Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Davina trained to be a nanny, not an actor. She always considered herself a hard read, capable of fronting a face of stone that would blend into a mountain if need be. Just like Mrs. Bremerton. But the night of the fire proved otherwise. Gabriel Angelini read her like a book, and she wasn't sure if he was a special case or if she truly did leave her heart on her sleeve. On the other hand, it could play into her favor. If Gabriel believed he could read her accurately then that would ensure she kept his trust. A very a good thing.

At least, that's what she thought until a week after the incident with the Lavigne nanny. She and Gabriel were reviewing potential alternative art courses for Mikey when Val stormed into the penthouse and slapped a folder down on the table between them. "I fucking told you, Gabe! She's not who she said she is."

The blood drained from Davina's face. She'd known Val thought she was suspicious, but the accusation was more blatant than she expected. Panicking, she looked across the table at Gabriel who simply shook his head at her with a look that said 'I'll handle it.'

"We've already had this conversation," Gabriel said, putting his hand on the folder just as Val tried to whip it open. "There's nothing else to-"

"Bullshit," Val snapped, sliding the folder out from Gabriel's hand. "You weren't pulling on the right strings. Sure, she's a nanny, but that's not all she is." Davina felt like throwing up. Having Gabriel learn this way was the worst-case scenario. Val flipped the folder open, brandishing the papers like a knife. "The dark web knows her as Phoenix."

The adrenaline stopped pumping, and Davina relaxed the death grip she had on the arm of her chair. This was all right. Gabriel already knew this about her. Val continued her assault, pointing to the crumbs left behind by Davina's online persona. Remarkably, Val had uncovered some of her more juvenile work back when she first started on the web. Thankfully, nothing too damning, but the fact that Val had found anything at all told Davina that she hadn't found it on her own. Digging up this kind of information took someone with skill, and Gabriel had already admitted to her that no one on his team matched her abilities. Which meant Val had outsourced this little investigation somewhere else. Most likely headquarters. Which meant she might now be on the don's radar.

Great.

Val finished her speech and looked at Davina triumphantly. "If the dark web is how she makes her money, she's obviously looking to sell information about us."

Davina looked to Gabriel, but he wasn't looking at Val. He was watching her intently, eyes dropping from her face to her hands and back up. He responded without even passing Val a glance. "Enough. I already knew this about her."

Val's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

He finally looked at her, his expression changing from annoyed to foreboding with just the slight narrowing of his eyebrows. "Once again, it was one of the reasons I requested Davina specifically in the first place. She's already proven her usefulness in this area. Who found this for you? The Wizard?"

"I-" Val's confidence seemed to wane. "Yes."

Gabriel stood up and adjusted his jacket. Davina didn't think the act of buttoning a suit could be intimidating, but Val was already shrinking back. Her face lost some of its unflappable confidence. To her credit, she held her ground as Gabriel towered over her, his voice lowering. "One of two things must be true, Valentine. Either I am chronically misguided and flippant with not only our security but the personal security of my son or your own judgment has been clouded enough to misjudge mine. Obviously, the first cannot be true, so we must settle on the latter."

Val curled her hands into fists. "Yes, sir."

"If I want to hire someone with dual purpose that is my business." He pointed to the door. "Get out, and I'll think about whether or not to send you back south."

Val bowed her head and left the dining room. Davina stayed silent until the security system chimed that the elevator had closed. She was just about to speak when she heard Gabriel move. Instead of returning to his seat, he stopped behind her chair. Over the past couple of weeks, she'd grown accustomed to Gabriel's habit of getting into her space whenever he wanted to make a point or get her attention. He no longer felt threatening to her, and even the casual touches they shared she interpreted as good faith between her and her employer. After all, there were few in his close circle, leaving a need for familiarity that she was certain he lacked in everyday life.

But this time, the air felt different. An uneasy prickle crept up Davina's neck. His presence was like a cloud brimming with the electricity of an oncoming storm. When his hand dropped to her shoulder she nearly jumped out of her seat.

"You looked scared there for a minute."

She wasn't sure how to interpret his tone. Accusatory? Concerned? If she didn't respond correctly she could destroy the trust she'd built up between them. If she didn't have Gabriel in her court, she didn't have anyone. Not here. She hesitated a beat before looking over her shoulder, making the best humbled and remorseful expression she could muster. It wasn't like he wasn't manipulating her back.

"I was." She lifted her chin and lowered her lashes. "This is the second time my online activities have caused you trouble. You should be angry with me too. I must have done something to earn her mistrust."

Gabriel let out a dry laugh. He squeezed her shoulder once before returning to his seat across the table. "Unlikely. Val doesn't trust anyone new. The mess she's made is not your doing. If the Wizard knows then my uncle knows. Not sure whether or not I should call him and have a conversation or just leave it be." He pinched his forehead. "Who am I kidding? He'll call me on it eventually."

"Do you think this puts me in any kind of danger?"

"Not any more than you are already." Gabriel spun the folder around and flipped through the papers. "Phoenix, huh?"

Davina made a face. "I was sixteen when I first started, thank you."

-

It was late when Davina retired to her room. The incident earlier that day ate at her. On the surface, things were only slightly worse. If the don was monitoring Gabriel heavily then there was no way she hadn't already popped up on the radar. Being in HQ's spotlight was an inevitable and, hopefully, temporary situation. What bothered her more was Gabriel. She had the uncanny sense that she had let something slip, but she couldn't put her finger on where or how. Those blue eyes of his seemed to see through her soul sometimes.

The clock read 2 AM the last time she opened her eyes. The uneasy thoughts were finally retreating to the back of her mind when a noise brought them back. Instantly, she was upright in bed. A shadow could be seen beneath the door.

A small voice called out. "Vina?"

Davina let out a breath. Mikey. She hurriedly went to unlock the door, not bothering to throw a robe over her slip. Mikey was waiting in the hall, hands fisted around a blanket and his duck. His cheeks were flushed and he was making a gallant effort to calm some panicked breathing. "Um, I just need some water and when I walked into the kitchen the vents were making a crackling noise, and I don't smell smoke but I was wondering if you could-"

This poor child. Of course, the fire would leave some lasting scars on his little mind. She knew that better than most. Davina got on her knees and pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. "Of course, Mikey. I'll check."

He followed her to the kitchen, pointing to the offending vent. Davina knelt on the floor and put her ear against the cold metal. After listening for a moment, she lifted her head and gave Mikey a bright smile. "It's just the ventwork creaking when the temperature changes. Things tend to expand and shrink along with the hot and the cold. It's only because the air turned on. No fire."

Mikey kept his blanket over his head like a hoody, still gripping the corners tightly. "You sure?"

Davina crossed her heart. "Promise. Now let's get you that water." She was relieved when the tension left his eyebrows and he turned towards the kitchen. She poured him a cup, adding ice when he demanded it be "on the rocks." Sensing he didn't want to be alone, she sat next to him as he drank it at the counter. "Where's your father?" she ventured in the silence. She figured she wasn't the first choice when the boy had been frightened. 

Mikey shrugged. "Dunno. He wasn't in his room. He has trouble sleeping sometimes."

"And you?" Davina asked, sensing an opening. Mikey didn't answer immediately. "I know I did," she said, hoping to coax him. "After the fire, I couldn't sleep, and if I did, there were nightmares. I was convinced my room would burn down again, that the smoke alarms wouldn't work, that I'd somehow left the oven on even though I barely even cooked at that age." 

"Really?" Mikey studied his empty cup. "How old were you?"

"Barely a teenager, but still much older than you."

"And you were scared even then?"

"Even then." She picked him up, blanket, duck and all. "And even now. I was still awake when you came to get me. We never outgrow nightmares, Mikey. We just slowly figure out how to beat them. On our own or with help."

Mikey yawned. "Iwasn'tscared."

Davina gave him a squeeze. "Well, I was. You came and got me just in time." Mikey hummed and she thought she heard him whisper 'good' but she couldn't be sure. His head was leaning heavily against her shoulder when she reached his room. He barely stirred when she put him back in his bed and tucked the blanket under his chin. She watched him for a moment before leaving the room.

"Children like me," she whispered, leaning her forehead against the door. In her mind's eye, she saw a similar sight, a much older girl who checked the furnace and stared at the electrical box with frightening frequency, even though she had no idea what she was looking at. And just like tonight, she saw her nanny come and take her back to bed, reassuring her with words that she now repeated to her own young ward. "It's uncanny." 

Now wide awake, she turned back to her room when she saw a glow from the kitchen. Must have forgotten to turn off the light. She was almost there when she heard a clink come from around the corner. Her heart leapt into her throat until she realized it was probably just Gabriel. She debated returning to her room, but some invisible force pushed her forward. Even as she couldn't label her motivation, she told herself she was just making sure it was who she thought it was as she pushed the door open.

Gabriel was rinsing Mikey's cup out at the sink. "You handled that well."

A knot tightened in Davina's chest. She hadn't known he'd been within earshot. How was it that he was always able to pry or overhear all the intimate details she'd owned up to her own life but she still hardly knew anything of his? It felt so imbalanced.

"Mikey said you have trouble sleeping sometimes," she said, deflecting. Gabriel put the cup away and turned. Davina had to stop herself from looking away. His shirt hung completely open, and though she was trying to accustom herself to occasional glimpses of her boss's bare torso, there was something about the time and the setting that put her heart to racing. Hopefully, her cheeks weren't betraying her. 'Eye contact' she reminded herself. 'Never lose eye contact.'

"I've got a lot to keep me up," Gabriel said. He gave her a pointed look, or maybe she was only interpreting it that way. She glanced around the kitchen nervously. "There's no bugs," Gabriel said to her unanswered question. "I've checked repeatedly."

Not what she was worried about, but his assumption set her at ease. "Anything in particular keeping you up tonight?" she ventured.

"It's my anniversary."

"Oh." Davina's eyes widened. "Oh. Sir, I am so sorry. I didn't realize- I mean, no one said-" Her mind raced. She thought she knew their anniversary, and it was not today. But she wasn't about to argue with the somber man in front of her.

"No one would," Gabriel said, leaning back against the counter. "They don't know the exact date. Or the correct one, anyway."

That was odd, but not the point.

"I... I am so sorry, sir." Words failed her. Gabriel rarely mentioned his wife, and his stoicism or unexpected teasing prompted her to move the fact of his wife's death to the back of her mind. He must have grieved -must still be grieving- but if the rumors she'd heard were an indication, grief was not a weakness he could advertise. She scrambled, thinking back to her own experience. When time passed after the fire, the grief had changed to a yearning. A yearning to talk about them, to keep the memory alive, to ensure that no one forgot, that their memory lived on beyond her own head. At first, reminiscing was painful, but it was eventually healing. Losing a spouse was different from losing a parent, but loss was loss. And no one should face it alone.

She could offer him some solace and maybe learn something at the same time. The unknown story of the wife felt like something she needed to know, even if Gabriel disagreed. Especially if the rumors swirling around her death were even partially true. Gabriel and Mikey wouldn't be the only ones wandering the lion's den.

Gabriel didn't make any moves to leave the kitchen, so before she could lose her nerve, Davina walked over to the sink and leaned against the counter beside him. "How many years were you married?"

"Nine. Or, it would have been nine."

"Mikey talks about her sometimes." She thought back on the most recent conversation they'd had about it. "From what I gather, she sounds like she was never afraid to speak her mind."

"That's one way of putting it. She was an outsider before she married me. She understood how the clan worked, but she put her foot down where she felt it mattered." He smiled at the floor. "She made her own rules."

"Apparently she cut his sandwiches in a way that is impossible for me to replicate," Davina said. "And I've had extensive knife training."

"We had help when Mikey was born, but she never let anyone do what she considered 'her job.' I believe that's why he was talking in complete sentences by the time he turned two."

"I believe it," Davina laughed. "I've never met a little man with as large a vocabulary." Talking about his wife through the guise of how it affected Mikey felt safe. She was sure of these waters. It fell under her jurisdiction. "Based on what I've been able to gather from Mikey, she shared your dream for him."

"She did." Gabriel let out a slow breath. "You remind me of her sometimes."

Shit. This was not her jurisdiction. 

"You handle him well," Gabriel clarified quickly. Her discomfort must have been written all over her face. "Knowing what to nurture and what to curb. If it had been entirely up to me I would have spoiled him rotten. Despite what my uncle thinks, the strict one was her."

"If I replicate that at all I will take that as the greatest honor, sir," Davina said. "Mothers are forces to be reckoned with."

"She was." Gabriel lifted his head. Davina held his gaze, uncertain of the emotion brewing behind his eyes but hoping she had said something to ease the pain within them. Gabriel broke away first, dropping to her shoulder where the stitches from the bullet wound were nearly healed. "And so are nannies who take bullets and jump from second-story windows."

Davina was suddenly very aware that she was only wearing her slip. Her cheeks burned and she crossed her arms over her chest and gripped her shoulders with both hands as if that would cover her sufficiently. "Just doing my job."

"Of course. I take it your nanny is a great part of how you ended up at ENA."

It wasn’t framed as a question, but a warning bell went off in Davina’s head. She needed to tread carefully. “I wanted to protect,” she said, dropping her hands from her shoulders. They found the pendant hanging from her necklace instead. “As she did for me. ENA was able to combine that desire with my love of computers.”

“I see.” He looked at the clock. "I've kept you too late. Mikey will be up early, knowing him."

"Right. Goodnight, sir." She turned to go, but Gabriel grabbed her wrist.

"Davina." His touch was gentle but there was an urgency to his tone that made her heart quicken. Like he had just let her see something she wasn't supposed to.

"I will never discuss your family with anyone outside of you, sir," Davina said quickly. "You know that."

"That's not-" His hand slipped from her wrist to her hand, his thumb rubbing over the still-healing scrapes she had gotten from escaping the fire. "Val will not be the first person to mistrust you. My loyalty cannot be questioned, but given your position and proximity to me, yours cannot be either. I'm beyond doubting your dedication to Mikey, but you should understand the scrutiny you have been placed under and prepare accordingly. Nothing is off limits."

"I understand, sir." It came out hoarser than she would have liked. Somehow, the topic had been turned back on her without her realizing it. The statement held nothing but a warning she needed to hear, but he was constantly pulling her to her toes. Maybe she was reading between the lines too much, but it was as if he was saying 'If you have anything else to tell me, do it now before it's too late.' He knew he was larger than her, that his proximity was intimidating, and yet he leaned in anyway while she stood with an empty quiver. She had to - needed to - throw something back at him. 

He let her go, and before she could talk herself out of it, she stepped closer, putting her hand on his arm before he could retract it fully. Two could play this game. Maybe. "And you'll have my back?" His gaze was suffocating, but she pushed forward anyway. "You said HQ probably knows everything about Phoenix now. They'll have questions. Field them for me."

"I promise." She closed her eyes, a small weight lifting off her shoulder. "Only worry about the questions that come from me." He moved out of her reach, her hand slipping off as he walked past her to leave the kitchen. "Goodnight, Davina."

She stood there for another moment, her back stiffened from his promise that still somehow sounded like a threat. She shook her head, muttering as she turned off the light and left the kitchen. "How does he do that?"

Chapter Text

Gabriel watched the security feed of the pool while he sat in the cool of the penthouse office. Davina and Mikey were taking turns going off the diving board. After a few unfortunate belly flops, Mikey’s dive was improving under Davina’s instruction. Gabriel chuckled as he saw her muck a few of her own dives, undoubtedly to protect the boy’s ego. She really was so good with him. He was lucky. At least he hoped he was.

He looked over at the folder on his desk, the one he hadn’t expected to be taking a second look at so soon. Nothing Val produced had shaken his faith in Davina. No, Davina had done that herself. It was the way she’d looked like she was about to pass out when Val stormed into the room, the way her hands relaxed when Val revealed what she’d dug up, as if she expected something else entirely. That reaction was confirmation enough for him. He didn't know everything he needed to about Davina.  

As much as he hated admitting that Val’s gut might have been right, he had to put this to rest.

He turned the pool feed off and started combing through her files, looking for anything he had missed on his first perusal. But after going through it twice, he still didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Everything she had told him matched seamlessly with her profile. There was the matter of how she ended up at ENA, but she could have come across the school entirely on her own with her cyber skills. Those same skills could have been enough to warrant the scholarship. She’d implied as much when he tried to inch some information out of her last night, but her tone had been so guarded that he was hesitant to accept her answer for face value.

Gabriel mentally chided himself. He shouldn’t assume. There was another way Davina could have found her way to ENA.  

Alumni sponsorship, a common practice from schools of ENA’s type. 

That opened up a different can of worms because that meant Davina’s late family required the services of an elite nanny. Her family was the one thing he knew nothing about. She had brought no pictures with her, there had been no small talk about where she was from or where she grew up. The only thing that came to mind was the necklace she wore around her neck, there too consistently to be a mere preferred ornament. It was valuable from what he could tell, a quality emerald in a gold casing.

But looking for a well-off family from Rome was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even if he looked for residential fires from those years, there was always a chance the family had moved cities. 

Unless he was pulling on the wrong string. 

Gabriel pulled out his phone. He shouldn’t be looking for more on Davina. He needed to find her nanny. 

Adam picked up on the first ring. “Yes, boss?”

“I need you to go into the storage and find the box of recovered electronics from the fire.”

“Sure thing, though its mostly empty. Anything that was significantly damaged was wiped and thrown away. There’s mainly just entertainment devices left to salvage.”

“That’s fine. I’m looking for Davina’s cell phone.”

“Oh.” A pause. “I thought you bought her a new one, sir.”

“Just bring it, Adam.”

The security system announced the pool doors opening, and Mikey’s excited chatter echoed down the hall. Gabriel put his phone down and rested his chin in his hands. His gut was rarely wrong, so why did everything in him scream to trust Davina completely while simultaneously tell him she wasn’t being honest with him? Part of him wanted to pretend he hadn’t noticed anything at all.

That was concerning. 

-

“But this is an adult class?” Mikey squinted at the brochure Davina was trying to get him excited about.

 “It is,” Davina said, “though we were planning on arranging private lessons. You wouldn’t have to be around the other students if you didn’t want to.”

Mikey wrinkled his nose. “How will I know what the competition is capable of?”

Davina had to stop herself from laughing. “They would be your classmates, Mikey, not your competition.” He didn’t look convinced, so she tried a different angle. “They don’t just offer painting lessons either. This studio does pottery, sculpting, glassware, and jewelry design. We have no idea how long we’ll be living in Lyon, so those could be things you try when you’re a little older.”

“What are my other options?”

Davina sighed. There were other classes on the table, but Gabriel had only greenlit this particular one. It was more private and located in the heart of the city, the safest option for what they needed. That was all well and good but if Mikey didn't feel like he chose it himself, it wouldn’t stick. 

“There is Saint Amette on the city outskirts,” she said, pulling out another pamphlet. “Father Titus recommended it highly to your father on Sunday. It’s a prestigious catholic school that makes a few of their classes available to households. They have a focus on arts from a religious perspective. It would also involve a lot of history, so that’s really interesting! You’d even get to wear the school uniforms.”

Mikey made a face. “Well, I could at least visit the studio. See what I’m working with.”

Davina smiled. “Great idea! I’ll see if Adam can take us.”

The studio was on a third floor of one of the older buildings in the second district of Lyon. Mikey looked less skeptical when they arrived there, eyes lighting up when he spotted a fountain in the courtyard. Davina had called ahead, so one of the instructors would be waiting for them. When they got off the elevator it was to a hall of glistening marble tiles with portraits lining the walls. 

“Welcome, mademoiselle." A tall woman wearing a sleeveless black dress and red glasses greeted them. “The instructor is with one of the curators. If you’ll come this way, we can begin the tour.” 

It didn’t take long for Mikey to be enthralled with the place, and the moment he saw the firing room for the glasswork and the pottery, Davina knew he was sold. It wasn’t until the end of the visit that they were able to meet the instructor who was still with the curator when they arrived in his studio. The two men were bent over a collection of stones that Davina recognized as uncut gems. 

The instructor greeted them warmly. “Welcome! I am Professor Rouche. This must be the young prodigy I have heard much about! Tell me, Mikey, was it? Which do you prefer? The oils, acrylics, or watercolor?”

Mikey beamed. Davina stepped back to observe while the instructor sat Mikey down to do a quick twenty-minute sample lesson to gauge what class to place him in. The studio was much more secure than the last one they’d attended. There was no view to the street, only to the courtyard below. An emergency exit was located in the far back corner. The place seemed to be deserted during the off-hours aside from the instructor, the receptionists, and the curator who was an older gentleman. 

Davina approached the table with the stones. “Projects, monsieur? ”

The older man put down the stone he was inspecting and looked up. “Our students do cut their own stones, but these are for a piece the Professor plans to work on himself.” He had a strong northern Italian accent. It was pleasantly familiar to Davina’s ears. "Peruvian opals. These over here are what the students will be using later this evening."

“What are they?”

“Rubies from Thailand. Quite flawed, I’m afraid, but that what is best for learning.” He paused, taking her in over his eyeglasses. “I take it that is your son over there?” 

His tone was hesitant, and Davina smiled and shook her head, hoping to put him at ease. “I’m his nanny. Davina.” She offered her hand.

“Ah, Antonio.” He took her hand and scanned her uniform again. “Davina. Beautiful name. Is art the boy's own interest or one you hope to cultivate?” 

“Both,” Davina said, glancing over at Mikey who was struggling with an apron that was several sizes too large. “This studio offers much more than painting, so I hope he will find several passions here. Art is best learned young after all. Have you been working here long?” It would be good to know as much as she could about the staff if this was to be a long-term arrangement. The old man looked harmless enough, but one could never be sure. 

“Oh, I am not an employee, but a close friend of the establishment. I work for several studios in the area, primarily locating stones and jewelry, but occasionally art pieces as well. I travel a good bit between Portugal, France, and Belgium.”

"How long have you worked with Professor Rouche?"

"Ah, only a year. He is one of my few, how you would say, more personable clients. I like what he does, I like his style, so I give him some of my free time."

“How charitable of you. I take it you stay busy?”

He laughed. “Too busy for my age, I’m afraid.” He looked down her uniform again as if spotting a stain. Davina followed his gaze, wondering if she had brushed against a palette during the tour and left some paint.

Antonio raised his hand. “Apologies for staring, but that is a striking piece you have there. Might I take a closer look?”

“Oh.” Davina grasped her pendant, uncertain at first, but no one had ever taken a look at the necklace, certainly no one with a trained eye. She undid the clasp and handed it to him. “I’ve had it for forever. It’s an emerald, I always supposed.” 

He immediately took the pendent under his magnifier. “Emerald indeed. And a quality one at that.” He turned the gold casing in his fingers, flipping it to the other side to study the curvature of the metal. He focused on the eye of the pendant for a long moment. “Signora, this is a Donello.”  He was looking at her like he couldn’t quite believe his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Davina said. “I don’t understand the significance.”

“A Spanish designer from the 1920s who trained in France,” Antonio explained. “See here, this emblem just above the mounting of the gem. I don’t see many of these. Most of his pieces disappeared during the war. One or two pop up at auction or estate sale now and again, but only the larger pieces typically survive in any quality. He is known for his circular geometric designs and exquisite detailing. Yours is in incredible condition. The edges should be worn down, but the design is still quite clear around the emerald. Could I ask how you came by it? Family heirloom, perhaps?”

“A gift,” Davina said vaguely, taking the pendant back. She ran her finger around the edge with new admiration. 

“I would be happy to appraise it for you if ever you were interested. I do think the last time I saw something similar would have been nearly ten years ago when I worked on a collection for the Museo Zuvio. You’ve been, haven’t you?” 

“Not in years.” She said it casually before she realized the implications. Museo Zuvio was a tiny museum just outside her hometown. It was not a popular tourist destination, but it was a place she frequented as a child. 

She looked up at Antonio, a sudden pit in her stomach, but the old man only chuckled. “I recognize your accent, Signora. It is good to meet a fellow northerner. I am from Palù. And you?”

“I-” Davina was at a loss for words. She had thought she had managed to rid the traces of her accent through linguistics training at ENA. There shouldn’t be anything but the faintest touches of it remaining. “Padua, actually. So not as close as you’d expect.” 

“Davina!” Mikey ran up, his hands full of papers and his face flushed. “Professor Rouche said I’m advanced for my age group! He’s going to show me a couple refresh courses, but I should get on a regular curriculum soon!”

ENA be thanked, Mikey had impeccable timing. Antonio looked harmless enough, but her nerves were jumping out of her skin from the short conversation. Looks could be deceiving. “That’s great, Mikey! You should thank the Professor for taking the time with you.”

“We’ll be back next week, right? He said I could start right away,” Mikey urged. 

“I can do Tuesday afternoons,” Professor Rouche said, coming up behind the excited Mikey. “Unfortunately, that’s all the flexibility I have at the moment. I don’t typically take students of Mikey’s… age. But we can start with shorter lessons and gradually progress from there.”

“I’ll have the paperwork signed and bring payment on our next visit,” Davina said. “We appreciate your flexibility.”

“Not a problem. It was good to meet you. I take it Antonio didn’t bore you?”

“How insulting.” Antonio laughed. “I hope we have the pleasure again, Signora Davina. If you are ever interested, my work is also on display at Caselle Hall and The House of Light. I frequent there when I am not traveling."

Davina smiled again, a bit too forced this time. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she grabbed Mikey’s hand. “That sounds lovely, though I would have to secure time off. Thank you both for your time. Professor Rouche, we will see you next week.”

Mikey chattered nonstop the way home, excitedly and ambitiously mapping out his expected progress for the next year. Davina tried to match his enthusiasm, but her stomach felt like it was being turned inside out.

Looks could be deceiving indeed.

Chapter Text

It was nap time when they reached the hotel. Mikey was barely keeping his eyes open, and Davina gave him a piggyback ride up to the penthouse. Once he was tucked in, Davina went to her room. 

No question about it, Antonio was a potential security issue. For her more than Gabriel, maybe, but an issue nonetheless. The longer she thought on it, the more she was convinced Antonio could not have picked up a northern accent from her. Not only that, but the Museo Zuvio was not an art museum. It displayed mostly local taxidermy, plant life, and ancient Grecian artifacts from the area. He shouldn’t have had a reason to reference it, not unless he was trying to get a feel for where exactly she was from. And she had walked right into it. 

Maybe she was being paranoid, but the subtext was all there. Antonio knew something, but whether or not he posed a threat was a different question altogether. The fact that he worked with The House of Light was an undeniable red flag. He had approached her so cautiously until he confirmed she was not an Angelini. 

Davina flopped onto her bed and rubbed her eyes. This was going to be the longest year of her life. She couldn’t say there were many moments when she felt entirely safe (ironically, the majority of those moments were in the company of Gabriel) but that only escalated after the fire. In the past month alone there were so many events that remained unanswered. 

Who was the second tail from the first art lesson? Why was Nico convinced the fire was an inside job? And if it was, who were they after? The fire had started on the second floor somewhere between Mikey’s room and Gabriel’s office, an odd placement if the goal was to hurt the don or Gabriel. Then there was Gabriel’s reaction to the bugs in Mikey’s room. It was offensive, sure? But was it enough to take this level of action against the French mob? Hitting their money was the most provoking option. Even Val and Nico seemed to think it was extreme.

It was like Gabriel was looking for an excuse to go to war. 

If there was one thing Davina had realized about her new boss, it was that he was a calculated man. There was a reason, but she couldn’t see one that didn’t further endanger Mikey. 

The rest of the afternoon passed fitfully. Gabriel was out all day and didn’t make it back until supper. They took it together in the dining room. Signora Conte made lamb chops with a balsamic reduction, but Davina could only poke at it.

She remained zoned out until Mikey tapped her arm. “Do you need help cutting yours?” she asked, lifting her head. 

“I asked how did the visit to the studio go,” Gabriel said.

“Like three times,” Mikey supplied helpfully. “And Nico said lamb chops are good to eat with your hands but I don’t think I like the mess.” He showed her his hands which were smeared with the reduction.  

Davina smothered a smile and reached for a napkin. “He probably wasn’t talking about these type of chops. And the visit to the studio went good. Time will tell if it’s a fit, but it’s much more secure than the last location.”

“But you’re not eating and Papa’s not eating,” Mikey said, rubbing his hands furiously against the cloth. They still came away sticky. “How was I supposed to know?”

Davina looked up at Gabriel’s plate. He hadn’t touched his either. 

“Good,” Gabriel said. “They certainly are charging enough.”

“For private lessons that they don’t typically even offer,” Davina inserted, getting Mikey another napkin. “I think it’s generous, given the scenario.” 

“I like it,” Mikey said. “I got to use a big easel. Not the puny kid kind.” 

Gabriel cut into his food. “Then that’s all that matters.” He nodded at Davina. “Something wrong?”

“Stomach ache.” Davina looked down at her plate. “Probably stress. I haven’t been sleeping great.”

“If you have a nightmare again just come and get me,” Mikey said. “Or Papa.”

Davina laughed, praying that her cheeks did not flame up at the suggestion. She saw Gabriel smirking out the corner of her eye. “I’ll do that, Mikey. Thank you.”

Dinner ended without any significant conversation. Once Mikey was in bed, Davina tried to relax herself with a cup of tea and reading in the common area, but even concentrating on a book seemed too much to ask. Too much nagged at her mind, and Antonio was at the top of that list. She needed to inform Gabriel, but how could she explain why she was so certain it was a problem without disclosing some of her own background.? In her mind’s eye she could just see it: Gabriel somehow meeting with Antonio and having a conversation only to find out more than he bargained. That couldn’t happen. She couldn’t let it. But she still needed to say something.

It was getting late again, but she knew there was no sleeping for her. She closed the book. Exercise was always a recipe for a good night’s sleep. No one would be up on the roof at this hour. Maybe she would be able to knock out if she swam a few laps. 

It was cold when she reached the roof in her swimsuit. She winced as the security system announced the pool door opening, but hopefully it wasn’t loud enough to wake Mikey. The area was deserted, just as she hoped. Leaving her towel on one of the chairs, she stood at the edge and dove in, the cold water hitting her body in a brief shock before she fully submerged. 

Those first few seconds in the water were always her favorite, the momentary sensation of weightlessness as the momentum cut her body through the water, the rush in change of temperature, the feeling of her hair trailing behind her and floating over her head as she dived down. 

She did that a few more times, swimming a lap then returning to the dive board to start over. Once that got old, she tried traversing the entire span of the pool without coming up for air. It took two tries before she managed to make it to the edge, grabbing the cement rim to pull herself up and burst triumphantly to the surface-

And looked straight into the face of Gabriel.

With a yelp, Davina fell back into the water. She scrambled for a moment, mind racing in those seconds before she pulled herself back up again. What was Gabriel doing out here? At least he was fully dressed. If he was wearing his speedo again she wasn’t sure what she would do. 

“Stomach ache, huh?” Gabriel asked when she was resting on the side of the pool. “You know, I typically take a seltzer before I try swimming.”

“I didn’t have a stomach ache.” She felt his eyes on her, and she purposely looked away and put all her attention on squeezing the water out of her hair. If she looked at him directly he’d be able to read her nerves too clearly.

“I figured as much.” He sat down on the chair across from her. “You’ve never had a problem bringing your concerns to me before. What’s wrong and why are you hesitating?”

Damn him and those observation skills. Time to stall while her brain did its thing. She pulled herself out of the water and sat on the side. “Towel?” she asked, nodding across the pool. Gabriel got up to retrieve it and by the time he returned she had something.

Not a great something, but maybe just good enough.

“The studio’s curator was there when we came for the tour earlier today,” she began, wrapping herself in the towel and sitting on the foot rest in front of Gabriel. “I made small talk with him while Mikey was evaluated. Turns out he also works for The House of Light. ”

“I see.” Gabriel said. “Did he say how long he had worked with the studio?”

“Just a year. He implied it was more of a casual relationship. Not very lucrative but a good creative outlet. I’ve already done extensive background checks on Professor Rouche. I don’t think he is involved in any way, if that’s what your worried about.”

“So why not just bring it to me immediately?”

The question was pointed, as she’d come to expect. She faltered for only a moment. “Mikey,” she blurted. “It feels like one thing after another, and I don’t want to get him attached to another place only to rip it from him immediately after. He’s had too much change in the past year, and continuing to put him in these positions will have long-term effects on his mental well-being. Maybe the chance is small that this curator could pose a problem, but...” She bit her lip. She shouldn’t downplay the risk, but she also couldn’t overtly alert Gabriel. “Call it a gut feeling.” 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “I’m inclined to trust that. What was his name?”

Shit. “Antonio. I didn’t get a last name.” Gabriel looked deep in thought, and Davina felt the adrenalin start to pump. The urge to backtrack pummeled against her skull, and before she could stop herself, it was spilling out. “I’m probably just paranoid. Haven’t had an uneventful week since I got here. There’s hundreds of curators in the city. It’s probably coincidental that there would be overlap since-”

Gabriel put a hand on her knee, and she stopped talking. Her brain was short-circuiting. Too much input was happening at once, and she couldn’t decide if the touch was calming or making it worse. “Sir?”

“If I ever think you’re overreacting, I’ll tell you. Keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing.” The touch was not prolonged, and she breathed in relief when his hand slid from her leg and he stood. “I’ve got a meeting tomorrow. Should be gone most of the afternoon. I’ll think more on the art studio, but for now, leave him enrolled. Take your time out here.”

“Yes, sir.” She watched him go before relaxing back against the chair. Hopefully she didn’t just shoot herself in the foot. 

-

Something was up with her. Again. On one hand, Gabriel appreciated how easily Davina wore her emotions on her face. Such a tendency was nearly nonexistent within the mafia; to show your heart was to show your weakness, a lesson his family had learned painfully. But on nights like tonight, he wondered at the true sincerity of those emotions. She couldn’t be oblivious to how she presented herself - she was too smart for that - so wouldn’t it be easy for her to project false concern, anxiety, or sympathy? 

It wasn’t that he didn’t think she was capable of being that manipulative, it was that he didn’t think she had a reason to do so.

Until now. Now he wasn’t quite sure what she was hiding. Just that she was hiding something.

The moment Davina left her room and headed up to the pool, Gabriel slipped into her room and stole her phone from her dresser. Trusting as she was, she hadn’t bothered to lock her door. Ironic, seeing as he was actively digging into her again. Adam had retrieved her old phone, but it was badly damaged, and he wasn’t able to get anything off it. Maybe Davina would have been able, but it wasn’t like he could ask her outright. At this point in their relationship, he wanted her to feel secure. It would keep her off her guard. 

Once he had the new phone connected to his computer, he started a program that would run different combinations to unlock it. It would take a while for this to have results, and he repeatedly checked the cameras to make sure she was still at the pool while the program did its work.

It wasn’t lost on him how conflicted he felt about this. Guilt wasn’t the right word for what he was feeling. No, the nerves dancing through his chest down to his fingertips were symptoms of a much different emotion, and identifying it only intensified the sensations. 

He was afraid. But afraid of what? 

He leaned back in his chair, rotating between the security camera and his computer as he pondered the realization. What was the worst that could happen here? She might feel violated and get angry. Maybe not speak to him for a few days, but that would be a temporary situation. While he had no desire to see that scenario play out, it was not enough to place this pit in his stomach. So why? 

It became harder to sit still, and watching the computer screen spin only added to his anxiety. Davina was still swimming without any signs of slowing down, but the urge to ensure she stayed up there and keep her in the dark pushed him out of his chair. He’d meant to ask why she was so quiet at dinner anyway.

He expected her to be on guard the moment he opened the pool door and the security system chimed, but to his surprise, he didn’t spot the redhead anywhere. For a moment he panicked, thinking maybe she had taken the elevator instead of the stairs and he’d missed her somehow, but then he spotted her towel still hanging on one of the benches. A closer inspection, and he found her, completely submerged as she circled the pool. 

The anxiety snapped away with frightening speed, and the purpose of his visit to the rooftop faded at the prospect of having some fun. It wasn’t lost on him how much he flustered her. Every time he stepped into her personal space pushed a button for her, rattling that cool exterior like not even a loaded gun or a Croatian mobster could achieve. Each blush of her cheeks was like flattery to him, and he found himself trying to provoke the reaction as often as he could. 

If this year ended as he planned it would, surely there was nothing wrong with entertaining the attraction. Selfish as it was, he aimed to do nothing more than carnally enjoy it. If anything, the flirtation could anchor her more permanently to Mikey, which was the goal. 

He crouched at the end of the pool where he expected her to come up for air, keeping his expression passive and letting his hands dangle over his knees. Her surprise was better than anticipated, and he chuckled as she pulled herself back out of the pool, the prized, indignant blush flaming across her cheeks. Her red hair was plastered to her back and shoulders, dripping and sending little rivulets down her arms and legs. The bathing suit was modest, but it was still more skin than he typically got to see from her. And it was exquisite. He’d never thought himself fond of freckles, but the spattering across her shoulders and arms were like tiny splashes of stars across her fair skin.

He decided right then and there that if he ever got another chance to pick out a dress for her, it would be one that showcased exactly what he was getting to appreciate right now. Her uniforms hid her curves so well, but maybe that was a good thing. 

The conversation was productive. She seemed nervous, but that could be attributed to his presence and the fact that he was fully dressed while she wore only the swimsuit, but her body language somewhat contradicted that reasoning. Instead of sitting on a different chair, she opted to sit on the foot rest directly in front of him, close enough that he had to nearly straddle the end of the chair to avoid bumping their knees together. Not that he minded the choice.  

Her worry for Mikey made her increasingly endearing, and it made him doubt himself. How could he be suspect of her intentions when she took such thought and care into his son’s well-being? Her actions spoke volumes, driving away his reservations with an intensity that did make him feel guilty for what he was doing with her phone right now in his office. 

When she told him her fears about the art curator, he stopped for a moment to think if he’d every ran into anyone by the name Antonio. It didn’t ring a bell, but the longer he paused the more he saw the worry flood her eyes. 

“I’m probably just paranoid,” she said abruptly, pulling at the tiny hairs at the base of her neck. “Haven’t had an uneventful week since I got here. There’s hundreds of curators in the city. It’s probably coincidental that there would be overlap since-”

He hated that tone of voice. Despite the fact that he had doubts about her, her doubting herself was unacceptable. His hand flew out before he could stop himself, resting on her leg and catching some of the water dripping down. He spread the drop with his thumb then forced his eyes back to her face before he could hyperfocus on how warm her skin felt beneath his palm.

She stopped mid sentence, her cheeks flaring up once more, only, this time, he felt no sense of victory in it. 

“Sir?”

“If I ever think you’re overreacting, I’ll tell you. Keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing.” Her eyes softened, and something stirred in his chest. He took his hand away and stood before he could ponder the change further. “I’ve got a meeting tomorrow. Should be gone most of the afternoon. I’ll think more on the art studio, but for now, leave him enrolled. Take your time out here.”

She nodded, and he left the pool before he could give himself a chance to give into the little voice that told him to stay, to do more than brush against her leg or verbally tease blushes to her cheeks. 

The computer system had finished when he returned to the office. He stared at the screen for a moment. All her files, contacts, photos, and messages were right there, and yet he hesitated. 

