance.

"Ugh, I'm already regretting this."

No matter all the regrets in the world put together. No matter whether I even drink that night or not. Not even a sure thought in my mind, I only knew one thing for sure.

I'm going to that club this weekend.