To Play The Devil’s Game

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

‘’Hey, you’re back.’’ Reed smiled.

Luciana stood for a moment without saying a single word as she simply stared at the man who had taken her breath away the first moment she saw him. His face looked like one that had been carved and when he smiled, a prominent dimple was noticeable. No!, this man was all shades of handsome and there was nothing anyone could say about that.

‘’Yes, i’m back.’’ Luciana said, finally.

She had to keep her head back in the game. She wasn’t here for romance and the earlier she realized this, the better for her. There was nothing more to all of this than her taking her revenge.

‘’You’re thinking… is everything alright?’’ Reed asked.

‘’No, i’m fine.’’ Luciana quickly said.

Reed stared at her like he couldn’t believe her but he decided not to push it. Still, there was still something vaguely familiar about her but for the life of him, he didn’t know what that was.

Just then, the event compere announced that Reed was to give a speech and just before he left her side, he gave her a light kiss on her cheeks before walking towards the podium.

The way he walked was full of confidence and in that moment, Luciana wished that she could just kill him right there and then but she knew that would be a fatal mistake because bullets would hit her faster than she could say her name.

‘’Thank you all for coming here today for the annual ball. My father who would have been very glad to be here couldn’t make it because he is down with a sudden illness but he sends his greetings.’’ Reed began.

The hall was deathly quiet as they listened to the man she hated with a passion… or did she? Her emotions were all over the place and she didn’t quite know how to put a stop to it. As far as she was concerned, Luciana knew that she had never felt something like this before. She was usually in control of her emotions but this time around, they were all over the place.

‘’As the heir apparent to the group. It is my responsibility to ensure that everyone of you is being catered for while ensuring that we gradually get to our aim of destroying the Andreas but by bit.’’

Upon hearing her family name, Luciana stilled. Now, it was confirmed to her beyond any reasonable doubt that Reed and his family wanted all of them dead and they wouldn’t stop until they achieved their aim. Now, Luciana knew she’d be a fool if she didn’t go with the plan.

‘’The Andreas have been a thorn in our backs for many years and this is the right time for us to enact our revenge. This time around, there would be no retreat and no surrender.’’ Reed said with a heated look in his eyes.

This was the first time Luciana had seen him look that way. It was a scary look, one capable of committing muder.

‘’I really don’t want to bore you all with talks about the incompetent fools but all i wantb to do is to charge you all and never forget that we all have a goal to achieve and that is to destroy them all. So i implore you to be careful and vigilant and soon, victory would be ours.’’

The end of his speech gave way to a resounding applause. Luciana couldn’t remember the last time she was this angry. She was livid to say the least, shaking with anger and if she had her way, she could have killed him instantly.

Reed walked up to her with a smile on his face but upon seeing the look on her face, he halted in his steps. He didn’t know what caused her face to scrunch up in anger but whatever it was, he was determined to find out because in that moment, he had fallen deeply in love with her.

He wasn’t one to believe in love at first sight but with her, there was no going back. Thinking about it now, he realized that he didn’t even know her name but he had a feeling that she knew his name.

‘’Is everything alright?’’ he asked with a confused expression on his face.

‘’No, everything is not alright!’’ Luciana snapped.

She knew she had to come up with a lie as fast as possible because she couldn’t just tell him that she was angry at him for talking about her family in that manner. Their plans were in stages and the time for final termination wasn’t now and Luciana knew she couldn’t skip a step and rush onto the next one.

‘’What’s the problem? Would you like to step outside to talk about it?’’ he asked.

Already, he had raised an eye to one of the many security agents scattered around the large hall. The aim was for them to clear a path that he and Luciana could follow. Reed knew that if they didn’t do this, the crowd might easily mob them.

‘’Yes please, thank you.’’ Luciana smiled.

Despite the situation, she had to do that because her aim was to get him to her side. She needed all of his trust and attention if her plan was to work.