He pushed past the feeling and went to her messages first. Nothing out of the ordinary. Text messages were primarily to him. The contact list was short as well. There were a few names he recognized from her ENA graduating class, but there was only one faculty member on the list who could possibly fit the age requirement to be Davina’s nanny from her childhood. 

Mrs. Bremerton. The headmistress herself. 

Gabriel frowned. It wasn’t entirely unusual, he supposed (maybe all elite nannies had the direct number to the headmistress saved), but it threw his mind back to the day he had visited the school. He hadn’t missed the way the headmistress reacted when he’d selected Davina without preamble from the pile. Her insistence that he pick another candidate was something he had never taken special note of, but now it held a different possible meaning. She had to know Davina was outstanding, not only with her cyberskills but with everything else as well. Arguing with him over his choice because of how difficult the assignment was now seemed odd to him. 

This was all he was going to find tonight. He quickly unplugged the phone and returned it to Davina’s room just as the security system chimed for the door. He managed to make it back into the common area before Davina emerged, the towel hanging loosely over her arm as she headed to the bathroom.

“Care for a drink when you finish up?” he asked. His eyes followed her none too subtly, soaking in the way her hips swayed as she walked and how the bathing suit rode up to treat him to two more inches of her ass. 

A hint of pink surfaced on her cheeks when she turned. “No, thank you. I’ve already stayed up late enough as it is. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” 

The door closed behind her, and Gabriel turned the empty glass in his hand before returning it to the cupboard. He didn’t need a drink. 

He needed a cold shower.

Chapter Text

There was a gradual shift in the weeks since her evening swim. The days were mostly uneventful, in the grand scheme. Mikey's art lessons were going well, and it was currently all he would talk about. It was the longest he had ever gone without showing interest in his father's daily activities, and Davina took that as a very good sign. She did not run into Antonio again, and he did not come up in conversation with Professor Rouche. Gabriel came and went from the hotel frequently, and they rarely spoke on anything aside from Mikey, but her perception was experiencing an evolution. She stopped dreading the small interactions and started hoping for them.  A dangerous realization. 

It was hard not to be drawn in, to feel at ease while burning up at the same time. By the end of the week she had grown quite irritated by her subconscious reactions to him. Damn Gabriel Angelini. Damn those blue eyes, damn the undone buttons on those white shirts, the teasing remarks and smirks, and the dimples. The absolute audacity of that man to even possess them. Emotional attachment to Mikey was one thing - risky, but expected. Attraction to his father - that was a different thing altogether. It was unnecessary and unprofessional, and above all, stupid. 

And a stupider side of her started to suspect that the attraction might be mutual. 

She felt his gaze on her during mundane moments and caught his eyes lingering on her neckline more than once. It could be another means of manipulation, she acknowledged, but the few times she thought she caught him, he averted his eyes or looked past her altogether. It felt like cat and mouse, only the role of cat changed frequently. 

Tonight, however, she was decidedly the mouse. Gabriel had asked her to accompany him to the House of Light as his escort, and based on the specific way he had asked her, tipping her chin back with his finger and declaring his trust for her with such proximity that she couldn't stop the flush of red to her face when she responded, the evening might be one to regret. She said yes before she could even process what she was saying yes to.

The nerve of him. To insist he create distance for Mikey while involving her further into his activities at the same time. He used his charisma to get what he wanted from her more often now, and it was working. She couldn't think when he looked at her like that, could barely breathe when he reached for her when it wasn't necessary, and the thoughts that invaded her head when he made his moves were anything but professional. 

ENA help her. He would be the death of her. 

But by the time the dress was delivered to her room she had calmed down and rationalized both his request and her view on the matter. Being more aware of her environment could only help her protect Mikey, and that's what this was really all about. She'd rededicated herself to this assignment, after all, and his safety was paramount, beyond learning more about the mafia or the fate of her family. As for Gabriel, she could not let him get under her skin, and if she failed on that front, she at least needed him to believe that he couldn't get under her skin.

Damage control was in order, and step one was wearing this dress and being the best escort and bodyguard that Gabriel could ask for. The blushes and nerves needed to be left in the penthouse. Confidence needn't be legitimate in the long run. Just believable. 

That was easier said the done, and when Davina zipped up the dress and looked in the mirror, confident wasn't exactly how she would describe the look on her face. The dress was beyond daring - a strapless sweetheart neckline and a slit that rode dangerously high on the hip. The color complimented her hair and complexion too well to be an accident, which meant the one who chose the dress must have taken special notice. Before she could lose her nerve, she decided to capitalize on that front. She styled her hair in a high bun, accentuating her shoulders and the curve of her collarbone that he seemed so drawn to. A daring red lipstick brought the theme together, and when she looked in the mirror again, she had completely transformed.

Something about lipstick, she decided, had an innately powerful effect on how she perceived the girl in the mirror. She began to breathe easier.

Gabriel seemed to approve of her look when she came to his bedroom to return the jewelry, but the real test didn't start until they had left the hotel and were heading to the gallery by car. Davina tried to keep her nerves settled by counting the cafes they passed on the way, and that seemed to work until Gabriel reached across the console and put a hand on her knee. 

“Nervous?”

She hoped she sounded casual in her reply. “Not terribly. Why?”

Gabriel didn’t take his eyes of the road, but he smiled. “Your foot hasn’t stopped tapping the floor since we left.”

Time to use this dress to her advantage. She crossed her legs, exposing one of the garters on her thigh. His hand slid off her knee, but his eyes momentarily left the road. She would count that as a win. “Whatever happens, it can’t be worse than your birthday party, so I think I’m sufficiently prepped.” 

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t think you would do well.” 

“I appreciate the confidence.”

“Of course.”

She decided to risk a glance. He looked every part the upper-class art enthusiast tonight. The glasses were a nice touch. Damn. Another thing to add to the list. That, and the black shirt beneath his suit. He was so adaptable to any situation, it seemed, looking as if he belonged wherever he happened to stand. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he enjoyed the work, and even now, she wasn’t sure if she hated it or just the risk it posed to Mikey. 

He turned his head and caught her eye. She boldly refused to turn away. “See something you like?”

She managed to remain unflustered. Candor might be the best way to go. “Do you enjoy this?” 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “This?”

“The constant plotting, moving, scheming. I’ve only been around for a few months, and it’s exhausting. And I’m only looking out for a four-year-old.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Sometimes I think that job can rival mine.” He paused, and she wasn’t sure if he would answer her or not.

“Can’t say there’s a specific aspect I actively look forward to,” he said finally. His eyes cut back to her. “But it has its moments. What about you? Still feel like you picked the right calling?” 

Davina smiled, thinking back to Mikey’s passionate outburst about water colors and acrylics earlier that day. His little round face was becoming more and more endearing, even when it was twisted in fury. Perhaps she was similar to Gabriel in that way. She liked to push his buttons. “I become more sure by the day, sir.”

“Good to hear. Speaking of the job, I want you to keep your eyes open for that curator you met at Mikey’s lessons.”

She raised her head, trying hard not to look on guard. “Antonio? Are we just being cautious or…” Or have you found something. She couldn’t bring herself to finish the question. 

“Antonio Capaldi,” Gabriel said. “That’s the name he’s going by now, but I’m almost certain it’s a cover for something. Can’t find anything beyond his French citizenship. I want to know if he has any special relationship with Lavigne. I plan to ask her directly about him, but I want you to run some reconnaissance. It’s a long-shot, but if you get a chance to chat with any of the staff, see if you can name drop him. Maybe we can figure out what volume of work he’s done for the gallery. That alone should tell us something.”

“I’ll do my best.” It was all Davina had the nerve to respond. 

As they pulled up to the parking garage, she did her best to rid the possibilities from her head and steady her nerves. Tonight was about observing. Nothing more.  

As the evening progressed Davina found herself relaxing into the role. The atmosphere was posh and she blended well into the rest of the attendees. All the while, she kept her eyes peeled for Antonio, with no luck. She was grateful. She wasn’t sure what she would do if she met him while in the company of Gabriel. He stayed by her side, as promised, and they exchanged pleasantries with a few people he recognized as they moved from piece to piece. Things got a little heated when Cassiel Angelini approached them, but Davina thought she handled him well. Cassiel’s eye seemed drawn to her, and the moment Gabriel stepped away to speak with the triad, he again attempted to offer her a job. Luckily (or unluckily as she would reflect later) he stepped away as soon as Breixo the Galician came over.

Besides interrogating her on where she was trained, the mobster dropped an interesting piece of information: Gabriel Angelini was the only one not invited to tonight’s event.

Which meant Cassiel had been invited. 

Gabriel swooped back in before Breixo could press her too far, and she gratefully took his arm again. They returned to the gallery after exchanging… pleasantries (?) with Madame Levigne. The conversation was not as heated as Davina feared it could have been, though it was ludicrous that Levigne was offended about Gabriel showing up uninvited when she had tried to bug his son’s room the week before. One was clearly the greater crime. 

When Gabriel suggested they move to the balcony before retiring for the night, Davina breathed a sigh of relief. This was almost over.

“I’ll join you in just a moment,” she said, handing him her empty champaign glass. “I just need to visit the restroom briefly.”

Gabriel smirked. “One too many?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m working. That would be irresponsible. I’ll meet you in a moment.”

The restrooms were in the back of the gallery. There were only two individual gender neutral rooms, and it was a moment before one of them was free. Once she had finished, she reapplied her lipstick and adjusted her fur before hurrying back into the hall. She opened the restroom door just as someone else was posed to knock.

“Excuse me,” Davina began. She stopped. “Antonio.” 

The older man looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes widened in recognition. He turned on his heel without a word and started back towards the gallery. 

Davina had not wanted to speak with him, but she recognized the look on his face. Antonio was terrified. And she needed to know why. Before she could rationalize what she was doing, she was chasing after him. “Signore! Wait! Please!”

A few of the attendees looked in their direction as they emerged from the back hall. Antonio stopped and turned to her when he saw the attention. “Miss Davina,” he said. He smiled at her, but the contrast between the smile on his face and the terror in his eyes was unnerving. He waited until she was within reach before dropped his voice. “Every inch of this place is covered by video. You cannot make a scene, and I will not be seen speaking to you alone.”

Davina’s mind raced. Pretenses had been dropped completely, and though she knew it was reckless, she couldn’t stop herself. What better way to find out what had happened to her family than through someone who had possibly witnessed their fall themselves? Gabriel would come looking for her if she was too long, so this would have to be quick. 

“Lead me to that portrait of the Louvre,” she said, nodding to the corner. “I only need a moment of your time. Give it to me, and I won’t make a scene.” A bluff, but one she didn’t expect him to call her on. 

Antonio hesitated then led the way to the corner. “I will not cause you any trouble. I was simply giving my farewells to Madam Levigne. She knows I am nervous when there is an Angelini at the gallery, but that is the extent of it. I want nothing to do with your Diavolo business,” he said, gesturing to the portrait as if he was selling her on it. “You of all people should know what I have to lose.”

“No,” Davina said. “That’s the problem. I don’t.”

“Are you not with the Angelini underboss? I mean, I wouldn’t expect a Diavolo to align herself with an Angelini, but…”

“He doesn’t know,” Davina cut in. This was reckless, but in order to find the truth she needed to put all the cards on the table. 

“He doesn’t- what?” Antonio took a step back, looking even more terrified, if that was possible. "What game are you playing?"

Davina glanced over her shoulder. Still no sign of Gabriel. “No game. I abandoned the Diavolo name long ago and came to be Mr. Angelini’s nanny by chance. I was a child when it all happened. I know next to nothing about my family. I need to know how you recognized me. My situation is… precarious.”

Antonio stared at her incredulously. “You- you know nothing?” He raised his hand to his forehead and tipped his head back. He started to chuckle. Davina didn’t know what to do with this reaction. She stood there awkwardly as Antonio laughed. After a moment, he collected himself. “I recognized the necklace because I curated it myself for your father.”

"You worked with him?"

"For him. An associatation that nearly cost me my life."

“I don’t understand,” Davina said, doing her best to keep her voice low even as her emotions threatened to creep in. “If you are so keen to avoid association with me, why pique my suspicion once you recognized the necklace? Why strike up conversation at all?” 

Antonio looked to the door. “I have worked very hard to leave my past behind me, Signora. Few of my associates survived the bloodbath of eight years ago, and I have no wish to put my head back on the block. If I was going to uproot the connections and life I have built for myself here in France, it was going to be because I was certain. I wasn’t sure I recalled your first name correctly, so I needed to know where you were from.”

“You’re leaving?” Davina regarded the older man with new sympathy. She had no idea a chance encounter could force him to make such a drastic change. “But you misunderstand. I have no connection to my family whatsoever. Officially, I died in that fire. I'm not looking for revenge. Just closure.”

“It matters not.” Antonio traced her gaze to the crowd of people. “Is the Angelini underboss aware of me?” 

“I-” Davina bit her lip. “Yes.” 

“Then it would be only a matter of time. I have seen many an Icarus in my time. I have no wish to become one myself.”

“Please.” Davina took a step closer. She was losing time, and she had already imposed on the man too much, but she might never get this opportunity again. “What happened back then? The only things I know are from news articles.”

Antonio didn’t look like he was going to answer. He looked between her and the crowd once more then sighed. “There was set to be a treaty between two major clans, Angelini and Russo. The goal was to pool the resources and push out a competing faction coming in from Hong Kong. From what I understand, the treaty was either broken or never happened in the first place. Who’s to know who double-crossed who first, but the Angelinis moved in like vipers. The Diavolos were primary launders for the Russos, and were one of the first to go. Anyone loyal to them was hunted down like dogs. I had contacts that were able to get me out of the country quickly. I haven’t been back to Italy since.”

Davina swallowed hard. So her family had been part of an extermination, one Antonio evidently feared could be ongoing. Prickles crept up her spine as the colors of the portraits around her all seemed to blur into the background.

“Succinctly, that’s all I know. From what I recall, the first incident happened outside the Basilica of St. Jerome. I can’t tell you anymore.” 

“You’ve already risked so much. Thank you. I-” She stopped. Gabriel was coming to her through the crowd. 

“I should go.” Antonio gave a small bow before turning towards the back entrance. He paused and turned to her one last time, his eyes softening. “You would be wise to take care, my dear. From where I stand, you are already too close to the sun.” 

Davina watched him disappear around the corner. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and she pressed her clammy palms to the sides of her dress. All at once, Gabriel was beside her. She felt his hand slide up her arm to her shoulder, but for once, it didn’t phase her. 

“Who was that?”

She put a smile on before turning to face him. “Some older man who was trying to show off his artistic knowledge. Turned tail when he saw you coming.” 

“I understand your allure.” Gabriel smiled and tucked her hand into his elbow. “Seems to be a common theme tonight. Crowd is becoming a bit much. Let’s get some air.”

Davina managed to glance once more towards the back, making sure no one seemed to be taking special note of her or could have seen Antonio leaving. She didn’t see anyone, but the uneasy pit in her stomach didn’t go away as Gabriel led her towards the balcony. 

Antonio had answered one question and opened the door to dozens of others. The mere chance of being connected to the Diavolos was enough to make an old man who had spent his life in organized crime leave everything at a moment’s notice. So what did that say about the danger she was in?

She tightened her grip on Gabriel’s elbow as the wind threaded through her hair and curled her fur away from her shoulders. Her instincts and logic were clashing, one pushing her towards the man at her side and the other screaming at her to run. She should fear him, but she didn’t. No matter what had gone down between their families, at the end of the day, they had both been so young when it happened. Gabriel’s priorities were different now.

And if she was to be honest with herself, so were hers.

Chapter Text

It didn't take much to start a war, Davina reflected later. Once the adrenalin started to fade as she and Gabriel grabbed a taxi after the raid on The House of Light, she started to look at the evening through a more critical lens. Gabriel had denied any involvement in the strike, but as much as she'd love to believe him, Davina wouldn't put it past him. She didn't know what he was looking to gain by riling up every criminal organization within a fifty mile radius, but there was no denying the ruckus he had kicked up over the past few months. Calling the gendarmerie though? It would ruin the Angelinis if enough of the crime families believed even the rumor of it. As much as she suspected that Gabriel was intentionally running the family business into the ground, this felt like suicide. 

She glanced at him in the darkness of the cab. His features blinked to light under the passing street lamps, flickering a moment at a time through the window. He was zoned in ahead, looking through the windshield as they neared the hotel. There was no telling what was passing through his mind, but she wanted to believe he wasn't that reckless. And if it wasn't Gabriel, then who? 

Two people flashed to the forefront of her mind. Cassiel and the Breixo the Galician. The Galician motive was clear, but since he had been formally invited to tonight's event, she could assume that he had a tentative peace with Lavigne. Still a possibility, however. But the one who stood to gain the most from Gabriel's downfall was Cassiel, and it was still odd to her how he'd been invited to the gallery but Gabriel hadn't. So what kind of relationship did he have with Lavigne? Was tonight his introduction to the House of Light or was he an old friend?

Her conversation with Antonio rushed back through her head. In the moment, she'd been hyper-focused on her personal aspect of the conversation, but Antonio had unintentionally said something of note. "I was simply giving my farewells to Madam Lavigne. She knows I am nervous when there is an Angelini at the gallery, but that is the extent of it."

Which implied it had happened before, and not just once, but multiple times. Cassiel had to be the repeat visitor. She needed to figure out if it went further than that. 

As it happened, learning more about Cassiel abruptly became a bit easier. When the French mob attacked the Angelini businesses later that week, Gabriel began to amass family members from Venice. Cassiel was still in town and was the first to arrive at the hotel. Davina bumped into him at the dining room. Or rather, he came to their table to say hello. 

"Well, if it isn't my favorite nanny!"

Davina stiffened as he approached the back of her chair. Mikey looked up, mouth full of macaroni. He looked at Cassiel, looked at Davina, then looked at Cassiel again, only this time, with a scowl on his face.

"Cassiel," Davina said. She'd prefer to ignore him, but this could be a chance she couldn't pass up. "Mr. Angelini and the others are upstairs."

"I know. I'm just waiting on a delivery, so I'm killing some time. Last week was crazy, right? First a fire and now running from the cops. You really are getting the full experience. If you're lucky, you might get to see a gunfight next."

"We've been in a gunfight already," Mikey said, still scowling, but ready to brag. "Davina got shot."

Cassiel raised an eyebrow like he didn't quite believe it. 

"Croatians," Davina said, taking another spoonful of her soup. "And it was just a graze."

"Impressive." Cassiel looked her up and down. "You sure I can't offer you a job?"

"She's mine," Mikey cut in. "You can't have her."

"Relax, cousin." Cassiel ruffled Mikey's hair. Mikey pulled back with a disgusted look on his face. "I doubt your father would let her go anywhere. How about a cup of coffee then? Maybe tonight?" 

Mikey's eyes widened, and Davina was about to shut him down, but an idea hit her like a bolt of lightening. "I'm afraid I'm on duty tonight," she said, relaxing her demeanor as much as she could. She waited until he was looking at her fully before giving him a small smile. "But I was planning on taking Mikey up to the pool a little later, and I wouldn't deny some company."

"Swimming, huh? Sure. I'll be up there in a couple hours." His phone rang, and he answered it.

Davina watched him leave the dining room with narrowed eyes, taking a mental note of the phone make and type. 

“Why did you do that? You don’t like him.”

Davina turned back to Mikey. “No, I don’t. But I think I should learn more about him.”

Mikey brightened up. "Well, I don't like him either. He wears too much hair gel anyway. And his cologne is too strong."

She smiled. "I'm inclined to agree. Now, nap first, swim after."

Mikey groaned. “Aww, man.”

This plan of hers would require two things: Nico and a bikini. Something told her he would be up to the task, but she didn't want Gabriel catching wind of this until she had something concrete. It wouldn't do to accuse a family member of treason in the middle of a gang war. There couldn't be any unnecessary distractions. 

Nico was in the conference room with Gabriel and Val, and Davina waited until they stopped for a break before she cornered Nico in the hallway. “I need an hour.”

Nico smirked. “Oho, so forward. But don’t you think Gabe might have a problem with that?” 

Davina smacked him. “I’m serious.”

Nico rubbed his arm. “Right. Is something wrong? Where’s Mikey?”

“Finishing a nap. I need your help to get into a cell phone.”

Nico took a step back and looked down the hallway. “Davina, what are you-”

“Cassiel’s cellphone.”

"Oh." Nico relaxed. “Actually, I’m down for that. What’s the plan?”

“He’s planning on joining me and Mikey upstairs at the pool within the hour. My plan is to distract him so we can get a look at his cell phone with my computer.” 

Nico leaned against the wall. “I follow you, but there’s a few holes in your plan. He’ll notice if the phone is missing when he gets out, and I doubt he’ll want to chit chat with me while you’re over there lounging with your computer. I won’t be much of a distraction.”

Davina smiled. “That’s because you won’t be the distraction. I will. You’ll be the one connecting the cell phone to my computer.”

Nico laughed. “Davina, I’m shit on a computer.”

“You won’t have to do anything aside from connect the cord to the end of his phone. I’ll already have the program ready to go with the right type of cord for his phone. Just plug it in and hit a key.” 

“How do you know he’ll bring his cell phone in the first place?”

Davina smirked. “People who have something to hide never leave their cell phone anywhere. He’ll have it with him. I’ll hide my computer under my towel. We just have to make sure he gets there first.” 

“You’re sure he’s hiding something?” 

“No, not entirely, but I smell a rat, Nico. Just, trust me on this. And don’t tell Mr. Angelini.” 

With Nico on board, the trap was set. Davina got herself ready, cringing a little as she looked in the mirror. The bikini was one she purchased from the hotel gift shop, and it was as showy and touristy a strip of fabric as she’d ever worn in her life. It wasn’t quite a string bikini, but it was in the same family. At least she wouldn’t be wearing it for long. 

If this didn’t distract Cassiel then she had read him very wrong. 

She wore a swim cover on the way there. Mikey became much more enthusiastic about the swimming when he learned Nico would be joining them. Davina only half-heard him, her computer pressed into her side beneath her towel as they waited in the elevator. Nico had gotten there first and shot her a text when Cassiel arrived. This might not work, but it was worth a shot. 

Cassiel was chatting with Nico by the chairs when the doors opened. Davina noted the small bag of personal belongings next to him. Both men looked in her direction, and she smiled brightly. “Nico! What a surprise. I thought you’d be slaving away with Val.”

“What the taskmaster doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Nico laughed. “She’s worse than Gabe sometimes.”

Davina dropped her bag on the chair beside Cassiel and plopped her towel in the center of the chair, wincing a little as the folded fabric dropped down with a little too much heft to be a mere towel. Hopefully her little ‘bending over’ act would attract Cassiel’s eye enough. Without missing a beat, she pulled the cover over her head, trying hard to act nonchalant even as she felt Cassiel’s eyes shake her down. 

“Last one in’s a rotten egg!” Mikey bellowed. He left her side, darting across the concrete.

“Mikey! What did I say about running!” Davina turned to Cassiel, keeping her shoulders back and hip cocked to accentuate every asset she had in her arsenal. “I’m sorry, Cassiel. I didn’t realize we’d have company.”

Nico waved his hand and plopped into the nearest empty chair. “Don’t mind me. I came out here to roast. Davina, you got any of those juice boxes in your bag?”

Davina laughed. “Help yourself whenever you like.” She nodded towards the pool. “Are you much of a swimmer, Cassiel?”

“So you were serious about that part,” Cassiel said. 

“It’s been a nice way to socialize while still working the job.” She nodded at Mikey. “He’s a handful.”

“I’m sure.”

Cassiel followed her into the pool, and Davina strategically leaned against the side so they would be facing away the from the chairs. Cassiel copied her posture, just as she hoped. The small talk was testing and full of innuendo, though she wasn’t sure what she expected. Cassiel’s questions were framed in a joking manner, but he made one too many remarks about Gabriel for it to be anything but a jab. He was trying to get her to talk dirt about her boss. Seeing as she only needed him to cooperate for this one meeting, she didn’t feel the need to play along. 

Cassiel soon began to move around the pool, gesturing her to swim out beside him. She obliged, doing what she could to keep his eyes on her. Thankfully, even if he spotted Nico going over to her things, he wouldn’t suspect it was for anything more than a juice box. 

She didn’t think she could take one more passive aggressive remark from the man when Nico came up with a handful of pool rings. “Mikey, want to dive?”

It was the phrase they agreed on. The computer was done. She quickly ended the conversation with Cassiel and threw herself into the game with Mikey, trusting the man would become disinterested when he was no longer the center of attention.

It took all of five minutes. 

Her fingers were pruning by the time she and Mikey left the pool. Nico threw her a thumbs up as he left the elevator, but she didn’t know whether or not they succeeded until she was back in the penthouse. She didn’t even wait to change, a towel draped around her waist as she sat on a stool at the breakfast bar while Mikey went to shower. 

The program had not picked up as much as she’d hoped, only the things that hadn’t been sent to back up, but there were a few emails and images to pick through. The pictures didn’t have anything of immediate note. A few buildings and cafes, and one of Cassiel with a woman she didn’t recognize in front of a large fountain. The emails were a bit more interesting. One of them was a wire confirmation from his bank. A large sum had been transferred out two days ago. To an account housed at Abanca. 

That name sounded familiar, so Davina pulled out her phone to do a quick search. Her fingers turned cold when the results popped up. Abanca was a major bank in Spain, the Galician region specifically. Was it a coincidence or…

An alert popped up, and Davina switched to the hotel security feed. Someone was pulling into the garages. It was a large truck, and she watched as the back opened up and workers pulled a large package down the ramp. Someone came in to the garage to sign for it, and Davina zoomed in. No doubt about it, with that tacky hair and suit. It was Cassiel. She turned her attention to the package which was already being loaded into a different vehicle. The wrapping was plastic, and as it was lifted towards one of the garage lights she picked out a splash of color. 

Her eyes widened. The geometric shapes would have been forgettable in any other setting, but she recognized it. One of the paintings from the House of Light . 

“Davina?”

She jumped and the towel slid from her waist to her ankles. Her face turned cherry as she turned to Gabriel in the doorway. Too his credit, he was maintaining an impressive level of eye-contact.

“Val told me you were swimming with Cassiel earlier.” He titled his head. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Right. He’s persistent, that cousin of yours. Wanted me to get coffee with him. The swim placated him when I said no.” She could almost see the question in his eyes. Why placate him at all? Why not shut him down as she had everyone else without issue? And what was with the swimsuit? 

Standing in front of Gabriel in the swimsuit felt infinitely more intimate than standing in front of Cassiel or Nico in the same thing. Maybe all three men were looking at her in the same way, but with Gabriel, she didn’t feel ogled. She felt appreciated.

“That all?” Gabriel picked the towel off the floor. For a split second he was bent over in front of her, and before she could stop it, the scene played out in much different context. She felt her skin heating up, as if he was standing much closer than reality, close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin, brushing her ankles and inside of her knees as it crept upward, intent on a goal that would burn her alive if ever concluded. 

She took the towel from, taking awkward care to make sure their hands didn’t touch. What the hell was wrong with her!   “I was trying to distract him so I could hack into his phone.”

Well, that was one way to clear the air. 

Gabriel looked surprised, a feat in of itself. “And what prompted this?” She opened her mouth and he cut her off. “Let me guess. A gut feeling?” 

“Yes. And he was invited by Lavigne, which implied he has an existing relationship with her.” The towel re-secured around her waist, Davina turned to the computer. “At least enough to buy one of her paintings.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Geometric wonders, believe it or not.”

“So he has no taste.” Gabriel chuckled. “Not necessarily a new revelation. Any luck with the phone?”

“Some.” Davina hesitated. If she was wrong about this, she would be adding another factor to Gabriel’s already stacked plate. One wire transfer to a Spanish bank was not enough to go on. Gabriel was already careful around his family. She could tell Nico to be on the safe side, but leave it to his discretion to clue Gabriel in, at least until after the mob business was dealt with. 

“Nothing too definitive,” she said, “but I wasn’t able to see any of his messages. His most recent phone calls are local or to Venice. There are a few emails, but nothing that leads anywhere yet. It was a precaution on my end. I’m not about to accuse an Angelini of treason during a gang war, but I’m trying to be proactive. For you and Mikey.” 

“I appreciate that…”

The way he said that made Davina wince. There was a ‘but’ coming. 

“But investigating another mafia is one thing, and my own family is another. I understand your intention, and trust me, Cassiel is one of the last family members I have any faith in, but I don’t want you stirring that pot. I’d rather have you as far away from it as possible, actually.”

Davina looked down. She’d overstepped? How was it that he was the only one who could dictate how involved she became? If Cassiel was a threat, it was her job to be aware and deal with it, for Mikey’s sake. Where were these lines of his or was he drawing them arbitrarily as the occasions arose? 

“With all due respect, sir.” She heard herself, and shit, what was that tone she was using? But the words were tumbling out anyway, clipped and sassy sounding despite herself. “You tell me to be proactive then you tell me to create distance for Mikey. Then you bring me to a mob gala and almost get me arrested. But when I inch myself in a little deeper, you suddenly say its too much and to know my place?” 

“That’s not what I meant.” He took a step towards her, and she leaned back simultaneously, her shoulders hitting the breakfast bar behind her. Gabriel didn’t let up, not touching her, but making it so she couldn’t move away either. “I mean my family is dangerous, Davina. The kind of dangerous that kills their own if they deem it necessary.”

She swallowed hard. She knew that firsthand. 

“The longer you are with me, the more I realize what an asset you’ve become, and yes, I know there are dangers in the family and you could probably help me pick them out, but if they suddenly decided you a were a threat…” He trailed off, his hands dropping to the counter on either side of her. “I can’t replace you, do you understand? Threats from the outside are easier to predict. From the inside? I never know when.”

“I’m careful.” The sassiness was gone, and it came out almost as a whisper. 

“I know you are.” He gave a sad smile. “But I’d rather not send the executioner to your door. Which is why I’m sending you and Mikey away tomorrow.”

“To Venice?” 

“No.” He stepped away, and Davina took her first breath in what felt like a minute. “To a safehouse. I’ll explain more to you and Mikey at dinner tonight.”

“And Cassiel?”

Gabriel shook his head. “Leave him be for now. He’s ambitious but he’s not stupid. I’ll have Nico keep an eye on him.”

“That would make me feel better.” She tightened the towel around her waist, her computer still in her peripheral. “But, sir?” Gabriel turned. “Remember that ambition can make someone stupid.”

Chapter Text

Davina’s warning did not fall on deaf ears. He took note, he really did. But in the chaos that followed, with a bomb threat on the hotel, the Don breathing down his neck for something completely out of his control, and Mikey’s tantrum to top it all off, Cassiel fell into the background. Gabriel had always considered Cassiel an issue, but more as an annoying bug that you couldn’t get rid of than an actual threat. The man was more arrogant than shrewd, and as much as his uncle detested Gabriel’s ‘softness,’ he tolerated an unearned ego even less. Cassiel should know his place.

So when the smoke cleared and Cassiel was nowhere to be found, Gabriel didn’t take note of it right away. They’d won the battle, given Lavigne a message, and lost none of their men in the process. It wasn’t until Nico told him about the wire confirmation from the Galician bank that Davina found on Cassiel’s phone that his heart started to race. Cassiel should know his place, but maybe Gabriel forgot what that place was.

Third in line. The one who stood to benefit the most if something were to happen to him and Mikey.

For the first time that day, he felt true fear. Cassiel had seen the tracking app for Mikey, and depending on how long he’d been gone from the hotel, he might have already made it to the safe house.

The day no longer felt like a victory, and when Davina didn’t pick up her phone, Gabriel was already out the door. Val cautioned him against it, but he was seeing red and there was no other recourse. 

He had to get to Mikey and Davina first. He had to stop Cassiel. 

Nico and Val had to stay back, so it was only Gabriel and Adam racing through the countryside. As the shadows of trees whizzed by him on either side, he couldn’t help but replay his last conversation with Davina. He’d given up hope for the future the moment he knew Alessia was gone for good, but when Davina got in his face this week and insisted - no - ordered him to come back to her and Mikey, something inside him sparked back to life. 

He had no business considering alternatives. After all, he’d made a vow. Back on that lonely porch overlooking the sea, the home that been his wife’s hopes and dreams standing in the shadows behind him, he’d promised that Mikey’s future would be different. Even if it killed him. In a way, he hoped it would. When the people in power were gone, no one in the underworld would care about the children they left behind. The Angelini name would be no more than a memory to the people who cared enough to remember it.

That was more likely if he was gone too. 

Regret wouldn’t bring his wife back, but he could use the pain to drive him forward. Only when the duty was done would he be justly punished for the role he played in the demise of the most innocent life he’d ever had the pleasure to know. He’d unfairly ripped her from her peaceful world and brought her into hell. That was his sin. This was his penance.

But then Davina got his face and said, No. So firmly, that for a moment, he forgot his plans altogether. Her face was a picture of fury, the truest he’d ever seen from her, and disobeying her order became out of the question. How dare he even consider anything less than what she deemed adequate. He would survive. He would come and get her and Mikey at the end. This time and every other time. 

How the fuck he would make that happen, he had no idea.

None of those promises would matter if they weren’t safe. He clutched the bar over his head and squeezed it until his knuckles were white and his nails dug into the skin. If he got there and they were gone, there wasn’t any point to this anymore. Without Mikey and Davina, he’d let it all burn the quickest way he knew how and then fall into the fiery pit once he was sure there was no resurrecting it. 

Adam crested the hill, the safe house now within site. The windows were dark, but he could just see the shadow of a van parked at the treeline. The car hadn’t even stopped before he was ripping the door open and racing across the lawn. A scream cut across the night, sending ice down his veins. He burst through the front door and and was halfway up the stairwell when he heard the distinct pop of a handgun. This couldn’t happen. He couldn’t be so close yet too late to do anything.

Mikey’s cries bled into his ears as he moved towards the bedroom. Haste could get him killed, especially since he didn’t know how many assailants he was dealing with. Bracing with his own gun at the ready, he swung the door open, ready to the pull the trigger.

And stared down the barrel of Davina’s gun.

The terror didn’t leave his veins immediately. Mikey was fine, but Davina had been shot. Adam called the doctor while Gabriel applied pressure to her abdomen. And in the middle of all of it, Mikey tearfully confessed that he would always be there for him, mafia or not. 

So two miracles had happened that night. 

They sank to the floor, all wrapped together under a blanket as they waited for the doctor. Davina’s breathing evened out, and Mikey sagged against him now that things had calmed down. He squeezed them tight to his chest, Mikey’s hair tickling him under the chin and Davina’s hand fisted tightly in his shirt. Only when he had repeatedly reassured himself that they were both physically in his arms where no one could touch them did he let himself close his eyes. 

-

They didn’t stay long in the hospital. There were things that needed to get done. Mikey couldn’t return to the hotel until the business with the French mob was settled. Gabriel met with Madam Lavigne on neutral ground, a restaurant on the east side. Physically, the madame looked none the worse for wear, aside from a bandage on her cheek where Gabriel’s bullet had grazed her. But Gabriel saw the exhaustion in her eyes. 

He’d already heard back from the triad. Since so many of Lavigne’s men had been lost in the battle at the hotel, they didn’t have the manpower to come through on their most recent delivery. It had been delayed at the docks, and consequently intercepted by authorities. As promised, the triad used the opportunity to take on the Angelinis as suppliers. Thanks to this, Gabriel contacted his uncle to stall the attack on the French delivery ship that was supposed to come through the channel later that week, as per the original plan. With this and Cassiel outed as a traitor, the events leading up the to war could be conveniently laid at cousin’s feet, and the Angelinis could wash their hands clean of the whole affair. 

Lavigne had no choice but to accept his terms of peace without qualm. After all, she had tried to assassinate two heirs to the Angelini clan over a misunderstanding and lost her triad contract in the process. To her credit, she conceded that he had been gracious with the affair, but he saw the storm behind her eyes.

On this surface, this was a clean conclusion to the affair. He’d intended for it to be messier. For his plans to work, certain key players needed to have a score to settle with the Anglinis, but maybe this was better. Lavigne’s rug had been ripped out beneath her, and the Angelinis had claimed all the broken pieces. Jealousy could be just as dangerous as a grudge. His uncle would be pleased and staved from his suspicions, and while there was peace on paper, it couldn’t last long.  

He called his uncle on the way back to the hotel to deliver the good news. He sounded, as usual, not impressed, but not antagonistic either, which was a relief. 

“As annoying as the runt is, maybe he did a favor,” the Don said, talking about Cassiel. “We’ll be looking for him in Venice. There’s no where for him to run anyway.”

“I’ve got my people searching as well. The only two accomplices we know of were killed during the kidnapping attempt.”

The Don chuckled. “That was lucky.”

Luck had nothing to do with it, but Gabriel wasn’t about to highlight Davina’s expertise to his uncle. “Right now, we are resuming base at the hotel. We’ll let you know when we have an update.” He went to hang up.

“One more thing.”

Gabriel tensed. Just when he thought he was in the clear. 

“I’ve met with members of the Odesa about starting a supply chain from France and Venice. As soon as the deal is set, some of their members will arrive to set up operations in Lyon. I expect your cooperation.”  

“Odesa?” This was irony. Just the other week his uncle had cautioned him against stirring up unnecessary trouble. His connection with Yakovlevna was crucial, and they were one of the few parties he did not intentionally plan to aggravate. “The Bratva will take issue with that. We’ve had a cordial relationship. I’m not keen to disrupt that.”

“No worries. They don’t deal in this particular area.”

The way his uncle said it made Gabriel’s skin crawl. He narrowed his eyes, not caring if his defiance was visible. “And what area would that be?”

The don smirked. “I’d like to call it… entertainment. We’ve got competition pushing in from all sides. The more the other parties deal in it, the harder it is to keep our heads in the game. It’s been an untapped resource for too long.”

“Skin? You can’t be serious.” He spat it out, rising anger lacing the syllables. “We’ve been over this. We don’t deal in sewer. It’s beneath us. My father died standing on that hill.” My wife too. The unspoken hung heavy in the air.

“Your father nearly ran this family into the ground because of his moral superiority. An ironic stance for a mobster. Do you know what I had to do to pull us out of the dirt after that all went down? All of Italy wanted us dead for his crusade!”

“We pulled out of it.”

“Damn, right we did. I pulled us out of it. I’m making sure we have something to pass down to your son. We would be the benefactors, not the patrons. Wouldn’t be able to offer services if no one paid for them anyway. You’re soft, nephew. This has more to do with your wife than Miguel.”

There it was. Gabriel’s blood boiled. They never spoke about Alessia’s death, not explicitly. Her memory hung in the background of every conversation like this one. The implications were clear, the threat crystal. Alessia involved herself in the mafia activities only one time. And that had been enough.

“Leave her out of this.”

“You first. Know your place, Gabriel. You’ve got time to think it over. The world is changing. Time we change with it. Don’t make me explore alternatives. ”

The call ended before Gabriel could retort. 

The car stopped, but he couldn’t move. Trafficking had always been too low an industry for the older mafia families to touch. Even they had some decorum back in the day. A code among thieves, if you will. His father had stood fast on that hill, refusing to ally with any group that meddled in those waters. He was an Italian first, a mobster second, and a Catholic third. For all the horrible crimes his family committed, they prided themselves on their honor. 

