Everyone thinks I need to be protected. Grace sighed and sat on her bed, staring at the credit card. "Hey, do you think Vincent could help?"

Zain's eye twitched. "Being a mafia boss of a large family, I'd say he's got the resources to help, but this is better off kept in the family."

"Well, it's been a long day, so if you don't mind." Grace swayed her hand towards the door.

"You're kicking me out?"

"Kicking out is a bit strong, but I guess so. I want to rest."

"As if..." Zain stared down at her, his arms crossed as he tried to read her. "You're up to something again."

"You always think that."

"And I'm generally right." Zain sat down beside her.

"I thought I told you to go?"

He rested a hand on the bed behind her and leaned in close. "Are you really saying you're going to sleep right now?"

"Yes." She leaned away from him. "What are you doing?"

Zain sighed and dropped his forehead onto her shoulder.

"H-hey!"

"I wish I could take you out on a real date. I wish you didn't have to worry about someone coming after you."

"Uh, I'm a cop who has taken down a lot of people; others were already after me."

"I wish I officially met you sooner."

"Officially? I'm not sure the time of you checking me out before bringing me here—"

"I saw you at the funeral." He looked up.

"What funeral?"

"I was at your parents' funeral with Ray. I even met you briefly before I put a rose on each of their coffins."

"We met when we were kids?" Wait, my grandpa was there?

"Only for condolences, but I was with Ray when he watched from afar. Technically, the roses were from him, but he didn't feel he deserved to be there, or to be close to you, then. Even a kid like I was could tell how much pain he was in, so I offered to do it for him."

Grace took a deep breath as she tried to remember, but nothing came up. "It was so long ago, and I was distressed, so I can't say I remember meeting you."

"I can't blame you there. Even then, I had the urge to hug you and try to take away the pain. I did hug you, actually, but you were so lost."

"Why are you mentioning this now?"

"Because the urge to hug you when you're sad hasn't gone away."

"I'm not sad—"

"Tell that to your face because it tells a different story. It's understandable that you're sad; your partner isn't who you thought he was. If you really want to help, you're going to have to get past it. He's an enemy of the family now, of your family. I know transitioning into the family – and forcefully at that – hasn't been easy for you, and I definitely haven't helped, but you're here. You're in. The boss cares about you more than anything. You used to only have Roger around you—"

"I have more than one friend. Thank you."

"I think you underestimate how much we know about you. You were a workaholic and didn't have time for other people. Roger was the only one we saw you meet with outside of work hours."

Grace cringed as she tried to think back. Really? What about Pez? Better off not bringing him to light. "Well... whatever. Why don't you go hunt him down or something? I'm going to stay in my room for today, at least, so you don't have to worry."

"Pretty sure you know people will worry whether they want to or not. And I'd worry less if I stayed here with you."

"Seriously... It's like you decided on your feelings, and all of a sudden, you're a different person." Well, parts of you, anyway.

"What do you expect? We weren't on good terms at the start, and people have many sides to them." Zain rested his hand on hers in her lap.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"You... Aren't you being too sweet for a mobster?"

"Don't mistake my attitude to you, as me being soft. I'm sweet to you, because I want you. I'm a completely different person when dealing with an enemy, or even another member of the family. I'm not the underboss for nothing. I've done a lot of things you wouldn't approve of."

"I imagine that's the case of all mobsters. Or close enough to all, so it's a bit of a moot point. I'm being married off to a mobster one way or another, remember?"

"I have to ask... do you not want to get married? From what we know, you haven't even tried to date anyone in years."

"Too busy." I guess I have all the time in the world now. "And I don't know; I never thought it would happen, anyway." Grace shrugged as she bit her cheek. "I came to terms with it all already." Because I can't get away from it, and I kinda like my grandpa... and Zain. I like it here. It's been so long since I had family around me, and it's starting to feel comfortable. It's probably because of those three.

"Honestly, I found it odd when he decided to push for your marriage, but I think he was worried you'd stay alone if he didn't. He wants the best for you, even though he apparently chose a wrong person."

"Zain."

"Yes?"

"Can you leave me alone now? I want to rest."

Zain sighed and stood up. "Fine, but call me if you need me. My number is already in your phone." He kissed her forehead and headed out.

