Chapter One
Olivia's 21st birthday
Today, I am 21.
My best friend, Luna, sits on my bed, filling her nails, which don't need to be filled. She is already dressed and ready while I try on outfit after outfit.
"Is Leo bringing a date tonight?"
As long as we have been friends, and that is now 15 years. Luna has had the biggest crush on my brother. Her asking that has me a little confused cause she knows Leo. He does not date.
"Period!"
I lift my brow as I look at her, waiting for her to look up, but she doesn't. That tells me she is looking for reassurance.
"You know my brother does not date, Lune."
I say when she eventually lifts her eyes to look at me.
The burning question has been. Will she go through with it tonight, or will she do what she always does and flirt from afar? Leo is not a playboy as some would think. Being the son of the Leader of the notorious Iron Serpents biker gang, for Leo, responsibilities come first no matter what. Leo takes that role seriously, so Leo bringing girls home is very rare. Hence, the lack of a girlfriend.
Luna throws the nail file on the side table by the bed and lies back against the pillows, smirking while she speaks.
"He will after tonight. Once he feels how good I am with my mouth."
I gasp when she says those words. Throwing her with whatever I could get in my hands that was close by enough, to stop her from talking before she divulged too much information. But I did not stop her as she carried on telling me more than I wanted to know.
"Fuck Luna. I don’t want to hear your sexual fantasies about my brother."
She makes hand gestures now, showing me what she means.
"Gross. Now you've got the picture in my head, Luna. Fuck man!!!"
She laughs, then throws a pillow at me as I pretend to gag, but I dodge it, letting it fall next to me on the floor. With a smirk on my lips, I say.
"Missed, Bitch."
She picks up another pillow to throw, but my brother’s voice stops her, and she drops it when my bedroom door opens and in walks Leo with a grin on his face.
"Dad told me to come and pick up the birthday girl."
When he steps in I pick up the pillow that Luna just threw at me and hurl it towards him making that smirk disappears as he looks at me shocked.
"Hey?!"
"Jeez. Fuck Leo. Don’t you fucking knock?"
He crosses his arms over his chest, and that grin he had on his face moments ago is back.
"Really, Olivia! You're my sister.
"That’s not the point, jackass. It is my room, and I would appreciate it if you knocked before coming in. What if Luna were naked and you just stormed in like that?"
I hear Luna snicker from the other side of the room, and only then does Leo realise that she is there. His eyes go to where she is sitting, blushing as she giggles in seconds he has his hands in his pockets a stupid ass smile now sits on his lips when he looks at her and speaks, his voice silky smooth like satin.
"I did not know you would be here, Luna."
Looking between them, pinching my brow while I smile, observe the two of them for a moment.
Leonardo and Luna stare at each other for a moment longer than they should. Thoughts are going through both their minds as they smile at each other. The attraction for each other is definalty there.
"Luna is coming to the pub too. Fuck! Maybe tonight I will kiss her. Emiliano did say she writes about me in her diary, which must mean she likes me." Leonardo thought as he smiled at Luna.
I clear my throat to bring the two of them from their eye fucking session. With my hands on my hips, I look to Leo, making sure he knows that my next words are meant solely for him. Cause if anyone is holding us up, it's him.
"If you want us to leave soon. You're gonna need to leave so I can get dressed."
That gets his attention, pulls his eyes from Luna he glares at me.
"I thought you were dressed already."
I am, but he does not have to know that.
"Just get out so I can get finished."
"Fine. Fuck. Just hurry up, we still need to pick up Emiliano, he has something to do for Dad before the party.
He walks out and closes the door, then I hear his phone ring, which tells me it is probably my Dad checking what is taking so long.
When I turn and walk to my closet for the leather jacket my Dad bought me for my eighteenth birthday, I hear Luna's voice.
"Are you going to change again?"
Pulling the jacket from the hanger, I hang it over my shoulders, then turn to face my best friend with a grin on my lips as I let out a soft laugh when I notice her puzzled look.
"I think I have tried on enough outfits to know that this is the one."
Dressed in a gothic lace patchwork camisole and ripped black jeans, I slide on my black heels, the only thing that puts me apart from the other women who form part of our family, the Iron Serpents.
Not long, and we’re entering a place I have called home. Despite the rugged exterior, the bar exudes an undeniable feeling of home and safety. It is a refuge where differences are celebrated and unity is forged. The bar’s atmosphere is warm and inviting, with the scent of leather and the faint aroma of beer and coffee mingling in the air. The friendly banter and infectious laughter create a comforting melody. Here, amidst the clinking of beer bottles and the hum of conversation, one can truly feel the embrace of a close-knit community.
My dad, Aldo. The leader of everyone standing in this room is a man of imposing stature, his presence commanding attention and respect. Standing at over six feet tall, with a muscular build honed by years of a life that he was born into shows on his features, he is a figure that embodies raw power. His piercing eyes are cold and hard as steel. But to me, he is a big teddy bear.
Leo shouts out over the noise.
"THE PRINCESS HAS ARRIVED FOR HER PARTY!"
Making everyone turn their attention in our direction. My father shoves the ends of the banner into the other guys hands and he starts to walk toward us, a smile on his face that would outshine the sun.