But beyond that, the industry cast a shadow over Gabriel’s own family, his little circle of three, as it had once been. 

He needed to accelerate his plans and widen his berth. 

“You ok boss?” Adam rolled down the partition. “We’ve been parked in the garage for a few minutes.”

“Fine.” Gabriel got out of the car. “Just another thing on my plate.”

He headed up the conference room, head swirling. The plans were still in development, but his uncle wouldn’t have mentioned it to him unless some part of it was already set in stone. Was this the whole reason why he was set to Lyon in the first place? Already he could see the two paths laid out before him. Either he cooperated and destroyed what remained of his integrity, or he gave his uncle the ultimate reason to displace him without protest from the rest of the mafia. Some of them wouldn't approve the change, but could be convinced from the payouts. He doubted it would be made very public within the organization until it was profitable. 

Steering the Titanic he could do on his own, but this? This put him on defense. There was a limit to how much he could do on his own. Groaning, he sank into his chair and leaned his head back. Too many fires at once. 

There was a tap on the door. He lifted his head.

“Sir?” Davina leaned into the room. She had sweatpants on, and her hair was tied back into a messy ponytail.  Her computer was balanced in one hand. “I found something on Cassiel. Wanted you to take a look.”

The comforting aura she brought into the room, the determination and excitement in her eyes as she came to him with the computer, the quick peak of her bandages that he managed to see as she sat in the chair next to him. It was like he was hit by two bolts of lightning, one right after another. 

He wasn’t alone. Not against the mafia, not with protecting Mikey. Even though there was more to her than he knew, it didn’t seem to matter. Her tenacity matched his own and her morals exceeded his. It was comforting. It was encouraging. It was… familiar.

That was the second bolt.

As she pointed to her screen, explaining her findings and not realizing he wasn’t hearing a word of it, his chest tightened and he was hit with the inexplicable urge to yank her from her chair, pull her into his arms, bury his face in her hair and beg her to stay away from it all. It didn't matter how this had started, if it wasn't practical, or as if she wasn't already in the thick of it

Because he’d lived this story once before. And if the conclusion remained the same, he didn’t think he could survive it. 

Chapter Text

“There should be a tapestry over here.” Mikey scribbled a large frame on his picture of the hotel dining room. “The space needs a statement piece and tapestries are super cool and I’ve always wanted one. It could go between the two pillars.”

“Are you going for medieval on this?” Davina asked. “Or inspired from the local chateaus?” Mikey was designing his décor recommendations to give to the hotel staff. It was a good outlet, given the circumstances, and it kept him busy while she worked at the computer, trying to dig up anything on Cassiel and the two hitmen he’d been working with. 

“Neither. It should be a mosaic pattern tapestry. If they do a roman theme then they won’t have to clean up all the damage! It can be like a crumbling ruin, and it’ll save them a lot of money!”

Davina chuckled. “That’s very practical, but I don’t think a famous French hotel will want to feel Italian. I think the tapestry is a good idea though. Why don’t you draw one that has a local landmark?”

Mikey chewed on the end of his paintbrush. “What about the park? The one with the fountain and the ducks?”

“Great idea! And I’m sure you remember what it looks like really well!”

Mikey started redesigning his tapestry with fresh vigor. Davina watched him for a moment before returning to the computer. No luck on Cassiel’s location yet, but she was getting somewhere with the two hitmen. One of them was a local, but he’d only recently come back to Lyon, and she was trying to find out where he had been for the past two years. The other had moved around like a nomad, but she did find one thing of note.

The man had an outstanding warrant in Spain for involvement in the kidnapping of two tourists last year. The investigation was still ongoing, but the authorities were looking for multiple suspects, one of whom had a history of arrests and was a known associate of the Galician mob. Her mind kept going back to Breixo and the wire confirmation she saw on Cassiel’s phone. She was convinced he wasn’t acting independently, and while she suspected some sort of collusion with the French mob, it was likely that was nothing more than a temporary alliance. Someone had sponsored him, providing him with manpower, and likely, the plan itself given his personality. 

This wasn’t enough proof to say for certain, but it wasn’t like she needed to prove her hunch to a jury. Just to Gabriel. Breixo had motive to take out both the Angelinis and Lavigne. Cassiel was nothing more than a pawn. 

“Mikey, go down and see if Adam will drive us to the park later,” Davina said, grabbing her computer. “You can refresh your memory for the tapestry. I’ll be right back.”

Mikey scampered off happily, leaving a mess of art supplies across the penthouse floor. Davina headed down to the conference room. She knocked. There weren’t any voices coming from the inside, but she was certain Gabriel had headed up here after his meeting with Lavigne.

She opened the door. “Sir?”

Gabriel was at the table, not doing anything more than broodily staring at the clear surface. He lifted his head when she came in. Maybe the meeting didn’t go well. Something seemed off. Hopefully this would lift his spirits or at least get his brain activated on something else. 

“I found something on Cassiel. Wanted you to take a look.”

Gabriel pushed back the chair beside him. “You know you don’t have to do all this hunting. You’re still recovering.” 

It was typical of him, she was coming to realize. He expected her to do anything to protect Mikey, but once she accomplished that, he recognized every ounce of effort it took to make it happen. Bullet wound aside, at least she wasn’t being taken for granted. 

“I want to.” She sank into the chair beside him and plopped the computer down between them. “After what happened at the safehouse, I wouldn’t feel as if I’ve done my job properly unless I help see this through. Still nothing on Cassiel’s location, but I’ve dug up something on the men working with him.” Gabriel didn’t say anything so she continued, scrolling through the police reports she had recovered. “As we were talking about earlier, I don’t think Cassiel was working alone. He didn’t have the resources, and the wire he received wasn’t more than 20,000 euros. Peanuts in this business, but enough for some temporary hired help.”

She looked up at him, hoping not to see that skeptical turn of his eyebrows, and half expecting him to cut her off and tell her she was overstepping again. 

What she saw instead took the remaining words out of her head.

She wasn’t sure if he’d leaned closer or if she had, but his face was much nearer than she’d felt a moment ago. Unlike previous encounters, there was no heat in his eyes, no electricity urging her gaze towards his lips, no sensation of being pushed into a corner. Instead, the room seemed darker, the air between them heavy as if that single look had acknowledged every grievous thing she had witnessed happen to this man’s family in the three months she’d known him. For a split second, she read him as clear as she’d ever read words on a page. He wasn’t invincible. He wasn’t unaffected. He was frightened. 

Gabriel Angelini. Underboss of one of the largest mafias in Italy. And he looked terrified before her. His hand gripped the armrest of his chair as if he feared it would fly out from under him.

But it was only for a moment. His jaw softened, and he turned his attention to the computer, reading the information on the two men. “You think Breixo is involved.”

“Um, yes.” It took her a moment to switch gears again. “Cassiel didn’t seem fond of the man at the gallery, at least that’s what I thought then. Turned tail the moment Breixo approached me. Maybe he just didn’t want me to realize they knew each other. Or maybe Breixo intimated him. Either way. The Galician has a vested interest in seeing the Angelini venture fail. If their pawn was next in line, they could either move you out entirely or use the partnership for their operations.” 

“Competition,” Gabriel ground out. “That’s what he meant.”

“Who?” Davina asked. Gabriel didn’t answer. She closed her computer, sensing this was as far as she would get today. “Anyway, I wish had something more concrete, but I think it’s safer to operate under assumption, given the circumstances.”

She had said all she had planned to say, but she stayed rooted to her seat. It didn’t feel right to leave him like this. It wasn’t surprising that Gabriel felt fear. It was only natural. There had been two attempts on his son’s life, and still more threats at large. Certainly more than even she was aware of. What she found unusual was him letting her see it, and so potently. 

It emboldened her. 

“Is it something I could help with?” she asked. He straightened up, almost startled. She shrugged. “Why beat around the bush? Something’s bothering you. Did the meeting with Lavigne go sour? She doesn’t have a leg to stand on. If you want I can-”

“It’s not Lavigne.”

“Oh.” There was only one other person she could think of, and according to their last discussion, her involvement in that realm was off-limits. Her heart started to pound, but he hadn’t told her to leave, which meant this must be big. Big enough to make him drop his mask and let her see the fear, if only for a moment. The enormity of that alone made her ache for him. She'd been here three months, and it never slowed down. Just one heavy thing after another. Any man with any heart left him would struggle. The impulse to slide her hand over his nearly overtook her common sense.

She couldn't be the one to comfort him. That was dangerous ground. But she could be his ally. He couldn’t fight the Don alone, and he didn’t trust anyone within the mafia to do it with him. Technically, she wasn't part of the mafia. She could help, and as a bonus, be part of the reason Emilio Angelini went up in flames! If the year ended with Mikey safe and the murderer of her family on the bottom of the proverbial river, it would be the sweetest justice. If only Gabriel would let her. She already guarded his wishes for Mikey. Already saw how much he loathed this burden of loyalty. He trusted her, told her she was the best decision he’d made in years. So what was holding him back?

His eyes dropped to her waist, for the second time since she walked into the room, she realized. Her bandage was peaking out beneath her top. 

Oh.

She wasn't mere collateral damage anymore. She'd made herself invaluable. A precarious position. Perhaps even more dangerous than being a mere extra on his staff. But if he didn't trust Nico and Val to help him, she was all he had. He had to use her. As much as he had tried to hide the tensions within his family, it was all too obvious. Did he know how obvious? Perhaps it was time to stop assuming that reading between the lines was enough. She needed to say it flat out. 

“You know, the night of your birthday, I came across Adam scanning your gifts with a metal detector. Even before the fire, every moment of that evening felt like we were at the end of the gun. We just didn’t know who was pointing it. I knew something was off the moment Cassiel appeared on the porch that night. You could have told me a month ago he was trouble and I would have believed you.” She lowered her voice, hoping she wouldn’t come to regret this and doubly hoping the room had already been checked for bugs. “And if it had been any other member of your family, I still would have believed you. No matter how high up they were.” 

That brought him to life. He leaned in so quickly she almost fell back against the chair with the force of it. His arm caged her in, breath ghosting over her chin as he whispered, “Are you insane?”

She scanned the room again. “So you haven’t cleared for bugs yet?” 

“Of course we did. That’s not the point, Davina.”

So he was being paranoid, with good reason, but the quiet part finally needed to be said aloud, and she wasn’t going to wait until another family member showed up with a gun or a can of gasoline to do it. 

The impulse took over. Shocking herself at her own boldness, she grabbed the lapel of his jacket and pulled him down towards her, as close as she dared. “I’ll say it once and then never again.” To her surprise, Gabriel let her lower his head until their foreheads nearly brushed. The words were trapped in the tiny cave between them, with both their heads bent together. No one would hear them, not even if they were standing in the room. “Your uncle has it out for you. I don’t understand why, and in the end, I don’t have to. All I have to do is stand between him and your son, and I will do that, even if it kills me, but I would much rather see the bullet coming.”

His hand dropped from the back of the chair, resting on her upper arm. His grip was loose but urgent. She could feel his breathing, shallow and quick. "You don't know the half of it."

"You don't need to tell me half. Just enough to actually help you." She tightened her grip. "Please."

“I thought I had more time.”

She relaxed the hand twisted in his jacket and let it slide down to the last button. "I still have nine months left on my contract." They needed some levity. “Give me a bonus and I might consider an extension.”

He didn’t smile. “There’ll be no going back.”

She backed up enough to look him. Funny of him to act like there was a choice here when he had been planning on permanently delivering his son into her hands. “There's been no going back for a while now.”

He looked between her eyes as if searching for something. She was almost afraid he was going to change his mind, but then he gave her arm a squeeze before standing. Instantly, she missed the contact. “We’ll talk tonight. Meet me on the roof after Mikey goes to bed.”

Chapter Text

Conte gave Davina a disapproving look when Davina handed back her untouched dinner plate. “That whole general area is sore,” Davina said, touching her bandaged side and smiling. It was sore. But her stomach was doing acrobatics for entirely different reasons.  

The housekeeper was unaffected, her glare unchanging. “When you don’t eat, it gives this one excuse to do the same.” She snatched up Mikey’s plate. 

“I think we can allow a few picky days here and there,” Gabriel intervened. 

Conte huffed. “Few become habit. Such waste.”

“They really need to hurry up on the dining room,” Mikey said once the housekeeper had left.

Davina chuckled. “And what will you do when we have to leave the hotel?” 

Mikey shrugged. “Maybe Pappa can get a different housekeeper.”

Davina and Gabriel exchanged a look. “I’m not firing Signora Conte because you don’t like green beans,” Gabriel said.

“Fine. Keep Signora Conte. I can have my own chef. Oooh! Davina! You can just make those sandwich circles like you did at the safehouse! And the cinnamon toast.”

The words settled a strange lump in her throat. Mere weeks ago the boy had thrown a sandwich she had made him across the table, insisting she had cut it wrong and no matter how she tried she couldn’t make it right. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes. It meant more than Mikey growing used to her. Healing looked different on a four-year-old boy. 

Just like that, her nerves were gone. What mattered most was right in front of her, making sure that smile didn’t have reason to go anywhere. That his progress continued. 

Gabriel stepped away early that evening to tuck Mikey into bed. Davina waited in the living area, her computer open on her lap. She stared at the hotel video feed, looking for movement, and jumped a little when Gabriel closed Mikey’s door.

He chuckled. “Problem?”

Davina shook her head, exasperated, but glad that he had seemed to be less tense than earlier. The teasing she could deal with. It meant things were a bit more normal. What had happened earlier in the conference room was heavy, and definitely not something Mrs. Bremerton would approve of. As glad as she was that Gabriel was finally confiding some much desired information, that moment had somehow felt more dangerous than the night of the fire. She needed to be more careful as they worked together. Set herself up for success.

Gabriel stood behind her chair and she tilted her computer back so he could see. “Signora Conte left thirty minutes ago, but I still haven’t seen her return to her room. Not only that, I’m picking up a third user on the hotel video feed.”

“Third?”

“Me, the hotel security, and someone else.”

“I see.” Gabriel sat halfway on the armrest and leaned an arm over the back over the chair. “I’m surprised. Didn’t think Conte was tech savvy.”

“It’s not hard,” Davina said. “All she needs is a computer, and if someone back in Venice helped her, it would be a cinch. Then again, it might not even be her.”

Gabriel huffed. “If my uncle has the Wiz spending his precious time watching the hotel feed, then he’s more paranoid than I thought.”

Davina chewed her lip. She’d known Conte had been monitoring Gabriel, but this was the first night it felt extreme. Why up the security now? Did it have something to do with what happened between Gabriel and the don? 

There was movement on the security feed. Conte stepped off the elevator on her floor. Davina watched her walk down the hall and check into her room. She was empty handed aside from her small pocketbook. On a hunch, Davina switched windows to the network users on the hotel feed. The third user had magically disappeared.

“Well, I know she didn’t sit in the elevator for thirty minutes,” Gabriel said. “So where’d she go?”

“I was watching the whole time,” Davina said. “There was no…” she trailed off. “A looper.” It had to be. She clicked through the camera feed, looking for any small disruption and focusing on private hotel areas. Nothing came up until she browsed the conference floor. “There!” She froze the playback, enlarging the screen so Gabriel could see. “Watch. There’s a tiny blip about fifteen minutes ago.” She played the clip. “And again about three minutes ago. I’ll bet if I look at the hallway feed I’ll see the same thing.”

“We cleared for bugs this morning,” Gabriel said, his voice already lower. “She waited until after we did the rounds before planting something. I guarantee that’s what she was doing. Merda, that bastard.”

Davina barely heard him. She was busy clicking through old video feed, ensuring that Conte had gone grocery shopping earlier that day while her and Mikey went to the park. It was the only time the penthouse, specifically the living area, had been empty. After a moment, she sank back in relief. “This room should still be clear,” she whispered to be on the safe side. “She wouldn’t have had the chance to bug it today. Me and Mikey were here, outside of when we went to the park. She was still grocery shopping. Just give me a second.” 

She set up a scanner, looking for any foreign signals that could indicate a bug. Neither of them said a word while the computer searched, almost holding their breath until the system completed. No bugs. Davina let out a breath of relief.

Gabriel glanced around the living room. “What about the rest of the penthouse?”

Davina looked over her shoulder. The kitchen. The dining room. Their bedrooms. All private areas might not be private. To say the don wasn’t trusting was one thing. This level of monitoring was designed for the enemy, not family. “I don’t know. If the devices use any sort of wifi, I can find them. If they use internal storage, that’ll be harder. On the bright side, if its all manual then he can’t get a hold of anything until Conte uploads the recordings. Gives us a little time.” 

“So we can’t be entirely sure about this room either.”

“Not until I do a thorough check, no.”

“I see.” He slid off the chair and raised his voice. “Think I’ll get some fresh air before I head to bed. What about you?”

She peered up at him, realizing he was doing a bit, but not sure what he was trying to communicate. The roof probably wasn’t secure either, so they couldn't go there as they originally planned. “Sir?”

“The balconies give a great view to the city. You should check it out. Relax a bit. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” He headed into the hall without another word. Davina closed her computer and followed him. When he got to his bedroom he pulled out a key, different from the kind the hotel provided, and unlocked the room. 

Davina’s eyes widened. Gabriel’s room had a special lock, so not even Conte would have been able to get in to plant a bug. Not only that, she’d realized on the first night that her and Gabriel’s rooms were connected by balcony. It would be the perfect safe space to talk. 

She returned to the living room, turning off the lights and making a loud show of getting a drink from the fridge. After a few minutes, she returned to her room and went out to the balcony. She stood outside for a moment, staring at the double doors leading to Gabriel’s room. 

This felt dangerous again. This conversation was strictly business, that was clear, but there was a significance attached to the moment. Maybe it was the intimacy of the setting, or that Gabriel was finally sharing with her, or maybe it was Mrs. Bremerton’s warning when she was in the hospital. The deeper she got into this, the harder it would be to dig out. 

Or maybe it was simpler than that. She was attracted to him, and based on the handful of moments with him over the past month, she was almost certain that attraction was mutual. And here she was, about to have an intimate conversation with him in his bedroom.

It was like the beginning to a very predictable smut novel. 

“Business,” she muttered to herself. She glanced down at her clothes, the same pants and top she’d worn to the park, and briefly chided herself for not changing into her uniform earlier. Anything to widen that gap. “Just business.”

She turned the knob and slipped inside. 

The room was lit by a single lamp on the nightside. Gabriel was sitting in the armchair, and he gestured to the chair across from him. “This seemed like the best solution. Check for devices tomorrow. Once we know what we’re dealing with, we’ll go from there. Can you alter the storage on them without anyone noticing?”

Davina sat down. “Not without being caught. We have to leave it all, don’t we? Removing them means we have something to hide.”

“Mmm.” Gabriel leaned forward and rested his chin in his hands, his forearms flexing as he folded his hands tightly. 

Blood rushed to Davina’s cheeks unbidden. This just wasn’t fair. He’d taken off his jacket for the night, rolled his sleeves to his elbows, and combed his hair out. It tousled over his forehead, an attractive looking mess that begged her to run her fingers through it. He was wearing his glasses again, and damn did it suit him. She couldn’t have him, but was it so horrible to appreciate him? 

‘Business!’ She told herself. ‘Get it together!’ It was time to ask her questions. She wouldn’t get a better time, given these particular circumstances. They had isolated him in a sense, and coincidentally set her up as the most readily available trustworthy person. Someone not a part of the opposite camp. She could learn more tonight than she could any other night.

Not even a sexy set of glasses could stop her from taking advantage. 

“Back at the manor,” she began. “I always felt like someone was watching me. Were they? Even then?” 

Gabriel nodded. “Yes. They told me it was security. I’m not even sure to what extent I was monitored.”

She thought back to that night in the garden. Even then, Gabriel had been so careful to say even that little bit. Honesty was probably just as much a matter of discretion as it was trust. “I know I’m a newcomer here. I don’t know how mafia families are supposed to operate.” A blatant lie, but she needed to come across as sincere, maybe even a little naïve. Better naïve that calculated. “Your uncle acts as if he’s trying to push you to your breaking point. Not as if he’s trying to prepare you for the role of don. And you, I can’t make sense of the past three months. You don’t strike me as careless, and yet I’ve only seen you take one risk after another. Enraging the Croatians, bating Lavigne. When the gendarmerie showed up at the gallery, my first thought was that you had called them.”

Gabriel only looked at her. His face was unreadable. Not angry. He was letting her continue. She pushed forward. 

“I know this isn’t a traditional family. Not the fuzzy, take holiday or Christmas brunch together type, but your uncle left immediately after the fire that night. You and Mikey could have died and he was out the door before it even finished burning down. If it was me…” Oh, shit. This was a can of worms. “If it was me, I would have dug through those coals myself. Anything to find a clue of who tried to do that to my family.”

“Say what you mean, Davina.”

It was like she was standing at the edge of a cliff with what lay below a complete mystery. She couldn’t read him. His tone, his face. It was all too blank. 

She steeled herself and took the plunge. “I think the don is trying to find an excuse to disinherit you or get rid of you altogether, and I think you know that and are trying to commit suicide by mobster and take down the mafia with you at the same time. I know Emilio had something to do with your wife’s death, and…” A lump crept up her throat. “I don’t think you know that Mikey thinks that too and he blames himself.”

That last bit got a reaction out of Gabriel. He raised his head. “He blames himself? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“How?” Davina said, gesturing around. “Anything related to your wife is off limits. I know it wasn’t his fault, but I don’t know how to explain that to him because I don’t know what happened. I know it’s not my business, and I’m not asking you to fill me in, but it’s clear there are unresolvable issues between you and your uncle, with that being part of it. I just want a heads up if you’re planning on permanently jumping into hell.”

“Hmm,” Gabriel hummed and relaxed back in his chair. “You’re quite the detective.”

“Don’t flatter me. The night before the attack, you made it pretty clear what I was supposed to do with Mikey if something went wrong. And I don’t think it’s a plan you cooked up overnight, nor is it your last resort. It’s what you intend in the end." Her tone was biting, betraying the frustration that had been building in her chest for the past week. "I know we have a contract, but legality is one thing and reality is another. The rest of my life would have changed, and I had no say in it.” There it was. Cards on the table. She desperately fought the lump in her throat. “Am I wrong, sir?” 

The silence was palpable. She had called him out in nearly every way she could, and now all she could was bask in the feeling of ‘fuck, did I just say that.’ His posture was throwing her off, and she was half-scared he was about to tell her she was crazy and blatantly deny all her accusations. He looked at her like he was taking her in for the first time, her hands, her hair, her smaller build, her wide eyes. She felt like the grasshopper who punched the elephant, even if it was all justified.

There was a bottle of scotch across from her on his nightstand. Impulsively, she got up to pour herself a glass, not able to stay under his gaze for another moment. She downed the glass with a single toss.

“Needed that?” Gabriel asked. She nodded, back still turned. “That intrepidity of yours is dangerous, Davina. Especially in this world. It could get you killed. It has others.”

She turned, the alcohol spreading warmth through her chest. “But it’s just you, sir.” 

His expression stirred, and with that slightest change she knew she had him. She would be all right. She was still standing at the edge, but she was anchored there by the man who simultaneously had the power to throw her off. The irrational part of her had already seemingly decided that he never would. His lips parted slightly, and gods, she needed another drink. 

“You’re not wrong,” he said softly. He grasped the armrest of the opposite chair. “About any of it. Pour me one of those and come here.”

Chapter Text

Gabriel drained the glass quickly, but it was still the longest minute of Davina’s life. The lamplight caught on the crystal, and she followed the sparkle with her eyes as he turned the empty glass in his hand. He was hesitating, she realized. Understandably so. To her knowledge, she would be his first true confidant since his wife died. This was more complicated for him than simply putting aside his distrust. 

Though she sympathized with him, she intended to push this conversation as far as she dared. Wring him out for anything he could give her. She’d taken bullets, jumped out of buildings, faced down threat after threat for this man - she deserved this. It had been an uneven playing field for too long, and though she understood where she was coming from, she was tired of having the raw end of this deal. 

“It goes without saying, but nothing leaves this room," Gabriel began.

Davina nodded, her chest bursting with questions and frustrations that needed silencing. The beast had just started to venture towards her, and she wasn’t about to spook him away. He needed to do the talking first.

“You need to understand that my uncle and I have a very different ideology on how the mafia is supposed to work. The criminal underworld is an ever-changing landscape. In some aspects, it’s the same. Cutthroat. Ruthless. Lucrative." He had a faraway look in his eye, staring through the glass at the floor. "But there’s used to be an integrity and honor to the profession, a trait that is dying out among the current organizations. When a drought killed the harvests of local farmers during my grandfather’s time, he stepped up where the local government failed, channeling funds into the local communities to keep them alive. And that’s just one example. I’m not saying that justifies our history, but we are Italians, a part of the country. We profited from the community, but realized that we could not survive without them. The stability of the city meant the stability and survival of our enterprises.”

Davina listened, nodding along. She knew a few similar stories. It was part of the reason why mafias were romanticized in entertainment and literature. Public perception was not always negative, depending on how the mafia operated. 

“My father also held to this idea, and when other local mafias started to become involved with drugs and skin, he refused to take part, believing that those industries degraded the communities as a whole.” He finally looked up at her. “My uncle never agreed. And the second he inherited the title of don, he started looking into ways to covertly become involved with existing operations without the family elders’ knowledge. It is the reason my relationship with my uncle is the way it is.”

“Because you wouldn’t support it?” A part of her breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes, but primarily because his first attempt led to the death of my wife.” 

Davina visibly startled, not expecting him to broach the topic so quickly. “I wasn’t aware your wife was involved in the mafia business.”

“She wasn’t.” Gabriel’s attention focused back on the glass, eyes glazing over again. His voice was unusually strained, but the more he talked the more robotic it sounded, like he was telling someone else’s story. Maybe a choice, more likely a necessity. “It was a mess from beginning to end. She was a civilian when I met her, and not my family’s first choice for me. Even after we married, she did everything she could to keep out of it, especially when Mikey was born. An important detail to know is that my wife had a younger sister, Catarina, who disappeared about a year before we met. I secretly never stopped looking for her, using the resources I had to search places the authorities couldn’t. It was all but a cold case when I found out we were assisting the Barbieri group, a southern trafficking ring that sourced victims from Sicily and the surrounding areas and transported them up north through Austria.”

Even this little bit into the story, Davina could see the pieces falling into place, why a woman who had never involved herself in the mafia business would suddenly jump in head first. 

Gabriel’s jaw hardened, and the strain disappeared from his voice. He gripped the crystal glass tightly. “My father fought tooth and nail to keep the Angelinis out of the business, so when I found out Emilio had involved us, I was furious. Even more so when I found a falsified passport of Catarina in their archives. I planned to lay low and see if I could locate her myself while also gathering evidence of everything Emilio was doing with the Barbieri. I hoped my mother and some of the family elders would back me up when I presented the information.”

The way he said ‘hoped’ put a rock in her chest. The air in the room was tight as he took a breath. “I was almost ready to challenge him when all hell broke loose. I still don’t know how or when it happened, but somehow, Alessia found everything I’d been collecting and realized I’d been keeping it from her. I remember her suddenly becoming a little distant, but tensions were high between her and my uncle already, so I attributed it to her concern for Mikey. I… I shouldn’t have done that.” 

For the first time, he faltered. He turned to the bottle of scotch again, pouring a glass and drinking it faster than the first. Davina watched the amber liquid disappear, recognizing the motion for what it was - the weight, the regret, the guilt for words not said or actions not taken.

“I should have told her everything from the start,” Gabriel said, eyes once again turned to the ground. “I didn’t realize what she had done until it was too late.”

“Did she go to the authorities?” Davina asked. Such an action would have been unforgivable within the mafia, giving Emilio justifiable reason to take action in the extreme. Alessia would have been made an example.

“Not exactly. She went to a friend she had made in the local government, someone who had been partnered with the Angelini Mafia for some time. She asked him to locate Catarina with the information I had gathered, and in exchange, she would wire him seven million euros from her personal account.” 

He stopped again, and she wanted to reach out, calm the storm behind his eyes that made him see beyond the room in front of him, make it so he didn’t shatter the glass squeezed in his fist. When was the last time he had told this story? Or had he ever told it? 

“It backfired,” Gabriel said, a little softer. “The official took the proof to the Barbieri group directly. Emilio found out about everything before I did. He knew they were coming for her, and he let it happened. Even made sure Mikey and I were away and she was alone at the manor. Later, he had the gall to call it, a good lesson. Told me I was fortunate it was only Alessia who’d been taken, with clear implications. You know the rest.” He released the glass on the table, and it thudded against the coaster, sounding much louder than it should have.

Davina felt like the wind had been knocked from her. Emilio not being the direct cause of Alessia's death somehow felt worse. More tragic, as if somewhere along the lines there had been a way to prevent it all, and if there had, it fell at the widower's feet. The year afterwards snapped into focus, with one detail still blurry. “Why would he make you underboss, then?" she asked. "Mikey said it was so you could find Alessia, but if Emilio knew you had so much dirt on him, why would he give you that power?”

“It’s a dance of give and take. After the dust settled, the Barbieri incident wouldn’t have been enough to oust Emilio as Don, especially since the partnership fell through during the event. My mother left the mafia business and some of the more influential family members who would have opposed died around the same time. The new generation takes less opposition over the matter as long as they make money. However, half of them don’t trust Emilio and are banking on me taking over. Emilio knows he would lose irreplaceable allies in the Venetian government along with our relationship with the Bratva and Slovenians if he were to get rid of me outright. It has to be justifiable, so he’s pushing me in any way he can, waiting for me to snap. Underboss was a peace offering, but it also puts me in the best position for failure. It’s the whole reason why he sent me to France.”

“You’re playing chicken.”

“Exactly.”

“You said the Barbieri incident wouldn’t be enough to oust him,” Davina said. “But if you’re playing chicken, you’ve got something else on him.” It was like she lurched him back into the room with her. Those blue eyes flashed up, reconnecting with hers, and she knew she was right. She could see the gears turning in his head, sifting through his uncertainty before he cracked open Pandora’s box. He looked her up and down, hesitation on his tongue. There was distrust in his eyes, for what reason at this point, she couldn’t say. What more could she do to prove herself? Where else could he find her lacking?

She knew she’d been rejected before he said it. “I can’t tell you that.”

Disappointment surged through her before she dismissed the thought. Maybe this wasn’t about her at all. Already this conversation was more than she expected from him. Part of this game was knowing when to quit. It was information she’d get another day. She switched gears. “You said your uncle called you earlier,” she said. “What does he want from you this time?”

“He’s getting back in the business and asked for my cooperation.” Gabriel let out a dry laugh. “It’s all bullshit, though. He knows I’d never go for it. It just shrinks my timeline. He must be getting impatient, especially if he’s dropping bugs on me. Either that or there’s pressure on him that I don’t know about.”

“Pressure from who?”

“Who knows. The Galicians. The Barbieri group. Maybe even Odesa, the one he wants to partner with this time. Aside from wanting to provoke me, he is convinced that if we don’t jump into it now we will eventually lose our edge in Venice. It’s an industry becoming more and more intertwined with the governments of the world, not just in Italy. Rumor is that the Galicians are progressing faster because they have a connection there, but who really knows.” 

“If that’s true, why would he destabilize the mafia by weakening the succession?” Davina asked. “A house divided is vulnerable. Making it obvious to the outside is idiotic, and with Cassiel out of the picture there is no direct inheritance.”

“Oh, but there is,” Gabriel said, “just not who the mafia would select on their own. My cousin, Ottavia. My uncle is many things, but ironically, not sexist. His daughter is his progeny, but due to her sex, the mafia would never allow her to be underboss. It’s his goal to make her the only option.”

Gabriel cousin. She knew she existed, but had somehow forgotten the information. “Was she at your birthday party? I don’t recall ever meeting her.”

“She wasn’t, but you have met her.” Gabriel looked grim. “She goes by The Doctor when she’s working .”

Davina’s veins turned ice as the memory flooded back. The don had made her uncomfortable, but the woman called The Doctor had been a different realm, an unsettled glint in the cold eyes and smile that had set everyone of her senses on alert. Gabriel had told her that the danger was close, ever present and closing in, but with those eyes drilling through her memory it felt more explicit. 

But if Ottavia wasn’t at the birthday party… Davina’s eyes widened as it hit her with surety. She’d suspected Cassiel had been behind the fire at the manor, but in hindsight, it seemed too grand and ambitious a plan for him. If it was the don himself, he could have gotten rid of Mikey, Gabriel, and any evidence Gabriel had against him that was stored in the manor all in one fell swoop. 

She thought back to that night, how Val had charged into the room when she had uncovered the safe, in hindsight the best place to keep hard copies of evidence that could bring down Emilio. Val and Nico might not know about Gabriel’s plans to destroy the mafia from the inside, but he trusted them to have his back against his uncle. That was important. How much farther would they go for him? She knew they had history and were familiar enough with him to call him ‘Gabe,’ an informality that spoke volumes. But would they betray the mafia for him?

Maybe she could find out. 

“That brings us to now,” Gabriel said, pulling her from her thoughts. “I need to speed my timeline along, but there aren’t enough of the family resources tied up in the Lyon venture yet. I need them dependent on me, on the deal with the triad, and with multiple enemies burning money to keep things calm. Above all, everything needs to appear as my uncle’s initiative, which so far, has gone to plan.”

“You plan to bankrupt him?” This was a surprise. She expected the plan to be more bloody and explosive.

“I plan to distract him,” Gabriel corrected. “And while he’s focused on the money I can make allies and enemies in all the right places. Hint to the Bratva that Emilio is overstepping. Strongarm the Croatians until they feel like they have to take drastic action. Piss off Lavigne and the French mob until Emilio pushes his luck just a little too far. Once I have enough of the pieces in place, all it will take is a little nudge to set things off. The resulting power vacuum will be the critical point. I need to make sure no one considers an Angelini a threat anymore.”

Ah, there was the blood and explosives.

“And you,” Davina pressed. “Think you can dodge the explosion in time?”

Gabriel didn’t answer. He poured himself another glass of scotch, swirling the drink around before taking a long sip. “I’ll do my best. But at the end of the day, this is a risky game. My survival is not critical to its success. In the end, Mikey will be better off either way.”

Better off? Davina’s eyes burned, the blunt statement throwing her clear from her entrenched sympathy for him. He fully intended to make himself a martyr. Pay for his sins and his demons by dying just because he was certain he had a safe place for Mikey to go. She was as much as a plan he had prepared in that sense. The only one he had. This wasn’t just about Mikey’s future at all, this was about guilt. His guilt. 

The boy had already lost his mother. So what would happen if he lost his father too? The damage would take years to recover from, if he recovered at all. The progress Davina had made with him these past few months would disappear in a blink as if it never happened. Nothing was more devastating than joy ripped away twice. 

But Gabriel wasn’t thinking about Mikey in that sense. Well intended as he was, the plan was selfish at its core. And selfishness was a luxury parenthood couldn’t afford. 

“So that’s it then,” she said, the words coming out more clipped than she intended. “You get to pay your penance and Mikey becomes a fugitive with the literal mob on our backs.”

“I wouldn’t have left you destitute,” he said, eyes narrowing and matching her tone. “I have a secret account that would have supported you both and a house on the Sicilian coast that not even my uncle knows about. Everything you needed in the year would have been provided. It would not have been easy, I acknowledge that, but it is precisely the reason why I hired you. I believe you have the skills to emerge from the year unscathed.”

He said it so matter-a-factly that it took her a moment to realize that he was serious. This was his justification. Davina stared at him, mouth slightly agape. The frustration poured through her anew. How could he think this was all about the contract? To a degree, he knew her background. He knew she was an orphan, he saw how she was with Mikey. How could he be so dense? She’d been right back then. Despite all his apparent manipulations, he really hadn’t known what he was asking of her. 

“I understand it’s unconventional,” Gabriel said, evidently not knowing how to interpret the look on her face. “I did not speak with you about it beforehand because nothing was outside the terms of the contract.” 

“Fuck the contract!” Davina found her voice. “You think I was worried about the money? That I would have dropped him like a hotcake at someone else’s door when the year was up after I have loved, bled, and killed for him? Look at me and tell me that’s what you believed I would do!” 

Gabriel’s eyes widened, and Davina stopped short. That’s exactly what he had thought. Tears pricked at her eyes, sudden and unbidden, and she stood, turning away from him towards the balcony doors as quickly as she could. 

“Davina…”

He couldn’t have known. She’d assumed too much of him, that he could see into her heart when he didn’t even know her true name. How could he know how deeply she saw herself in Mikey? And the boy was so much younger than she had been and had already been through so much. She squeezed her elbows, desperate to calm down. This was not how she wanted this conversation to go. She needed to remain stoic, unemotional, reasonable. 

“I am not trying to exaggerate,” she said once she was sure her voice was clear despite the tears slipping down her cheeks. “If you had died last week, the rest of my life would have completely changed. For Mikey. And I would have never had a say in any of it. You told me earlier that telling me everything would mean there was no going back, but don’t you see you’ve already made that decision for me?”

He came up behind her and gently gripped her arms, pulling her against his chest. “You think I would do that if I had no other choice?” He didn’t sound angry, but his head leaned forward, helpless, frustrated. “What do you expect me to do?”

She leaned back against him, still frustrated but his comfort was welcoming. She could hear it in his voice - he was more lost than she was. “Think of Mikey.” He started to speak and she cut him off. “I know you think you are. You’re thinking of how to protect him from the enemies around you. But if you go through with this, without trying anything else, without explaining to him explicitly why you’re doing what you’re doing, you will ruin him. The most damage will be from you.”

He was warm against her back, and she crossed her arm over her chest, putting her hand over his. Gabriel lowered his head in turn until his cheek brushed against hers. “You know why I can’t tell him anything.”

“Maybe not yet, but that boy is better at keeping secrets than you think. He has so much trust in you. Trust him too.” A little voice told her this was dangerous, the position too intimate, too close to the line. But she didn’t care. It that moment, it felt like the two of them against the world, putting everything they had into shielding one precious little boy. “I understand that you’ve have been taking care of Mikey on your own for the past year,” she whispered, feeling the need. If she spoke too loudly she might break the spell. “And you’re not used to discussing your decisions about him with someone else. But if this is going to work, if you want me to help you, really help you, that has to change. No matter how extreme things have been or may get. You leaving Mikey with me must be a last resort. He’s already lost his mother. Don’t let him lose his father too.” 

He let out a shuddered breath, and she knew he had surrendered. “All right,” he whispered. “You win.”

At once, she was too aware of the moment, of his breath in her ear, stubble against her cheek. All she needed to do was turn around and she was sure the string would snap. Part of her craved exactly that, to let go of her restraints and let her instincts take over. If she made eye contact with him right now then she doubted she would have a choice in the matter. 

“Davina, look at me.” It was if he sensed it. 

She shook her head. “Just give me a minute.”

“Davina.”

How much power did merely saying her name possess? As if under a spell, she turned into his arms, facing him fully as his hand slipped down, meeting the cool skin of her waist. She could feel him tugging, urging her forward, finger tipping her chin up in the way he liked to do. The tears threatened to spill over as she relented and met his eyes. 