Seriously... What's with all the sweetness? I don't know if I can get used to it, but it feels genuine somehow. Grace sighed as she lay back on her bed and looked at her phone. I wonder if this is bugged in some way? Like, they'll use it to keep an eye on me. Not like I have anything else I can use, anyway.

She dialled Pez's number, and he answered right away. "What's up, Miss Mafia?"

"Please don't call me that. Anyway, Roger broke out, and we don't know where he went."

"I'm on it."

"Wait, are you still at work? Isn't it a little late?" Grace asked, noting the darkness outside.

"Considering you were the one who asked for a favour, how can you be surprised I'm still here? Don't you know I live here when I have a serious case to work on? I'll set up facial recognition to work on the entire area around the Bertolottis estate. It could take a while. Gosh... this feels so unreal; looking for Roger like this. I can't believe he wasn't the straight shooter we thought he was."

That's right; I'm not the only person who feels betrayed by Roger. "I probably should've asked before, how are you doing, Pez?"

"I'm... I don't know, man. Since you vanished, nothing has felt real. I mean, I know what they told us, but I knew something was up. And now with Roger, it's so unreal I can't help but feel like everything is fake, and I don't know who to trust. And without you two, who's going to hang out with me in the department's basement in their spare time or while they're waiting? Everyone else here just drops off the work or listens to the explanation and leaves. It's like none of them have an interest in me. I thought I was the unsocial one, but it seems like everyone else here is! I miss you two! And I'll probably never see Roger again. He still owes me from a few previous favours, and he was supposed to treat me to an expensive meal. Ha..." He let out a long, resounding sigh. "Sorry to ramble your ear off."

"Don't worry about it. I think we're the only two who can talk to each other about this and actually understand each other's feelings. You haven't told anyone the truth, have you?"

"No. They're covering it up; what would be the point? I don't even know if there's anyone we can trust in here. I'd look up every single employee, but something so grand comes with more risks than I'm willing to take. If anyone found out what I was up to, I'd be dead in no time."

"Seriously, Pez, don't push your luck."

"I'll try to stay as hidden as possible, but really, everything leaves some sort of trace. I don't even know what people will think if they knew I was using FR on Roger. Hmm..."

"What is it?"

"It didn't find anything around you."

"But he definitely got out."

"That means he's either still at the Bertolottis estate, or he knows where the cameras are and has been avoiding them. And before you ask, because I know you will, I can check the Bertolottis cameras, but only if they're online or I have some sort of access to their computers."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Who knows? Maybe I should quit here and join your family. You don't have to kill anyone or even just fight someone to get in, do you?"

"I don't know. Zain said most have some sort of tattoo for loyalty, but I haven't heard about anything else."

"A tattoo? Hmm... If it's not big, I might be able to manage it. It can go near the one I have."

"You have a tattoo? Why am I just learning about this now? What is it of?"

"The Chinese symbol for fire."

"There's a story behind that, isn't there?"

"Maybe, but I'd rather not go into that."

"Noted." Grace sighed and her mind wandered to Roger again. "I guess I should let you go..."

"Why? Are you going to do something?"

"Does going to sleep count?"

"Only if you're actually going to sleep and not just lay there."

"..."

"I knew it. You can stay on the phone with me until you fall asleep if you want. I'll keep running the FR to find Roger in case he pops up while I work on some other things."

"Hey, Pez."

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"Of course. So, would you prefer silence or my ramblings as I work?" Pez asked.

Grace could already hear him typing way faster than she thought humanly possible in the background. "I think I'd prefer your ramblings." Grace chuckled. She lay down with her phone beside her head.

"So, if I joined your family, could I have better gear? This place either doesn't have enough funding, or they just don't send it my way. Considering there are people here with ties to the mafia in the first place, I'm inclined to believe the latter."

"I don't know if they'd let you join. Should I ask about it?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure I'm cut to be against the law like they are."

"I thought you were a super hacker when you started, and you had to work there for at least five years because you were eventually caught. Isn't that your punishment?"

"You're... correct about that, but I've been a straight—"

"No, you haven't Pez."

"Fine; I'm still involved in some sketchy things, but none of them involve killing people. We've always agreed that killing is a last resort, and only in extreme cases."

"If you're always at... the estate... then you shouldn't... have to... kill..."

"Grace?" Pez listened carefully and could hear her soft breathing. Goodnight, Grace."