Page 23 of Twisted Throne
I leaned forward unconsciously, my curiosity piqued. This sounded more like something I’d expected to find in a mob boss's house, not fancy sitting rooms and marble sculptures.
“Love to!”
Elena vented a tiny, well-bred sigh, but I didn’t think she’d done it consciously. When the door was opened, it led to a small landing and a cement stairway leading down, lit by a harsh white fluorescent light on the ceiling that flickered and buzzed. It was a shock to see something so barren in comparison to the rooms of luxury Elena had shown me.
I followed her down the stairwell until we suddenly reached the floor level and everything opened up into a huge area. It looked like it was a full, professional gym. In addition to punching bags and free weights, there were several different weight lifting machines and various exercise equipment.
Heavy ropes, free weights, and a climbing setup took up one wall, but my eyes immediately zeroed in on the far wall. It reminded me of those pegboards that people put in their garages to hold all of their tools. But what this wall held were certainly different kinds of tools than you’d find in a typical household. They were tools of violence and death. A closed gun cabinet stood at one side, but everything else was out in the opening—racks upon racks of various knives and close range weapons, some of which I didn’t even recognize.
“Well, who do we have here?”
A gruff voice rang out from my left. I had been so distracted by the rest of the room I hadn’t even noticed that there was someone else in the room besides Elena and me.
When I turned around I was confronted by one of the largest men I’d ever seen. “Burly” was the best word that I could think of to describe him. While his dark hair was fairly close cropped, he had a massive, wild beard that came down to his chest. His muscles were so big that they almost didn’t look real, straining against the confines of his shirt.
“Gia, this is Bear, our training guru. Bear, this is Gia, Angelo’s daughter.” Elena spoke up. “The situation’s been… something of a surprise, so I’ve been helping her find her feet.”
“I’d heard something about that.” That bass rumble would have had any casting director slapping him into the “villain” role, but Bear would never pull it off. Not with that wide, friendly smile on his face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Gia.”
I couldn’t help but smile back at him. Despite his intimidating appearance, he immediately made me feel comfortable.
“You too.”
“Gia’s a dancer,” Elena piped up. “I hadn’t thought of it, but we could always set up a practice area for you. With a mirror and a barre, I guess?”
Having my own training studio was a dream, but I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was taking Angelo’s money. It was awkward enough that I had basically had to move in with him. I wasn’t some sort of mooch.
“Maybe, yeah.” I tried to sound disinterested.
“You dance?” Bear looked me up and down critically—and curiously. “But do you know how to fight? It’s a good skill to have for anyone, but especially for the capo’s daughter. And your dance training would give you a solid base to build your skills on.”
“I’ve never done anything like that, no.”
“Well, if you want to learn, come see me. I’m an excellent teacher, and I only scare the stupid boys who refuse to listen the first time.”
With that he turned back and moved across the room to one of the weight benches, and Elena and I headed back up the stairs to the main section of the house without further conversation. My battered bags were still waiting near the door, looking shabbier than ever after my grand tour. Maybe they’d fit in a little better in the training room. Maybe.
“Here, we don’t need Ricky to carry these. We’re women, not invalids,” Elena said with a smile as she grabbed my backpack and slung it over her shoulder.
“Exactly,” I agreed, picking up my duffle bag.
“I got a suite ready for you, it’s right across the hall from where Alec and I are staying. Hope that’s okay?” she asked me, motioning for me to follow her up the winding staircase.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll only be here for a few days anyway, I think,” I replied.
“Hmmm, I thought you were staying here for longer than that,” she said, pausing mid-step on the stairs to look back at me. She stopped so abruptly that I almost ran into her back.
“I mean, I have to go home eventually, right?” I laughed.
I expected her to laugh with me. Instead, she just gave me a worried look.
“Yes… I suppose so. But you should stay here until Angelo gets things taken care of. Just in case,” she said, still frowning slightly.
“Uh, yeah, I guess that’s the plan at least,” I said, confused by her tone. After so many years of experience as a dancer as well as a teaching assistant, I was pretty good at spotting changes in body language. The easy confidence and perfect poise had faltered. Her back had gone stiff and her shoulders had a tense, uncertain angle to them.
She studied me for a long moment, then reached out and placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Good,” she replied. “Better safe than sorry, am I right?”