“Remember," he whispered. "Nothing leaves this room.”

That was all he needed to say.

She surged forward, not giving herself the chance to change her mind, dragging his lips down to hers so neither of them could argue her choice in this later. Gabriel was unmoving for that first second, as if waiting for her to retreat after the first contact. But a desperation took hold of her from the moment she crossed that line, and when her lips parted against his, he came to life. 

Instantly, he overwhelmed her senses, taking charge and invading her mouth with a ferocity that her gasping. His hand slid into her hair, fingers tangled in the strands as he angled her against him, breathing her in as a man starved. She felt the balcony door behind her, the coarse fabric of the curtains pressing into her skin. A moment later the sensation was replaced with the warmth of his hand, curling around the small of her back and pressing her closer. She sighed into his mouth, the relief at letting go as palpable as the exhilaration of falling. 

If nothing left this room then damn it she wasn’t going to let the experience be one she ever forgot. It was far from first kisses she had experienced before. More heated, urgent, with none of the shyness or hesitant exploration. At some point her hands wrapped around his neck. Gabriel responded as if instinctually, sliding his hands beneath her thighs and hoisting her up. The wall disappeared from behind her, leaving her with nothing to feel but adrenalin, warmth and him. His lips, his tongue, his hands. 

She ran her hand through that hair, an impulse she no longer had to restrain, and when she tugged at the strands at the base of the neck, he groaned into her mouth. All at once she was on the bed, cheeks flush and breathless as Gabriel towered over her. She got one good look at his face, the proof in his eyes that he wanted her, perhaps more than she wanted him. 

And for a moment, that wasn't a bad thing.

Chapter Text

He pressed her into the mattress, his lips descending on the soft skin at her neck and blazing a path downward. Her mind was blank, lost to the sensations as she ran her hands up his chest. His weight fell between her legs, grinding forward so she could feel exactly how he wanted her, the action hitting that deliciously sensitive spot that made her moan out his name, her voice breathy and desperate. His hands were tight on her hips, pulling her against him as he repeated the motion while returning attention to her mouth. 

Something about that moment flipped a switch in her brain, and the battle roared to life, rational thought fighting back to take control even as she reflexively pressed into him. The attraction between them was real, and she didn’t believe Gabriel was so cold-hearted that he could feign affection to meet his ends. But there was an element of this timing that was undeniably calculated, claiming her vulnerability through intimacy like a chip in poker. The encounter was sincere only to a point. 

All that could be true, and she would still want him. She could feel the endorphins flooding her senses, muddling the train of thought and turning her resolve to snowflakes before an inferno. He moved yet lower, dragging his lips between her breasts as far as her neckline would allow. She watched him through hooded eyes, reveling in the sensations and trying to decide where she should stop this.

It wasn’t until his hand dipped over the last bit of damp fabric that separated them, cupping the aching spot between her legs and pressing a finger to her center that she pulled herself from the depths, breaking through the surface with a panic that had her pushing against his chest. 

Gabriel pulled back immediately, propping himself over her and searching her face. She must look like a trapped fawn, she realized, eyes wide and chest heaving as she struggled to collect herself. “I- I can’t. We can’t-” She didn’t need to finish the sentence. 

Gabriel rolled to the side and she sat up. It took her a moment to get her breathing under control and to be certain she wouldn’t change her mind once she looked at him again. She could feel him watching her. He started to get off the bed. 

“I want to,” she said, breaking the silence. He paused at the edge. They needed to hash this out immediately. Otherwise it would fester, creating an awkwardness that could not exist between them given the new arrangement. She had to given him a clear reason for her hesitation. “You have no idea how much I want to.”

“Oh, I think I can comprehend slightly,” he said, looking downward. There was a hint of sardonic humor in his tone. His voice softened and he resettled on the bed, this time a respectful distance away. “But you’re about to remind me that I’m your boss.” 

“That is not my only reasoning,” she said, still focusing on the ruffled bed linen. If she was completely honest with herself, if their professional relationship was the sole factor, she would have a much easier time letting go of her reservations and living out any one of the hundred fantasies she’d had of him in the past month. “But I am merely contracted to you. My obligation is still to the code of the institution who raised me and to whom I still belong. To ENA, and they absolutely forbid any sort of romantic entanglement with a client. No exclusions.”

“What would be the punishment?” Gabriel said. He tilted his head, as if realizing for the first time that she answered to someone else.

Davina swallowed hard. “I would be relieved of my credentials and forced to leave the organization. They have high standards and maintain those standards by strict enforcement of their code. I wouldn’t be allowed another position or ward, wouldn’t qualify for any teaching opportunities at the academy…” she trailed off. That would all hurt, yes, but what would be the most devastating would be disappointing Mrs. Bremerton. How could she return to the woman who raised her with such a failure? Admit that she gave in to the manipulating tactics and attraction even though she knew the consequences. She was better than that. Smarter than that.

“I see,” Gabriel said. “I didn’t realize ENA was so strict with its operatives. If it worries you at all, know I would never mention anything about this in my final review. They would never hear it from me.”

She could read between the lines. He might as well have asked ‘ if you don’t tell them, how would they find out?’ But Mrs. Bremerton would know. All it would take was one conversation and she’d be laid out like an open book. 

“I believe in those rules,” she said, closing the cover on the conversation. “That code means something to me.”

“Of course.” Gabriel tipped his head in agreement. “I crossed a line with you, and I am sorry for it. I should not have indulged the moment.”

“I leaned in first,” Davina said, ready to take on the blame in equal measure. “This entire situation is tense. And that energy…” has to go somewhere. She couldn’t bring herself to finish.

Gabriel smiled and looked as if he was about to lean towards her again then thought better of it. “Situation or not, know that is far from my only motivation. You are…” His eyes dropped to her lips, and she abruptly felt more exposed than when he had pressed his hand between her legs. “Exquisite. Among other things that are no longer appropriate to say aloud.” 

Her cheeks flamed. Damn it! Not helping! She needed to get out of here. “I want to think about what we’ve discussed,” she said, standing. “And brainstorm some strategies for going forward. We’ll also need to find a safe place to have conversations…” that isn’t your bedroom. 

“Of course. I still want to focus on tracking Cassiel. Got some more information from Lavigne, and she implied the bastard had some kind of dirt on me that he planned to leverage with the don. It was why he was so sure he could supplant me.”

“Don’t suppose she knows what that may be?”

Gabriel shook his head. “No idea. If he had any proof he would have just come out with it to my uncle instead of going the long way round, but his potential association with the Galician makes me nervous. I want him gone.”

“I’ll keep looking.”

“What do you want in return?”

She paused at the balcony door, not expecting the question. “What?”

“I know you care for Mikey, and on some degree, you pity me. That you have a code you follow and a contract to fulfill, but this is above and beyond.” He stood but didn’t come closer, the space lingering between them now an unexpected factor of the dynamic. There was something guarded in his tone and she wasn’t sure if it was because of these newly set boundaries, or something else entirely. “In my experience, no one does this much for nothing, no matter how good a person they are. If you want something, come out with it.”

The question felt like cheese in a trap. ‘ What do you know about the Diavolo family?’ It was on the tip of her tongue, so easy, so simple. So tantalizingly close. 

She dodged it. “Nothing more than what I requested earlier. Full marks, a good review, and your guarantee that you will do everything in your power to remain with Mikey and not abandon him to me.” She said it confidently enough, so why did he look like that? As if he didn’t believe a word of it.

“Fine,” he said. “But think on it. If you come up with something I will do everything in my power to see it happen.” 

She nodded, her throat suddenly dry as she slipped through the balcony doors and returned to her room. As soon as she was back in the safety of her own space, the enormity of what had just happened hit her like a truck and she sank to the floor. She had his confidence, but at what cost? Her lips still tingled and she traced her hand down her neckline, allowing herself to relive it all briefly before a pit settled into her stomach. 

Oh, she was fucked. The only way she could be more involved was if she started executing mafia business personally. Executing. Fine choice of words. 

She looked over to her bed stand where her gold necklace glinted in the dim light. Right. This was for closure. This was for Mikey. This was for all those nights she had cried alone in her room and asked the ceiling ‘ why?’ This was to end a cycle once and for all. This was justice not just for her, but for the countless victims of Emilio Angelini.

She took a deep breath and picked herself up.

-

The next week was… weird to put it mildly. Gabriel seemed distracted and didn’t talk to her more than to ask about her plans for Mikey with the day. They were setting up more art lessons with Professor Rouche now that things had calmed down with the mob. There was no prolonged eye contact or special looks that only she could interpret between them. If anything, he was infuriatingly normal. The bulk of their time together happened over breakfast. She told herself it was because Signora Conte was watching them, serving them coffee, making passive aggressive remarks about how much sugar Davina took in her coffee, and overall just hovering.  

By the end of the week she was annoyed with herself for subconsciously expecting something different. If Gabriel could put on a good act then so could she. 

Gabriel had arranged for Adam to take her and Mikey to the manor site so Mikey could see the construction progress. All the way there Davina’s brain was multitasking. Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of moving pieces to starting a large-scale mafia war. The power vacuum that would occur once the Angelinis were removed from the playing field would be intense. Their survival would depend largely on who fired the first shot and who would come out on top.

If they could manage to select the successor and set them up for success before the war even started, then they would have a better chance of securing long-term safety for Gabriel and Mikey. To do that, they would need allies both within and without the organization. 

Davina stared at the back of Adam’s head as they neared the construction site. Adam was one of the few that answered solely to Gabriel. Then, of course, there was Nico and Val, but as loyal as they were to ‘Gabe’ would they help him effectively execute a coup against Emilio? Did their loyalties lie with him or ultimately to the mafia? Gun to her head, she would say Nico was a safe bet. Val was more of a wildcard. But how to find out for sure? How much did Val stand to lose if Gabriel failed or succeeded?

“Look!” Mikey strained the limits of his seatbelt as they drove through the manor gate. “They’re putting the tresses on!” 

Sure enough, a crane was lifting large wooden tresses over the final wing of the manor, an extension to the original design. The original foundation had been salvaged along with the right half of the structure where the fire hadn’t reached. As soon as the car stopped, Mikey hurried to unbuckle and fly out towards the work zone. 

Davina barely managed to catch his collar. “Not so fast! There is machinery everywhere and you are too short to be spotted easily. You need to stick with me and Adam.”

Mikey grunted but assented, refusing to hold her hand but staying by her side.

“Construction is ahead of schedule,” Adam remarked as they wandered towards the new garages. “Good thing too. Don’t like parking the babies with the peasant cars.” 

“I’d hardly call the other hotel guests peasants, ” Davina said.

“Good for you,” Adam said, smirking. “Ooh, looks like they added that extra bay I requested.”

The garage did look a bit larger than before. The area was roped off for new pavement, and some of the areas still looked wet. Mikey knelt down with a stick and experimentally poked the wet surface then proceeded to carve his name into the edge of the driveway. Davina decided not to stop him. 

“Do you anticipate we’ll have more long-term residents once we move back in?” she asked. 

“A few. I don’t expect Nico and Val to go anywhere in the immediate future unless the don calls them back to Venice.”

“I assumed they still had responsibilities back there,” Davina said carefully. “What’s their usual role when they’re not with Gabriel?” 

“Nico’s a big part of the muscle and handles relations, if you know what I mean. Val is the investigator. She keeps her eyes open for new opportunities or potential threats, handles what she can, and passes the rest on up. They took over Gabriel’s role when he became underboss, more or less.”

She filed the information back for later. “Part of me wondered,” she said, lowering her voice so Mikey didn’t tune in. “If something had happened to Mr. Angelini during the attack, would they have been all right?”

“You mean would they have been held responsible?”

Davina picked at her sleeve. “That or lose their standing or at the very least be reassigned.”

“You’re asking if their place in the mafia is reliant on him?” Adam lowered his voice too, and Davina met his eyes as if they could exchange what couldn’t be said aloud with a look. Adam gave her a small smile. “To tell you the truth, Davina, I’m not sure anymore.”

“Mmm. I see.” Not the answer she was hoping for. Adam was smart. He had to know and observe more than he ever vocalized. “Mikey, where do you think you’re going?”

Driveway autograph complete, Mikey was marching off towards the back of the property with a little too much purpose in his step. “That excavator!” he hollered. “I’m gonna tell him to dig me a duck pond!” 

They didn’t stay long. Once Mikey’s curiosity was satisfied they headed back to the hotel for lunch. It was another two hours before Davina found some time for herself. Her computer was still hard at work in her bedroom, continuing the search for Cassiel, and she was finally getting some results.

The bastard had used one of his credit cards at an internet café outside a bus stop north of Reims then again later that day on the same route, probably headed towards Belgium if she had to guess. His options were limited without his cell phone and usual resources, and if he was risking credit card use, that meant he was desperate. 

Hmm, desperate. She could work with desperate. 

Inspiration hit like a lightning bolt, and her heart began to beat wildly as she pulled back up the information she had harvested from his phone a couple weeks ago. Adam’s answer earlier hadn’t given her the reassurance she was hoping for, but they wouldn’t come out of this alive unless they took a few calculated leaps of faith. This was a long shot, but if Cassiel was periodically going online using the cafes, that meant he was checking for something and didn’t have any other means of accessing it. If she played this right she could catch Cassiel and verify Val’s loyalties without harming Gabriel significantly if it went wrong. 

Something told her that someone like Cassiel was still checking his social media. The message she wrote was simple.

Cassiel,

I’m tracking you. You’re northbound on A34 out of Reims. The family is cracking down and the French mob have renounced any association with you. The Galicians also want your head for fucking it up so bad. I’m offering you a deal. I want you to email me everything you suspect on Gabriel and in return, I’ll secure you safe transport back to Venice. Or Switzerland. I don’t care. We can’t have the mafia going in the wrong hands. On that, I think we agree. 

Valentino  

She attached Val’s email at the end. Her finger hovered over the send button for a minute. Once she did this there was no going back. Time was of the essence and consulting Gabriel about it first would might make her miss her only shot. Deep down, she knew he wouldn't approve anyway. 

She sent the message. To both his snapgram and instabook accounts from a dummy profile. 

Now, there was nothing she could do but wait. 

-

Sixteen hours later. Davina was up at the pool with Mikey, trying to continue regular activities even as her nerves lit up with alternative dread and anticipation. Maybe Cassiel would never see the message, and if he did, maybe he wouldn’t respond. Or maybe he would and Val was receiving correspondence right now. Or maybe she already had and was reaching out to Venice to report. 

She’d kept a close eye on both Nico and Val whenever possible. They’d left the hotel earlier that morning and had returned twenty minutes ago, according the garage cameras. The worse-case-scenario kept playing through her head. Not only did Val report what Cassiel told her, but Gabriel was furious with her for going around him to test the loyalties of his subordinates. It could destroy this new delicate understanding between them. 

But they needed allies. They couldn’t get what they wanted without them. Gabriel was in denial about that.

When Mikey asked her why she was pacing so much, she realized too much of her heart was on her sleeve and decided to take a break. The pool served to be a good distraction, and Davina was successfully working out her nerves by diving with Mikey when the sound of the pool door opening shot her back to square one. 

A flash of red was the first thing she saw as she tried to see who it was without looking directly over. Nico. Ignoring him was a good barometer test for how serious this was. She tossed a few more pool toys into the deep end and started counting down for Mikey.

“Davina!”

Shit. She turned around. Nico stood by the edge with his arms crossed and a grim look on his face. 

“Get out. We need to talk.” The rock in her stomach grew into a boulder. Mikey started to get out of the pool, but Nico held up his hand. “Just Davina, Mikey. We’ll only be a minute.” His voice was uncharacteristically hard, and Mikey’s eyes widened before he sank quickly back into the pool without protest.

Davina got out of the pool, and Nico handed her a towel, gesturing to the set of chairs farthest from Mikey. 

“Based on that look on your face, I was right,” he began, sitting down across from her.

She wanted to punch him and herself at the same time. There was no way it was that easy. He had to be bating her. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You found Cassiel, but you don’t want to be the one to report it. You’re still trying to stay out of it.”

Oh. She straightened. “Did they catch him?”

Nico shook his head. “Val asked me to let her handle it. She thinks Cassiel got desperate and reached out to make a deal with her for whatever reason, but I figured there was more to it. The message he sent her didn’t make sense unless someone else reached out to him first and prompt him to reveal what he did. My money is on you.”

So Nico had assumed some of the truth, but not all of it. “Does Val think so too?”

“Not yet.” Nico leaned in, his eyes level with hers, and for once she saw the danger there. “What are you playing at, Davina? Why have him message Val? I’m not sure if you realize how dangerous this is. How quickly it could blow up in your face.” 

Her heart raced, and she was mildly aware of Mikey hanging on the edge of the pool and staring at both of them, but she didn’t know how to answer. Whether she should divert suspicion or just come out with it? “Whatever he revealed, could it get Gabriel in trouble?” she whispered.

Nico leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not sure, but we certainly don’t need to stoke the coals within the family tensions, now, do we?  Val especially has been worried about him, and though I don’t see you as a threat, this certainly isn’t going to help your case if Val puts two and two together. I don’t need you becoming a new liability, so I need to understand your thought process on this so I can protect Gabe.”

“As your boss or your friend?” She didn’t raise her voice, but some of the edge returned to her tone. 

“As my boss or his…” Understanding flooded his face. “Davina, you can’t ask that kind of question.”

“He needs to know, Nico,” Davina said, some of her desperation bleeding through. Nico hadn’t squealed on her when he realized she was planning on leaving. That had to mean something. They wouldn’t get anywhere if they didn’t take chances, and her gut told her Nico was as safe as it would get. “Otherwise he’ll keep going as he has. Alone and reckless, and I’ve taken two bullets too many to be all right with that.” 

Nico was quiet for a long minute. “You know something I don’t,” he said finally.

“Maybe I do. Have you followed him blindly before?”

“I have.”

“Would you do it again?”

Nico’s eyes darkened. “In a second.”

Chapter Text

The first shipment to the triad arrived on schedule, to Gabriel’s relief. He spent the first few hours after breakfast confirming things with the triad and arranging a few more security measures for the shipment. Lavigne was cooperating well, and throughout their communications he realized the woman was far more reasonable than he expected. She extended an invitation for him to come to Anglet off the west coast of France to meet with some of her western suppliers. They would be invaluable contacts for the triad contracts. 

He didn’t think Lavigne would do anything stupid, but he couldn’t say the same for whoever had sponsored Cassiel. Someone was still out to get him, specifically the operation in Lyon. Someone aside from his uncle.

He leaned on the desk, the weight returning to his chest at the thought. Emilio hadn’t reached back out to him since their last phone call. It was a ticking time bomb. Whatever he and Davina were planning to do, they’d better do it quickly.

He and Davina. Strange how naturally that fell into place in his thoughts. Twenty-four hours ago he would have been unnerved at the ease of it. Now, it felt like a saving grace. He hadn’t realized how doing all this on his own had taken a toll on him until he had someone working beside him. It was good that she stopped his advances the other night. They couldn’t risk ruining this alliance with an ill-thought, indulgent affair. She was already committed to Mikey, and now that he knew that with certainty, the flirtation with her held no more use to him than a distracting bit of fun - fun that no longer felt fair to her.

He clicked through his emails absently, trying to get his mind back on track when someone knocked on the door. His heart skipped a beat before he realized that Davina no longer waited for an invitation. “Come in.”

It was Val, and she didn’t look happy. “I need to show you something.” She opened her phone and slid it over to him. Gabriel put on his glasses, the look on her face putting a pit in his stomach.

I always knew you were the smart one. Prove me right. The don might listen to you if you play the cards right. If it ends well, you could be in the best position for underboss after me. I have friends that would make it worth your while no matter what. 

Gabriel has been planning on leaving the family. Right before his wife died, I overheard a conversation between them while we were all attending a gala. Alessia was upset about something and Gabriel took her into a private room. I managed to hear part of the conversation where he promised her she wouldn’t have to deal with the mafia business much longer. There was something about a place on the coast for them where no one would find them. 

I knew I couldn’t go to the don without proof, but if you help me, we can find out where the property is and how much he has stashed away. He should have much more in his accounts based on his salary, but he doesn’t spend shit or put anything in his stocks. It’s going somewhere and the Wiz is missing it. The Galicians promised me they could help me get everything I needed and back me when I took over as underboss. We had an alliance. If you help me, we can salvage it.

Also, I didn’t know those thugs would try and kill the kid. They were only supposed to secure him and I was planning on taking him back to Venice with me after I got the proof on Gabriel. That part got out of hand and I was desperate. 

You know I’m right. Get me safe transport and I’ll give you my contacts with the Galicians. The don will thank us.

Gabriel looked up at Val, his pulse pounding in his ears. This was too fast. He couldn’t have this conversation. As much as they had been through over the years, he knew how he ranked in her hierarchy. The business trumped all. Just months ago she stood beside him as he received the orders to take out Raguel. She saw his hesitance, the dread in his eyes, and hadn’t hesitated to bring him back down to hell with a quick reminder. 

“It’s not your fault, Gabe. He committed the cardinal sin. He knew better and left anyway. I have little sympathy for a fool.”

Is that how she saw him now? A fool? And if he gave her enough reason to doubt him, would she turn on him for the best interest of the mafia? He couldn’t let her get a chance to decide.

Val started in at him. “Care to expla-”

Gabriel rushed forward, clamping a hand over Val’s mouth. She tried to shrug him off, but he shook his head and urgently motioned to the room. Her eyes widened and she stopped struggling. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said, raising his voice. “I’ve got too much going on to worry about that right now. Where’s Nico?”

He lifted his hand, and Val shoved his arm away. “Upstairs, I think.”

“Triad delivery came through. Need to make sure pickup is coordinated.” He nodded towards the door. Thankfully, Val followed him out without protest. He waited till they were at least fifty meters from the conference room before stopping.

“What the fuck was that all about?” Val hissed, her eyes blazing. 

“Bugs,” Gabriel said succinctly. 

“Who-” She stopped. “The don. But why? Don’t tell me Cassiel is right. You’re planning on leaving. I knew things were tense, but I never thought you would go this extreme.”

Gabriel looked up the hall. This wasn’t the time or place, but Val would not be placated, and he had his own questions. There was a door behind Val. It wasn’t optimal, but with unknown listening devices planted throughout the hotel, he didn’t have many options. 

He pulled out his master key and stepped around Val. She watched him, mouth agape. “After you.”

“A storage closet? Gabe, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Does it looking like I’m kidding you? Into the damn closet, Val.”

She clamped her mouth shut and followed him in. The room smelled of disinfectant and linens. Gabriel shut the door behind them and leaned against one of the laundry totes. “My turn. Why would Cassiel message you of all people?”

“I don’t know,” Val said. He kept staring at her, and she averted her eyes. “There was one time. It was right when you became underboss. At the dinner afterwards, we were talking about the upcoming changes, and Cassiel said he didn’t think you were ready. I agreed with him, but only because it was too soon after Alessia. You were taking the job for the wrong reasons. I didn’t see it going anywhere good. That’s the only thing I can think of.”

“So this was desperation then.” Gabriel looked down at the email again. As far as accusations Cassiel could levy at him, this wasn’t the worst, but that safe house was Mikey and Davina’s only hope if things went off prematurely.

“Speaking of desperation.” Val’s voice had calmed down. She stepped towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Gabe, is he right?”

“The safe house was a precaution,” Gabriel said, choosing his words carefully. He needed to pull something believable out of his ass and fast. Lies that were mostly truth were the best way to go. “Alessia and I were having… difficulties. If she decided to leave I wanted her to have a safe place to go to with Mikey. Emilio was not fond of her, as you know, and even if we weren’t married anymore, I had to look out for her.”

Val didn’t look convinced. “And the money?”

“You really have to ask? If you think I’ll trust Emilio with my financial future when he’s actively plotting to undermine me with his daughter, you’re crazy. I’m loyal to the mafia, Val, but I’m no fool.” 

He handed back the phone. She took it, turning it in her hand. “But the bugs. We’re barely going to be at the hotel another two months. Why so extreme?”

“I’d rather explain it just once to you and Nico. Pretty sure it has something to do with a new business venture he’s expecting me to give him a hard time on. Think he’s hoping to catch me giving him bad feedback in my downtime. Between that and Conte watching my every move, you wouldn’t think we’re on the same side.”

“Conte?” She ran her hands up and down the side of the supply shelf beside her. “I see.” She only fidgeted like that when she was socially uncomfortable. Her voice lowered. “I knew things were bad, but why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?”  

Gabriel huffed. “Mob war. Attempted kidnappings. You tell me. Besides, what good would it do?”

Val looked up, hurt flitted across her face before she turned indignant. “Hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Heat ran up Gabriel’s neck. To have Val play ignorance like this was painful, but he wasn’t about to have it out with her in this closet. He opened the door. “Not today, Valentine. Send me a copy of that email and message Cassiel back. Once we have confirmation on where he is we’ll update the don.”

“You’re going to risk that?” Val asked following him into the hall and past a very surprised housekeeper. She waited to continue until they got into the elevator. “Even if he has no proof, Cassiel will twist anything to make you look like the bad guy.”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “He’s never going to get the chance.” 

-

Nico was up at the pool with Davina and Mikey. It looked they were having some kind of discussion when Gabriel and Val came out to the patio. Davina’s eyes widened for a split second, enough for him to spot the flecks of gold in her eyes in the sunlight. She backed away from Nico as if he was a hot stove. 

Before he could marinate on the observation, an excited and dripping Mikey collided with his legs, wrapping around him like a tiny monkey. “You’re all here! Are we having a pool day?” 

“All here?” Davina said, her posture more relaxed as she placed a towel on Mikey’s shoulders. “Adam would be hurt if he knew.”

“I’m afraid not,” Gabriel said, ruffling the boy’s wet hair and sticking the front straight up. “Though you’ve already got me halfway there it seems.” 

Mikey looked at the wet splotches on his pants with sudden remorse. “Oops. I forgot to respect the suit.”

“It’ll dry.” He turned his attention to Davina. “I’m going to need you to work with Val on something a little later.” He saw Davina exchange a look with Nico. 

“All right,” she said. “Today you mean?”

“It is time sensitive, yes.”

“I’ll go change. It’s nap time anyway.” She took Mikey’s hand and started to the door. “Oh, sir?”

“Hm?”

“You know that bug issue we had? I had an exterminator check the area. We’re good up here, but most of the penthouse is still in rough shape.”

“We have bugs?” Mikey said, eyes wide. “What kind? Are they cockroaches? I hate cockroaches.”

“Nightwings,” Davina said. “They’re attracted to noise but they only come out at night between eight and and seven. They’re big and black, and have giant pincers. As long as you go to bed on time, you should be safe.”

Mikey scrunched his nose. “Or you could get a better exterminator.”

“Working on it,” Gabriel said. “Thanks, Davina.”

“Never heard of Nightwings,” Nico said when they were gone. “Why isn’t the hotel hiring an exterminator themselves?” 

“Not insects, idiot,” Val said. “Bugs. Half the hotel is wired up by the don.”

Nico’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “The fuck? Gabe, what did you do?”

“Why is that everyone’s first question?” Gabriel asked, scowling. “Did it ever occur to you two that maybe my uncle is just a giant asshole?” 

“He absolutely is,” Nico said.

“But he’s not wasteful,” Val said. “He’s only this drastic when he’s trying to make a point.”

Gabriel sat down. This was a good a time as any to clue them in on the Odesa situation. He just had to keep his personal feelings on the matter wrapped. 

Val and Nico didn’t look as disturbed as he would like them to be when he finished. Nico gave a low whistle. “Shit, well, this’ll upset the boat. How much time did you say you had?” 

“He didn’t give me a time. Just said operatives would be arriving in Lyon once they worked out the details of the agreement.”

“Think he’s involving the consigliere?”

“I doubt it,” Gabriel said. “There’s still enough varied opinions on the matter that he could get himself in trouble. I think he’s trying to establish the operation before he makes it public to the rest of the family. Hard to argue when your pockets are stuffed with cash.”

Val looked concerningly thoughtful, as if she was diagnosing their previous conversation with this new information. “So what does he expect you to do? Set up relations with the triad, preserve peace with the French mob, and solidify our connections here in Lyon all at the same time? How much manpower does he think you have?”

“You know it’s not about that.”

“He’s pushing your buttons again,” Val said.

“You’re not gonna do it.” Nico straightened as if he’d just had an epiphany. “Fuck, Gabriel. You’re putting your foot down.”

“You want to waste the vault on this? ” Val said, shock clear. “Merde, what is the big deal? We only get to use what’s in that safe one time. If you get on the wrong side of the family, if you mess up in any large way, that safe is the only thing stopping him from springing the Doc into your spot.”

“Clearly we disagree,” Gabriel said. So much for keeping his emotion out of this. “The Odesa business is the devil’s work.”

“Right,” Val snorted. “And everything else we do is peachy keen.”

“It’s more than that and you know it,” Gabriel shot back. “The moment we enter that business we can’t get out of it. We’ll be dipping our toes into a different type of international scrutiny. Before long, we could have run ins with M16, the CSI, Americans. It will never be worth it.” 

“I’m with you,” Nico said. “But if you bring this before the consigliere now and they side with Emilio, you’re screwed. Unless…” He snapped his fingers. “It’s all making sense now! Everything you’ve been doing here in Lyon! You’re making power moves. If everything pays off, we’ll have so much money flowing in that working with groups like Odesa won’t make sense anymore. You’ll literally be making it not worth the risk. Genius!” He clapped Gabriel on the back. “I have to admit, I was getting pretty worried about you for a minute. You were taking risks like a drunk man at a poker table.”

Gabriel grimaced. “Um, thanks?”

“All this to avoid working with skin?” Val said. “I agree with you, Gabe. It’s a disgusting business. But is it worth all this?”

“Would you have asked my father that?”

Val stilled quickly. “No. I wouldn’t.”

“Good.” He stood, energy effectively sapped by the conversation. “Now that you two are up to speed, I want us to refocus on Cassiel. Val, fill Nico in and see if we can have him before the week is over. Bring him in cold.”

“Cold?” Nico whipped out one of his knives. “Fantastic. I never liked the bastard anyway. You sure, boss?”

Gabriel headed for the exit. “I’m sure.”

Once back in the privacy of the elevator, he leaned against the wall and tipped his head back. He hated this. Deception had become second nature to him through the years, but as things heated up, lying to those two became more uncomfortable. Even if at the end of the day they were nothing more than coworkers, they’d had each other’s backs for more than a decade. He would need to send them back to Venice right before he made his move. There was a chance they would be held culpable, but at least they could swear ignorance. 

He opened his phone and went to his email. Guilt rumination would have to wait for later. Davina was right, there was only so much he could do on his own, and Nico and Val were very clear on the risks when they first joined up. Right now, he had to focus on Cassiel. Him knowing about the safe house was an unexpected complication, one where he couldn’t afford to be merciful.

At least this would be easier than Raguel. He wouldn’t have any cousins left at this rate.

He read through the email several times. “A place on the coast.” No specific coast. This was Europe. That could be anywhere, though anyone looking would check Italy and Sicily first. With Cassiel gone, the only outsiders who would know about it were his Galician contacts. It meant the safe house wasn’t entirely off-limits.  

The best way to see how well he covered his tracks would be to see if Davina could find the house herself. He was confident that if she couldn’t find it, they would be safe. She would be happy for the update on Cassiel too.

The penthouse was quiet when he walked in. There was a low hum of voices coming from Mikey’s room. A moment later, Davina emerged and softly closed the door behind her. Her hair was damp, but she was back in her uniform. She met Gabriel’s eyes, and he nodded towards his room. A quick flush of pink rose to her cheeks, and she ducked her head and went to her room without a word. He unlocked his door and went to let her in from the balcony, smirking to himself at the look on her face. Their agreement was to not get involved, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the moments when he unintentionally flustered her. It was cute. 

“I’m hoping this is a good update?” Davina asked once they were safely in his room again. Her computer was tucked under her arm, her weapon armed and ready for business.

“I’m hoping that too,” Gabriel said, pulling out his phone. “Cassiel reached out to Val hoping to make a deal with her. Thankfully, she brought it to me first.” 

Davina’s shoulders sagged, and she let out a slow breath. “You scared me up there. You looked so intense - I wasn’t sure what was happening. What kind of deal?”

“In exchange for some flimsy dirt on me and his Galician contacts, he promised to secure her future in the mafia once he got the don to turn on me.”

“Flimsy dirt? Could it actually hurt you?” 

She sounded fully anxious, and he turned towards her, instinctively reaching out to calm her nerves. He redirected his hand at the last second, dropping from her cheek to her shoulder for a brief squeeze. “Technically, yes, but since we’ve got the drop on him first, it’ll be fine. Val and Nico are on his tail. It won’t be long before he’s no longer an issue.”

“You mean…” She pinched her brows, sighing into her hand. “Believe it or not, I hardly feel sympathy for the man after what he tried to do to Mikey and me. What do you want me to do?”

“He learned about the safe house a while back. He doesn’t know where it is, only that it exists. The only ones he told were the Galicians. I want you to try to and find it yourself to put my mind at ease. Let me show you the email.”

“Of course.” 

They sat down in the chairs across from each other. The moment was so reminiscent of the previous night that Gabriel briefly forgot what he was about to do and simply stared at her while she set up her computer. She reached her hand for the phone, and he snapped himself out of it. 

She read through the email quickly then looked up. “That last bit is a load of bullshit. He wanted Mikey dead. He was just trying to justify himself to Val.”

“I’m sure.”

“How did she react to this?” she asked, nodding at the phone. “Think she believed him?”

“Mmm,” Gabriel hummed. He leaned back into the chair. He didn’t want to think about the possibilities. “I’m not sure. Unless she is presented with hard proof, she wouldn’t risk causing waves. She wants to believe in me.”

“If she had concerns, would she confide in anyone?”

“Nico, for sure, but he wouldn’t do anything with it unless Val decided they should.” 

“And if she did?”

He lifted his head, the line of questioning now odd. “What are you getting at?” 

Davina bit her lip. “I- We need allies, Gabriel. If we are going to pull this off without you dying, we need more help. Maybe this is a sign that they both can handle more.”

Gabriel tilted his head and wiped his forehead. How to make her understand this? “Did you forget when you first got here and I told you not to trust anyone? Especially within the mafia. We can’t take the risk.”

“You didn’t fully trust me not that long ago, and you’ve barely known me six months!” Davina said, closing her computer with a snap. “You’ve worked with them for years. They’ve had your back. They would jump in front of a bullet for you. What’s the difference?”

“You’re not part of the mafia, Davina!” He gestured to the balcony doors. “You’re an outsider. When you risked your life, it was for Mikey. It was for me. When they do it, it’s for the family.”

“What if you’re wrong. What if that’s not how they feel at all?” She looked away and lowered her voice. “I think you’re wrong. About Nico, at least.”

Something was off. Gabriel’s pulse spiked as he recalled coming into the pool. “You were with him earlier. What were you two talking about? You jumped like a rabbit.”

“He…” Davina wouldn’t meet his eyes. “He wanted to talk about the email.”

His jaw clenched, and he rolled his fist to stop himself from getting out of his chair, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. He needed her eyes to be sure. “Why?” 

She didn’t answer, and his mind raced. Why would Nico bring the issue to Davina first? What expertise could she offer that he couldn’t get anywhere else? He looked back at the email, and it all snapped into place. 

“It was you. You prompted Cassiel to message Val.” He stood and paced the room. Fuck, this was bad. He stopped in front of her chair. “What did you say to Nico? I need you to tell me exactly. ”

“He said he’d follow you blindly,” Davina said, her tone mounting to match his. “That he would always choose you, no matter what. It was risky, but worth it. We need allies.”

“Fat lot of good that would do if it blows up in our face on day one. If it was so easy to confide in them, Davina, don’t you think I would have fucking done it already?” 

“Oh, please.” Davina slid her computer off her lap to the table, standing to meet him and tilting her head back to look him in the eye. Good. This was better. He didn't need that bashful, evadeful shit. “Because mobsters are so good at expressing emotion. You lot have to have it ripped from you with a gun to the head.”

“That wasn’t your choice to make! What happened to including each other in these decisions? That was your idea, remember?” He relished his height. For someone so much shorter than him, she needed to be taken down a peg. “You're so keen on the rules, but you certainly don’t have a problem with breaking your own.” 

“My point with you was trust,” Davina said, green eyes flashing, and for a moment, he was distracted. “Everything right now is time sensitive, and we are inevitably going to have to make judgment calls without consulting the other.” She inched closer to him, tilting her head back and forth with every syllable. “That’s what partners do.”

“Then you should have realized you were out of your depth.” Was she seriously standing on her toes? She was so close he could smell the lingering scent of the lavender shampoo she used. Was he angry or aroused? He couldn’t tell anymore. “Do you even understand Val and Nico’s relationship? Know how they got into the mafia in the first place? You can’t read loyalty strictly off of vibes and good conversations.”

“Maybe I do need a history lesson,” Davina said, unperturbed by the insult. “But here are the facts. Our agreement is to get both you and Mikey out alive. If that’s the goal, your nuclear option of exterminating the Angelinis is a shit plan.”

“Speaking of shit plans.” He took his finger and pressed it into her shoulder, forcing her back to her heels. “If you want this relationship to remain professional, you might not want to get in my face.”

“Maybe if you weren’t so thickheaded, I wouldn’t have to,” Davina snapped. 

Gabriel stopped short, and for a split second, it took all of his willpower not to pick this infuriating woman up, throw her on the bed, and pick up where he left off last time. She saw the look on his face, and her own eyes widened. She clamped a hand over her mouth with a gasp. “I- Sir, I’m so sorry. I got carried away. I didn’t mean…”

Her stuttering broke the spell, and Gabriel took a step back. “I’m glad I found out what Cassiel knows. But you didn’t take a fully-informed gamble. It could have blown up in your face.”

Davina let out a breath and sank back into her chair. “That’s what Nico said. But you’re taking chances everywhere else. Why not here?” 

He knelt down in front of her. Irritating her wouldn’t make her understand, but maybe she wasn’t being the only unreasonable one. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

The storm in her eyes had calmed some, and she leaned forward on her elbows with all the energy of a woman who was excited to share. “We need a replacement power once Emilio and Ottavia are out of the picture, one preferably indebted to you with no score to settle. If we transfer allegiances, resources, and contacts over to the new power, one of our choosing, we will have a higher chance of ensuring your long-term survival. This person could be one internally or someone we could trust not to turn on you externally. Revolution over genocide.” 

“You want to set up a new don?” The idea was overly ambitious to the point of being unattainable. He immediately started poking holes in the idea. “Even if that was true, the rest of the family would never let me leave or accept another leader unless there was no other option. Without the current line of succession there would be other power struggles within the mafia itself. A power vacuum would happen regardless.” 

“Not unless that person already had enough support and resources along with the added assurance that they are who you wanted as your successor.”

“They still wouldn’t let me leave.”

“And that’s why we fake your death.” 

“Fake my-” Gabriel chuckled. “Davina, this isn’t James Bond or Mission Impossible. Organizing those exact circumstances along with the perfect successor would be nigh impossible.”

“Without help,” Davina corrected, grabbing his shoulder in what he was sure was her own innocent show of support. “We need Nico and Val. And Adam, unless there’s something you doubt in him too.” 

