Vincent and Grace arrived at the Bertolottis estate ahead of the others. He wanted to escort her in to her room, but she wanted to wait outside.

  "Waiting here won't do anything. Shouldn't you get yourself cleaned up and into... your normal attire?" Vincent asked.

  Grace turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you saying I don't look good in this?"

  "Of course not; you look ravishing, but—"

  "But this doesn't look like something I'd wear?" She glared up at him. "I'll have you know, I've worn more risqué dresses than this... for undercover work."

  He lightly grabbed her chin with his finger and thumb, tilting it up. "I never said you looked bad, nor that you couldn't wear that, but from what your friend admitted to us, you were not wearing that when you left."

  "Oh... Sorry." Somehow, I didn't think about that.

  "No worries, cara mia; at least it's been cleared up."

  "What are you doing to her?" Zain came running over and pushed Vincent's hands away.

  Vincent rolled his eyes. "I was just clearing up a misunderstanding. Isn't that right?"

  "Yes..." Grace looked at Zain, her eyes trailing down him. "You're okay?"

  "I'm okay." Zain patted her head.

  She froze as an odd tingling sensation ran through her. "R-Roger's... okay?"

  "That's to be seen." Zain pointed over his shoulder, where they were taking him in. "They did what they could while there to help him hold off until he got here, but he's in critical condition. They'll do their best, but we have no guarantee he'll survive."

  "No..." Grace stumbled back a step and both Zain and Vincent caught her, both with an arm wrapped around her.

  "You should go inside and rest."

  "You think I can rest when my partner is in this condition?"

  "Tch... He's not your partner anymore, and you're not a cop anymore, Grace. You're a mafia princess, so act like it."

  "Is that so? Then I demand for you to let me see him."

  "I have no control over that; you'd have to ask the doctors."

  "Why are you all waiting out here? Get inside," Ray commanded as he rushed over to them. "Thank you for keeping her safe." Ray held his hand out to Vincent. "I owe you."

  "Not really; I helped because I wanted to." Vincent shook his hand and glanced at Grace. "There is one thing you can do for me, though."

  "Name it, and I'll see what I can do."

  "Make sure our families work more together in the future. Allies, if you will."

  "Deal."

  "Now, I should probably leave your family to organize from today's mission."

  "You're welcome to join us, but we'll be scattered..."

  "Goodbye." Vincent took Grace's hand and kissed the back of it as he stared into her eyes. "Call me if you need anything, anything at all." He winked at her and turned to head back to his car.

  He's touched me so much lately... Since when do I let people do that? I let Zain, too...

  "Gracey?" Ray gripped her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

  "Yes... Just in a daze. A lot has happened today." Grace rubbed her face.

  Ray kissed the top of her head and turned to Zain. "Bring her to her room and make sure she relaxes and takes a shower or something. We'll call when you can see Roger."

  "Yes, Boss." Zain and Grace stood there for a moment, watching Ray as he headed inside. "So, are you coming willingly for once, or are you going to make it hard?"

  "I'm not under house arrest still, am I?" Grace asked.

  Zain shrugged. "Considering you broke out when you were, I'd say probably. Why, is there somewhere you want to go?"

  "No, just curious. There's nowhere for me to go, anyway. By the way, is Pez okay? You guys didn't hurt him, did you?"

  "No, we didn't. We wouldn't hurt him; he's one of us now, and important to you. In case you haven't noticed, the boss wants you to be happy, and your friend being safe here is one of things he's hoping will make you happy."

  Grace nodded and looked around as other men were being carried into the mansion.

  "By the way, Grace." Zain hugged her, and she jumped a little. "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry I had to send Vincent in there, but I definitely wouldn't have been allowed in, and I didn't trust that I could get you out of there."

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  "I..." She hugged him back, relaxing against him. "I understand. Thank you for coming to save me."

  "I'll always come running to save you, even when you don't think you need it."

  When I don't think I need it? "Oh!" Grace gasped when he picked up her in a bear hug and started to walk. "What are you doing?" She frowned down at him.

  "Taking you to your room to rest."

  "Aren't you injured still?"

  "Yes, so please don't struggle or I might end up even more injured."

  Grace huffed and tugged on his ear.

