Luca

Luca

~GEMMA~
I raised my head and saw that Luca was staring at me intently with a wide grin on his face. My face turned really pink and was flushed in embarrassment. The grin on his face was weird, it was as if he read my thoughts.

I looked away in embarrassment. To hide my shame, I quickly lowered the car windows and stuck my face out of the windows.

The cool breeze that forcefully hit my face caught me by surprise and I gasped out loud. My hair was splattered all over my face and some were starting to enter my mouth. I straightened my hair and stopped it from entering my mouth and blocking my view.

From the corner of my eye, I could still see Luca staring at me. The road was so free, it was like our car was the only car on the road.

I refused to look at him till I could control the funny emotions I was feeling right now, so I just stared at the beautiful scenes, the beautiful environment, the green, bright grass, the sea, the beautiful sky.

It was beautiful, everything. I'm a lover of nature and getting the chance once more to be out in the open like this after being locked up in Antonio's house was pure bliss.

This is freedom!!

When I was sure that I was now in control of my emotions and my face wasn't flushed anymore. I brought my head inside and relaxed back on my seat.

We drove on in silence, this time Luca's gaze was fixed directly on the road again and for some strange reason, I really wanted him to look at me. I really wanted his attention.

"Where's your house located?" I asked, trying to break the silence between us.

"Near the mountain side" he replied.

"Why there?"

"It's because I love the calmness and peace"

"But you're not always in your house. You're mostly in Antonio's house" I said.

"Boss requested that I live with him," he replied.

"You're the closest to him out of his men. Does he have more men other than you, Mateo and Marco?" I asked.

"Boss has lots of numerous people working for him. Both male and female, they're everywhere. He just decided to keep us close at hand"

"How long have you been working for him?" I inquired. My curiosity was starting to increase.

"For five years now"

"Wow. How did you meet him?"

"I grew up in a very poor family. I lost both parents at an early age and had to survive on my own. Then I fell in love with a girl, my childhood love but she left me for a rich guy because I was poor. I was twenty then"

"I decided to leave my province to search for greener pastures. When I left the province, I had a simple dream. When I reach Italy, I'll look for a job and save up so I could come back and marry my childhood love, Maya as I wasn't ready to let go of her. But life here in Italy was so difficult"

" I did so many odd jobs but couldn't save any money. I became a runner for a gambling operator. I began dealing with and delivering hard drugs to survive. In one of my deliveries, I met Antonio Romano, Boss" Luca explained. I listened with rapt attention.

"What happened to the girl you loved?"

"I don't know her whereabouts anymore"

"When I met my boss and started working with him, it was easy at first. One delivery, ten thousand bucks, One sale, fifteen thousand, one assassination, one million. I was getting used to this kind of life and felt it was better. And when the boss saw that I was really good at my job and honest, he decided to keep me close and that's how I became his right hand man" he explained.

"He's just a year older than me but he's still my boss and I must give him the utmost respect"

I remembered when Nanny Emilia told me he's twenty eight, that means Luca is twenty seven. No wonder they look so young and handsome.

"And now, he's put you in charge of teaching me everything I need to know about the syndicate," I said.

"Yes, and this will be the beginning of your new life, Gemma. I'll teach you how to move in the underground world. How to tell friends from foes. How to handle people, how to control them, then use them to your advantage" he said.

"And even how to kill, Luca" I chipped in.

He looked at me with a cold glint in his eyes.

"Yes, even how to kill, Gemma"

The way he called my name sent cold chills down my spine and I quickly looked away.

"I don't want you going into this world, Gemma. You're too innocent for that, but we have no choice here" he said.

"You have to be very strong and smart in this world for you to be able to survive," he said.

I sighed and then there was total silence in the car. We drove for two hours before we got to his house. The gate was opened and he drove into the compound and parked the car.

"We're here" was the only thing he said before he came down from the car and walked over to where I was sitting to open the door.

I stepped out of the car and he closed the car door.

"Let's go in, ma'am" he said and led the way. I followed behind him.

We stepped into the house and an aged man and a young lady in a maid dress came to welcome us.

"Welcome home, boss Luca" the man greeted and bowed. The lady just bowed.

"Dante, Alice" he called out. "This is Boss Antonio's new wife, Ma'am Gemma Romano"

They bowed to me after Luca introduced me.

"They work for me. Dante is like an uncle to me. Alice is a sweet girl too but she's deaf and dumb and only communicates through signs. She's in charge of keeping the house clean and also very good with guns. She's a skilled shooter" Luca informed me.
I nodded my head repeatedly, digesting every bit of information.

I took a good look around the house, it was a simple and small house but it's also so beautiful, neat and comfortable. It's a house in the midst of mountains and seas and trees, so calm and peaceful. There was a stairs leading to some rooms upstairs.

After the introduction was done, I saw Luca making some signals to Alice. She nodded her head to show that she understood, bowed and walked away.

"Now, let's get down to business" he said and started the stairs. I followed him and we walked to a room. He opened the door and we went in together and for some strange reason, I suddenly felt nervous and shy staying in the same room alone with him.