Gabriel gently removed her hand. The idea was insane and unrealistic. Deep down, he knew that. But her eyes were full of hope. The passion in her voice drove him past reason, to want to believe it was possible. His mouth was forming words before he completely realized his response. “I’d ask that you’d avoid speaking with any of them further until I can think on it a little bit. Lavigne has invited me to Anglet to meet with some of her suppliers. It’ll be a good chance to get some space after the Cassiel mess is dealt with.”

“Are we staying here?” Davina said, returning her hand to her lap. 

“After everything that has happened this month? Not a chance in hell.”

Chapter Text

It took two days to find Cassiel and get him back to Lyon. He’d gone up into French mob territory, and Gabriel had to secure special permission to retrieve him. Lavigne even sent men to help, likely as an olive branch to ease tensions between the two groups. Davina watched the security footage from the parking garage as the cars returned late in the evening, the dark tint of the windows making it impossible to discern which car had who. When Gabriel emerged from the lead car, unscathed as far as she could tell, she breathed a sigh of relief. 

This was nasty business, but this was the first time she did not feel conflicted about her involvement. The moment that man raised a hand to harm those in her care, he lost any potential for her compassion. 

She waited for Gabriel in the entry way. The grandfather clock in the sitting room echoed throughout the penthouse, syncing with her heartbeat. Slow, steady, vibrating throughout her entire form. Every so often the air would turn on, circulating drafts around her ankles and seeping through her robe. Goosebumps crept up her back. She blamed it on the cold. 

The elevator chimed, and her heart rate sped past the tick of the clock. All at once, she realized she didn’t have an excuse to wait up. No news to give him. No information to learn that couldn’t wait until the next morning. She didn’t even make him a damn cup of tea. That would have been too domestic. 

But if tea was too domestic, what was this?

But then he stepped through the door, his face drawn and somber-looking, lines in his forehead, the slight sunken look in his eyes that testified to more alcohol in his system than water, and she realized she didn’t care to label it. It didn’t matter. A thousand words were on her lips, some questions, some not, but only one that mattered in that moment. 

“Is it done?”

“It’s done.” Relief surged through her, but Gabriel didn’t look as if that was all he had to say. He headed into the kitchen, and she followed him. “Fool tried to run and Lavigne’s men gunned him down. By the time I met up with them, he was already pretty far gone. Despite our efforts, he lasted maybe an hour longer.” He stopped to pour himself a whiskey, pausing when the glass touched his lips. “Though, I suppose we could have tried harder.” 

She sat on one of the bar stools at the counter. There was only so much she could say since most of the penthouse was still lit up with listening devices, but maybe she could work that to her advantage. The don didn’t need to know how close she and Gabriel had become, and if they didn’t have any pertinent conversations in the penthouse that alone would be cause for suspicion.

Time to turn on the professionalism.“Did he say anything about who he was working for? If there’s even the slightest chance they’ll come for Mikey again, I need to know, but I also can’t keep the boy imprisoned here. I’m already concerned for the constant disruptions to his routine. It’s not healthy.” 

“Is that why you waited up?” He tossed the rest of the drink and put the glass in the sink with a clack. “My hands are tied at the moment. Make the best of it as much as you can. All you need to know is that Cassiel is no longer an issue.” He gave her a pointed look. “My gut feeling was right, so we should expect a few more bumps ahead. Which is why I need you to remain on guard. At least until the competition dies down or stops playing dirty. I want you armed at all times for the foreseeable future. You’ve done well, but we’re not out of the woods yet.” 

“Understood, sir.” She read between the lines easily. The Galicians were playing the long-game here, but as with everything here lately, the extremity of it was getting to her. Playing dirty was one thing. Making a beeline to murder a four-year-old was another. More personal. But she couldn’t tell if Gabriel thought that way or not. “Should I hold off on scheduling future art lessons?” 

“That would be best, at least until we return. Any other concerns on your end?”

It felt so unusual now, this level of formality, but she fell back into it with a mix of relief and discontent. She replied as if submitting a formal report. “He’s sleeping better. A little picky with his lunches, but we’re working through it. He’s astoundingly stable given the events of the past month, though I’m not sure how much more excitement he can handle.” 

“Mmm. Regrettable, but there’s more to come. I have a trip to Anglet planned for next week, and after consideration, I’m taking Mikey with me.” 

“To the meeting with the French Mob? Forgive me sir, but I’m not sure that’s wise.” She sharpened the syllables, the criticism clear. Gabriel looked at her with a question in his eyes, but she continued with a soft smile on her lips, the look on her face not matching her tone. “Lavigne tried to kill you both. It might be prudent to step Mikey back from the scene a bit. Make him a bit scarce.”

Gabriel glanced upward at the kitchen light fixture where the listening device was hidden before bracing himself on the counter in front of her. “Are you questioning my judgement?"

Despite knowing it was an act, Davina’s heart skipped a beat. The menace in his voice was reminiscent of her first few weeks on the job, and damn it if she didn’t miss the thrill. She leaned forward over on her elbows, grateful the don’s bugs didn’t have video feed. “I am simply proposing an alternative in the best interest of my ward.”

“You mean my son. The whole point of having you around, Miss Bonetti, is so I won’t ever have to take those measures.” There was amusement in his eyes, and the lines in his forehead relaxed. “And certainly not so you can wait up for me and give me parenting advice.”

“I’m not trying to overstep.”

He leaned closer until she had to tip her chin up to look at him. “So Step. Back.” 

Fuck, he was having fun with this. Her ears burned red, and a slew of inappropriate responses that she could not say in this bugged room and should not say ever in any room ran through her head. Top of the list was “Make me.”  

Instead, she blew into his face.

Gabriel pulled back, mouth slightly open. He wiped his face and looked at his hand before looking back at her incredulously, mouthing ‘Did you just…’ 

“So you trust Lavigne then?” Davina managed, maintaining her tone even as her face was on fire.

“No,” Gabriel said, coming around the counter. “But I know she’s not dumb enough to pull something drastic with my son right after proctoring peace. If you do your job properly, we’ll have nothing to worry about. Do I make myself clear?” He stopped in front of her and flicked her in the forehead. 

“Crystal.” She went to flick him back, but Gabriel caught her hand.

“Good. Be ready to leave before lunch. Adam will be here to help with the luggage. I’m not sure whether or not I’ll be going ahead of you with Val and Nico.” 

“We’ll be ready.” 

“Good.” He pressed her hand in between his and bowed his head. His lips mouthed a silent ‘thank you.’ “I will see you sometime tomorrow then.”

The heat left her face, and for a moment, they stood there in the kitchen. He looked less bedraggled now. A little color had returned to his cheeks, and she was glad for it. All those words she wanted to say to him earlier begged to pour out now. That he would get through this. They would save him. They would save Mikey. 

Instead, she threaded her fingers through his and gave his hand a quick squeeze, hoping that said it all for her. He pressed a quick kiss to her fingers before letting her go and leaving the kitchen. She stayed on the stool until the kitchen door stopped swinging back and forth. 

They had a long road ahead of them, but for the first time, this felt like a true partnership. 

-

She’d never been so excited to leave the penthouse. Mikey was sleepy and unobservant, a saving grace given the events of the past weeks. The vans that retrieved Cassiel were no longer in the parking garage. Not that she expected them to be, but she did wonder what they did with Cassiel’s body. He was still an Angelini, after all. The authorities would have a hay-day if his death ever came to light. 

They traveled alone for the first three hours. Mikey soon fell asleep on her shoulder, and Davina spent the time researching the business ventures of Anglet. It was a smaller city and attracted a good many tourists for its boating experiences around the rock formations off the coast. It would be a good thing to do with Mikey if they were given the liberty to explore. 

Gabriel met back up with them when they stopped at Clermont for lunch. He didn’t tell her what he had been doing all morning, and she didn’t ask. As glad as she was to be more in the know, there were some areas she was still glad to be ignorant.

How they disposed of bodies, for starters. 

Mikey was excited to potentially see Louis again, though Davina repeatedly reminded him that this was a business meeting and Louis was probably home with his father. Gabriel was quiet, and when it came time to pile back into the car, Mikey looked visibly concerned.

“I’ll sit with you, Papa,” he said, climbing into the middle seat. “I already had my nap, so you can lean on my shoulder if you need to.”

“I don’t think I can lean that far,” Gabriel said, chuckling. 

“I could stand in my seat,” Mikey offered. “Then you could reach!” A viable solution in his mind. 

“Not a chance,” Davina said. “But you should show him all the new designs you’ve made in your sketchbook. I’ve noticed a drastic improvement from the front of the book to the middle.”

“Those are artistic choices, ” Mikey said, scrunching his nose. “Have you ever heard of abstract?”

“Be nice, Mikey,” Gabriel said. He threw his arm over the back of the seat. Mikey sidled up to him comfortably and opened the sketchbook. “Not everyone has the capacity to understand great art.”

Mikey laughed. “Yeah. She told me this one here needed to go on the fridge, and I was just smearing the extra paint off my brush. That’s the general public for you.” 

Davina made a face, but there was no harm in being the butt of the joke. It was just good to see Mikey and Gabriel laughing and together. She zoned out for the next bit, taking a quick mental break from her constant nanny duties as Mikey explained each of his creations in detail. It wasn’t until he reached one of his most recent drawings that she clued back in. 

“And this is a music machine. You run metal marbles through it and wind it up, and it makes a song.”

“And where did you come up with that idea?” Gabriel asked.

“The TV in the dining room,” Mikey said. “And then I had Adam look up the video on MeTube. Coolest thing I’ve ever seen! I want to make one.”

“Might have to work up to that,” Gabriel said. “You’d have to learn music and a bit of engineering.”

“That sounds easy,” Mikey said. 

Davina smiled. “Do you know what an engineer is, Mikey?”

Mikey squinted. “A person who… builds… stuff.” 

“Not quite,” Gabriel said. “They operate some of the largest machines in the world. Most astronauts and nuclear operators are engineers, but on a smaller scale, there isn’t a single building, road, bridge, or stoplight in this city that didn’t require the skills of an engineer at some point. They take ideas and art and make them reality.”

“That sounds like they build stuff,” Mikey said.

Davina chuckled. “Way to summarize.”

“So who designs the buildings?” Mikey said, looking out the window. They were going passing through Bordeaux. “Things look a lot different here than in Venice.”

“Architects,” Gabriel said. “It’s just like your art. Every artist is different, especially from country to country and era to era. Some architects spent their whole lives designing one thing.” 

“I dunno,” Mikey said, flipping through his book. “I can make a picture in like, twenty minutes. Buildings take forever. They’re still not done with the new house! And it took them a week to make any progress on my duck pond!”

Davina smothered a smile. And to think the manor was being built at an unusual speed. Something about working for mobsters lit a fire under the contractor’s feet. 

“The best things take time,” Gabriel said. “Training to be an architect is at least a decade of commitment. Most Arch programs last at least five years. If you want to be licensed and with a firm, there’s another four to six of on-site training.” He pointed out the window. The point of the Bordeaux Cathedral could be seen in the distance. “But sometimes and architect can design something that becomes history. Something that becomes a part of a thousand stories for thousands of people.”

Mikey leaned over his father’s lap, trying to see better. Gabriel unbuckled Mikey’s seatbelt and hoisted him onto his lap for a better look. Davina opened her mouth to protest, but Mikey had his nose squished to the glass, excitedly pointing out other buildings of interest, and she let it be. 

They continued like that, zipping through the French countryside. Gabriel answered every question, even the ones thrown his way occasionally by Adam and Davina. His voice took on an energetic inflection, even as Mikey’s eyes glazed over. Davina was spellbound, not so much by the contents of the speech but by the passion of the man speaking. From the Gothic era, Baroque, Victorian, to Classical, Gabriel knew it all like the back of his hand. It was as if he had waited his whole life for someone to ask him about it.

The car fell into a silence after Mikey finally fell asleep, his head in his father’s lap. Adam had closed the partition, and Davina was leaned against the door, facing Gabriel at an angle. 

“So architecture, huh,” she said.

“I like to think he got his talent from me,” Gabriel said, ruffling Mikey’s hair. “I used to draw my own designs when I was younger.”

It shouldn’t have surprised her, but she was so accustomed to his mob-boss persona that hearing him discuss something else was jarring. Of course there were other things in that head than grief, anger, fatherhood, and scheming, but maybe this was her first time seeing it. 

Gabriel nudged her foot with his. “What’s that look for?”

Davina shook her head lightly. “Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just…” She laughed. “You sounded so normal there for a moment.”

“Normal?” Gabriel chuckled. “Why does that sound like an insult?”

There was a beat of silence between them before Davina impulsively blurted out, “I love theater.” 

Gabriel tilted his head. “Theater?”

She nodded. “Musical theater specifically. Broadway. West End. My first international trip was to the US to see a performance of Chicago. Not my first choice, but Hamilton wasn’t playing at the time.” 

“And can you sing?”

“Not a note.”

Gabriel laughed. “I wouldn’t have guessed that. My wife was fond of ballet, so I saw my fair share. My uncle prefers the opera.” 

Davina absently twisted a strand of hair around her finger as he recounted a few standout experiences. This was new territory. Pleasant territory, compared to where they had explored before, but somehow more uncertain. There was no point to these types of conversations. She didn’t need to know his personal interests to do her job correctly, and yet, the conversation felt crucial. 

“And you?” she prompted. “What’s your chosen form of entertainment?”

“Strip clubs,” Gabriel said, straight-faced. “Ever take a belly shot?” Davina’s jaw dropped and her eyes dropped to the sleeping Mikey in a panic as her face lit up crimson. Gabriel burst out laughing. “You looked so earnest. I couldn’t resist.”

Davina shook her head. Human being all right. And 100% male. He looked so light, a little less unburdened, a slight ruffle to his immaculate kept hair. A warm weight pressed against her chest. She liked this version of him. In another world, in another time, if they had met under different circumstances - a widowed architect and an IT girl who happened to nanny on the side. What would that have looked like? 

Adam dropped the partition an inch. “Be there in twenty minutes, Boss.”

“Thanks, Adam.”

The glass slid back, severing the lightheartedness from a moment ago. Davina looked at Gabriel in apprehension. “Do we have a plan?” she said in a low voice.

“An agenda, you mean.” Gabriel sighed, looking down at Mikey again. His breathing was still slow and even. “I thought about what you said, and you’re right, but I’m not ready to talk to Val and Nico. I want to see what I can establish here in Anglet. There are several networking opportunities during his trip, and I think I might start with… Lavigne.”

Davina’s eyes widened. “La- Gabriel. How is that less risky than-”

“You're a prime example, Davina,” Gabriel cut her off. “I would always rather look externally. Lavigne has a bone to pick with the Angelinis, but has a debt to me personally. And she has her own son. The odds are less stacked against me.”

Davina nodded and straightened in her chair. He was right. But that meant they were headed straight into uncertainty again. Now that shouldn’t have surprised her.

Chapter Text

For the first time in a very long time, Gabriel found himself apprehensive before a business meeting. Lavigne promised to brief him on the itinerary for the next three days. She would introduce him to relevant contacts that would help him with the new triad contract. By working with him willingly, the French mob would get a percentage of the kickbacks instead of being iced out altogether. In return, Lavigne would lend her connections and manpower. At least, that was the goal of this arrangement. A formal agreement would be drawn up at the end of this trip. 

Mikey was still asleep in the opposite queen bed when Gabriel finished getting ready. He knocked on the adjoining room where Davina was staying to let her know not to expect him for lunch. She was already in her uniform for the day and moved her computer to his desk as he readied to leave. 

“Find anything else on Lavigne?” he asked, fixing his collar in the mirror.

“The online chatter isn’t sunny,” Davina said. He heard a few clicks of her mouse. “Overall consensus is she’s become old-fashioned and unreliable. There’s a host of sexist arguments that I won’t repeat. The failure in Lyon caused an uptick in activity from the Galacians, no surprise there, but it isn’t the only territory the French are struggling to keep a hand on.”

He smiled. That was good. If Lavigne’s position was dire she’d be more open to an alliance. “Val was helping me find specifics. If this visit goes well, I’ll come back with some names for you to research. See if I can kick up anyone else Emilio’s managed to piss off in the past decade.” 

“That shouldn’t be hard.”

“Touche. What are your plans for the day?” 

Davina intertwined her fingers and stretched her arms over her head. “Well, there are plenty of museums around here, and Mikey was asking about some of the most famous buildings in the area. Seems like someone has a sudden unexplainable interest in architecture.” She smiled at him. “We could wait for when you get back.”

“I’d love that, but you go ahead. I wouldn’t expect me back until late. I have a tour scheduled then a dinner reservation. Dining is an art for the French. It'll take a while.”

She looked disappointed. “Well, before we left I looked into arranging a boat tour around some of the rock formations. They offer snorkeling trips too. Maybe you could find some time then.” 

“I’ll do my best, but this trip is hardly recreational.” He paused at the door. “Nico is bringing you a gun later today. Should be easy to conceal it, but I meant it the other night. I want you armed.”

She stared vacantly at her computer screen, her fingers twitching on her elbow. “Right.”

She didn’t want to be armed again, he could see that as plain as day. But there was no helping that. She was likely still coping with what happened at the safehouse - any person not raised in crime would struggle with it. Even now, throughout their conversations, he sensed an underlying agenda beyond keeping him alive with Mikey. To solve his problems with less violence, and while he could see the merits of the argument, he knew it was her perspective as an outsider that believed it was possible. 

But the mob only spoke two languages: money and blood. And he didn’t have enough money. 

He met Val in the parking garage. She was leaning against the car with a tablet in her elbow and an expectant glint in her eyes. The two of them might be tense right now, but he had given her a reconnaissance mission on Lavigne, and he knew better than most how much Val loved to deconstruct something. 

“Found some bread crumbs for me?” he asked as he unbuttoned his suit and slid into the passenger seat. 

Val handed him the tablet and started the car. “More like a whole-ass bakery. You were right. Lavigne is losing ground.”

The tablet had a few tabs open, some shipping confirmations and news articles along with a page that tracked all the public information on the local port. Gabriel noted a few transports that he expected - prescription drugs, art, fabrics, and tobacco. The French had been cracking down on smuggling done at the docks, and a more raids and confiscations had occurred in the past three months than in the past year. 

“I have a contact with local customs,” Val said as they navigated down the crowded streets. “Lavigne’s primary job is to handle the trade-offs between here and Lyon. She gets it from the shipyards to her factories farther inland. Those are used as the base for distribution or as a holding center and are going strong. The factories have the proper licensing, and are above-board on the surface. It’s only her shipments that have experienced issues, but she’s not the only one. The Croatians and Russians are also having problems, though not as many as Lavigne.”

“Any reason why she’s special?” 

“It’s hard to say definitively,” Val said. “But my gut says she’s just a casualty. Lavigne has one larger fish above her - her boss, Arnaud Fontaine. He oversees the entire southern region of France. If you zoom out, it’s easy to see that the southern regions have seen a larger crackdown than the northern region. There’s no telling how much she’s lost.”

“It’d be easy to use her as a scapegoat,” Gabriel concluded, closing the tablet. “Her losing the triad contract was just another cherry on top. She loses much more and Fontaine might pull the plug on her. Wonder how much she’s actually got left to work with.”

“Explains why she’s so jumpy,” Val said. They were pulling up at one of the largest distribution centers in the area. The seaside was a mere three kilometers away. A group of men in black suits were waiting near a far entrance. Val parked the car, and for a moment, they both stared at the group across the parking lot. 

“You should have brought Nico,” Val said finally. “I know you agreed to this, but it feels like a setup.”

“It’s not,” Gabriel said, getting out. “It’s peacocking.”

The group at the front stopped them at the bottom of the entry stairs. “Weapons,” the head guard said in poorly pronounced Italian. He gestured to one of his men to step forward.

Val’s hand dropped to her thigh. “If you think you’re going to frisk me I’ll save you some time and show you exactly where everything’s hiding.” 

The guard hesitated and looked to Gabriel instead.

“Ditto if you even touch that suit of his,” Val added.

“No one’s touching anything.” The front door opened and out waltzed Lavigne, pink fur around her shoulders and hair to match. She waved her hands to the guards and they stepped back. She approached Gabriel, a small smirk on her lips as she extended her hand, golden bracelets clinking around her wrists. “These are much better circumstance for a meeting, oui Monsieur Angelini? ”

“More hostile than expected for someone well within their rights to take you off the map mere weeks ago,” Gabriel said, taking her hand and placing a chaste kiss on a single knuckle. “But yes, I’ll take this over the former.”

“Forgive me. My associates aren’t as trusting of this arrangement as I am.” Lavigne looped her arm through Gabriel’s and returned her sunglasses to her face. “Can’t imagine why. Let’s not give them any reason to think I’m wrong.” 

A small comment, but in the context of Val’s intel it said something else. The guards weren’t hers, which meant they probably belonged to Fontaine. Lavigne was being watched.

The guards opened the double doors, and he got his first glimpse into distribution center. It was unpolished, with raw concrete floors and white walls, but high ceilings that glimpsed the different levels of the building. There was a staircase to the right, leading to the highest floor that was more furnished. 

“The perimeter of the upper level has been converted to office and conference space,” Lavigne said. “This particular center houses the UK relations office for the European Union.” She winked at him. “Good friends of mine. And soon yours too, I hope.” 

Gabriel glanced at Val who was keeping no less than five paces behind him. Instead of heading upstairs, the group made their way through the lower part of the center. It was flooded with workers, trucks, and machinery. Company names, written in French and English were staggered throughout the bays that extended down, as far as Gabriel could see. Lavigne identified them, their countries of origin, and their primary export, making special note of the companies they had extensive relationships with. There was a surprising number of solar shipments from Germany.

It was unusual, Gabriel thought to himself. They were hardly allies, barely on neutral ground, but Lavigne was being inexplicably open with him. The surrounding noise made it difficult to hear anyone else besides her, and when Val asked a question a few minutes later, they had to stop walking to hear her. 

“I didn’t realize what a variety you worked with,” he remarked as they neared the end of the first level. Lavigne directed him towards the warehouse portion where goods were unpacked from the containers and taken to different departments. “I wasn’t expecting your companies to appear so…”

“Legitimate?” Lavigne made a small huff. “I suppose that would be unfamiliar to you. We are French. Cooperation is more nuanced than it is for you Italians. Know the right people, break the right rules, fill the right pockets. The trouble is getting the product here. Once it gets beyond this point, I can supply every piece of documentation the locals could ask for. I’m not an owner of any of these, just a representative. There are 134 corporations represented in this building alone. Variety and quantity are our friends.”

“Very interesting,” Gabriel said. “That doesn’t seem to be working well for you at the moment.”

She seemed to quicken her pace, but showed no other outward reaction. “We’ve seen some interference, yes, but it’s as you say, a drop in the bucket. We are largely unaffected.”

“You sure about that?”

“You question my word?”

“Heh.” Gabriel stayed looking straight ahead. They had gained a bit of space between Val and the other guards. Time to push her buttons. “You trusted an ambitious fool and tried to murder a child. I’ll question the hell out of you. You’re bleeding more than you’re letting on, and I’m not keen to partner up with a sinking ship. This place and your connections are impressive, yes, but how much of it do you personally control? A handful of companies? A few shipments of goods with some prescription drugs thrown in? And how much of it is now stagnant with the triad contract on the ropes? Fontaine watching your every move? If anything, you need me, not the other way around.”

“Your phrasing is perfection.” A smile tugged at her lips. “Remember how I said there were 134 corporations represented in this center alone? 134 corporation, eighteen countries, and over a thousand individual products. Every truck, container, and fucking forklift in this building.” She lowered her glasses. “I have my fingers in all of it, Monsieur Angelini. I know the numbers, the contents of every truck that comes through those doors, the men who drive them. Fontaine might be the boss, but I’m the one they respect. I’m the name they know and fear. If you want to talk about a sinking ship, let’s talk about you.” 

She was bluffing. She had to be. Gabriel had to stop himself from looking directly at her, keeping his gaze forward as they walked. “I’m afraid you’ll have to elaborate. We had one loose string, and I took care of him personally.”

“This isn’t about your little cousin,” Lavigne said as they neared the entrance again. “He is merely a symptom. Shall we?” She gestured to the staircase. “I think you’ll enjoy getting the full view.”

A familiar surge spread through Gabriel’s bloodstream. The feeling of being pushed into a dark room, blinds drawn, defenses out. As the group mounted the stairs to the corporate offices, the possibilities rang through his head. How would Lavigne found out about the inner family conflict? Cassiel? A mole? He’d arrived to this meeting with his hands full of cards. Lavigne was the one who owed him. The one who had wronged him. The one under pressure from her own organization. So what else did she have to offer that made her so confident?

They stopped in front of one of the office compounds. The name ‘REFORMED ELECTRIC INC’ was on the wall in large bold letters. Lavigne held up a key. “Just the two of us,” she said. “There’s a conference room on the far side. Your guard can linger out here with mine. I’m sure she’ll find they’re excellent company.”

Val opened her mouth to protest, but Gabriel held up his hand. She shot him a look, but settled into a chair in the reception area. “Have it your way. Call me if you need me, boss.”

Lavigne led the way through the office. As large as the facility was, every cubicle was furnished but empty. “It’s a secondary office,” Lavigne explained. “I haven’t onboarded a full staff as of yet, but I plan to. Had to fire the original design team. Their plans were dégueulasse. Offensive.” 

The conference room itself was just as obnoxiously large as the rest of the building. It overlooked the entire distribution center, with a long glass window that spanned the expanse of the room. A wine bar was on the opposite side of the room, plentifully stocked with glasses hanging in a decorative order over the counter. Lavigne retrieved a bottle and three glasses.

“I thought you said it would just be the two of us,” Gabriel said.

“It will be. The third will be entirely up to you.”

“Got anything to do with this company, Reformed Electric ?” He asked, walking to the lookout glass. “A bit on the nose, isn’t it?”

“Green industries are on the rise. Windmills, solar panels. All very expensive. France is a bit behind the rest of Europe when it comes to environmental impact. Our government is trying to change that. They’re offering tax incentives, rebates, anything you can think of to inspire greener infrastructure.”

“Tapping into that too, I’d assume?” 

“Naturally. It is the focus of the expo I told you about this week. More contacts to meet there as well. It is the future. Fontaine is short-sighted on the matter. He doesn’t see the potential. We should all know when it’s time to make a change, don’t you think? For the greater good?” She poured the wine and sat down at the table. It was mostly bare, with only an ash tray and conference phone in the center.

Gabriel shot her a look. “Greater good, my ass. Nothing we do is for the greater good.”

Lavigne laughed. “Glad to see you’re more self-aware than your father.”

She was baiting him, that much was clear, but he was more interested than annoyed. He sat down across from her, accepting the glass she pushed in his direction. “Wasn’t aware you knew him.”

“Knew him? Hardly. His reputation preceded him.”

“And that was?”

Lavigne took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up, taking a long draw before she answered him. “Pius. For a mobster, that is. Never missed a mass or confessional. The ongoing joke was that if the carabinieri managed to make his priest break his vows that they’d be able to take down all the organized crime north of Venice.”

“He was a good man.”

Lavigne scoffed. “There are no good men.”

“Maybe not. But there are better men. Those of us that still retain any sort of honor or code in what we do. Which is the only reason why you’re still breathing, Madame Lavigne.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?”

Gabriel swirled the wine in his glass. “Before I shot Cassiel, I learned that he was the one to propose the bombing of the dining room, putting my son in the line of fire.”

Lavigne lowered her cigarette. “Mon dieu, You knew that this entire fucking time?”

It was nice to hear the surprise in her voice. He managed to stop himself from smiling. “If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t have had our last meeting, much less this one. There’s just one thing I don’t understand. If that was not your doing, why didn’t you defend yourself? Why take responsibility and chance our relationship?”

She looked offended. “It was my bomb. My men. And if successful, it would have been my kill, sanctioned or not. You expect me to come groveling and pointing blame?” She tapped the excess ash off her cigarette into a tray on the table. “Not my style.”

“Would you rather I believe your style is killing children?” 

Lavigne met his eyes sharply. “If you believed that, nothing I would have said would have deterred you. My whole plan bringing you here was to convince you of my investment despite the incident. To be clear, I think civilians and children alike should be kept out of this business whenever possible.”

Gabriel raised his glass. “And thus, your code, Madame Lavigne. I’m glad we agree on something.”

“Yes, and now that we’re on the same page, let’s agree on something more. Your uncle is a cunt.”

Gabriel almost spit out his drink, and for a moment, he wanted to forget himself and agree wholeheartedly. Instead, he lowered his glass and feigned an annoyed smile. “He’s family. Only we’re allowed to call him that. But what in particular makes you say so?”

“For starters, you,” Lavigne said. “Sending you here in the first place. But my dislike goes farther back to the Russo conflict. I respect ambition, but what happened there was not that. It was an extermination, and one I had no part of.”

“If that’s the case, do you also take issue with the Bratva? They did their own fair share of the killing back then.” 

“That may be, but they didn’t start the war, and they weren’t the ones putting bounties on every redhead in Rome. They broke treaties, codes. Nothing was off limits, a trend I see continues. You should know the Odesa group reached out to me first.”

Oh? Gabriel straightened in his chair. This was an angle he did not expect. “Seeing as they came to us, I’m assuming Fontaine shut them down.”

Lavigne took another draft of her cigarette. “Fontaine didn’t do shit. I didn’t let the request get farther than me. One, it’s a disgusting business, and two, I have no room for unnecessary partnerships that wouldn’t benefit me. Cassiel was the one who asked to take the offer off their hands if I wasn’t interested, inferring it was a venture he would direct once you were no longer in the picture. In fact, he mentioned quite a few interesting anecdotes about your family dynamics.”

Gabriel folded his hands and leaned forward on the table. This was the conversation he’d wanted to have, but he’d envisioned himself being the one driving it. With it being the other way around, it felt like a trap. Like Emilio was waiting in the other room, waiting for him to take the bait. Like Lavigne had found his vulnerabilities and was exploiting him under the guise of a partnership. “Don’t beat around the bush, Lavigne. Spit it out.”

“Then here it is,” Lavigne said, mirroring his posture. “No sane don takes his underboss and sends him into enemy territory with no backup beyond a washed-out race car driver and a teenaged nanny, skilled as she may be. Not unless there’s issues. Issues like a wife who remarkably vanished after possibly going to the authorities.”

Gabriel clenched his fist, his eyes iced and narrowed slightly. “Tread carefully.”

Lavigne waved her hand. “Tsk, tsk, you’re so tense. I told you. I’m well-connected. Rumor as it may be, it’s enough to paint a picture. I know Cassiel did not start the fire at your manor, and it certainly wasn’t me. That leaves a rather interesting suspect. From where I sit, you’re being iced out, something we might have in common. Fontaine is taking hits and he’s blaming it all on me. That’ll only last so long, but I plan to regain my influence in the southern regions with these new ventures.” She gestured to the office space. “Room to grow Monsieur Angelini. With your help, I can displace Fontaine and move the organization in a better direction, drive out these Galicians, and help secure your place in the Venetian mafia at the same time, however that looks to you. We can help each other.”

“Mmm.” He took a sip of the wine. Either Lavigne was overtly confident, bluffing him to the heavens, or she really had some high-powered people backing her. “Convince me you’re not a sinking ship. I hold the triad contract, and though you have a larger reserve than I expected, your shipments are still getting nailed. What’s your angle?”

She smiled and swiveled in her chair towards the wine like she’d already won the war. It irritated him. “You know the Bratva hold the Lyon government in their pocket, yes?”

“They have influence,” Gabriel agreed. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

She offered him a light for the cigarette. He hesitated before leaning towards the small flame. “I have a step above, Monsieur Angelini. The UKDSE. Interpol. Others. I see behind the curtain.”

“How come that curtain isn’t stopping your ships from getting confiscated?” 

She was quiet, and it struck him. For the first time since arriving at the distribution center, he felt his edge. Lavigne was confident, yes, and there might be something to what she was saying, but she didn’t know who was targeting her. She was dancing around definitives, flaunting her operation and connections and making calculated comments about his family because that’s all she had. 

Since she was the one presenting the offer of partnership, it left him on the receiving end. He had the advantage.

“I have my suspicions, but nothing confirmed. It is a work in progress,” she said finally.

“That sounds nice, Lavigne.” He took a drag of the cigarette, dragging it out and taking his time blowing the smoke. “But I’m going to need something more concrete. Who are these magical connections? The ones working for you, that is, and not the ones actually working for Fontaine.”

“I’ll do you one better.” She leaned over to the phone in the center and pressed one of the buttons. “Come on in. We’re ready for you.”

Gabriel jumped up, hand on his gun as the door to the conference room opened and a blond man, nearly as tall as Gabriel, wearing casual pants and a blazer walked into the room. He held up his hands when he saw Gabriel’s stance. “Hold it right there. Not aiming to start a fight.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn’t budge. “You’re American?”

“May I?” The man gestured to his coat pocket. Gabriel nodded, and the man reached in and pulled out his wallet, opening it to reveal a badge. “Andrew Douglas, CIA Special Activities division. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Chapter Text

The morning felt longer than usual after Gabriel left. Mikey slept in, so Davina had plenty of time to dwell on the hundred things that could go wrong that morning. She noted how her fingers tingled and her heart raced at the thought of it. She wasn’t so oblivious to her own feelings that she didn’t know what that anxiety meant, but there was no advantage to acknowledging it, so she attributed the nerves to Nico delivering a gun to her later. 

Mikey was a welcome distraction when he finally woke up. She poured every ounce of that nervous energy into him, hyping him up for their days in Anglet and everything she had planned. Mikey did not share her anxiety about the French. True to form, he was incredibly optimistic about the whole arrangement.

“Once we’ve reached peaceful terms,” he declared as they readied to go down to the dining room for brunch, “Louis and I should get a regular schedule. Maybe he’ll even come here! Papa said there was a big event in a couple days.”

“I don’t think we’re meant to be a part of that,” Davina said, leading him down the staircase, “But we should definitely see if there’s a way we can get into regular contact with Louis.”

“Exactly.” Mikey pounded his fist into his palm. “Establishing communication is a big step. Me and Louis will need cell phones.” 

“Louis and I,” Davina corrected. “And need cell phones? I don’t know about that. I’m positive you would keep a phone secure, but Louis might pose a security risk. Remember, he didn’t suspect his nanny at the pool date.”

“You’re right,” Mikey agreed solemnly. “I would have sniffed her out in a second. He’s not ready for the responsibility.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Poor Louis. So desperate for my tutelage.”

They took breakfast out on the terrace. Their hotel was just outside city with a beautiful ocean front view. The hotel itself was reminiscent of classic eighteen century Chateau designs, according to the waiter Mikey interrogated. Davina took into upon herself to research the building and read off facts to Mikey while they waited on their breakfast.

It was amazing how quickly the boy attuned himself to the likes and dislikes of his father. A parent’s influence was a powerful thing. 

For a moment, Davina dazed while Mikey chattered on while devouring a plate of crepes. What part of her identity did she retain from her parents? Which of their passions left an imprint on her? Everything that immediately came to mind could be attributed to the influence of ENA and Mrs. Bremerton, and her memories before the fire were fuzzy at best. If she thought hard, a few things took shape. She remembered frequenting museums with her mother, visiting stables with her father, watching horse races, and lots of fine dining. But which one of those things was a passion of her parents and which ones were related to the family business? After all, she only suspected their illegal activities as she grew older. They never outright told her anything. 

“Hey, ‘Vina. You ok?” 

Davina blinked, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Mikey was watching her with big, concerned eyes. She quickly wiped her face. “Yeah, Mikey. My eyes are really dry right now. Must be the wind.” 

Mikey squinted at her, maintaining eye contact while he slowly took another bite of his crepes. Speaking of taking after his father. The boy didn’t miss a thing. 

Davina pushed her plate out of the way. Any appetite her nerves had left behind were long gone. “Remember. The Galerie Barthelemy opens at 2:30 and it’s not very far from here. We have some time kill, so what do you want to do?”

“Are we going to walk there?” Mikey asked, taking the bait without suspicion. Five was still five, after all. 

Davina shook her head. “I wish, but until your father settles things, I don’t think we should go unaccompanied. I’ll have Adam drive us.” 

“Actually, it’ll have to be me driving.” Davina turned around as Nico stepped onto the terrace. “Boss’s orders for the day.” 

“You don’t appreciate art,” Mikey said. “What’s wrong with Adam?”

“Ouch.” Nico put a hand to his chest. “I’ll try not to take that to heart. He had to run an emergency errand, so I’ll be here until he gets back. I’m afraid I won’t be able to take you to the museum, but I think I have a good alternative. I’ve got some business in Anglet, and you two will have to come with me.” 

Mikey bounced in his seat. “An assignment! Are we helping with Adam’s emergency? What’s the risk level?” 

Davina raised an eyebrow at the word ‘emergency.’ 

Nico lightly shook his head at her. “Adam’s all good, but how would you like to explore the historic portion of Anglet? They’re setting up for an expo that your dad will be attending this week, and I figured I’d get the lay of the land. I’ll need an extra set of sharp eyes." He winked. "And Davina can come too.”

“Do we still have time to go to the beach?” Davina asked, pushing her plate towards Nico who enthusiastically picked up her untouched fork. “I’m sure this hotel has some tools we can use to make a sandcastle.”

“We need to stay on task,” Mikey said. “We should leave now. Right, Nico?”

Nico mumbled around a mouthful of sausage. “Not until later, kiddo. Got to wait until your dad is out of his meeting.” Mikey deflated.

Davina grinned. “Giant sandcastle. An armory. A moat big enough for your rubber duck.”

It took a moment, but Mikey started to smile back. “Welll,” he drew out, “I suppose that is an acceptable use of time.”

That was getting easier. Not because Mikey couldn’t see through her, Davina knew, but because he trusted her. Two months ago, the boy would have demanded they call Adam directly for an explanation. 

It was cooler than she expected on the beach. The wind whipped around her ankles, the sand sparkling in the sunlight as it danced over the small dunes that separated the beach from the hotel. Nico set up the towels and chairs away from the other hotel guests, and Davina made him and Mikey sit down for a basting of sunscreen before they did anything else. 

“Do I need to know about this emergency?” she asked the moment Mikey ran towards the surf with a bucket. 

Nico sank down next to her chair on the towel. He’d opted for a plain shirt and shorts instead of a bathing suit. Davina could just make out his gun holstered beneath the fabric. “We brought an extra case of weapons with us,” he said. “Or at least, we thought we did. Loaded the sucker myself. One of the guns was meant for you. When I went to retrieve it this morning, the case was gone.”

Davina sat up in her chair. “Stolen?”

Nico shook his head. “I don’t think so. The vans were secured in the parking deck, and nothing pinged on the security feed, did it?” 

Her cheeks warmed. He knew she’d already synced up with the hotel’s cameras. “No. It didn’t.”

“So, I don’t think that case ever left Lyon. Either I’m losing my mind, or someone removed it from the van before we left. Adam went back to replace it. Hopefully, he finds it at the hotel.” 

Davina shivered, as much from the breeze as the information. The feeling of someone being just around the corner was omnipresent. 

