Training

ADRIANA'S POV

"Welcome to the family, Adriana" Val told me the next morning as soon as I came down the stairs, my hair packed up in a messy bun.

I had barely slept a wink, conscious that the man sleeping beside me was breathing, why couldn't he just stop breathing? Oh, was that too hard to ask?

Sleep later claimed me a few hours before dawn either way and when I woke up, Vincenzo was nowhere to be found on the bed.

Now I saw him, sitting on the couch beside Valentina who was dressed in sleek black trousers and a fitted shirt, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, showcasing her sharp jawline. She looked every inch a skilled fighter, exuding confidence.

"Good morning, by the way, forgive my manners" she laughed slightly.

"Morning, I didn't realize you came here this early in the morning" I noted as I came downstairs properly, my gaze darting to Vincenzo who wasn't even paying any attention to any of us yet he was sitting there, his medium-length hair swept back and his brows pinched.

"Oh I come here very early in the morning to join the morning drill," she said.

"Morning what?" I asked confused.

"Drill. It's like they always do extensive training here every morning so I like to join them" she said.

"Oh, then why are you in the house?" I asked, confused.

If she was here for the training, wasn't that out? Why was she sitting casually in the main living room of the house with Vincenzo? A sudden idea just hit me but before I could probe further on it, I heard her voice snap me out of my thoughts.

"I'm here to take you with me"

That immediately caught my attention.

"Uh, take me where?"

"I convinced Enzo to let me take you on a tour of the estate," Valentina announced, nodding towards Vincenzo, who was sipping his coffee, his expression unreadable.

"He allowed that?" I asked, looking at Vincenzo who was doing his best to ignore us with every fibre of his being.

"I promised to behave and besides, his men are everywhere. Nothing's gonna happen"

"Yeah until she decides to do something stupid. Two of you together is a really bad choice" I finally heard Vincenzo grunt into his cup, his eyes dark.

Valentina looked at him and she frowned slightly. "I'm not a baby, Don Enzo, I can take care of your wife"

He looked at her with dead eyes and smirked. "You're 20, you're a literal baby"

Oh, she was 20. Fuck, she carried herself with so much maturity. I was three years older than her. Wow.

Her ears became red and she scoffed. "Well you didn't think of that when you ㅡ" she stopped herself in time and looked over at me.

"Um… let's go," she said, standing up and casting a glance at Vincenzo who simply continued sipping his coffee.

"I'll have to go change…" I said, backing up the stairs again, noticing how Vincenzo looked up at that and his eyes went over my figure for a brief second then his gaze dropped back to his cup of his coffee.

About ten minutes later, I had walked back out, now in a black stretchy trouser, a white crop top, and a blue jacket which I tied into a knot over the crop top.

Valentina looked me over and smiled while Vincenzo cast me a slow glance then his expression turned bored and he looked back at his now empty cup of coffee which seemed to still interest him.

"Bye," Valentina muttered, leading me out.

This estate was fucking huge, that would be an understatement especially as it was for less than 500 people, this could probably house 1000 if he wanted and still have all the pools, gardens, and… stuff.

As we walked onto the training grounds, I was struck by the intensity of the exercises. Men and women were engaged in various activities: hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, and obstacle courses. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and gunpowder.

Valentina led me to a shooting range, where several people were practicing their aim. She picked up a gun and began loading it with ease.

"Want to learn?" she asked, offering me the gun.

I hesitated, feeling a mix of excitement and trepidation as I stared at it. I had seen a gun loads of times, even had it pointed at me on a couple of occasions but I had never held one. This was a great opportunity to learn.

"Okay, but if I accidentally shoot someone, it's on you," I joked.

Valentina chuckled. "Don't worry, safety's on. You won't hurt anyone."

I took the gun, feeling its weight in my hands. It was heavier than I expected.

Valentina guided me through the basics: stance, grip, and aim. I listened intently, trying to absorb every detail.

As I raised the gun, I closed one eye, focusing on the target. My heart pounded in my chest.

Valentina began talking to a man who had pulled up beside her, holding a bat in his hand and his muscles rippling with each movement.

I closed an eye and looked at the target, imagining it was Vincenzo then I imagined shooting tiny holes into his head. God, that felt good.

Suddenly, I turned slightly to adjust my stance and aim at the target behind me, and my gaze fell upon someone standing behind me right in my way. My heart skipped a beat.

I opened my other eye to find Vincenzo staring at me, his expression unreadable. But what made my blood run cold was the realization that the gun was pointed directly at him.

Oh God, oh God, oh God.

My mind raced. How did I not notice him? Why is he standing so close? And how the fuck did he get there?

But I couldn't breathe. I was frozen, gun still pointed at Vincenzo.

The training grounds fell silent.

Immediately I heard people moving and I heard guns loaded. I managed to look to the side and I saw Guns were raised, trained on me.

I was surrounded by his men who were pointing their guns at me while I pointed mine at their boss who was standing there and didn't look like he had any intention to move.

"Whoa, what's going on?" I cried, panic setting in, my finger tightening on the gun.

Vincenzo's expression turned glacial.

"Lower. Your. Weapon," he growled.

I tried to move, but my fingers seemed locked around the trigger.

Vincenzo took a step closer, his eyes blazing.

"Adriana," he warned, his voice low and deadly.

"Tell your men to drop their guns first," I said stubbornly.

Valentina wanted to move closer to disarm me when Vincenzo raised a hand to stop her.

"Then what do you want to do Tesoro?" He asked with a smirk which quivered when I switched off the safety.

The sounds of the guns cocking didn't miss me and I was aware that one wrong move would kill me.

"Tell your men to drop their weapons"

"Shoot me"

"What?" I muttered, dropping the gun slightly.

"Shoot me, Tesoro" he gave a maniacal smile and crossed his hands.

I gritted my teeth. He knew I couldn't. Little son of a bitch.

As soon as I lowered my gun, his men lowered their guns too and we were left staring at each other.

"Everyone!" Vincenzo clapped his hand to draw attention to himself.

His men all stood at attention waiting for him to say what he had to say while Valentina collected the gun from me, muttering curses to herself.

"My wife here… no one is permitted to raise a gun to her. I'm the only one allowed to do that and if anyone disobeys…" he paused and I stared at him wondering where he was going with this.

Everyone echoed a yes and training continued, Valentina beside me stiffened and she was about to say something when Vincenzo looked at me and frowned.

"Tesoro. Follow me" he said, crossing his arms behind his back.

"Where?"

"No questions. Follow me. Now" he said then he was walking and I had to jog to keep up with him.

Was this the part where he killed me for pointing a gun at him?

Oh shit.