11 - LUCA

When me and Fizz arrived at the Lion Hearts casino, the first thing we did was make our way to the bar, ready to get hammered.

But while I sipped on my Jack Daniels, I noticed a woman at the other side of the room.

She was beautiful…

Easily the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on.

She looked Arabian, and like she was sitting in territory she didn't understand or fit in to. She looked out-of-place, uncomfortable, almost as if she was forced to be here.

Forced to be in a world she knew nothing about.

She had long, dark brown hair, hazel coloured eyes, tanned skin, plump lips, and a slim thick figure. She was wearing a tight red bodycon dress that traced her curves in all the right places. Emphasizing her slim waist, her wide hips, her thick thighs, her busty frame. She was so sexy, yet she looked so insecure…

Like she didn't realize how attractive she truly was.

She was the only woman, sat at a table full of men. She had her arm linked with a man, but I couldn't quite make out what he looked like, because he had his back turned to me.

The men at the other side of the table were staring at her as if they wanted to devour her whole. And it made my blood fucking boil to the point it almost dried up. It could be visibly seen how uncomfortable she was in the situation, yet they continued to stare at her with their filthy, predatory glances, making her feel even more worse than she already did. I wanted to beat all of these motherfuckers black and blue, squeeze their necks, causing them to suffocate and plead for air. Feeling an instinct within me to want to protect her…

Even though I had no idea who she was.

Her eyes almost looked tear-filled, as she held her gaze with mine. As if she was begging me to save her. Trying to tell me something. Screaming in my face to listen to her and her cries for help…

Even though she wasn't saying anything at all.

My heart hammered against my chest. Before I knew it, the man she had her arm around turned around to face her, and struck her on the face, hard.

Her hand leapt to her face where the man had just slapped her, and I could feel my blood run cold as I watched the situation play out.

Unable to believe my eyes.

"You bitch!" the man snarled. "I didn't bring you here to look around and not pay attention to what is being said. You're here to represent me, so focus on the damn table and stop getting distracted."

The lady coughed up a sob, before letting out a feeble, obedient nod, and she turned around to face the table again. She had her back to me now, and the trance that I was in…

Was now snapped.

I could feel my hands ball into fists with rage, furious just looking at the way she was being ill-treated. That fucking bastard she was here with had slapped her just because her eyes wandered around the room…

I could only imagine how much more terrible things were going on behind closed doors.

I couldn't just stand by and do nothing about this.

I didn't tolerate disrespect towards women.

Sure, I was no fucking golden boy myself. I hadn't treated Evelina the best when I was with her.

But I had never laid hands on her or made her tolerate bullshit like this. The most I'd done was fuck broads…

But I never hid that from her. She knew full-well what I was doing, what she was signing up for when she was with me. I'd never painted her a bullshit picture of me being the perfect man. She knew that I was a man with baggage…

An emotionally unavailable man, who couldn't give her what she wanted.

The love that she craved.

I swallowed down a lump in my throat, knowing that I couldn't act on impulse. I didn't know who these men were…

And I didn't know what I was dealing with.

Who I was up against.

I nudged Fizz, as I continued to stare intently at the table.

"Hey Fizz…" I murmured, cocking my head to the side, as I finished the last of my drink.

"Yeah, bro?" Fizz asked.

"The people on that table over there look familiar… But I can't quite put my finger on where I've seen them before." I drifted off my sentence, trying to focus my mind.

Fizz stared in the direction I was staring at, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Those men are The Camorra," Fizz stated matter-of-factly. "One of our rival cartels. The man sat next to that woman…"

Fizz heaved his chest.

"Who is he?" I demanded, my heart thumping against my chest.

"He's the kingpin," Fizz murmured.

The kingpin of the Camorra.

A psychopath fucker not to be messed with.

Fuck.