Nico leaned towards her, lowering his voice. “You know, since it’s just us. Gabe told us about his… disagreement with the don. I’m assuming that’s what you were referring to that day we talked at the pool.”

She held his gaze, careful not to divert her eyes. If Gabriel didn’t want Nico knowing everything, then she couldn’t break his confidence. He’d been right back then, after all. She really didn’t understand Nico’s and Val’s relationship with the mafia. But if he wouldn’t explain it to her that meant she needed to go straight to the source.

“I’ve always assumed you’ve worked with Mr. Angelini for a long time.” The words fell out of her mouth before she could lose her nerve. This was as good a lead in as any. “I take it this dance with the don is not a new one.” 

“Hell no.” Nico glanced back at Mikey who was still playing in the waves. “I started working with Gabe the year before Emilio took over, and I could tell there was tension from day one. There’s a reason people say never mix business with family.”

“How old were you then?” 

“I was nineteen.”

“So young,” Davina said. 

Nico snickered. “That’s rich, coming from you. What are you? Seventeen?”

Davina bristled. “Twenty-one, thank you very much.”

“That’s good. This whole time I thought we were encouraging underage drinking. You know, that’s how you get started in this line of work.”

Davina rolled her eyes. “Underage drinking leads to a life of crime?” 

Nico shrugged. “You know what they say. Kissing leads to dancing.”

“That’s not what they say.” 

“They do. Trust me.”

Davina laughed. “Why, is that what happened to you?” 

“Naw, swiping candy at the market. Crazy how a single snickers bar can lead to a life of crime.”

Davina threw a juice box at him.

Nico caught the juice box and raised it like a wine glass. “Here’s to making sure you don’t make my mistakes. I promise to never let you drink in my sight again.” 

“I said I’m twenty-one!”

“Tsk, tsk. Lying is also the sign of a mobster.” 

“You’re so stupid.” She stretched out, digging her toes into the sand as he went to work on his juice box. “So, what happened after you stole the snickers?”

“Heh. I don’t have a cool underdog story like Val. I was pretty low-key. I was good with a knife, but didn’t have any ambition. Didn’t pay much attention to anything until I had a price on my head. Crazy how that’ll light a fire under your feet.” 

Davina stiffened. “You had a hit on you at nineteen?”

Nico gave her a wry smile. “Thing about mobsters. All you have to do is exist in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Smart people know where not to stand. I wasn’t smart. Val was the one who tracked me down, but she made a different call. Managed to hide me until she could introduce me to Gabe and convince him I was worth something.”

“Poor Val,” she quipped before Nico could think she was reading into it. “That must’ve been tough to do.” 

“Oi! I’m a catch, I am!” 

She laughed, but it sounded too forced and she dipped her head down to rummage in her snack bag. Some puzzle pieces slid into place. So that’s why Nico and Val were so close. Did this mean that Nico was more loyal to Val than Gabriel? Is that why Gabriel hesitated to trust him fully? 

But that wasn’t the detail eating a hole into her stomach. Nico was twenty-seven. If he had a hit on him when he was nineteen, that would have been eight years ago. 

The same time as the Russo extermination. 

“HEY!”

They both turned their gazes back to the boy in the surf. 

“Why am I the only one getting buckets?” Mikey yelled. “Get your asses over here!”

“Mikey!” Davina scolded, aghast. 

Nico busted out laughing and grabbed a bucket. “You heard the man.”

The next couple hours were spent constructing a giant castle done to Mikey's extreme specifications. Davina tried to enthusiastically follow his instructions, but her eyes drifted to Nico more times that it should have. What if all the answers she had been looking for were sitting right beside her? She didn’t know anything about him, not really. Not even his full name. The old curator, Antonio had told her it had been a bloodbath, but what if there were more survivors? Mrs. Bremerton hadn’t just raised her at ENA - she’d hidden her. Hidden her and never told her why beyond the obvious.

She didn’t realize how flushed her face was until Nico handed her the suntan lotion and pointed to her cheeks. 

By the time the group retired back to the hotel Mikey was draped over Nico’s shoulder and snoring softly. They rinsed the sand off him the best they could then changed his clothes and tucked him into bed. “Coffee?” Nico offered once she came back in her room with the door safely shut. 

“Please,” Davina said, rubbing her arms to hide the shake in her hands. 

Nico cocked his head. “You good?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said. “I just hoped to hear from Mr. Angelini by now.” 

She directed her nerves to that, forcing all her attention on Gabriel. She picked up her phone while Nico worked on the coffee, scrolling through her messages to make sure she hadn’t missed something. If the meeting had gone wrong he would have done anything to warn her and Mikey, right? He said he expected it to run long, but even a thumbs up every couple hours would be helpful.

She startled when a hand dropped on her shoulder. 

Nico laughed. “You need to relax, Super Nanny. If I’m not stressed, you shouldn’t be stressed.” He handed her a mug. “Besides, Val just texted me. Gabe finished up a long one on one with Lavigne. Val thinks it went well. As soon as Mikey wakes up we’ll head out. Val is sending me a list of some of the expo companies that we need to take a special look at.” He glanced down at her phone screen and grinned. “I’m sure he’ll call you in a little bit.”

She flushed and took a sip of the coffee. “Thanks.”

“No problem. So are you guys hooking up?”

Davina immediately choked. “The fuck, Nico?” 

-

They left for Anglet a little while later, the three of them dressed in casual vacation wear (despite Mikey’s adamant protests at leaving his suits at the hotel). Nico wasn’t as smooth a driver as Adam, and more than once Davina found herself gripping the overhead bar and Mikey at the same time. She glared at the back of his head when the car finally lurched to a stop. 

Nico lowered the partition. “Gabe’s calling, Davina. Sit up front for a second before we head out. Mikey you stay in the back.”

“But…”

“No buts.”

Mikey turned to Davina, his understanding from earlier washing away as quickly as their sandcastle that morning. “Can you leave the window cracked for me? Please?”

She pulled out the coloring set she kept in one of the back pockets and handed it to him. “I just need to see what this is about first. We have no idea what news your father has. If I can clue you in, I will. Promise.” 

Mikey accepted the coloring set without a word, his forehead furrowing into far too many lines for a five-year-old. Davina offered him one last reassuring smile that he didn’t see before moving to the front seat.

“Have a good morning?” Gabriel’s voice came through the front speaker. A rush of relief went through her at hearing it, even though she knew he was fine. 

“Spent it at the beach,” Davina said. “ Someone has already decided that he’s an expert on sandcastle architecture. I’m sure he’ll want to tell you all about it.”

“Can’t wait to hear. Got a lot to catch you two up on, but for now I’ve got a couple areas that I want you to scope out. There’ll be three competing parties attending this expo, which is doubling as a massive potential business partnership. The Bratva, Lavigne, and the Galicians. All three of them have legitimate businesses that are fronting investment in these environmental ventures. This is our introduction. If we like what we see, Lavigne is offering us a stake as long as we don’t shut them out of the triad contract completely.”

“The hell?” Nico cut in. “She’s offering you a risky startup in exchange for guaranteed kickbacks? That’s a shit deal.”

“And not all of it. Cool your tits, Nico.” 

Davina snorted. Nico made a face and mouthed ‘ shut up.’ 

“I’ve seen enough of what she has to feel confident,” Gabriel continued. “Lavigne is working to undermine her boss, Fontaine. If she can make the right deals this week, she can gain ground on that and the Galicians, an adversary we have in common given everything that happened with Cassiel.”

“What else is she offering us?” Nico asked, clearly still skeptical. “Would it be enough to convince the consigliere not to consider the Odesa partnership?’

“I think so, but the money isn’t my only motivation. She is offering me free us of her extensive contacts with international authorities, including one American agent she was kind enough to introduce me to this afternoon.”

“The feds?” Davina said a little too loudly. She heard a smearing noise on the glass behind her. She and Nico turned to see Mikey’s face squished against the glass. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “Are you sure that’s safe? Her shipments are getting busted left and right. A relationship with the authorities is a great opportunity for security leaks.” 

Not to mention Gabriel’s last experience with a dirty official ended in the murder of his wife.

“I said the same thing,” Gabriel said. “And I want you to do a deep dive on this guy as soon as I get back. Lavigne claims she approached him first and has left her husband and son in his care multiple times. If he pans out, he could be an invaluable contact. The authorities are already a little too interested in us back in Lyon. This would be another card in my hand.”

And less in the don’s, Davina thought. There were a dozen questions on her lips, but she couldn’t ask any of them with Nico beside her. 

“So what’s our objective out here at this expo?” Nico asked. The street in front of them was already blocked off and swarming with vendors. 

“Twofold,” Gabriel said. “All the visiting families will be attending a demonstration dinner on the final day. Scope out that area for any security issues. I need info on the demonstration itself and all the companies and staff participating. Second, I need you to find out which government entities are participating in the event.”

“Why is that important?” Davina asked.

“Acting on a hunch. Lavigne has no idea who is busting her shipments, but she has intel that points to some corrupted officials that are working with the Galicians. They’ve hooked a fish so high on the pole that it’s brushing the president. Aside from that, she doesn’t know anything. Whether it’s a man or woman or even what position they’re in. We need to find the money trail. If the Galicians are managing to get their hands on public funds then there’s a legitimate front somewhere. We just have to find it.”

“The Bratva won’t like us digging around,” Nico pointed out. “They have their own set of official contacts.”

“Then be careful.”

Nico exchanged a look with Davina. “Roger that.”

Mikey attacked her with questions once they ended the call and released him from the back seat. Davina managed to pacify him with a tame summary of what they were supposed to do. Meet interesting parties and locate any risks. Above all, they needed to look like a little family strolling through for some sight-seeing. Employees were rushing around, and no one seemed to pay them any mind.

Nico scrolled through the list Val sent them as they walked around vans parked on the curbs. There were three vendors of interest. The first was Ocean Light, a Saudi Arabian based company that specialized in ocean lithium extraction. They were proposing new extraction sites off the European coast, and France was in the bidding. Apparently, the Bratva were already significantly invested in the venture. Given the rise of electric cars, it was a potentially lucrative investment. 

Second was Industrial Spark, an initiative against forest fires in both Italy and France, and the third was Reformed Electric, a solar panel company Lavigne was significantly staked in. They decided to start there.

Industrial Spark had several tented areas for its exhibition. Davina immediately spotted several workers that had government ID badges hanging from their necks. Given the company’s interest in forest fires, in made sense that there would be government involvement. Mikey and Nico wandered towards a section where employees were setting up several tall screens in a half circle. 

“Why is this company even on the list?” She looked around the tent. Most of the tables seemed to be informative, with one banner at the end that said ‘Investing Opportunities.’

“According to Val," Nico said, still scrolling, "it’s because Lavigne’s company Reformed Electric is heavily connected to them.”

“How so?”

Nico lowered his voice. “Ninety percent of these fires are caused by people. Some by a stupid mistake. Others on purpose. Especially in France. The government is offering huge monetary incentives to implement greener infrastructure. It’s simple, really. Burn out a property. Buy it at a low price. Fill it full of solar panels or whatever you will or maybe just leave it bare and boom - the land makes money purely by existing.”

Davina made a face. “That’s awful.”

Nico shrugged. “It’s business.” 

Mikey suddenly whooped and made a beeline for one of the tables. Nico just managed to grab his collar. “They have virtual reality headsets!” Mikey said, pointing excitedly. “Maybe they’ll let us try!”

One of the workers looked up. “I was actually about to just give it a test run. Happy to let the boy give it a go.”

“What would he be seeing?” Davina asked. Fire was a subject that still hit a little too close to home.

“It is a walkthrough of a forest fire that was recorded last year in the southeast region,” the employee said. “It is hard to understand the devastation through photography alone. Everything that he sees on the headset will be on the screens here. The primary focus is on how we combat these fires. Foam, making firebreaks, aerial water drops, etcetera.”

“Are you sure, Mikey?” Davina asked. 

Mikey nodded enthusiastically. “I’m sure.”

He excitedly let them adjust the VR headset on his head. Dramatic music boomed over the speakers and a charred landscape came to life on the screen. The employees were focused on the display, and Davina and Nico stood a little bit to the side. 

“I’m not sure he’s ready for this,” she whispered. 

“Give the boy some credit,” Nico said. “Fire can’t terrify him forever. Watching firefighters might even help him out here. You know, show him that no matter how big a fire is, someone somewhere can put it out.”

She watched Mikey’s mouth drop in a small ‘ wow’ as the camera took him rushing above a field in a drone, the remnants of a fire still licking at bits of brown grass. Her eyes filled with the flame on the screen, tightening her chest as everything disappeared in her peripheral. 

That was the whole problem, wasn’t it? The fire was never really out. Not entirely. There were live coals hidden in the secret corners of her mind, lighting up at just the right touch of wind, at the slightest reminder. If someone had asked her several months ago if she was healed, she would have said yes without hesitation. But now?

Now she was surrounded with reminders that blew those coals to life. Everything was a mirror. Mikey. Gabriel. The dinners and parties. Now Nico. And as willing as she had been to step back into this world, the flood of questions and emotions that had erupted over the past months left her reeling. She hadn’t been ready. She hadn’t been prepared. 

And whose fault was that?

She took a step back. Nico’s hand went to her shoulder.

“Hey, you good?”

“Stay here with him,” she whispered, her eyes still locked on the screens. “I’m going to look at the demonstration area. Meet me when you’re finished up.”

Clouds had gathered when she stepped outside the tent, the warm, humid air flooding her lungs. Tears stung at her eyes, but this wasn’t grief or sadness. No, she was angry. A hollow fury had been building up in her for longer than she cared to acknowledge. 

There was no way Mrs. Bremerton hadn’t known about the Russo-Angelini war it some detail, or she wouldn’t have hidden Davina away as thoroughly as she had, wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to conceal her identity so that even Davina herself couldn’t find an electronic path back. And yet, Davina hadn’t even known for certain that her family had been a part of organized crime. On some level, she understood hiding that information from a child, but from an adult? Even if the perfect time had never come up, what about right before she walked out the door as an employee of one Gabriel Angelini? 

No, Mrs. Bremerton had only given her the reminders of her responsibility and her code, and aside from a gentle warning about what working for the Angelini family would mean, she had said nothing else. 

And Davina had walked in as good as blind. 

Her fingers curled into her palms. She barely felt the few stray raindrops that landed on her skin as she barreled into the tent that would host the demonstration. It was darker here than it had been outside. The wind ruffled the white table clothes of the round dining room tables, organized in a circle around the demonstration platform. A pile of centerpieces were messily stacked up on one and lighting equipment on another. The quiet here should have been comforting.

It was eerie.

“Can I help you?” 

Davina jumped. 

A young woman, early thirties, if Davina had to guess, was sitting with a laptop on the far side of the tent. She closed the computer and approached Davina with a clipboard tucked under her arm. Her hair was slicked back into a tight bun, and she was wearing a formal suit dress, long-sleeved despite the warm weather. She pushed her glasses back from her nose, and all the sudden Davina felt as if she was trespassing into someone else’s safe space. 

“This area is off-limits except for staff members and VIP guests. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

This wasn’t good. She needed to get a better look around, especially if this was where Gabriel would spend most of his time. Duty cleared her head, and Davina cleared her throat. “Actually, I’m with one of your guests. He wanted to send me on ahead to meet some of the organizers and ask some questions for him.”

“Oh?” The woman pulled out the clipboard. “Which of our guests do you work for?”

“Gabriel Angelini.”

It was slight, but she caught the change in the woman’s posture. Her eyebrows tilted upwards, her shoulders stiffening slightly. So, this woman was aware of what that name meant. She raised her head and smiled. “Apologies. I am Lena Bardot, one of the coordinators of the expo and acting director of the environmental progress directive here in France. I understand Monsieur Angelini is attending as a guest of Madame Lavigne?” 

“Yes. I was just getting a look at the space. We haven’t received an official itinerary yet. I know Ocean Light is the company hosting the demonstration, and I was hoping to get some more details on it.”

“Ah, certainly. The demonstration will address the largest issue with seawater lithium extraction as a whole. As am sure you know already, lithium is not as present in seawater as other ions, such as sodium and magnesium, making extraction difficult. However, this technology involves using a ceramic membrane that contains holes just wide enough to allow passage of lithium ions while blocking other metals. The demonstration will show this extraction by putting seawater through three chambers.”

Davina nodded along, not quite paying attention as she scanned the tables. “I see. What are the seating arrangements for the guests from Galicia?”

Ms. Bardot’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have a name?”

“No.” She didn’t expect Breixo to be in attendance. 

“I can’t say I’m entirely sure at the moment.”

She was evasive. Interesting. “Then what about the Lavigne and Angelini parties?”

“It is not finalized yet, but I believe they will be seated here.” Ms. Bardot gestured to one of the tables in the center. It was the table farthest from the exit and directly in front of the demonstration stage. 

“I would like to request a table closer to the exit,” Davina said. “We have members of our party that will not be viewing the demonstration but need to be close by.”

“The center table is barely ten meters from the exit.”

“We’ll need more like five.”

“We have our own security for the event.”

“Ours is better.”

Ms. Bardot lowered her head. “Ms…”

“Bonetti.”

“Ms. Bonetti. Please don’t misunderstand, your party is far from the only private attendee. And while I understand there is a type of professional rivalry between the guests, know that we have put every consideration into making this a secure experience for all. Besides, if your security is as good as you say, surely five meters won’t make much of a difference. As you yourself are not on the guest list, I’m afraid I can’t divulge any more details.”

Her tone was customer-service sweet, but with an edge to it. In truth, the seating arrangement was less about how close or far it was from the exit, but more about who was making the decision. This company was involved with the Bratva, and as cordial as the relationship was between Gabriel and Madam Yakovlevna, trust was a different matter. There were too many players in attendance. 

“Be that as it may, I would still like to move tables. Also, please direct a completed attendee list to this email address.” She handed the woman a small card. “If you’d like, I can have Mr. Angelini call you directly to verify.”

“Davina!” “Vina, where are you?”

“In here, Mikey!”

Davina turned just as the boy burst into the tent. His face was rosy and his hair damp. He ran straight into her and wrapped his arms around her legs. Nico wasn’t far behind. “I did it!” he exclaimed, still breathless. “I watched the video all the way through. It was like I was walking with the firefighters! Did you know there are firefighters who fly planes, and- and- helicopters, and bulldozers. And they had this foam bomb that exploded everywhere!” 

He rambled on, sounding more like the boy he was than Davina had ever heard him. She hugged him back. “I’m proud of you,” she said when she got a chance to get a word in edgewise. “It’s hard to face your fears like that.” 

“Kid decided we should make a donation,” Nico said, chuckling. “A big one. We’ll have to take it up with the boss.” He looked past her. “And who’s this?”

Ms. Bardot offered her hand. “I’m one of the directors organizing the demonstration this week. It’s pleasure to meet some of our guests early.” 

“Cool. Looking forward to it.” He titled his head. “Have we met before?”

She laughed. “I don’t believe so.” She winked. “I would remember.” 

The change in tone was jarring. She seemed more genuine and started to explain the demonstration to Nico and Mikey freely. When Mikey asked questions, she knelt down to speak with him directly and even showed him photos of the demonstration on her phone, smiling at his many questions.

It was as if the mask fell away so completely that Davina started questioning if she sensed any hostility to begin with. It was unnerving. Nico didn’t say much besides the initial introduction, only exchanged a look with Davina which she acknowledged with a look of her own. 

They left a few minutes later. The clouds were clearing up as they headed back to the car. Mikey skipped ahead of them, kicking through puddles as he went. Not wearing a suit had freed him in a sense. 

“I don’t have anything solid to go on,” Davina said. “But…”

“Something was off,” Nico agreed. “Lena Bardot. Name doesn’t ring a bell. Think you can find anything on her?”

Davina set her mouth in a grim line. “I’m certainly going to try.” 

Chapter Text

As predicted, it was dark when Gabriel and Val returned to the hotel. The night was clear, and the two of them stopped just outside the parking garage to take in the view. The wind had picked up, and the temperature was down. 

Val zipped up her jacket. “Cold front maybe? Hope it doesn’t rain for the expo.” 

“Won’t make a difference to me either way,” Gabriel said. “I’ve already made up my mind.”

“You’re investing?” 

“Technically, the family is. Me personally, no.”

Val raised an eyebrow. “Gabe…”

“Don’t ‘Gabe’ me, Val. I’m doing what I have to do.” He detoured down the walkways towards the pool portion of the hotel that faced the ocean.

Val followed him, picking up her pace to keep up. “I get this is a power move, but isn’t this risky? I somewhat agree with Nico. We already have contacts within the authorities. These bigger fish are nice, but are they necessary?”

“I will not let Emilio invest in the Odesa and put us at risk, all in an effort to undermine me. This way, we get immediate return through the triad, build an alliance with an up and coming ally, and tie up the money Emilio would need to finance a new partnership. I fail to see the downside.”

Val grabbed his arm, turning him towards her and forcing him to stop. “The downside is I don’t think that’s what this is about.”

That hit a nerve. Gabriel did a quick glance around to ensure they were alone before leaning down into Val’s face. “Fine. There’s some teeth in this, sure. And if you want to theorize how deep I want to go, I don’t give a fuck. I’m not looking to burn him, Val. I’m looking to humiliate him. If you’re not on board with that, Adam will be back with the car soon. I’m sure the wizard would love his errand girl back.” 

Val released his arm and stepped back. “You’re stressed, so I’ll let that slide. Don’t bite my head off when I’m just trying to look out for you.” She straightened her jacket and strode past him towards the hotel. “And for the record, when Emilio’s humiliated - we all are.” 

Gabriel watched her go, his pulse churning in his ears. He waited until she was gone before facing the ocean, gripping the handrails in front of him like he could twist them with his bare hands. Navigating this shit show was hard enough. Keeping his two best friends (because if he was to be honest, that's what they were to him) out of it made it even worse. Davina was right on that count - it would be easier to just clue them in. 

But then again, he knew better. 

A little over nine years ago…

“GABRIEL MICHELANGELO ANGELINI!” 

His father’s voice bellowed through the foyer. Gabriel gritted his teeth, mid-step through the entry-way. And he’d even gone to all that trouble to turn the headlights off when he pulled in. So much for a covert entry. Miguel Angelini stood at the top of the staircase, veins bulging in his forehead and knuckles white on the banister in front of him. For a moment, Gabriel debated bolting. 

But there was no escaping this.

He turned to face his father, fully resigned to the verbal lashing, the severity of which highly depended on how much his father knew about the events of the evening. Spending the night with a civilian girl wouldn’t put a smile on Miguel’s face, but it wouldn’t provoke this level of ire. Gallivanting into Russo territory. Yeah, that might account for some of it. Maybe his father had just had a bad day, and Gabriel was just the recipient of some misdirected anger.

Miguel reached Gabriel, grabbed him by the collar, and pushed him against the nearest wall, his voice abruptly losing its volume and descending into a much chillier even keel. “Where is it?”

Fuck. Miguel was not a violent father. Rarely raised his voice. Never resorted to any physical display of anger. For all his professional exploits, that side of him had never been directed at his son. For him to be this angry…

Still, for some idiotic reason, Gabriel decided to play dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Miguel punched the wall beside him. “Don’t play with me right now, Gabriel. What did you do with your mother’s ring.”

Gabriel went cold down to his toes. How would he know? And so quickly. 

Miguel searched Gabriel's eyes, then his face changed from one of anger to disbelief. He released Gabriel’s collar. “She was right. She was fucking right.” He turned down the hall.

She? No time to question that now.

“I had no choice!” Gabriel called after him. Now wasn’t exactly the prime time to make his case, but he might not get another chance. He followed his father into the receiving parlor. Thankfully, it was empty. “You wouldn’t listen to me, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to refuse an arranged marriage. Merde, this isn’t the eighteenth century. We can make our deals another way.”

His father whirled around, finger pointed in his face. “You think it’s so easy? Break off hundreds of years of tradition just because you’ve gotten attached to a fling? I raised you to be smarter than that, Gabriel! The deal with the Russos is almost complete. They need this personal assurance. This will move forward.”

“The girl they've proposed is eleven! It’s not even fucking legal!”

“The engagement is enough of a promise, a promise I cannot make if you are already married.” Miguel stopped. “Tell me you aren’t already married, Gabriel.”

Gabriel looked away. Damn it, he wished he was. When Alessia had said yes he should have done more than put the ring on her finger. He should have convinced her to get in the car, drive hours away to some clergyman’s doorstep and sealed the entire deal tonight. 

“Gabriel!”

“I’m not married."

His father visibly relaxed. 

“But you can’t watch me for every second for the next months. I promised her, Father. And more than that, she’s my choice.” Miguel looked away, and a horrific thought hit him. “You wouldn’t… Father, tell me you won’t touch her!”

Miguel turned swiftly, staring at him for a moment before dropping down onto the sofa. “Of course not, Gabriel. What do you take me for?” He lowered his head. “There are so many risks here. Forget the alliance - she’s a civilian. This is an entirely different world, one you have to grow up in for it to not tear you apart. Have you told her what you are?”

“I have.”

“How much about the family?”

Gabriel shifted his weight. “Enough.”

“Does she understand the risks? Not just to her personally at this moment, but for the rest of her life? Her parents, her future children? How being an Angelini makes you a target and that not even family members are bereft of suspicion? That to feel safe is to be vulnerable? Tell me exactly how you have explained that to her.”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

Miguel snapped. “Is it?” 

Gabriel looked away. He didn’t have a leg to stand on here. If he said that he could protect Alessia then he implied that his father had failed to protect his mother. “I’ve made my choice,” he said instead. “There’s no changing it. I will not be married to anyone but Alessia. You can either stand by me or force me to go on my own.” 

His father held his gaze for another uncomfortable minute before getting up to pour himself a drink. “So be it. Now to fix the mess you leave behind.” He cursed under his breath before taking a sip. “My eternal burden as your father I suppose. At least I know where we stand.” 

“Could it break the alliance?” Gabriel asked, now ready to discuss it now that his marital life wasn’t hanging in the balance. 

Miguel swirled his drink. “I don’t know. We’re still in the discussion stages, making the list of acceptable associates, mutual enemies, industries that are hands off. Our underbosses don’t get along, so that’s complicated things.”

“Uncle says they’re cunts.”

“Well, my brother says that about most people. Whatever issue he has, we’ll settle it. At the end of this we’ll be more than business partners. At least, we were supposed to be. We were supposed to become family.” 

“Ottavia’s single,” Gabriel supplied helpfully. “One of those Russo loons might be fine with crazy.” He tried to laugh but was quickly silenced with one look from his father. 

“Never,” Miguel said sharply, “mention anything like that again.”

Gabriel scratched the back of his neck. So not out of the doghouse yet. His father didn’t look like he was in the mood to talk anymore, so he left the parlor after another few minutes. 

Uncle Emilio passed him on his way out. “Heard some racket earlier. Piss off your old man?” 

Just like him to rub it in. Gabriel brushed past him without answering. His heart was still pounding. He needed to call Alessia and let her know the cat was out of the bag. Maybe that meant he could finally bring her around the house. That would be a relief. He’d expected a confrontation at some point, but for his father to put things together so quickly, that was…

He saw a movement just around the corner in the hallway headed to the garages. A moment later he heard the soft click of a door. 

The full picture snapped into place. All at once, the anger from earlier rushed through him, more potent and visceral. It pounded in his heels as he tore through the hall towards the garage. He ripped open the door, just in time to see Val trying to get out into the yard. 

“Valentine!”

She froze, staring at him like a deer in headlights. He could see the gears turn in her head, deciding whether or not to run before her shoulders relaxed as she accepted her fate. To her credit, she stood her ground as he got in her face. 

“You backstabbing bitch. When did you decide to tell him, hmm? Think he’d notice you or something if you ratted me out?” 

“You think this was about a promotion?” Val’s eyes blazed and she shoved him backwards. “You were being reckless. Disappearing for days sometimes in Russo territory. If they even got wind of what you were doing this entire alliance could have fallen apart. I did what I had to do for all of us.”

“How’d you know about the ring?”

“The- what?” Val’s eyes widened. “Gabe, I-”

Gabriel dropped his hands. His father was right. This could only be a good lesson for him. The best thing a man could do was know where he stood. “Next time you want to listen in,” he said, heading to to the door, “have the balls to stand in the doorway.”

-

He smiled ruefully to himself. The past decade had taught him some hard lessons. His father had been right back then. Alessia hadn’t been prepared, and that had been his fault. Back then, he’d naively thought that her losing her sister was enough to prepare her for the crueler side of mankind. How could he have not known that his wife was too sweet a soul, that even after experiencing the worst of people, she still held hope that there was always good in everyone.

He knew Davina held the same persuasion. It was why she was so insistent on including Nico and Val in their plans. He hated to know better.

Knowing better was painful. 

“Mr. Angelini?”

Speak of the devil. 

He turned. Davina was standing at the entrance to the patio. She had a jacket in her hands. “I saw you from the window. Don’t worry. Nico is up with Mikey, and Val just joined him.” 

He found his voice. “You shouldn’t be out here. It’s late.”

“You know, Nico made a crack about it being past my bedtime too,” she said, walking down the few steps to him and draping the jacket over his shoulders. “The joke is getting old.” 

“Sorry about the change in plans today.”

“Nahh,” Davina said with a toss of her hand. She leaned up on the handrail beside him, looking out to the ocean. “It was fun.”

“Nico didn’t drive you crazy?”

“Oh no, he absolutely did.” She grinned, and he felt a twinge of something in his chest that he didn't feel like identifying. “But he made me laugh a lot, and I needed that. Someone needs to talk to him about child-appropriate language, though.”

Gabriel snorted. “Good luck. They were all I had before I found you. Someone had to babysit sometimes.”

“That honestly makes me feel better. I somehow forgot about that, and thought he was picking up all those curse words from me." She smiled, softer this time. "I can tell Nico really cares about him, and Mikey absolutely loves him and Val both.”

The topic was getting uncomfortable. Gabriel changed the subject. “Did you enjoy the expo?”

“We did. Mikey was glad to be part of the action for once. He actually did a wildfire simulation at the expo area. I was really proud of him. He doesn’t want fire to always scare him.”

“It should scare him,” Gabriel said, focusing on a loose string in the coat. “I’m actually all right with him being terrified of all things fire for the rest of his life.” A hand lighted on his arm. He looked down at it rather than meet her eyes. He knew what expression she was making right now, and he didn’t want to see it. 

“Don’t say that. Overcoming a fear is something adults even struggle to do. If you let it go too long it becomes a thing of pride and then the risk of failure will keep him from ever trying again. If he learns how to tackle this now, it can only make things easier for him. I want that for him. I don’t want him to be…” She paused.

Like me. Gabriel filled in the blank. Even if she couldn’t say it. That’s what it all came down to, wasn’t it? Fear and pride. A viscous circle. That’s what was stopping him right now, wasn’t it? At this point, he couldn’t tell where his better judgement stopped and his fear began. From trusting Nico and Val to taking the woman beside him into his arms and crossing the lines he had promised himself he would never cross again. Life was cruel to keep dangling these hopes and fleeting dreams in front of him. How foolish a man could he be that he kept making the same mistakes over and over again?

“Gabriel?”

“Hmm?” He lifted his head. Davina had kept talking and he hadn’t heard a word of it.

“I asked if you wanted to go inside.”

“You go ahead. I’m going to stay out here for a few more minutes.” She made a face, and he had to chuckle. “I’ll be fine, Davina. No one will bother me out here.”

“I don’t know. There are some pretty nasty seagulls.” She laughed, and all at once it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The sea air blowing loose strands of hair around her face, the lamplight dancing shadows around her neck and shoulders. He almost leaned in as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and just stopped himself by grabbing her hand instead and bending down to brush a chaste kiss against her forefingers. 

“Go get some rest. The next few days will be busy.”

As dark as it was he could still see the pink in her cheeks. Even her little run away from him was flustered. 

He stayed at there for maybe thirty minutes more, focusing on the waves crashing on the shore and lulling his mind to a more peaceful place. 

When he finally returned to his room, Davina’s room was already dark. Mikey was fast asleep in the opposite bed, a tell-tale toy duck sprawled on the floor directly across from his relaxed open hand on the sheets. He watched the boy's chest rise and fall for a few minutes before turning his attention to the door on the opposite wall. He stared at the dark space beneath it for a few minutes before shaking his head and going into the adjoining bathroom. 

He didn’t wait for the water to warm up before stepping into the shower, the cold water hitting him as a much-needed shock that didn’t end up doing anything in the end. Every time he closed his eyes his mind ran rogue. Green eyes, red hair, and soft, freckled skin danced beneath his fingers. He remembered how she had breathed out his name that forbidden evening, recalling the sweet tenor of her voice with startling accuracy. His heart raced at the memory of it, of how he had her writhing beneath him after mere minutes of touching, how damp she had been against his palm when he dared to explore her further.

He took himself in hand, desperation grabbing hold in a way it hadn’t in months. His strokes were slow at first, fantasies flashing to his mind that he wearied of dismissing. How would she sound if common-sense hadn’t stopped them? How long would it have taken for her to be undone around his fingers or at his mouth? His mind flickered to earlier, her hand in his palm, his lips on her fingers. Had she thought of him like this? Had those fingers he had kissed ever slipped between her folds as she broke her rules in the confines of her mind?

It wouldn’t be so torturous if he didn’t know it was mutual, but that was one thing he knew beyond a shadow. She wanted him. 

He groaned, the hot water cascading over his shoulders as he worked faster. The thought of her doing this same thing mere feet away in the other room sent an exhilarating rush through him. With every stroke he imagined it. Davina arching her back in the privacy of her room, fingers between her legs as she touched what he craved. He saw her lips spread and dripping as she slid her fingers in and out until she fell off the edge into bliss, crying his name as she came. 

All at once, it was over, and he leaned limp against the wall in front of him, watching the evidence swirl down the drain. The warmth of the release faded, clarity plunging him back into unpleasant reality at a viscous speed. 

He wasn’t just a fool. He was absolutely fucked in every sense of the word.

Chapter Text

Childcare, Davina came to realize, had the innate ability to sap away most of her  energy. After the day with Nico, she’d hardly had time to sit down and do any research. Gabriel and the others attended the first day of the expo while she took Mikey on a tour of the local museums. The day had been a huge success, and Mikey had fallen asleep on the way back to the hotel. Davina knocked out before Gabriel even came back to the room. 

To make sure she had a moment to herself, she set her alarm for early in the morning. It was still dark when she rolled out of bed and went to her computer. There was too much research that needed to be done, and the list was only growing. First on the agenda: Andrew Douglas, CIA. 

Finding information on him was about as easy as she expected - AKA nearly impossible. Val had managed to sneak a picture of him yesterday, so at least she had some visual medium to work with. She used that to locate where he went to school and a portion of his work history. He’d graduated with a forensic science degree in the states and worked for a private corporation up until five years ago. After that, nothing. There was no social media presence or substantial public record. Everything she had could also be fairly easily fabricated, but there were no glaring red flags. 

Next, she looked into Lena Bardot, the mysterious acting director of the environmental progress directive. Davina quickly realized that she had the opposite problem with Lena - too much information. There were interviews, press conferences, and article after article on Ms. Bardot’s government work. She’d dabbled not just in environmental ventures, but support for refugees, diminishing illegal drug use, cracking down on sexual predators and child abuse, gun control, the works. The woman was something of a social warrior. Davina clicked through, overwhelmed by the volume of information. This wasn’t working. She needed something closer to home. Something personal. 

She went farther back. Lena’s first official credit was an association with a businessman who was pushing for a specific tenant bill. Davina didn’t recognize the name, so she opened another window to do a quick search. 

Her computer screen lit up like a firework.

The businessman was dead, killed by a house fire in Hendaye five years ago, a mere three months after his bill had been accepted by the senate. He’d been a rich man, noted for properties owned up and down the Atlantic coast. Davina scanned the article, a chill creeping up her spine as some details hit a little too close to home. The cause was officially reported as a botched robbery. There was no further information and no one was ever apprehended. 

She cracked her knuckles. Time to do what she did best. The Phoenix was back in business.  

Getting to the digitized files on the case was a simple game of knowing where to go. If the investigation was low-level enough, the local gendarmerie would store it in their system. In such cases, access could be ‘bought-in’ through a gateway opened by existing hackers. She had enough crypto currency stored back to pay the fare. Once her request was approved, she was in. 

Her smiled at her computer screen, the only light in the dark room. She could only imagine how she looked right now, hoody over her head, hunched over a desk with the only sound the tapping of her keys. This was her playroom, the world she knew best. 

And she was damn good at it. 

Her heart was pounding as she opened the file, which had more notes than she was expecting to see. The original investigators had done their homework, and that slowly started to become the most interesting aspect of the case. 

The neighbors had been interviewed, one of them testifying to a group of men coming and going from the property the day of the fire. The alleged thieves only made off with the electronics, and the fire itself had been started in the study. There were pictures of the scene, a blackened room with a burned out desk and chairs and a safe overturned at the center. It’s door was open and its contents ash. From this photo alone, it was clear where the fire began, a scene too drastic for a robbery.

But that’s where it ended. There was no follow-up to the witnesses, no explanation how they reached a conclusion of robbery and nothing else. The last note in the file was dated a few months after the fire. “Case transferred.”

Transferred to where? Davina leaned back in her chair, the distinct feeling of touching the tip of an iceberg gnawing at her. This reeked of mob activity, but what if the connection to Lena Bardot was one of pure coincidence? 

She returned to Lena’s trail, going back farther into the woman’s career, scrolling through article after article, picture after picture of the woman who seemed to live in the same blue suit dress and pair of sunglasses, only to run straight into a wall she recognized: a singular driver’s license, a French birth record, and nothing. Outside of her media presence these past six years, Lena Bardot barely existed. 

Just like Davina herself. 

A familiar pit formed in her stomach as she stared at a photo of the woman standing in front of a fountain, the feeling of familiarity washing over her. Aside from Lena’s cold demeanor, why had she felt so eerie at that first meeting? Where had Nico seen the woman before? It was right in front of her, she knew it. She just couldn't see it. 

Then the bolt of lighting.

She had to get Nico. 

Davina tucked her computer under her arm, not bothering to change out of her pajamas as she ran down the hotel halls to Nico’s room. She pounded on his door, a little too loudly for the hour of the morning. There was a movement at the peephole before Nico swung the door open, a knife barely visible in his left hand. 

“Davina?” He was shirtless and his hair disheveled. He briefly looked her over before glancing down the hallway. “You scared the shit out of me. Why are you…” He fastened on her eyes, which after hours of looking at a computer, probably looked strained. “Look, if you and Gabe had a fight, I’m no therapist.”

“Shut up and let me in.”

She pushed past him into the room, stopping for a moment at the mess in front her. Clothes were strewn about. A pair of boxers hung on the corner of the bed, half-eaten room service was on the stand, and there was a wad of tissue piled up beside the bed that she decided not to think about.  

“Housekeeping must hate you,” she said, gingerly taking a seat on one of the few open chairs in the corner and opening her computer.

“Hey, you’re the one who barged in here. This better be good.”

“I need you to tell me I’m not crazy.”

Nico snorted. “You’re a deranged individual. Anything else?” She turned her computer towards him. He immediately looked more alert. “Is that Cassiel?”

