His Corrupt Mafia Queen

Chapter 1: Nothing but blue skies and red knives.

One year, it's been over one year since I fled Italy with Francisco. A few weeks ago, I celebrated my 22nd birthday with Francisco and our associates. White puffy clouds littered the blue sky, the sun beat down on my face, the sunglasses on my face prevented my eyes from the damaging rays. Perth, Australia was where I relocated. The people were welcoming, the weather was appropriate, but the golden feature was that no one knew me. Everything seems so far away now. The person I used to be, she is a total stranger to me.

The area was flooded with people, as expected, for a day that brought good weather. I sat on a boardwalk overlooking a vast beach, the table I found myself at was shaded by a large umbrella. I kept a close eye on those around me.

“Of course you are the first one here” A voice spoke from behind me, his hand danced across my shoulder as he made his way around me, crashing down on the seat in front of me. A soft shrug lifted my shoulders and I barely held back from a smile.

“I like to get the job done as quickly and quietly as possible” I responded, leaning back in my seat. His name was Aaron, he was two years older than me, and someone who also had a vendetta against powerful families. Messy blond curls, almond-shaped brown eyes, light freckles sprinkled over his defined cheeks, he had a concrete jaw but a dashing smile that would trip any woman in their tracks. Being a California native, I didn’t expect anything else from him. 

“Did you get it?” Aaron leaned across the table, looking at me with anticipation. Even after all this time, he still doubted my skills. A faint laugh fell from my lips, and I focused my attention on the beach. I come here almost every day to witness lives that haven’t been ruined. Being surrounded by laughter and tranquility helps me forget how broken I am, even if it's for a few hours, this scene heals the wounds of yesterday and makes living a miserable life a tad bit easier.

Not wanting to get consumed by my thoughts, I reached under the table, pulled out my purse, and sat it on my lap. I unzipped it and pulled out a tablet. It was my job to acquire the item and I did exactly that. Aaron held his hands out and I placed the tablet in his palms.

“f**k Raina you are too good, do you kn-” Aaron looked up from the screen and up to me. I placed my purse back down onto the ground and returned his gaze. 

“The password is Sydney” I presumed he was beginning to ask me for the password before cutting himself off.

“There’s blood all over the screen..” Aaron finally spoke up. Looking down at the tablet, I hadn’t realized how much of a mess it was, blood latched itself onto Aaron’s fingertips. My mind went back to an hour prior, when I had no other choice but to stab a man in the neck in order to retrieve the tablet. We had engaged in a tussle and he unveiled my face from the mask that was protecting my identity. The authorities were in pursuit and he wasn’t dying fast enough, so I shot him in the head. 

Bringing my attention back to the present time, I raised my eyebrows casually and looked up at Aaron. He looked at me with wide eyes and slightly parted lips.

“I was compromised and had no other choice” I wasn’t trying to explain myself or even plead for him to look at me with praise. I didn’t care how he saw me, I was the only person willing to go on that mission and I completed it. Aaron placed the tablet back onto the table and inhaled deeply. By the way he averted his eyes away from me, I knew he was displeased with my actions.

“It’s not like this is the first time, Aaron. So leave your disgust elsewhere” My hand latched onto the tablet, leaned down, and shoved it back into my purse. 

“I know this isn’t the first time, Raina, you told everyone that it would be the last. The number of people you have killed is impressive, yes, but concerning-” Aaron brought his eyes back to me, the softness in his eyes indicated that there was something else on his mind. 

“I’m worried about you, you’ve completely shut down, you have no emotion or remorse for the lives you take-” The last thing I wanted to hear was another lecture, the same lecture given to me by three other people. I grabbed hold of the strap of my purse and lifted my body up from the seat I'd been comfortably sitting in before being bombarded. 

“That man I killed was in charge of prostitution rings all around Australia, they knew no age limit, selling girls as low as the age of five. The man before had been raping and killing girls. I will sit here and name every single one of their dirty deeds and the way I killed them. So spare the morals and humanity speech for someone who actually cares” My lips pressed firmly together, not visibly, but my hands were stained with the blood of forty-two men, all men who were monsters of society, and if no one was going to do the job then I would step up and do it myself. Aaron and I were good friends, he was one of the few people I came to trust after Italy, so I know he wasn’t trying to hurt me, but to tell me what I’m doing is wrong. 

“We should go. The head mistress is probably waiting for us along with the others” Neither one of us wanted to dwell on my actions. Aaron stood up from the chair and the two of us began walking together. He threw his arm around my shoulder in a playful manner and kept me close to him.

“If you’re going to be an assassin, let me borrow that sleek set of daggers you have and let me in on the fun” A scoff left my lips as I looked up at him, narrowing my eyes.

“Sorry, I work alone, but I’ll let you use just one of my precious knives” Aaron and I laughed as we headed towards our next destination.

Aaron and I walked through the streets of Melbourne engaging in light conversation until we came across two other of our associates who waited for us as a designated street light. Francisco and Isabel. In sight, I waved at Francisco, who was in deep conversation with Isabel, a girl my age we met on a job in South Africa. She was single-handedly responsible for bringing down a trafficking militia, a militia that killed her parents and sister. Ebony skin that radiated beautifully in the sunlight and dark brown tight curls that reached her shoulders. Her face was stern upon first approach, but when you got to know her, her cheeky smile made you melt every time.

“Hey” I said, approaching Francisco and Isabel. Me and Isabel exchanged hugs before Francisco pulled me into a kiss. My arms wrapped around his shoulders, my lips carved into a smirk against his lips. Every time we had to part ways for a mission, it was gut wrenching, but our reunions would be even more riveting.

Obviously tired of our public display of affection, both Aaron and Isabel groaned at the sight, and pulled us apart. The four of us laughed and ventured our way to where we operate from. When we were first assigned to be a team, we hardly got along, we despised one another, but now we are like a small family. Me and Francisco took a break for three months after Italy. We hardly spoke to each other, no matter how much I tried to apologize, he just couldn’t look at me. Finally, after some time apart, he wanted us to try again and leave everything in the past, all of our untouched secrets and hurtful acts were left behind, whether or not I knew them didn’t matter, I just wanted him. Or that's what I keep telling myself to pull away from the memories I shared with a certain individual.