Chapter 8: Strength. Resilience. Power.
"Mm," Luca moaned into Alex's mouth, his body tense as the heat inside him reached its peak.
"Fill me up, Luca..." Alex whimpered, his voice breathless and needy.
Luca didn't need to be told twice. His release came in waves, filling Alex with a thick, heavy warmth. Alex groaned, savoring the sensation. "Oh god, Luca..."
"Fuck..." Luca whispered, his breath hot against Alex's chest as he collapsed against him, his head resting on his boyfriend's shoulder. He let the intensity of the moment fade, the rawness of his body a satisfying ache.
Alex lowered his legs, shifting slightly to keep the mess from dripping onto the already stained sheets. He smirked to himself, his body still humming. "God, that felt amazing."
"Yeah," Luca murmured, staring at the ceiling. He'd spent the whole week at Alex's place, and somehow, amidst all the chaos of his life, it felt like the one thing grounding him.
It was Monday morning now--time to face the world again. They had big plans for after work today. Plans neither of them seemed ready for.
"You've got work, and I need to handle some things at the club," Luca said, stretching before moving to the drawer Alex had cleared out for him. A small but meaningful gesture, one that Luca didn't take lightly. Things were moving fast, but out of all the uncertainties in his life, Alex was the one thing that felt right.
"I know," Alex replied, pulling himself out of bed. "What kind of things?" He was genuinely curious, still adjusting to the realities of Luca's world.
Luca hesitated, gauging how much he should share. "Just a meeting. Some clients roughed up a couple of the girls last week. We're going to... talk to them about it."
Alex frowned. "Are the girls okay?" He'd encountered enough injured prostitutes in his line of work to know how dangerous things could get. The Moretti Girls were of a higher echelon and very well taken care of. They had health care and benefits. Alex didn't remember how they did. Luca had told them that on paper they worked for some company Isabella 'owned'.
"They're fine, but the men won't be." Luca reassured him as he searched for a clean pair of underwear to put on after his shower.
Alex raised an eyebrow, amused. "Ooh, gonna pistol-whip them?" He bent down and grabbed Luca's gun from where it had been carelessly tossed the night before, holding it up awkwardly by the trigger guard.
"Maybe don't touch that," Luca said, snatching it quickly and wiping it with his discarded underwear. "Don't want your prints on it."
"Would you prefer my prints on a different barrel?" Alex grinned as he gripped Luca's 'barrel'.
Luca chuckled, pulling him into a kiss. "Shower. Now."
"Bossy," Alex teased, but he followed Luca into the bathroom.
As they stepped under the warm spray, Alex turned on the water. "So... meeting your dad tonight," he said, his voice tinged with nerves.
"He'll love you," Luca said firmly, running shampoo through Alex's hair. "I do."
Despite the reassurance, Luca's stomach churned. Giovanni Moretti's approval--or lack thereof--could determine everything. Luca couldn't lose Alex. But he couldn't turn his back on his family, either.
They finished their shower, got dressed, and headed out.
Luca should've seen it, noticed it. The car following him as he drove. The man taking photos of Alex and Luca as they left the apartment. He had been raised to be vigilant, to look for those things. But he was too enamored by Alex.
He didn't see it. He didn't see anything.
"So..." Luca sat across from Jefferson, a frequent client, with Adam by his side and Matteo on this other. "One of my girls came by a little rough last week."
"What can I say, some of the guys like it rough." Jefferson tried to laugh it off, Luca joined him with a dry laugh. Sarcasm thick in it.
"Well, my girls don't mind it rough. But they do mind being bruised and having torn dresses. Dresses," Luca took a sip of the whiskey and put it back down with a cold tap that echoed like a gunshot across the table and throughout the empty club. "might I add. I paid for and were quite expensive." He stood up and walked around the table. Jefferson was nervous. He was trying to hide it, but he had a terrible poker face.
"I - I swear sir, I didn't have anything to do with that." He broke into a cold sweat as Luca sat on the edge of the table next to him. Luca looked down at him, his eyes saying he needed to hear more. "I - er - I just fucked the blonde. Paid her, and sent her on her way. That's - I swear. I didn't get too rough. That's not my- not my style." He stammered. Luca shifted.
"Josie. She's a good one." Luca pulled his phone out, pulled up an image from Orla, the woman who took care of the girls. "How'd this happen to her?" It was an image of her cheek, with a light bruise. Roughly the size of a hand. "And this?" Luca swiped to the next image of finger sized bruises on her upper arms, then to another with a long bruise against the back of her shoulders.
"I -" Jefferson opened his mouth as Luca backhanded him so hard he flew to the ground. He landed with a thud, chair clattering beside him. He scrambled back as Luca took a step forward. "Please Luca, I - Mr. Moretti! I didn't do that. I swear." Luca stepped between jeffersons legs and raised his foot right above the mans crotch and lightly brought it down. Slow and gentle, but with pressure to get his point across.
"Now Jefferson." He said as the man winced in pain below him. "My father raised me to always treat a woman with respect. That's why we take
very
good care of the women in our employ." Luca swiped through more photos, showing Jefferson. "And these women don't look like they were respected."
"Luca - oh god, fuck that hurts! I - look - I swear I didn't have anything to do with that. I did the one girl and went back to the hot tub. Made out with another but that's it." He pleaded, trying to get out from under Luca's foot, but two bodyguards had stepped behind the man to prevent escape.
"Well, the girls are hurt and they're scared. Gonna take weeks to heal. Weeks that they won't be earning their very generous seventy-five percent." Luca mused, checking his nails and knuckles, nonchalantly. "They won't be able to pay their rent, or buy groceries. Pay their phone bills." Luca lifted off of jeffersons crotch and pulled his gun, squatting down. "Does that sound fair?"
"No -no sir! It doesn't" He scrambled. "I'll- I'll pay the girls each an extra grand for their services." He offered.
"Just two? In this economy? That barely pays to replace Ellen's heels that someone broke." Luca looked at his gun, then turned his dark eyes back to Jefferson.
"Okay, you're right. Five. Five grand each." Luca gave him another look, he swallowed hard. "Ten. I mean. Ten sounds much better doesn't it." He smiled, praying that Luca would take the offer.
"And an additional ten, for me. For my troubles." Luca smirked at him, standing up and holstering his gun. "Oh and ten for Ms. Orla. She's just worried sick about the girls." He chuckled, reaching his hand down to assist Jefferson up. He took it.
"That sounds more than fair Mr. Moretti." Jefferson nodded quickly.
"It does." Luca looked over his shoulder. "Adam anything to add?"
"Yeah, one of the girls said that one of Jeffersons associates used some racial slurs against her. The tall one with the fat gut." Adam drank his drink. "With the bald spot and the nose hairs."
"Oh?" Luca turned to Jefferson. "We'll need that one's name."
"Of course sir." Jefferson nodded, keeping his head down. He held his groin, massaging away the pain.
"Good, you're good to go now." Luca told him. "Oh, wait." He reached out and grabbed his shirt, clenching it in fists. "If you ever," He pulled Jefferson inches away from his face and spat with pure venom, "hit another one of my girls, or any girl, again. I will personally tie your cement shoes. Understood." It wasn't a question.
"Yes." Jefferson mumbled as Luca released him and pushed him away. He practically teleported he ran so fast out of the club.