“This is one of the photos we got off his phone before everything blew up in our faces. Tell me. The woman photographed by the fountain. Is that Lena Bardot? The woman we met at the expo?” 

Nico leaned forward. Cassiel had obviously taken the photo without the woman realizing. It was from a selfie angle, and the woman was looking at the fountain, her face turned partially away, but the sunglasses, dark hair, and blue suit dress were all the same. 

“Yeah,” he said, his voice sounding a little awed. “Shit, that’s her.” 

“So what is Cassiel doing with her?” Davina said. “This is right around the time when everything went down with the Galicians. Was he betraying us with more than one group?”

Nico shook his head. “Cassiel confirmed that the Galicians were the ones who gave him the manpower, and based on the timestamp from this photo, he was already working with them when this photo was taken. Breixo was the one who connected him, but we don’t know who reached out to who first.”

Davina looked again to her computer screen. “Gabriel said they don’t know who is sponsoring the Galicians, but that it’s someone in French government. If the goal is to dismantle the competition in specific territories, maybe they are actively hunting for ways in. What if Cassiel didn’t reach out to them? What if they reached out to him?"

“Even if you’re right,” Nico said, “Lena would just be a lackey. She isn’t high enough up to be the primary target. We’re missing a piece. Find anything else on her?”

“An association with a possible mob hit,” Davina said. “But that’s it.”

Nico snorted. “If she’s a part of the mob, there’s never just one. Keep looking. You’ve already made Gabriel aware of her, so that’s all we can do for now.”

“There’s just so much information on her that it’s hard to sort through. The opposite problem with that Andrew Douglas guy.”

“Oh, yeah. The Fed. Find anything on him?”

“Not really.” Davina pulled up her notes. Maybe Nico could pick out something she had missed. She forgot where she was for the moment, and when Nico put a cold piece of pizza in front of her she started snacking on it without second thought. They were elbow-deep in theories about Lena when there was a disturbance at the door. Someone was using a key to come in. Davina glanced at the light coming through the windows. What time was it?

The door opened just as Nico was about to peek through the eyehole. The door hit him squarely in the forehead. 

Gabriel charged in. “Nico, I can’t find Davina, and she doesn’t have her…” He trailed off at the scene in front of him.

Davina had moved to the floor for more space about a half hour ago. She was sitting cross legged in her PJs, her computer in front of her and several crusts of pizza littered on some napkins beside her. Nico was still shirtless and holding a beer can. 

Nico was the first to react. “We’re working,” he sputtered, grabbing a shirt off the floor. “I promise.”

Davina scrambled to her feet, her face flushing and feeling like she’d just been caught doing something wrong. Maybe Gabriel wouldn’t be happy about her initiating work with his people, especially after the last time she attempted it. She should have cleared the air about that last week. Her explanation was in her throat as she clutched her computer to her chest, that familiar pins and needles feeling throbbing through her ankles as she reintroduced blood flow. 

But then she saw Gabriel’s face, and he looked more than annoyed. He was staring at Nico like he was a bug he had just scraped off his shoe. Shit. Even with all the conversations about trust, he still wouldn’t like her conferring with his men without his permission. And now Nico was in trouble too.

“Sir, we found something relevant on Lena Bardot,” she said, stepping in front of Gabriel while Nico ducked into the bathroom. “Wanted to run it by Nico to make sure before I brought it to you. We think she’s the one that made contact with Cassiel. Sorry it took me so long to find something solid.” 

Gabriel ran a hand up her arm, the muscles in his fingers flexing slightly. “No apology needed. I don’t mean to be jumpy, but I just got a concerning call from Lavigne, and we need to change plans for today.”

-

Thirty minutes earlier…

Gabriel woke up to the feeling of his phone vibrating beneath his pillow. He groaned, pulling it out to turn off the alarm. Sleep had not come easily to him. Yesterday had been uneventful, but that alone put him on edge. The expo had been presented to him as an investment opportunity, but it was proving to be a meeting of the minds instead. The Bratva grandaughters were there, the Galicians, and now the Angelinis. It was a southeastern reunion of underground powers, all showing up to see some environmental start-ups that had miles of risk ahead of them before they could reap reward. 

Lavigne’s faith in the venture had intrigued him. Everyone else’s interest made him feel as if there was more here than met the eye. Add that anxiety on top of his conflict with the don and his increasing obsession with his son’s nanny, and it didn’t set him up for quality rest.

His phone slipped out of his grasp, and he leaned over the edge of the bed to get it. The glare burned into his retinas before he registered what was on the screen. His alarm wasn’t going off. Lavigne was calling him. Instantly, Gabriel was upright. How early was it? Didn’t matter. 

“No offense, Madam,” he said, not giving her a chance to speak first, “but you’re not who I’d like to hear from first thing in the morning.” 

“And I would have called earlier,” Lavigne shot back. “But I wanted to be sure. Don’t show up to the expo today. I have good reason to believe they’ll be unwelcome company.”

“Your double-agent fill you in?”

Lavigne ignored the sarcasm. “As a matter of fact, yes. The tip does originate with Douglas. Local authorities are rallying in preparation for an unsubstantiated threat at the event. Regardless, they’ll be a heavier official presence than accounted for. That aside, I must return to Lyon sooner than I expected for a personal matter.”

“Family safe?”

“They are.” Lavigne hesitated, and in the breath over the phone, Gabriel read her hesitance to tell him. “A friend was murdered."

Oh? “Do I know the friend? Maybe I could help.”

“No,” Lavigne said quickly. “But it is the timing and method of the murder that concerns me as much as his loss. If I return to Lyon and find you can be of aid, I will let you know.”

She sounded genuinely unnerved, and that was impressive. Gabriel couldn’t stop his curiosity. “How was he killed?” 

“Arson. Burned out of his hotel room in Brussels. Fewer things are more cruel and signature than fire as a murder weapon, wouldn’t you agree Monsieur Angelini?”

Gabriel felt a chill. “I would.” 

“If today is uneventful, I’d ask you attend the final day of the expo without me. Contact Douglas with any concerns. He’ll be staying here in Anglet for the moment. If all goes well, he'll return with you to Lyon.”

The hell he will, Gabriel thought to himself, but didn't voice the thought. Lavigne's faith in the agent was apparent and baffling. He doubted that he would have any true need to contact the American, but he thanked her regardless and ended the call. The battleground was evolving daily, and he wearied of it.

Mikey was still asleep, so Gabriel wandered over to Davina’s room and knocked. Concerning update aside, the prospect of spending the day with her and Mikey gave him something to look forward to. When she didn’t answer after a few minutes, he acted against his better judgement and used his spare key to open her door. 

Her bed was disturbed, but empty. He tried her phone, only to hear it vibrate on the bed stand. There were many practical places Davina could be, but Gabriel felt dread flit through his system almost immediately, and while he was aware he wasn’t thinking rationally, he turned on his heal and headed to Nico’s room. If something was wrong, speed was of the essence. When Alessia had been taken he hadn’t taken action the moment he realized she was gone. That misstep cost him everything. 

He didn’t bother knocking, just used the spare key and barged right in. “Nico, I can’t find Davina, and she doesn’t have her…”

Davina was there, still dressed in her PJs and sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her computer. Nico was rubbing a bruised forehead. He didn’t have a shirt on. 

First he felt relieved, then stupid, and anger came last. Nico was sputtering out explanations, and Davina was scrambling to her feet, the cords to her computer falling out of her hands as she tried to pack everything up. In the middle of her apology he realized - there wasn’t anything happening between Davina and Nico, but he’d never truly thought that anyway. It was the fact that she was here, dressed so informally as she ate cold pizza on the floor, guard down in a way he’d never seen her be with him. In a world where trust was hardly won and rarely kept, he wanted hers. Wanted it, and for him to be the only one that had it.

So what the fuck did she see in Nico? 

It wasn’t a fair thought, and he shook himself free of it as she stood almost defensively between him and Nico. His emotions were plain on his face, and that was unacceptable. Davina must be rubbing off on him. He grasped her arms, instinctively wanting to pull her into his space to as he explained Lavigne’s call.

“Unsubstantiated threat?” Davina repeated. “I hate that phrase. Too much speculation that typically turns into nothing. I take it you want to join me and Mikey then? I rented a boat that’s supposed to take us on a self-guided tour to some snorkeling spots.”

“Nico and Val too,” Gabriel said. It was better that he not be left alone with Davina at this point. He raised his voice so Nico could hear. “They’ve been working hard too. Could use a break.”

“Holy shit, recognition,” Nico called from the bathroom. 

Davina laughed, and a sliver of unease returned to Gabriel’s chest. He quickly guided her out of the room and wordlessly led her to the elevator.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Davina said in a low voice. “I didn’t realize how long we were working.”

The unspoken became spoken, insecurities laid bare before he could help himself. “Enjoying spending time with Nico?” 

Davina cocked her head. His tone was accusatory, that much was clear. “You don’t need to put it like that. I promised you before that I wouldn’t break confidence about our plans, even if I trust Nico.” 

The elevator doors opened to their floor, but Gabriel didn’t move. The comparison was too much for him. The mention of trust. He turned, the small motion crowding her to the wall of the small elevator. He refused to give her a chance to look away, compelled to remind her what he had been telling himself for years. “Anything you tell Nico is the same as telling Val.”

The elevator doors closed, and the lights dimmed. To her credit, Davina straightened her posture and met him head on. “You told me that you would think about trusting them. Is this your answer? You act as if they’ve already betrayed you.”

“Because Val has.”

Davina’s eyes widened, and Gabriel found himself being the first to look away. “She reported my relationship with Alessia to my father, my closest guarded secret back then. We almost didn’t marry because of Val. I knew then that the familia would always have her loyalty. Not me.”

“I- I’m sorry.” The computer cord clattered to the floor, and he felt her cool hand on his cheek. She turned his head back towards her, lifting his face to hers. “I don’t mean to say you’re wrong - you might very well have just accepted it long before I came along - but remember, your father is gone. I don’t perceive any loyalty to Emilio in either Val or Nico. To them, you are the familia. You need to take the leap.”

Looking at her earnest face he realized once again why outsiders could never truly understand how a mafia worked, how its corrupted version of loyalty changed honest men into those only motivated by money and power. His father had been called a good man, and that good man had been lost to it. There could be no sincerity in deception. 

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I envy you.” The words brushed against her skin, and any further elaboration died in his throat. “I don’t doubt you’ve been careful with Nico, but why didn’t you just come to me? I hardly would have objected to the disruption.”

Davina laughed softly, her free hand sliding down to rest on his chest. “Maybe not. But you needed your rest, and Nico has been a good sounding board for me. You’re too…” She drifted off. 

He looked down, trying to catch her eyes that remained fixed on his chest. “Too what?” he pressed.

Davina sucked in quick breath before saying softly, “Distracting.”

That one word sent a rush of blood through him, and the fantasies that had plagued him these past nights rushed through his mind as suggestions. Her PJs were loose fitting and covered her fully, but all he could focus on was that damn elastic waistband that offered much easier access than her nanny uniform. 

He needed to get out of this elevator and he needed to do it now. Instead, he dropped his face into the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of her before kissing down until his lips rested against her racing pulse point. “Do you know what you do to me?”

“I think I’m starting to understand.” Her voice was lightly strained, and her hand remained on his chest, taunt but not forceful enough to push him away. 

“Does it scare you?”

“I’m more surprised it doesn’t scare you.” 

How wrong she was. He dragged his lips across her jaw, pausing in front of her lips long enough to let her breath ghost over his chin before bending down to pick up the computer cord. She stayed rooted to the spot as he opened the elevator and walked down the hall. 

“Best not to dwell on it,” he called over his shoulder. “Come. Mikey should be awake by now. We have some snorkeling to get to.”

-

The rest of the morning was a blur to her, her neck tingling as she packed a lunch and the swimming bag. Ever so often she looked at the mirror over the dresser, checking to see if any hickeys had emerged from the encounter. They hadn’t, and they weren’t going to, but that didn’t stop the paranoia creeping up her spine. It wasn’t as if Mrs. Bremerton was going to materialize like some Jiminy Cricket and convict her of breaking the contract terms - terms she wasn’t sure she had broken yet. The rules forbade romantic relations between employee and employer, and technically she hadn’t crossed that particular line, but the fact that she was now using the word ‘technically’ in her reasoning told her that she was already standing on dangerous ground.

How could she backtrack something like this? Was it even possible?

It wasn’t until they left the apparent safety of the hotel that Davina was able to force her mind back on task. She stayed alert, but she was far from the only protector on duty. With Adam as the chauffeur and Nico and Val as guarddogs, the three of them looked like celebrity tourists as they walked down the docks to the boat rental, their entourage trailing behind. 

Mikey strutted in the lead. He was wearing identical sunglasses as his father, and when they reached the rental office, he burst through the door with the gusto of someone who expected the door to be much lighter than it was. Davina chuckled as she caught it before it could come back and hit him in the face. 

“Your finest yacht, please!” Mikey demanded.

“We have a reservation already,” Davina corrected. 

The acne-riddled teenager at the desk looked up from his phone bleary-eyed. He took in the group of three and the guards behind them and quickly got to his feet. “Uh, reservation number?”

Davina handed him the confirmation paperwork while Mikey inspected the scuba gear for sale in the corner. There was a demonstration of deep sea diving on the tv in the corner. He stayed mesmerized at the footage before turning his attention to the equipment. “This one looks good,” he said, pointing to a tank. 

“Snorkeling doesn’t require an oxygen tank,” Davina said as the clerk went to get them their boat keys. “The boat is already stocked with everything we need. The virtual tour will guide us around the coast to some rock formations. It won’t be super deep, so just regular goggles and fins will work fine.” 

“Pretty sure you need a license for deep sea stuff,” Nico said, inspecting the gear. He shuddered. “Heard too many horror stories. Wouldn’t catch me dead in one of these.”

An impeccable choice of words. Davina frowned at Nico and diverted Mikey’s attention before the five-year-old could ask about the horror stories. Goodness knew the boy didn’t need more nightmare fuel. 

Their boat was secured shortly, with Gabriel upgrading them to a larger boat to accommodate them all. It was a cabin cruiser, with a small bow cabin and closed helm that housed the steering and additional seating. Mikey excitedly jumped aboard, already equipped with his duck floaties. Adam stayed back with the car just in case Lavigne contacted with them with any updates.

With Gabriel at the helm, Davina turned on the virtual navigation, and they steered out of the docking area towards the open water. The windows were open, and she sat down at an angle to capitalize on the breeze without stirring her hair or dress too drastically. She’d opted for a more conservative sundress that buttoned to the collar with a one piece swimsuit beneath. As modest a thing as she’d brought with her on this trip. 

Though, if what happened in the elevator was any example, it didn’t seem to matter what she was wearing anymore. She was grateful that Nico and Val were along to act as a buffer.

Nico was explaining the different accessories on the ship to Mikey while Val sat quietly by Gabriel, binoculars trained on the waters around them. Davina curled up her feet on the bench and quietly reveled in the moment to herself. The scenery outside was beautiful, and the tour narrated some highlights on shore, the sound system quite robust for the size of ship. No matter what interesting things it called attention to as they zipped past the French shoreline, her gaze always returned to the man steering the boat.

He wore a tan button down and a pair of dark shorts that tightened over his thighs when he sat down. In true Gabriel style, the top four shirt buttons were undone, giving a view to the hairs on his chest. His forearms tensed as he pulled the lever back to accelerate the boat. She traced the movement with her eyes, noting every flex and twitch of the muscles.

She felt a pair of eyes on her. Gabriel hadn’t noticed her gawking, but Val had. The darker skinned woman had lowered the binoculars and was looking at Davina with scrutiny? Annoyance? Davina couldn’t tell, but she looked out to the water instead. 

The tour narration slowed as they left the more populated shoreline, leaving nothing but the pronounced sound of the waves and spray on the bow of the boat. With Mikey in their company, the group was forced not to discuss the potential threat at the expo. Nico was attempting to teach Mikey a card game on the floor in the center. It was amusing enough that Val leaned in to offer commentary. Davina bravely decided to take the vacated seat beside Gabriel. 

She could tell Val noticed, but she ignored the woman’s dirty look as she lowered her head so only Gabriel could hear her. She was burning to have a professional conversation with him, anything to eliminate the awkwardness she felt. “I left the gun you gave me with Adam. I don’t want Mikey to see me carrying if I can help it.” 

Gabriel looked at the boy on the floor. “You’ll have to get used to it at some point, Davina.” 

Cutting right to the chase then. Davina shifted her weight. “The end of the tour stops at some docks. There are some boutiques and ice cream parlors. That’s the only public area we’ll be in. I have a small knife in the zipper pocket of my suit, but I reserve judgement to leave behind the firearm whenever appropr-”

“Davina, it’s fine. I’m not saying you’re wrong in this case. I’m just saying you’ll have to get used to it.”

“Of course. Apologies, sir.”

He tilted his head down at her at that. “We’re far past, ‘sir’, don’t you think?” 

If the smirk on his face was any indication, her flushed response was exactly what he was gunning for. He was right, after all. Calling him ‘sir’ felt like a last-ditch effort to recover some the decorum between them, but that was exactly why she did it. 

She didn’t flatter him with a response, only tilting away from him as visibly indignant as she could manage. 

“Did I ever warn you that he was a jackass?” Val commented. 

Mikey looked up, and Davina glared. “Could we shut down the swearing for just one afternoon, people?” 

It took just over an hour to reach the first group of rock formations. The coast had transformed from docks, grass, and beaches, to sheer, sandy colored rock formations, some rising as high as twenty meters. The narration identified a lighthouse from 1834, the Phare de Biarritz, one of two major landmarks on their tour, the second being a larger rock formation topped with a statue of the Virgin Mary. Gabriel slowed the boat as they reached the first snorkeling spot. 

It took only a few minutes to shed their outer clothes and give Mikey a run down on snorkeling safety. Davina went in first, the cold water hitting her in a brief shock. Gabriel was helping Mikey down the ladder, giving her a full view of his chiseled backside and toned thighs. Damn speedos.

She swam a little to the right to look into the boat. Nico and Val remained fully clothed on the inside. “Not coming out?” 

Nico shook his head. “Naw. Got my fill of the ocean the other day.”

“Not a great swimmer,” Val said.

Davine frowned. So much for having a buffer. 

But once Mikey was in the water, she found it easier to devote her attention, teaching him how to breathe through the snorkel and go under at the right angles to avoid getting seawater in his goggles. They spent about twenty minutes at the location, swimming around the rocks and spying fish (or trying to catch them, in Mikey’s case). He didn't like the flippers, and soon all three pairs were abandoned on the boat. The waves soon picked up, and they swam back to dry off. The next snorkeling spot had more depth and boasted some protection from the tide. They snacked on the sandwiches Davina brought along on the way. 

The next location was truly impressive. There was a maze of rock formations blocking the larger waves and shading the water closer to shore. It was a little tricky to guide the boat in, and Gabriel lowered the anchor to avoid hitting any of the rocks. Mikey was halfway into the water before Davina could stop him. 

“There are so many more fish!” he yelled excitedly after dipping his head down for the first time. 

“Rules!” Davina warned as she jumped in after him. “There are a lot more rocks here. I don’t see any cavities, but if you see anything that looks like a cave or a hole, stay away from it. The water is calmer, but that doesn’t mean its completely wave-proof. All it would take is some wind. Stay with me or your father at all times.”

“Yes, yes, now get in!” 

In one ear and out the other. Davina jumped in with Gabriel not far behind her. It had grown overcast closer to the afternoon, further darkening the areas shaded by the rocks. This creeped her out a first. Not being able to see what was hiding beneath the rocks was nerve-wracking. Thankfully, Mikey kept to the brighter portions of the cove, and his swimming was impressive for his age. Gabriel discovered a rock they could climb and helped Mikey up to jump a few times. Davina found a small rock shelf to rest on and enjoyed watching them, treasuring the rare, genuine smiles from Gabriel as he played with his son. The boat couldn’t follow them completely, the rocks too close together to allow passage. She could see the top of the white roof if she craned her neck. As long as they were within shouting distance, she was comfortable.

Once Mikey bored of rock jumping, Davina pulled four rubber bracelets out of her suit pocket, challenging Gabriel to catch them before they hit the bottom. After fifteen minutes, she was down to two bracelets. 

“Let’s see if we can find them and then go back to the boat,” Davina said. “It’s getting late.”

“Mmmnottired,” Mikey said between a yawn. 

Gabriel ruffled his wet head. “Tell it to the judge, son. You heard her.”

Mikey huffed, but lazily floated beside Davina while they searched the sea floor for the colorful bracelets. This area of the cove was deeper, and some portions stretched down into darkness. Goosebumps danced up her spine, and she looked again at Mikey who had stopped searching and was floating with his head back. Gabriel had disappeared around a nearby rock. 

“I don’t think we’re going to find them,” she said, suddenly anxious to get back to the boat. “Mikey?”

His eyes were fixed on something out of her view. “Hey, ‘Vina, look. It’s just like the diving video.”

A wave lifted her up, and she saw it, an erupting line of bubbles breaking just meters away. “Mikey! Come here!”

Mikey turned towards her, confusion on his face. That was the last thing she saw before his head was yanked below the surface.

Panic surged through Davina’s chest, and she pushed off a rock to dive to where Mikey had disappeared. When she spotted him, her blood turned ice. A diver was already swimming away towards the opposite side of the cove, Mikey under his grasp. There was a second line of bubbles coming from them now, and she realized why. There was an additional tank on the diver’s back, and a mouthpiece had been fitted over Mikey’s face.

He was safe from drowning, but this was premeditated. There was a flash of yellow as something flitted up towards the surface, but she barely paid it attention. Swimming fiercely, she grasped the jumping rock where they’d played earlier, throwing herself up so she could dive again in their direction. At the same time, she pulled the small knife out of her suit. She broke the surface just behind the line of bubbles, colliding into the feet of the diver. They kicked her sharply in the ribs, but she was already lashing out, knife poised for the airline on top. She knew she’d struck it when a violent stream of bubbles erupted over her head. 

All at once, Mikey was free. She grabbed him, kicking desperately backwards as she hoisted him to the surface. They broke the water just seconds before the diver. 

“Gabriel!” Davina screamed. Mikey was crying, and that was a relief. She’d lost all her bearings, and she tried to take a deep breath as she twisted in the water. 

“Davina! Mikey!” 

A hand curled around her stomach, and she flinched even though she knew it was him. Gabriel pulled them both into his arms. Mikey’s floaties were gone, and he clung to his father’s neck in a panic. 

“Son, you’ve got to relax. I can’t swim with you clawing at me.” 

Mikey hiccupped, but loosened his grip on Gabriel’s neck.

“A diver,” Davina gasped out. She tried to look to where the diver resurfaced, but she couldn’t see anything. Her side was killing her. “He had an extra air tank for Mikey. Someone knew we were coming here. Someone-” Her mouth filled with seawater as a larger wave hit them. The wind was picking up. She came back to the surface sputtering. 

“I’ll get Mikey back to the boat. Can you swim on your own?” 

Davina’s head felt fuzzy. How long had she been under water? “I- I think so. I need a minute.” 

She could hear Val and Nico shouting. The boat motor roared to life. 

Gabriel looked between them and Davina. “Grab this rock here. I’ll come back for you.”

She nodded, managing to halfway pull herself back on the ledge, the small knife still grasped weakly in her left hand. From this higher vantage point, she could see Nico directing the boat closer to them and dangerously close the rocks. She tried to wave at them, but when she extended her arm another shooting pain went through her side. Definitely a broken rib. 

“Just to your right!” she called to Gabriel who was swimming that way. A wave rolled the two upward, just as the sun reappeared from behind the clouds. There was a flash of light behind him. For the second time that day, Davina’s heart dropped. “Gabriel! Another diver! They have a knife!”

Gabriel reacted instantly, backing into a nearby rock and placing Mikey behind him. The waves made it harder to see the bubbles. She felt the strain on her eyes as she searched the surface. There was a crack of a gun and a splash to her right. 

“I’m covering you, Gabe! Come on!” It was Val, her gun leveled where the bubbles had last been spotted. Nico had guided the boat down an ill-advised passage between the rocks, stopping just ten meters from where Gabriel and Mikey were hunkered down. 

Gabriel pushed off the rock, putting Mikey in front of him as they paddled towards the boat. Mikey seemed to collect himself and was swimming admirably on his own. Davina didn’t lean back until Nico had grabbed Mikey and pulled him back on board. Gabriel turned and locked eyes with her.

“Just wait! I’m coming for you.”

Davina closed her eyes, even as she heard Val’s gun fire again. That was good. She did all right. They were both safe. She heard something break the surface just behind her, and she forced her eyes open, trying to get up. Hands found her arm, yanking her off the rock. The edge of the stone cut into her back, scraping a layer of skin off as she fell back into the water. The pain stung through her, and she thought she heard someone scream her name. A masked diver filled her vision before the salt water forced her eyes closed once more.

Ironic, she thought absently to herself. After years of being terrified of fire, and now death faced her in water. The muffled sound of a boat engine reached her ears even under water. There was splashing to her left. Another gunshot maybe? She couldn’t tell. The hands that had pulled her underwater were fumbling now. One released her abruptly, only for another to pull her in, and she realized she was between two people. Using what little energy she had left, she kicked as hard is she could, even as darkness closed in on her. The diver did not relinquish his hold, but she managed to get her head above the surface for only a moment.

“Davina!” It was Gabriel. He was close, or she felt like he was. “Fight, Davina! Damn it, FIGHT!”

Gabriel. Her head was pulled back down. The little bit of oxygen had cleared her vision, but pain was radiating from her side, more acutely now. She forced her eyes open. A cloud of red engulfed the water around her. She was bleeding somewhere. The light flashed on the diver’s knife once more.

The second diver pulled her closer, there was another stabbing pain, this time in her shoulder. The panic melted from her system, his voice flooding her head. She could hear him again, feel his hands on her shoulders, pushing her. 

Fight.

With the knife still in her left hand, she rallied herself and stabbed.

Chapter Text

It was his worst nightmare come alive for the second time. The rocks blocked his view when he heard Davina scream. It came to him muffled, blocked by the rocks around them. The repeated splashing set adrenaline rushing through him as he swam in her direction, uncertain if it was a struggle he heard or the mere crashing of the waves on the rocks. By the time he found his way back to where they had been, Davina was surfacing with Mikey. She called to him, the panic in both their faces the same as he’d seen in his own premonitions one too many times. 

One second more and they were in his arms, both of them shaking. Mikey was sobbing uncontrollably. Between Davina’s hurried warnings and his own few words of calming, he formed a plan. Get Mikey to the boat then come back for Davina. She seemed a little out of it and was visibly wincing at every movement. As much as he’d like to take them both at the same time, he only had the strength for Mikey. Not to mention Davina wouldn’t hear of it.

Once Davina was safely resting on a ledge, he set out for the boat. He was almost there. Nico was doing his best to stabilize the vessel in the waves. Val was pulling her gun. Davina’s second warning made him stop short. He didn’t waste time looking for a second assailant, just focused on getting himself between Mikey and the danger. A rubber fin brushed his side, and he turned his head in time to see a figure descend, almost within arms reach.

Val was shooting now, and with the added cover, he pushed from the rock and got to the boat.

The relief that flooded him as Nico pulled Mikey to safety was only partial. Davina still needed him. He turned, finding her face as she limply fell back against the rock. She was so tired. He’d need to hurry.

“Just wait!” he urged, barely feeling his own fatigue. “I’m coming for you!”

The second the words left his lips he saw a black mask emerge in the water behind her. Hands pulled her from the rock into the water. Her name tore from his throat, and Val fired again. 

“Stop!” he screamed. “You’ll hit Davina!” 

“I’m better than that, and you know it! Sit your ass down and let Nico-” 

He dove, ignoring Val even as his muscles strained, his heartbeat clanging like cymbals in his ears. One thought. One hope. He had to reach her. It couldn’t end like this - not again. Why did he have to fall for the innocent ones? Why did he have to ruin them like this, bring them into his hellhole yet expect them to remain intact? 

The area where they went down stilled. His heart sank. The reflective blue surface turned murky. There was blood in the water. She was losing the battle. Her body must be giving out. Giving up. 

Just as he was losing hope, the surface churned and broke. Davina had managed to get her head up, her mouth barely out of the water. He could tell she was spent, and yet he called to her once more. Anything to light the fire that remained in her. 

“Fight! Damn it, Davina! FIGHT!”

She disappeared once more. He wasn’t going to get there in time. Adrenalin could only take him so far. He was failing again. Using the same rock she had taken refuge on earlier, he propelled himself downward. The underwater struggle was ending just as he found his bearings. One diver was escaping, heading off into the darkness with a broken air hose trailing behind them. The second diver was falling to the ocean floor, enveloped in a cloud of blood. 

Enveloped in the same cloud and falling limply beside them was Davina. 

Using everything he had left in him, he grabbed her, pulling her to his chest with one arm and propelling them upwards with the other. Her head sagged against him as he lifted her up to make sure her mouth and nose were out of the water. There was no gasp for air from her lips. Her eyes were closed. 

“Gabe! Grab on!” Nico threw the life float towards him. Gabriel had to swim a few meters to reach it, and once he did, he limply laid his head against the tube as he was pulled to the boat. All at once, hands were on either side of him, hoisting them both back to the deck. Feeling the firmness of the boat beneath him ushered new strength into his limbs. He helped Val lay Davina flat. 

“Nico, take Mikey into the hold.”

“But-”

“Now!” 

He heard his son crying, but he couldn’t pay it mind. Time was of the essence.

“Gabe, she’s been stabbed twice,” Val said softly, putting pressure on the most critical wound on Davina’s left shoulder. 

“Shut up.” He started with compressions, trying to focus on the counting even as he felt he was breaking her ribs. After that, he tilted Davina’s head back, pinching her nose and placing his mouth over hers. Her lips were stiff. Lifeless. First breath. Her chest rose slightly. Second breath. Back to compressions. Breathing for her. Compressions. The minutes ticked by. Mikey's sobs grew louder in the background.

“Gabe.” Val put a hand on his back. 

“Don’t fucking touch me!” His eyes were getting blurry, and he shook his head to clear them. It wasn’t over yet. She couldn’t have fought like that only for him to haul back her corpse. It couldn’t be over. Not until-

Davina started coughing.

Gabriel stopped compressions and gently cupped her head, threading his fingers through the wet strands of her hair. “Open your eyes, baby. Open them for me.”

And she did. Those gorgeous green eyes opened. Her cracked lips moved. “Mikey-” she said weakly. 

He pressed his mouth over hers. There was no grace to the kiss, it was hurried, sloppy, desperate. But feeling her lips move against his, cracked and dry but alive was what made him accept that she wasn’t dead. She needed to breathe, and he released her to press their foreheads together. He could feel Val staring, but he didn’t care. 

“He’s fine. He’s fine. We’re all on the boat. We’re okay.” He lifted her into his arms, halfway settling her on his lap. Val’s attempts had managed to stop the bleeding in her shoulder, and he pressed a new cloth into the bleeding at her side. 

She shuddered. “Fuck, my chest.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Had to be done.” He looked to Val. “She’s not out of danger. What’s the nearest docking point?”

“Four kilometers farther south.” 

“Go.”

Those were the longest kilometers of his life. Emergency services were waiting for them at the docks, thanks to Val calling ahead. Davina was quickly loaded onto a stretcher while a nurse looked Mikey over. 

“He looks fine,” she told Gabriel. “But after what you’ve described, I’d like a physician to take a look at him. Make sure he didn’t inhale any water himself. Do you have any transportation to-”

But Gabriel was already getting into the ambulance with Mikey in tow. He’d spotted the gendarmerie pulling up to the docks. They would have questions and would suspect him from his last name alone. Not that he could blame them. Lavigne might be pissed off from the unwanted attention, but frankly, he didn't give a damn. 

Someone tried to kidnap his son. Someone tried to murder Davina. All bets were off. 

“We’ll ride with her,” he said in a way that was non-negotiable. “Please give my associates the hospital address. They’ll meet me there.”

The ambulance was a tight fit. He sat on one side of the stretcher, Mikey on the other. She gave them both small smiles through the oxygen mask on her face. Through it all, he tried to memorize the feeling of her hand in his, warm, soft, and alive.  

-

It was evening when someone touched his arm, jostling him lightly. Gabriel slowly found his bearings, glancing first at Davina sleeping peacefully before him and attuning himself to the steady beep of the monitors tracking her vitals.

“Nico took Mikey to the vending machines,” Val said, grabbing one of the hospital swivel chairs and sitting beside him. “Nurse station told me they’ll be ready to do Mikey’s x-ray in a few minutes. How is she?” 

"Two fractured ribs. The wound in her side was superficial. The one in her shoulder needed stitches. No lasting damage. Regardless, she’ll be sore for a while.” 

“Huh, lucky.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it.” He snapped before realizing his tone. He looked at Val, taking in the tiredness in her own eyes, a surprising match to his. His voice softened. “Without your shooting she wouldn’t have had a chance, so thank you. I’ve been harsh with you lately.”

“I’ve read it more as defensive,” Val said, tracing a hand over his shoulder. He was about to deflect her when she spoke up again, her voice low but certain. “You love her.”

It wasn’t a question, but the bluntness of it didn’t cue a rush of adrenaline as he expected. He sighed, looking at Davina’s small hand still cradled in his own. “I think I might.”

“She’s an outsider.”

“Thank you for your enlightenment. I would have had no idea.” The dry humor faded. “I know what you’re about to say, and you’re right. You were always right. About Alessia, now Davina, who's better equipped, but still naively optimistic. Can’t learn from my mistakes, it seems.” 

“Gabe.” Her grip tightened on his shoulder. “Alessia wasn’t a mistake.”

“Really?” He gave her a sardonic glance. “Need some reminding of the past few years?” 

She quieted but didn’t let go of him. The gentle beeping of the monitors dominated the room. 

“I wasn’t right.”

Gabriel lifted his head, not expecting her to continue the conversation.

“I didn’t know,” Val continued. “Back then, when you kept disappearing into Russo territory. I thought it was a fling. She was pretty. You were young and stupid. When I told your father where you’d been off to, I had no idea you wanted to marry her, much less knew that was the night you proposed.”  

“Would that have magically made you approve?” Gabriel said. “You asked for a different assignment after that.”

“Because you were furious with me!” Val knelt down to be on eye level with him. “Gabe, we entered the biggest mob war in our history right around then. I was too busy making sure you didn’t get killed! Who do you think covered your ass the night you went off and eloped with her?”

That got his attention. “You knew?”

Val rolled her eyes. “You’re such a moron. The reason why your father wanted you to wait to get married wasn’t because he was trying to stop you. We’d already decided to go to war with the Russos at that point. He wanted you to wait so people wouldn’t think you marrying Alessia started the whole damn thing! Not to mention you were still engaged to the Russo chick. Announcing a wedding would have blown that charade out of the water.”

Holy shit, Val was right. He thought back to then and the timing of it all. His eyes should have been clearer. But he was so angry and determined to do things his own way that he'd thought the worst. Of Val. Of his father. He should have seen it. 

He looked back at Davina. He hadn’t, but she had. “Take the leap,” she’d said. 

What better time than the present? 

“Val, I need to tell you some-”

“Boss?” “Papa!”

Nico and Mikey burst through the door, arms full of vending snacks. Mikey raced up. “I got gummy bears. Here are three for you.” He placed sticky pieces of candy in Gabriel’s palm. “And here. ‘Vina will want the red ones. Val, do you want gummy bears?”

“Someone’s hyper,” Val laughed, picking him up. “Where’d you get all that energy?”

“Nervous energy,” Nico said. “They’re coming to get him for the x-ray.”

“I’m fine,” Mikey said, patting his hands over his chest. “I jumped up and down and didn’t hear any water, so I don’t need anything.”

“Better to be safe than sorry,” Gabriel said, just as the nurse walked in with the security guard. Given the nature of the attack, an officer had been assigned to them. “Go with them, Mikey.”

“Hmm, actually, I’m pretty sure.” Mikey nodded emphatically. “All good, Papa.”

“Go, Mikey. Davina would want you to be brave.”

Mikey stuck out his lower lip, but took the hand of the nurse. “The red ones,” he reminded Gabriel just before he left the room.

Gabriel patted the pack of gummy bears. “Got it.”

Once the door shut, he reverted back to business mode. Best to tell Nico and Val his plans at the same time. “I need to thank you both again,” he began. “We’re all alive because of you.”

“We did our jobs,” Val said. 

“Speaking of doing our jobs,” Nico said. “It’s probably not what you want to hear right now, but I just got your phone out of your clothes a little bit ago, and you have like, a dozen missed calls from Lavigne. I advise you watch the news before calling her back.”

The news? Gabriel quickly turned on the TV. 

“Authorities are still looking for a responsible party for this afternoon’s attack. Given the target, many theorize that anti-environmentalist could be part of a potential motive. There is a growing faction of people bitter of the volume of public funds funneled into these endeavors. We go to Lucet at the scene.”

“Merci, I’m here near ground zero of the attack. Authorities have confirmed that a vehicle parked beside a demonstration tent was the source of the explosion. At this time, we have not confirmed how many are injured, as rescue workers are still clearing the area. Several high-profile families from abroad were present at the event, another potential motive for the attack. Our thoughts and prayers are with those-”

Gabriel felt a cold chill as the camera panned over to the ruined area. He’d been sitting there not twenty-four hours ago. Maybe Lavigne’s American was good for something after all. Un-substantiated threat, his ass. 

“That’s the expo.”

The three of them startled as Davina tried to sit up in her bed, her eyes locked on the TV. Gabriel quickly caught her shoulders and leaned her back. 

“I’ll bet we were part of the target list,” Val said. “That’s why we were attacked today. Someone knew we weren’t going to be there.” 

Nico shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. A plan like that would need more than a few hours notice to enact. Not unless there are a bunch of skilled divers who do crime on the side just waiting in the wings. If it was an ambush, they would have targeted us with guns from the cliff. And with more men.”

“You’re right,” Gabriel agreed. “Whoever did this wanted to do it quietly.” He gritted his teeth. Had it just been Davina out there, it would have been hours before someone found her. Even if someone had been with her on the boat, the kill could have been done quietly enough that they wouldn’t know something was wrong immediately. Not until they found Davina’s body floating in the cove. 

He searched for Davina’s hand, squeezing it beneath the thin hospital covers. It was clammy to the touch. He looked at her face. Her eyes were wide. Panicked even.

“I- I booked the tour at the hotel in Lyon,” she said. “I used a different name, but it was all done by phone.”

Gabriel didn’t grasp the significance at first. Did she mean a hacker got into her phone?

Val made a small sound. “Merde, Gabe, the bugs. Signora Conte.”

The Don.

The phone ringing made everyone jump. Nico pulled it out of his pocket and held it out to Gabriel. “Yours. It’s Lavigne again. She probably thinks you’re dead.”

Gabriel frowned. Lavigne wasn’t who he wanted to speak with right now. He’d make this quick. He answered. “Madam Lavigne.”

“Merde putain, Angelini!”

He pulled the phone away from his ear. “We’ve been a little wrapped up. Just saw the news.”