Reed linked his hands into her as they walked out of the hall. As she walked past the crowd by the side, Luciana got hated looks especially from the women who had all been vying for Reed’s attention. They couldn’t quite understand why she was the one getting his attention but what they didn’t know was that Luciana had the charm that they didn’t have.

They got outside soon and Luciana realized that the moon was already far up in the sky. It was shining down on the earth, casting an incandescent glow around the earth. It was beautiful to say the least but in that moment, there was nothing beautiful in Luciana’s heart. All she wanted to do at that moment was to kill the man standing beside her and be done with him as fast as possible.

He led her towards the gardens at the back of the hall, his hands still clasped around her’s. He didn’t know if she would disappear but he didn’t want to take the chances.

‘’So what is it that troubles you?’’ Reed asked.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this attentive to a lady before. It was usually the other way around and not this. It felt strange but for the first time in his life, this was a different kind of strange and he loved every bit of it.

‘’My father, he’s terribly sick.’’ Luciana lied.

‘’Oh my gosh! I am so sorry to hear that, is there anything I can do to help?’’ he asked.

‘’No…not really. I need to go now to see how he is doing.’’ Luciana said.

Upon hearing this, Reed’s demeanor changed instantly. He didn’t want her to leave. He was enjoying her company which was the first time for that and at that moment, he didn’t know what to do.

‘’Okay, I understand. Did you come with a driver? I can drive you there.’’ he pushed.

‘’That won’t be necessary, I came with a driver. Thank you though, you’ve been really kind.’’ Luciana smiled.

Reed smiled, walking up to her. He leaned his head towards her, giving her a gentle kiss by the side of her mouth. It wasn’t a peck and it couldn’t be classified as a kiss. It was just a tease, one that he knew would leave her breathless and no doubt speechless.

‘’Okay, I understand. I will see you another time.’’ Reed smiled.

Luciana nodded before walking away and out of the compound. She knew Reed was staring at her and to add to the overall plan, Luciana swayed her hips before finally climbing into the SUV that was already waiting for her.

As soon as she was in, her smile dropped to be replaced by a snarl. The driver who knew that she wasn’t in the mood sped off and towards the direction of the mansion.

‘’How dare he? How dare he talk to my family like that? What right does he have?’’ Luciana seethed.

Her earpiece crackled to life and she knew Alessandro was about to speak. Luciana knew that he had heard everything Reed said and would no doubt be very angry too. This was an insult not only to them but to the entire group as a whole.

‘’How dare he?!’’ Alessandro barked.

There was rage going on around his head as his mind went back to what Reed had said. Never in his life had he been so insulted before. He couldn’t quite believe that someone like Reed, a small boy, would talk to them like that.

‘’That boy has to die.’’ Alessandro said.

‘’He has to Alessandro and i am already planning on the best way.’’ Luciana said.

As the driver eased into the highway, Luciana heard scratching sound coming from Alessandro’s end.

‘’Is everything alright over there?’’ she asked.

‘’Yes. We’re just getting to the mansion.’’ he said.

‘’Wow! So fast.’’ Luciana couldn’t help but smile.

‘’We’re faster than you.’’ Alessandro laughed.

The driver took the dirt path leading up to the mansion to avoid the many traffic that would no doubt be on the main road. He knew that Luciana wouldn’t be up for sitting in one spot for a long period of time and so, he decided to take that path.

Soon, they got to the mansion and just before she could get down, Alessandro opened the door for her. She was touched by this and she knew he was just fulfilling her father’s promises for him to take care of her to the best of his abilities.

‘’The mafia lords meeting comes up next week.’’ Alessandro said as they walked into the building.

The meeting was usually held every two years by her father, the most powerful mafia lord but ever since he died, she took over his position and did what she could to meet his expectations as his daughter. Now that it was around the corner, Luciana knew that she had to give her best and also find other means to lure Reed to her side.

Luciana had no doubt that the bastard of a man would be there and one thing she knew was that she couldn’t afford to fail.