"Bellissima Olivia. Look at you, my sweet baby girl."
His huge arm engulfs my small frame as he hugs me tightly. I can hear in his voice that this hug is going to be an emotional one for him, and like the good girl I am, I let him have it. His arms tighten around me like some kind of anaconda's grip, and those around us burst out laughing when I squeak out a plea.
"DAD! DAD! I can’t breathe!"
He reluctantly lets go of me, kissing my forehead, he whispers words that had me feeling a little guilty.
"Even though you are now a grown woman, you will always be my precious little girl. Innocent to this world that we live in."
My father thinks I am blind to our world, naive and innocent. But I am far from that. After my eighteenth birthday, something inside me was unleashed. Something that I hide from those around me. A part of me that no one has seen and never will.
Like the good girl that they all think I am. I look up at my father and smile. That innocent smile is reserved only for him. Then I cuddled back into his big frame like I used to do when I was a little girl.
From my vantage point, I found myself smiling, swept up in the infectious energy of the room. In this biker’s bar, laughter wasn’t just a sound—it was the heartbeat of a community, echoing off the walls and into the night. I sit on the pool table where Leo and Emiliano play pool and watch Luna and Leo flirt, every touch and comment intentional, while Emiliano downs all the shots of tequila, my Dad brought over not too long ago and smiles as I look around at all the people that I have grown up with.
The laughter was infectious, rolling through the room like a wave. It came from every corner, weaving its way around the bar stools and tables, creating an atmosphere of camaraderie that was palpable. Groups of bikers, clad in their leather jackets adorned with patches, were huddled together, their faces alight with jovial expressions.
It is when I see Ava. Her piercing green eyes are sharp and observant, always scanning her surroundings with a keen sense of awareness. Ava's skin is tanned from countless hours spent on the road, and her face is etched with the lines of experience and wisdom.
Dressed in a well-worn leather jacket adorned with patches that tell stories of her adventures, Ava's style is as bold as her personality. Her jeans, rugged and faded, a pair of scuffed leather boots complete her ensemble, each step echoing with the confidence of a woman who knows her own strength.
I laugh as I watch her push one of Dad's guys up against the wall. A knife at his throat while her other hand has a grip on his hair, pulling his head back to her eye level. A small 5-foot woman has a larger, much younger male at her mercy.
Ava was the person who not only showed me how to protect myself. She was the reason I do what I do. Finding justice had become my priority.
One night, I came out of the pub to fetch something from my car, to find Ava fighting for her life. Some asshole was beating her like she was nothing but a punching bag.
I still see it sometimes, like flashbacks. How something snapped inside me. Instincts kicked in, and before I knew what I had done. The man lay there on the ground, his dark eyes staring up at me as he gripped his throat. Choking, he spits out blood, every inch of his life disappears while I stand and watch.
My father's voice pulls me from another one of those flashbacks when he shouts from a distance at the man who is still in Ava's grip.
Then the lights are dimmed, making everyone stop what they are doing and look towards the illuminated area, as my Dad walks in a cake with 21 candles, lighting up the now dim pub as he walks towards me.
When he gets to me, he starts to sing. Soon, everyone has fallen in and is now singing along. Cheery and drunken roars fill the pub with every "HIP HIP HURRAY" that fills the room.
But those cheery drunken roars are abruptly halted. The atmosphere in the pub shifts dramatically the moment the door swings open and the powerful mafia boss steps inside. It’s as if an invisible switch has been flipped, plunging the room into a tense, charged silence that pulses with an undercurrent of fear and respect.
I watch as my father puts the cake down on the pool table and pulls me closer. I look at the man who has everyone quiet and my father's defences up. With just my eyes, I look up at my father, and softly I whisper.
"Who is that, Daddy?"
My father does not look down at my when he answers, instead he watches as the man walks closer to where we are standing.
"Enzo Gambino, The Mafia Don?"
Then it comes to me. His the brother of the man I killed. The man that I caught beating Ava.
Enzo is now standing in front of us. His dark eyes draw me in. His scent is just a powerful as his demeanour when he stands and looks down at me as his words address my father.
" I could start with niceties. But you know that's not me."
I am now looking between him and my father as he speaks.
" I have come to collect on our arrangement."
Enzo Gambino now looks up at my father, and I follow him. I look at my father and see something I have never seen. It only intensifies into anger when Enzo says his next words.
"You know the one we made to save this little one."
His stormy eyes penetrate my soul, awakening a demon that lurks inside me. I glare at him, then step back, pulling my hand from his grip, and that overpowering presence that looms over me. I try to control my breathing as I think of what his words actually mean. What arrangement was he speaking about?
"She is a Fiesty one!"
Enzo says with a tone in his voice that has my heart beating with the urge to tell him off. That urge is shot down when my father's angry voice cuts through the silence around us.
"Let’s discuss this in my office"
Before anyone starts to ask questions, my father escorts Enzo towards his office. Enzo’s eyes stay on me as he replies to my father.
"Show the way, Old man."
The silence soon breaks when Aldo and Enzo disappear down the corridor. Leo follows shortly after. Leaving me there to wonder what the hell he ment by arrangement.