“Just saw it? How can you just be seeing it? Where the hell are you?” 

“A hospital south of Anglet. We were attacked.”

He heard a quick intake of air. “It was Davina, wasn’t it?”

The way she asked specifically set him on guard. “Not exactly. She was injured, but there was a kidnapping attempt on my son.”

“Are you with her now?”

Gabriel looked around the room. Davina and the rest were all leaning forward a little. “Yes.”

“Get somewhere else. We need privacy.” 

It was the last thing he wanted to do, but something in her voice put a pit in his stomach. Like there was more to learn about this nightmare. He stood, shaking his head at the group’s questioning looks. 

He went to the roof of the hospital. It was drizzling lightly out. The sun had already set, and nothing lit up the area aside one utility light. The temperature had lowered enough for him to wish he’d grabbed a jacket. “All right. I’m alone. Talk.” 

“The friend of mine who was murdered. I knew him as Antonio Capaldi. I didn’t recall it immediately, but you asked about him the night of the art gala.”

This wasn’t what he expected her to talk about. He had to think hard to remember the conversation she referred to. There had been so much going on that he’d immediately forgotten about the man. More pressing things had demanded his attention. “I did. What’s the connection?” 

“That night was the last time I saw him. He told me he was leaving France for good. Something had obviously scared him, but he wouldn’t tell me what. He’d always been jumpy around Cassiel, so I suspected it had something to do with you Angelinis.”

“I’d never met the man in my life,” Gabriel said defensively. “The only reason why I asked about him was because Davina met him at my son’s art studio. You and I weren’t on good terms back then, if you remember. I was covering my bases.”

“Relax, Angelini. I am not accusing you. When I got back to Lyon today I had my men pull the footage from the evening. Right after Antonio spoke with me he ran into your nanny at the bathrooms. From what I can tell, she startled him and he tried to leave. Your nanny chased him down.”

Gabriel frowned. Davina hadn’t mentioned any of this. 

“The audio could not detect the conversation clearly, but I am almost certain I caught the name Russo. The two of them spoke until you came into the screen. They separated immediately. It is all speculation, but my friend is dead, targeted and killed in a way that the Angelinis once favored as a way to dispose of the Russo mafia. And now you tell me Davina was nearly killed too?”

“As collateral,” Gabriel argued. “She was not the primary target.” But even as he said it, the day’s events went through his head once more. Once Mikey had been rescued and the gig was up, the divers should have fled, especially with gunfire overhead. One of the divers had been within arm's reach of him as they headed back to the boat. If the goal was Mikey, why hadn’t they taken the second chance? Not to mention the Angelini underboss was a bigger prize. But despite all that, the diver had ignored him and gone for Davina.

One of them had even died in the attempt. And for what? To kill a nanny? 

What was Antonio’s background?” Gabriel asked. 

“That I do not know. He had extensive experience in the art world, with a particularly good eye for jewelry. He was skilled and knew how to be discreet. I did not need to know anything beyond that.” 

It didn’t give him much to go on. For all he knew, Davina used the opportunity to interrogate him on his connection to Lavigne, but why not tell him about it or introduced him when she'd had the opportunity? He tried to remember the scene, that night with her wearing that stunning red dress. He was almost positive he'd ask who she'd been speaking with. What had she'd said about him?

“Some older man who was trying to show off his artistic knowledge. Turned tail when he saw you coming.” 

A bold-faced lie.

"There's more," Lavigne continued, and Gabriel wanted to groan. "After I saw the footage, I had my men go digging. There have been half-a-dozen murders in the past five years. All victims had connections to the Russo mafia. All were murdered by fire. Someone is continuing the Russo massacre, and I wonder how well you are informed of your uncle's activities."

"He got what he wanted back then," Gabriel said, defending Emilio for once. "There would be no reason to risk attention like that."

"Someone is out for blood, Angelini. And whatever your nanny has involved herself in, she might have put herself and, by extension, your son at risk. I thought it my duty to tell you what I knew. Mention his death to her. See how she reacts. You trust your gut, no? This is me trusting mine."

He didn’t like what she was implying. “I understand. Truly I do. Now, to today. Do you know what casualties were at the expo?”

Hearing what essentially amounted to severe accusations against Davina put a pit in his stomach. He knew he'd have to mull the information over later, but for now, they had bigger fish to fry. Thankfully, Lavigne relented and changed the topic. The news was not good. The Croatians had attended the demonstration today, and their second in command of the eastern region was dead on the scene. All the Galician attendees were dead, and so was one of the Bratva girls. The other was in critical condition at the hospital. In a small twist of fate, Lavigne’s boss Fontaine had attended in her absence. He was injured and in the hospital.

The Angelinis were the only untouched party, a fact that would not read well to anyone.

The clans would assemble on a warpath before any hard facts had been established. Facts didn’t matter in the face of pride. The Lavigne and Angelini war would be a children's spat in comparison. 

He jumped when the roof door opened. It was Val. “Gabe, I’m sorry, but Venice is calling. The Don is ordering us home. Now.” 

So Emilio knew about the mob deaths too. And undoubtedly the failed attempt on Mikey and Davina. 

The inevitable could no longer be delayed. The planning, scheming, everything he'd done to get things under his control and recent circumstance had blown that delusion to pieces. 

Gabriel quietly ended the call with Lavigne. The drizzle had turned to a rain, and water was dripping down his forehead. His shirt was drenched through. The pitying look Val shot him did not help matters much. 

Two hours ago he would have read that look as disdain.

All his conversations with Davina about trust renewed in his mind, how shocked she had been when he put more stock in her than the people who had stood beside him for the past decade.

Ironically, she'd been right in the matter.

Because of her strength and capabilities, he'd forgotten that she was merely twenty-one-years-old. What missteps had she made in the throes of her youth? Who had she involved herself with that now threatened her life, if Lavigne was to be believed?

Whatever it was, she hadn't had the strength to confide in him, and perhaps she didn't even know the full scope of it all. It wasn't her loyalty he now doubted. It was her judgement. Even the best of people could be foolish.

He stepped forward, leaning his head against Val's shoulder, a show of exhaustion that she'd never seen outside of a fight. He felt her tense before wrapping her arms around him and bringing him into an embrace. If he hoped to survive the other mobs, Venice, go toe-to-toe with Emilio. He needed them to be by his side. His subordinates. His backup. His only friends in the world. 

“Take the leap.”

“Val, I need to tell you and Nico something."

Chapter Text

“Victory with a blue shell is no victory!” Mikey jumped out of his chair in protest, nearly flinging his remote across her bed and knocking their dinner trays to the floor.

Davina smothered a smile and tried to make a very serious face as she drove across the finish line. Nico had been kind enough to bring the bag of electronics from the boat and though video games were not her favorite passtime, there weren’t many things she could do with Mikey, broken ribs considering. 

“Rematch,” Mikey demanded, squashing a yawn as he repositioned himself in his chair. 

“As you command,” Davina said, starting a new race. “But this will have to be the last one.”

She was relieved he was so distracted. Val and Nico had disappeared with Gabriel some time ago after his call with Lavigne. The news couldn’t be good. Maybe gaming was a good distraction for her too.

For the next race, she occasionally forgot to activate her powerups or accidentally drove off the map a few times. The match was still close, but Mikey reigned victorious. Satisfied at his conquest, she was able to coax the remote out of his hands and get him snuggled in the hospital room sofa across the room. A nurse gave him a warmed blanket and helped Davina out of bed so she could tuck him in.

“Comfortable enough?” Davina asked, quietly bemoaning the fact that she had no duck to give him.

Mikey nodded, and she leaned over to give him a kiss on the forehead. When she pulled back, Mikey grabbed her hand. “‘Vina, did anything like that ever happen to you? You know, when you were a part of your familia?”

Oh. She looked down, remembering that night long ago, a party in her honor, a golden necklace gifted by her parents for “a special occasion.” A night full of anticipation turned to horror in an instant. But she hadn’t been the target. Not really. The Russos were. And the Diavolos by association. 

“We were attacked once,” she said carefully. “The night I lost them. That was the night of the fire, when my nanny got me out.”

Mikey sniffled. “I knew you’d get me. You and Papa. You always do. Honestly, it was just being under water that really scared me. But then you…” The blanket was folded under his nose and his words came out muffled. His eyes welled up with tears. “I wanted to be brave, but I couldn’t do it. I- I was so scared!”

“Oh, Mikey!” She pulled him into her arms, wincing as she did. “Mikey, you were brave. You swam to the boat on your own, and you never stopped kicking the diver. I saw you. I am so proud of you.”

“I’ll bet you didn’t cry,” Mikey sobbed. 

“Oh, Mikey, of course I cried.” I’m still crying. The reason she was holding him in her arms now was because those tears didn’t have answers. She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “Crying just means the feelings in our heart are too big and have to come out.”

“I was so scared.” He hiccuped against her. “I couldn’t stop! I saw you on the boat, and I thought you were gone, and I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t, ‘Vina! I’m not brave. I’m not!”

He wasn’t crying because he was scared for himself. He was crying for her. The realization struck her harder than it should have. Her eyes welled up, and she buried her nose in his hair, a small comfort for herself as she rubbed circles in his back. She waited until he calmed a little, gathering her thoughts to form into words that would reach him. 

“I’m scared every day, Mikey.”

He pulled back from her, tear-streaked face and wide eyes staring. “You? But why?”

The list was endless, though she couldn’t tell him that. She was terrified to step off this tightrope she walked between her heart and her code, of disappointing her mentor and guardian. She stood petrified of her affections for a man she should have never entertained, the possibility of rejection, of failure, of the exposure of her deceit. Of the possibility that she might not emerge this year fully intact. 

But looking into Mikey’s eyes, those fears seemed small in comparison to one: that she might not be able to keep him safe. 

“Because I love you, Mikey. I love you so much it hurts, and I never want anything to happen to you. Love can be so strong that it makes us scared to lose it.”

“And I love you!” He wrapped his tiny arms around her, squeezing hard and making the air leave her lungs from the sudden pain in her ribs. “I thought I lost you, ‘Vina. Like Momma.”

She couldn’t keep the tears back anymore, unable to formulate a response. All she could do was hold him to her chest, this boy that was a reflection of herself. They sat like that for some time, until Mikey’s breathing evened out against her. His blond eyelashes had long since fluttered close before she found the will to lay him down. 

She sat on the edge of her hospital bed, her heart heavy. She was with him now, but what would happen in a couple months when her contract was up? This was not a permanent arrangement. Mikey’s world would be torn from him once more, and this time, it would be her doing the tearing. And what had she gained for herself aside from heartbreak in the form of a man she could never have? Her families’ questions remained unanswered, rather, she’d only created thousands more. In her eyes, Emilio was a villain easy to blame for the past decade of pain, but after talking with Nico, she had realized something that she had consciously avoided accepting.

Emilio hadn’t been the Don at the time of the Russo massacre. Gabriel’s father had been. Which meant Gabriel was closer to the event, maybe even intimately so, and yet, she couldn’t find in herself to feel anything except denial on the subject.

Gabriel wasn’t her villain. Far from it, he was…

She shook her head, feeling a little sick at the thought. She couldn’t label that right now. It was too much to think about.

The hospital door opened just as she managed to dry her face. Gabriel came in. His shoulders and hair were damp and he had a steaming paper cup of black coffee in his hand. 

“How long has he been asleep?” Gabriel asked, quietly checking Mikey’s breathing. 

“Twenty minutes at least,” Davina said. 

Gabriel touched his cheek. “He’d been crying.”

Davina looked at her lap. “He was. I calmed him down.” 

“Thank you for that.” She felt rather than saw his eyes on her. “You were crying too.”

There was no point denying it. “A little. He wasn’t the only one frightened today.”

“Ah. Of course.” He went over to the small table by the wall and started to mix up his coffee. She heard shake some sugar packets rather excessively. “The expo was bad. Every attending party lost some or all of their representatives. Everyone, except for the Angelinis.” He kept his voice hushed to not wake Mikey, but he might as well have shouted the words the way they thundered in her ears. 

“The Galicians too?”

“All the Galicians were killed.”

Davina’s eyes widened. “Gabriel, that means-”

He grabbed a stirring stick, back still turned. “The mob war is here. And instead of being the puppeteer as I’d hoped, it seems we are the puppets. The Don has called us all back to Venice to prepare or be slaughtered on the alter. One or the other, I suppose.” 

The news settled in her chest like a rock. They weren’t ready. The timing was all wrong. They didn’t have enough allies, hardly any really. She felt sick. “How are you so calm?” she looked him up and down, almost accusatory. “I feel like I’m going to puke. We’re on our own, Gabriel. We’ll be sitting ducks.”

He put down his coffee and finally turned towards her.  “I told Nico and Val everything.”

She barely believed her ears. “You… you did?”

“I did. And you were right. Val isn’t thrilled about the whole thing, but she accepts that I’m set on it. That’s enough for her.” 

“And Nico?” 

“Said he’d follow me down to hell if I asked him, but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

She smothered a smile. “Off of just vibes and good conversations.”

He smiled ruefully.  “Lucky guess.” 

“It’s called intuition.”

“Touché.”

There was something more than exhaustion in his banter. Something he wasn’t telling her. She could see it in the way he shifted his weight and his gaze. It was the first time since the attack that he was in the same room with her and wasn’t within reach. He started to stir his coffee again, as if his hands needed something to do. His shoulders were uncharacteristically hunched.

Like a nervous waterfall, the words poured out of her. To fill the silence. To fix things. “Even with their help, we’ll still be outnumbered,” she began. “But you’ve already wired the investment money to Lavigne, and she needs her own allies with Fontaine down. She owes us. Once we get into Venice, I’ll get into the Wizards network, and I’ll-”

“Davina.” 

She silenced quickly. 

“You’re not going to be there. I’m going to have Adam take you and Mikey to the house Alessia bought for us. I need you both clear of this.” 

“Gabriel-”

“I won’t debate this with you.” 

“Cassiel knew about it, remember? The house is compromised!” 

“Everything is compromised, Davina!” His hand came down on the table, a little too harshly. The sound echoed through the room, and Davina looked to Mikey. The little boy stirred. They both watched him for a moment as he adjusted, but thankfully, did not wake. 

Davina stared at Gabriel, her eyes wide. His tone was angry. With her? At the situation? She couldn’t tell, but the look in his eyes made it difficult for her to breathe. It was like they were thrown months into the past, when trust was sparse and motives were clouded.

Gabriel let out a long breath. “You can’t come to Venice. I’ve gone over the events in my head over and over. I talked to Val and Nico about it, and it’s clear to all of us. Those assassins who came for Mikey also intended on killing you. You specifically. If the only one who could have known we were there is Emilio, that means that he wanted you dead, and more desperately than I can fully understand or calculate for.”

The full weight of the statement sank into her, making her rethink the event. At the time, it hadn’t seemed any stranger than when Cassiel’s men had shot at her when trying to get Mikey. But, he was right. The situation was off. 

“He wants to remove any asset you have,” Davina said. It was the only conclusion she could come to. “And he knows I’ve become one.” 

“That’s what Val said. That you’ve become obviously valuable to me, and that alone is motive enough for Emilio to want you gone. But it’s like there’s more. It’s like…” He stopped.

She filled it in with the only thing that made sense. Their play-acting hadn’t worked. Maybe Conte had spotted a stolen moment between them, maybe it was something they said before they realized the penthouse was bugged. However it happened, Emilio had gotten enough information to know that there was specific entanglement at play between them, and just like he used Alessia, he would use this as well. 

She reached out her hand. “Gabriel, come here.”

He hesitated.

“Please, touching me won’t put us in any further trouble, so just come here.”

“I’m not so sure of that.” But even as he said it, he acquiesced, coming to sit beside her on the bed. She took one of his hands.

“You want us to be safe. So we’ll go. But not to Alessia’s house. Would you allow me to bring Mikey to an ENA base?” 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “An ENA base?”

“Yes, given the threat level we are under, I believe that to be the safest option. I can contact the headmistress to be sure, but I know what she’ll say. What better way to keep Mikey safe than with an army of me?” 

“I- I didn’t think that was an option.”

“Heh, well.” She rubbed her thumb against the inside of his palm. “It’s not like we advertise it.” 

“You’re sure.”

“I am.” She leaned into his shoulder, breath hitching slightly at the pain in her ribs. “You should be at ease about us. I wish I could be at ease about you. This sounds like a suicide mission.”

“We have ammunition you don’t know about.”

The safe. “Your blackmail.”

“Yes.”

She waited, expectant, but he did not elaborate. “You’re… not going to tell me.”

He sighed. “Davina, for once, I need you to just listen to me. Nothing more.”

She swallowed hard. Fine then. If that’s how it was. “Will it be enough?”

He didn’t answer, and when the silence dragged on, she pulled back to look at him. He remained transfixed, staring at her like he was committing her entire picture to memory. Their faces weren’t incredibly close, but the mere act of study felt just as intimate as any moment they’d ever shared. Before she could understand why, tears slipped down her cheeks. Just as quickly, his hand was there, wiping them away. 

“It’ll be enough, Davina. No matter what happens in Venice, you and Mikey will be safe.”

She broke out a bitter laugh. “I’m not worried about us, you dumbass!”

With great effort, she grabbed his collar and pulled him down, broken ribs be damned. It was chaste, without heat, just a quiet urgency reminiscent of earlier that day as she pushed herself against him as hard as she could handle. He kissed her back, matching the desperate pressure but with more regard for her condition than she had for herself. Slowly, he tempered her, loosening her grip and pulling back, planting several soft kisses on her lips as he did so. 

When he finally broke away, she was halfway curled on his lap. He grabbed her thighs and pulled her the rest of the way, cradling her almost as he would Mikey. 

She rested her head against his shirt, still damp but smelling so perfectly like him. “I’m terrified for you. This thing between us. It…” She reverted to a whisper. “You’re in my heart, Gabriel.”

She felt his arms tighten around her, and she prayed she hadn’t just said the wrong thing. She strained her neck, desperate to read the look on his face. He was so perfect. His hair, the tiny wrinkles at the corner of his eyes, the darker flecks in the edges of his irises. But she didn’t see relief, or peace, as if he had been yearning for her to say those words and was ecstatic she had. Instead, it looked as if she had just broken his heart. 

He stood, gently holding her to his chest and standing over the bed as if he dreaded to put her down, but put her down he did. She closed her eyes. He hadn’t rejected her, but she could already read too-clearly what was coming. Could hear the words before he spoke them. 

He was distancing. This was the severing point. Her return to form in the mafia was closing here. She’d dreaded entering the world, so why wasn’t she thrilled she was leaving it? 

“Be safe, Davina. Know I would burn the world if I could be assured that you would always be. From anyone. For any reason.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll come to ENA to get Mikey when the dusts settles. I’ll discuss ending your contract prematurely then.”

She gasped, reaching to grab him, but he had already pulled out of reach. The lump in her throat returned. “You still need me.”

“I know.” He grabbed his jacket, folding it over his arm before heading towards the door. “And that, my love, will be my problem.” 

The door closed, and she collapsed back against the pillows, chest heaving in silent dejection and wondering if fate had orchestrated her misery or if it was of her own creation. However it was, her mission for closure was not going well. 

They checked out of the hospital a mere three hours later, against the doctor’s advisement. The night was still dark and the air chilled when Adam pulled around with a car for them. Val loaded what belongings they had while Nico carried a sleeping, bundled Mikey to the backseat. Gabriel carried Davina.

She was far from asleep, but did not protest when he opted to carry her bridal style from her wheelchair to the car. All too soon, the opportunity to be near him, to touch him, to see him, to breathe him in, would all be gone. 

He didn’t distance himself during the drive as she was afraid he would, allowing her to use him as a pillow as the French countryside whizzed past them. While Mikey slept, he quietly explained the plan. They would continue to Lyon together, taking a brief pause at the Grand Hotel to pack a few things before they continued on again. They would drive in different cars from there to Milan, where they would separate in the city. Davina would head south, and Gabriel east. 

It was all he said during the ride, and though she understood why, she was tempted to start a dozen conversations as the sky crescendoed to sunrise. Little left her lips aside from some simple questions and thank yous. Maybe those moments would be regrets later, but her heart was too full to ponder that morbid thought further. 

When they reached the hotel and pulled into the parking garage, Adam stopped abruptly. “Boss.”

Gabriel leaned over the partition. Two cars with dark tinted windows were parked in their usual spots. Two guards waited on the outside. 

“Know them?” Davina asked.

Gabriel’s mouth was set in a grim line. “Unfortunately. This is going to be trickier than we thought.”

Chapter Text

Davina watched nervously from the car as Gabriel, Val, and Nico talked to the guards. Mikey still snored soundly, stretched across his seat and the spot abandoned by his father. Davina tapped Adam on the shoulder. “Do you know who they are?” 

“Second tier operatives from Venice,” Adam said. “I don’t know their names, but I’ve seen them at meetings. They report to Marcese, the Don’s primary muscle when Gabriel is out of town.”

Davina sank back against her chair. The Don was nice enough to send an escort for them. How thoughtful. Would she and Mikey be able to break away? 

Gabriel returned to the car a moment later. His jaw was clenched, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. “We have two hours,” he said, picking up Mikey. “All four affected mob parties have reached out and are demanding an audience with us. Emilio wants to make sure we don’t ‘disappear’ on our way to Venice, so he says.”

Two hours? But Gabriel was already walking towards the elevator. Davina got out of the car, almost colliding with Nico who was already pulling the luggage from the trunk. “That’s barely enough time to pack! How are we supposed to-” 

“Conte was kind enough to do most of our packing for us,” Nico said, slamming the trunk closed. He handed her the computer bag. “Wasn’t that nice of her?”

Davina felt a rage bubble up in her at the mention of Conte’s name. “Oh, did she? How nice. She doesn’t happen to be upstairs so I can thank her personally?” 

Nico chuckled. “Careful, Davina. We can make a gangster out of you yet.” 

“Conte already left for Venice,” Val said, just as quickly taking Davina’s computer out of her hands. “What the hell, Nico? If Gabe sees her carrying anything with that arm of hers, he’ll have our heads. And right after we all made up.” 

Nico was deer-in-the-headlights. “Well, I don’t know what she’s not supposed to be doing! Where’s her sling? Davina, where’s your sling?”

Davina blinked. “Um, in the car. Guys, I’m not an invalid.” 

Val lifted her arm and reattached the arm sling around Davina’s bad shoulder. She stepped back and squinted. “Should we grab the wheelchair?”

Davina glared at her. “No.”

Nico was already sprinting back to the car. “I’ll get it!” 

In light of all the had to get done in the next two hours, they certainly didn’t need to fuss over her, but fuss over her they did. Her protests were ignored as Nico whisked her away to the elevator. She only stopped protesting when she saw a small smile on Gabriel’s face as he observed them, and it struck her. This was all they could do for her. In just a few hours, she and Mikey would be off on their own, out of Gabriel’s view and protection. 

So she let them fuss. 

It was harder to remain an observer once they got to the penthouse and the remainder of the packing commenced. Mikey woke up, and instead of packing up in his room, he had Val bring out everything in a laundry basket so he could sort it into his suitcase in front of Davina. 

Davina tried to give him her undivided attention, but every time Gabriel passed through the livingroom or she heard his voice in the hall, she looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse, exchange a look, ask a question, anything.

But Gabriel was stoic, either fixed on the task or purposely avoiding her eyes. Their conversation in the hospital room was mere hours ago, but felt an eternity away. He had said so much, and yet not enough. This man, who yanked her from the brink of death and kissed her as if he required her essence for his own survival, and now he would hardly look at her. Was this how they were to truly say goodbye?

Men were so stupid!

Angry tears prickled her eyes, and she blinked them away fiercely, throwing herself into Mikey’s packing until everything was tucked neatly away. Afterwards, she gave him a cereal bar to munch on. He got halfway through it before curling back up on the sofa and falling asleep. She kissed his cheek and tucked a blanket around him. Her hand lingered on his back, finding comfort in the rising and falling of his breathing. 

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, startling the peace out of her chest. A different kind of dread filled the space left behind. Mrs. Bremerton was calling. 

She glanced around the penthouse. Who knows if Conte had collected the bugs before leaving? She waited until the hallway was clear before sneaking over to her old room. Val had already cleared out her dresser. Her suitcase was on the bed, neatly packed but still open. Davina went to the balcony, taking care to stand on the far side where Gabriel could not see her from his own window. 

She called Mrs. Bremerton back. The headmistress picked up on the first ring. “I do not make it a practice to curse, Davina. But I might make an exception when it comes to you and this assignment. Care to explain why you were admitted to yet another hospital last night?”

Keep calm. She only knows you were hurt. “Yes. There was another kidnapping attempt on my charge. I was able to resecure him, but was stabbed twice in the process.”

The line was silent. 

Davina’s voice softened. This was more than just her headmistress. This was more than just a report. Mixed feelings aside, that came first. “I’m all right, Mrs. Bremerton. Just a couple rib fractures and a half a dozen stitches. I’m already back in Lyon.”

“Fractures? I thought you said you were stabbed.”

“Well, yes. It... happened underwater. Gab- Well, they had to do CPR to bring me back.”

Mrs. Bremerton snapped. “Full report. Now.” 

So Davina recounted the story, from the events at the expo to the attack at the cove, leaving out certain details that might give her guardian cause to suspect any unprofessional behavior. Mrs. Bremerton did not interrupt or say a word throughout the report.

“In light of all this,” Davina finished. “I’d like to ask your permission to bring Mikey to an ENA location, both for his safety and my own, at least until things are resolved with Mr. Angelini and his… employer.” 

“You’re in the middle of a mob war, Davina.”

Wouldn’t be the first time. Davina kept the thought to herself, though the resentment bubbled up again. She pushed it back down. 

“The terms of this contract have already been thoroughly violated,” Mrs. Bremerton continued. “Mr. Angelini was not clear about these active threats at the time of your employment, and though we are trained to handle such circumstances, ENA nannies are not designed to be the sole defense system for any one child. You have lingered far too long already, Davina.”

Her hands gripped the balcony rails in front of her, knuckles white as she stared at the hotel courtyard below. The angry tears returned, and this time, in the privacy of this tiny space, she let them fall. “You won’t have to worry about it anymore. Mr. Angelini has already decided to terminate my contract early. He plans to do so upon his return to Venice.” She managed to keep the tears out of her voice.

“He- Oh.”

Oh? Davina let out a bitter laugh, the end of it breaking in a small sob, betraying her. 

“Davina?” She heard the change in Mrs Bremerton’s tone, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. “What else is going on?” 

“Nothing.” Davina wiped her cheeks, and cleared her throat. “Just the idea of leaving Mikey behind after all this is eating me.”

“It’s part of the job, Davina. The children are never ours, at the end of the day. It is the most difficult part of this profession.” 

“Of course.” She looked across the balcony. The double doors to Gabriel’s room remained closed, the curtains drawn. A million retorts were on her lips, but here was not the place. She needed to end it here before she said something she regretted. “We were given a limited time to pack. I will let you know our ETA at the soonest opportunity.”

“I will make the southern ENA academy aware of your arrival.” Mrs. Bremerton did nothing to hide the relief from her voice. “I’ll do my best to meet you there soon.”

“Don’t rush.” Davina ended the call there, the satisfaction of getting the last word doing nothing to ease the temper burning inside. All of Mrs. Bremerton’s concerns for her safety fell flat when she thought of what conversations they could have had before she left for this assignment. 

Once she was sure that her face was clear, she returned to her room. Val was there closing up the suitcase. She was doing her best not to make eye contact with Davina, purposefully enough that it was clear she at least heard part of the conversation. 

“Thank you,” Davina said. An olive branch of sorts. Val and her hadn’t quite got on friendly terms, but if this was the last time she was to see the woman, she wanted to leave it in the right place. “For everything. For saving me. For staying by him. For-”

Val held up her hand. “No need to thank me. I was here long before you, sweetheart. I don’t plan on going anywhere, no matter how hard Gabe makes it.” She looked undecided for a moment. “You know that you leaving with Mikey is the best thing you can do for Gabriel right now. He needs to be focused.”

It was another way of saying that they were his weakness. As if she needed the reminder. “I understand.”

“He’ll be all right, you know.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and went back to the livingroom and Mikey. If only she could be sure of that. 

The packing was completed just before the dictated two hours were up. Gabriel and Mikey had a lengthy goodbye before they all headed downstairs. The boy knew that he was going somewhere safe with Davina, but the specifics of who was a threat and why were kept from him. Davina kept herself composed as Mikey hugged Gabriel, but when his cries prolonged, she followed Nico to the elevator. Val could escort Gabriel and Mikey down to the parking garage. There was no reason to make this harder on herself. 

Adam was waiting for her, and he quietly showed Davina where he had stashed a gun for her in the backseat. She didn’t touch the gun, and prayed she’d never have to. 

Mikey was uncharacteristically quiet when Val finally brought him to the car. She saw him glance at the compartment that held the gun before resolutely buckling himself in. She reached for his hand, and he grabbed it, squeezing her hard. 

There were four cars in total heading out of the hotel. Nico was in the lead, Davina and Mikey followed behind with Adam, and Gabriel, Val, and the two guards from Venice brought up the rear. Davina brought out her GPS. It was five hours to Milan. Five hours before they had to make their break.

For the first time in a long time, she put her hands together and prayed.

-

She jerked awake when the car stopped abruptly. Davina lifted her head, looking first to Mikey who had headphones on and was playing a game, then to Adam. They were stopped at a busy intersection. It was dark. She looked in the rearview mirror. Gabriel’s car was still behind them. 

“I was hoping you’d wake up,” Adam said. “We’re coming into Milan now. Our detouring point is coming up.” 

“When’s the last time we stopped for petrol?” 

“Just now. You slept through all of it. How are those ribs?”

She touched her side. “I’m going to need another round of meds in a little bit.” 

Val turned back onto the highway, and Adam followed her. “We’ll follow her for a couple more miles. There’s a large interchange with a toll. We’ll all get into different lanes. They’ll continue on E64 and we’ll get off on the A50. The hope is we’ll just blend into the traffic, and the guards will have their attention on Gabriel too closely to notice.” 

Davina nodded, watching as the interchange approached on the GPS. As they neared the toll lanes, her heart rate quickened. There wasn’t as much traffic as she expected, and without it, it would be clear if one of the cars in their caravan abruptly veered off to the exit lanes. 

Adam glanced at her in the mirror. “Have some faith, Davina.”

She held her breath as he pulled alongside a large semi-truck. As the line of traffic slowed down for the tolls, Adam sped up, getting on Nico’s tail and making just enough room to slide in front of the slowing semi. Davina looked behind them. Just as quickly, Gabriel's car closed the gap.

So far, so good.

The line for tolls was not long. Adam managed to put one more lane between them and the others, and with the semi truck acting as a barrier between them, it looked like they were home clear. 

Adam pulled up to the toll lane and swiped his card at the reader. Then he swiped it again. And again.

The operator came on the speaker. 

Adam made a face. “What do you mean you’re out of tickets? Why keep this lane open then?”

Davina glanced at the other lanes. Traffic was moving. Val’s car was already through.

“I don’t have time for you to reboot!” Adam argued. “Can’t you just open the gate and let us through? I don’t care about the max fee. We’ll pay it at the next stop.” 

“Adam,” Davina warned. Gabriel’s car was next. She could see his silhouette in the front seat two lanes over. 

“Yes, I know how much it is! Merde, man, let us through!” 

The guards’ car pulled up next. Davina felt sick. She saw a head turn in their direction. She glanced down at the gun compartment. 

The gate opened, and Adam started to accelerate. 

“Wait!” Davina shouted. The car lurched to a stop. The toll operator started cursing at them. Davina ignored them, waiting until the other car pulled through the toll lane and out on the highway. “Okay. Now.”

She leaned back in her chair as Adam drove onto the entrance ramp. “You think they saw us?” Adam asked.

Davina leaned back. “I’m not sure.” She looked to the side. Mikey had taken off his headphones and was staring out the window with wide eyes.

“Are we being followed?” he whispered. 

Davina slid over to him, not caring for her seatbelt as she pulled him against her chest. “No, Mikey. We’re safe.”

“Strap in for another four hours,” Adam said. “At what point do we stop for some food?” 

“Now sounds good,” Mikey said.

“Let’s give it thirty minutes,” Davina said. 

-

Gabriel watched the guards drive through the toll station. Adam and Davina had already diverted to another lane and were out of view. His hand was on his phone, waiting for a phone call telling him to pull over. Twenty tense minutes passed before he took his eyes off the mirrors. 

“I don’t like this,” Val said from the driver’s seat. “That was too easy.”

“We’re not through it yet,” Gabriel muttered. “We’ve still got a ways to go.”

“No, I mean, I don’t like any of this,” Val clarified. “This absolute shit-faced of a circus has been going on for the past year, and I get all of twenty-four hours notice on the full scope of your insanity before we have to go to Venice with nothing aside from rage-inducing blackmail.”

“I’ve called all the family members that I know are loyal to me and told them of Emilio’s attempt to kidnap Mikey and murder his nanny. They didn’t fully believe me, but they’ll be meeting us at the mansion. Emilio thinks he’s the one calling this meeting, but we’ll be having one of our own first.”

“Will your mother be there?”

Gabriel pinched his brow. “I… don’t know.”

“Did you call her?”

“Of course I did. Once she was assured that Mikey was safe, she told me that she couldn’t do anything without hard proof, and she wouldn’t involve herself in a coup where my influence was the only swaying point.”

Val made a face. “Yeesh. Harsh.”

The Angelini matriarch was a paradox within the family. With two law degrees under her belt and meticulously earned experience, she’d managed to place herself apart after her husband’s death as the legal guardian of the family. In doing so, she ensured that all mafia business be kept at arm’s length from her. The primary defense attorney of the family needed to remain squeaky clean, after all. 

“This is such a shit show,” Val said. “For the record, I’m pissed at you.”

“Sorry.”

“I want a raise when this is done.”

Gabriel laughed. “Hell, you can have it to yourself if you want, Val.” 

She lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t kid about that.” 

“I’m not.” He stared out at the darkened road in front of them. Davina had suggested setting up someone else as the Angelini heir, someone to take over and field threats for them once Emilio had been dealt with. Val certainly had the personality for it. Why not make it official?

“We’ve got to get through the next weeks. If we survive this spitting match and manage to convince the rest of the family that Emilio is a risk to the rest of us, I’ll put you forward as the next underboss under the guise that you take the position until Mikey is of age.”

“Establishing that will take longer than a few months, Gabe. And your extended family will throw a fit.”

Gabriel sighed resignedly. “It might be easier than we think. You're well-respected in the family.”

“The second you step away, those sexist bastards will decide they’d have someone else. There's no precedent for promoting a non-family member to such a position, much less a woman.”

Gabriel wiped his brow. “I don’t know, Val. I’m making this up as I go. It was all so clear to me a few months ago. Too much has happened.” 

“A cute redhead is what happened.”

“Shut it.”

He looked down at his phone. He’d started an inquiry into Mrs. Bremerton’s background months ago, but after the mess with Cassiel, he’d not followed-up on it. After all, Davina had risked her life for Mikey and that had been proof enough for him that he didn’t need to know everything about her. She was loyal to him. That was the end of it. 

Now, here he was. Back where he started. 

Val saw him staring at the phone. “You reach back out to that investigator?”

“Last night.”

“And did you tell Davina about Antonio Capaldi’s murder?”

He turned off his phone and tossed it onto the dashboard. “What good would it have done? Freak her out more than she is already? It was my mistake for hiring someone so young and then letting her become involved in our business. I shouldn’t have used her. I shouldn’t have…” Kissed her? Touched her? Fallen for her? He shook his head. No, he shouldn't have employed an outsider in the first place. “Whatever she did or didn’t do, it was in ignorance. They’ll be in a safe place. There’s nothing she could have told me that could have changed anything. I’m terminating my contract with ENA either way.”

Val remained fixed on the road, but he could feel her hyper-analyzing everything he just said. Maybe she would let it be. 

“If that’s the case, why dig back into the ENA headmistress?”

Damn it, Val.  

Gabriel wiped his face with his hand. “Because I need to them to come back with nothing. I need the cold hard proof sitting in my lap that there is nothing more to learn. I need to know that the only reason Emilio targeted Davina was because she is a fucking good nanny who caught my eye, and that’s it.”

“Then you could have asked her yourself. You're the one who trusted her more than us. If that sounded like a dig, it's because it was.”

Gabriel didn’t answer. He didn’t need Val to shove a mirror in his face and tell him to look at it. “I’d rather ask Emilio why he’s resurrecting old grudges and still burning people out of their bedrooms.”

“Well, damn.” She chuckled. “You ever watch The Sopranos? Even a mobster needs a therapist.” 

“I thought I told you to shut it.”

She shrugged. “This is your fault. We’re on equal foot now, asshole, so brace yourself.” 

“Going to dish some harsh truths?”

She smiled. "I missed this.” She reached over and rested her free hand on his knee. “Why don't you let me take over the headmistress investigation? I don't think refreshing your email every hour is what you need to be doing. We need to talk plan, and I need you to hear me out. As I see it, you have two real options here.”

Her touch felt wrong in a way, but he ignored the reflex to brush her off, choosing instead to fold his arms and let her say her piece.

Val took the opening. “We find out which family members are on our side then go full nuclear. Raid the mansion, put down Emilio, Ottavia, and anyone else that stands in your way. When the dust clears, you promote me and Nico and announce your retirement. We’ll promise to cut down anyone that has a problem with it.” 

A bold plan. A bloody one. Emilio had twice as many men as Gabriel could hope to have. And Val knew that. Gabriel lowered his hand over hers. She intertwined their fingers. “Quick. Painful. Exactly your style. Sounds a bit like suicide,” he said, and he would know.

“Yeah, well the second option is probably less appealing. You’ll probably hate me.”

"Less appealing than a shootout?" He almost had to laugh. “Fire away.”

“We attend this meeting. We bring our accusations and blackmail. We manage to dispose Emilio.”

“Without gunfire?”

“Without gunfire. Gunfire can be Plan B if we don’t manage to get the rest of the family on our side. Once Emilio is out of the picture, you promote me like you promised, but then you stay. You become Don. You send Mikey abroad to a boarding school. You build my network, establish ties with our allies, reverse the damage you have done this year. You work for as long as it takes to solidify my place and make sure no one levels a gun at my back. Years, if you have to. Then, and only then, do you make your exit.”

She was right. He hated every word she just said. 

But it minimized the bloodshed. It reduced the chances of retaliation against him and Mikey. It protected them. And it separated them. He was already struggling to make his peace with letting go of Davina, a civilian, an innocent. But to let go of Mikey too? 

“Val… Mikey is all I have left.” He went to pull his hand away, but Val’s grip turned vice-like.

“I know. Which is why the first option stands. Nico and I already discussed this. We’re all in on whatever you choose.”

Nico’s face appeared in front of him. “I’ll follow you into hell if you ask me to.”

Then his father’s face, a man whose hands were hard and bloodied and whose sins outweighed most. And yet that man stood at mass, pious and isolated, an enigma of his profession as he signed the crucifix over his chest. No one had taken his bullets for him. 

He left his hand in Val’s, grateful it was so dark in the car.