Page 10 of Die for You

A pained grunt leaves her. “What the fuck?” she cries, clutching her side.

“That was lesson one. Never let your guard down.”

“Lesson number one? I didn’t realize I was here to be schooled.”

As she’s mouthing off, I spin and thump the stick into the back of her knee. She buckles forward.

“Lesson number two. Don’t talk back. A smart mouth will get you killed.”

“Lenny, fuck off!”

She’s angry, which will be her downfall. I show her how so when I connect with her stomach with the end of the kali stick.

Her anger turns to full-blown rage as she charges at me, swinging her stick like an amateur. It takes me three seconds to disarm and slam her back against the padded wall. She tries to buck me off, but I place my forearm over her throat, subduing her.

Her green eyes are on fire. “You’ve proved your point.”

“I wasn’t trying to prove a point. It was a test to see if you could fight. You failed.”

She eyes me something wicked.

“Good, use that anger to win a fight. But never rule with your emotions. They will get you killed.”

How I wish Gianna wasn’t right in that lesson she taught us, but she is. Emotions make you weak. They force you to do things you might not usually do. I’m a perfect example of this.

“My emotions died with my father,” Bria spits. “Now, your little girlfriend suffers the same fate.”

It’s a low blow, but I don’t let her verbal stab affect me because that would defeat the purpose of this exercise. And besides, I did promise Bria her vengeance.

“You don’t stand a chance against Valentina. She would beat you blindfolded with both arms tied behind her back. We’ll train every day until you’re ready. You do what you’re told. You don’t question my decisions. You don’t talk back. Are we clear?”

Bria snickers.

“I said”—I press down harder on her windpipe—“are we clear?”

I don’t release her until she eventually nods.

She gasps for air when I do.

“This isn’t a choice either of us made. But this is our life now. We either fight or concede.”

“There’s no way that bitch Gianna is getting away with what she did to my dad.”

Finally, we agree on something.

“So where do we start?”

Picking up her fallen kali stick, I toss it at her. “Again, and this time, fight me like you mean it.”

Her eyes narrow, and I can see she loves to hate me right now, which is good. This is the only way to be because I too lost myself when Valentina left. I have nothing left but hate.

It seems Gianna taught me something after all.

Bria and I trained until she could no longer stand.

I’ll give it to her—the girl has guts. Something I always knew. But now, she has something to prove. She understands the legacy she carries because the Cattaneo name holds much respect and power. And now that Aldo is dead, it’s open season on us.

We’re merely seen as kids trying to fill the shoes of a great man. Every man and his dog wants what is rightfully Bria’s. The only other reputable leader is Gianna. And it’ll be a cold day in hell before she takes this empire to make it her own.