  "Ah, careful. I could drop you and hurt both of us."

  "You prefer I tug on your hair?"

  "As long as it's a playful tug, I don't mind."

  Grace rolled her eyes. "If you like the feel, it would defeat the purpose." She tugged lightly on his hair.

  "Ha..."

  "What?"

  Zain went silent as he carried her through the front door, held open by a guard, and headed for the stairs.

  His ears are red. So, he really did like it?

  Everyone else was too busy running around to pay any attention to them – or they had just gotten used to Zain and Grace together – so no one said a word to them by the time they got to Grace's room. He dumped her onto her bed and closed the door.

  With a huff, he sat down on her couch.

  "Too heavy for you?" Grace poked at herself. She hadn't gotten nearly as much exercise as normal, but she hadn't lost her hard-earned physique yet. Then again, muscle weighs more.

  "No, you're not too heavy. You're light, actually, and I doubt you'd ever be too heavy for me. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly small, and I have definitely worked on my muscles. What underboss wouldn't make sure he's ready for whatever their boss needs?"

  "I have to ask..." Grace fiddled with her thumbs in her lap. "What has my grandpa gotten you to do? Kill people? Fight? Intimidate people? Steal?"

  "Uh... We don't steal. And are you sure you want the answer to the rest?"

  "I wouldn't ask otherwise."

  "I've done a lot of things you wouldn't approve of, but we don't hurt innocent people, and I don't get sent out to kill specifically. It's hard to avoid gunfights with this lifestyle."

  Grace nodded. "I've noticed."

  "So, technically, I've killed people for him, but it's more like I'm sent to settle things. You know, things had been fairly quiet these days, until we brought you here..." Zain trailed off when she sat down beside him on the couch. "Um... Shouldn't you go take a shower or something to relax? I'll wait here."

  Grace leaned on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his. She sighed, thinking about everything that'd happened recently, and about what Vincent said. "I..." she trailed off, not able to finish.

  Zain waited for a moment, and when she didn't continue, he reached out to her with his free hand and stroked her head. "What's wrong?" He kissed the top of her head. "Oh, wait, that's probably a stupid question. What am I thinking? You're probably too worried about Roger right now—"

  Grace cut him off with a kiss on the lips. She pulled back, cheeks red as she stared into his eyes.

  What the hell am I doing? Moment of insanity! Grace turned away.

  Zain wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back, and gripped the back of her head, pulling her in for another kiss.

  "Mmm!"

  He pushed her down on the couch and deepened the kiss as his hands explored her body.

  "Ha, what am I doing?" Zain backed off and took a deep breath, still leaning over her. "You're probably in shock and only kissed me because of that, right?"

  "No..." Grace touched her lips as her whole body tingled.

  "Then what was that? And please note." He took another deep breath. "I'm having trouble holding back right now, and you're the one who started it."

  "I was talking to Vincent..."

  Zain's eye twitched. "You're mentioning him now?"

  "Hear me out. He was pointing out how obvious it was how we felt, and that we should try." She pointed between the two of them. "To see if things will work out. I've been doubting any feelings on my part, but the more I thought about you, the more I thought he might be right. I'm not sure what I feel for you, but with the lengths you're willing to go for me, and how much you seem to understand me already, I think it's worth a shot. I'm not good with relationships... I always buried myself in my job to keep a distance, but everything is different now."

  "A chance? I can use a chance, but after that kiss, are you sure you don't already know how you feel about me? You may be reckless, but I can't see you doing that without having feelings for me in the first place. Grace, how do you feel about me?" He kept her trapped there, and knew she could get out if she wanted to, but her lack of resistance spoke wonders to him.

  Grace's heart pounded even harder. "That's what I want to find out."

  Zain stared into her eyes, trying to get a read on her. He leaned in close again. "Are you sure about that?" he asked in a breathy whisper.

  Her toes curled, and she clutched the dress.

  He smirked. "So, Grace, what will it take for you to stop denying the truth? You feel the same thing I feel for you." He gave her a slow, soft kiss and gently bit her lip as he backed away. His smirk turned into a smile when he noticed the look in her eyes. It was the same look he had. One filled with desire.

  Since she didn't push him away, he leaned in to kiss her again.

  Knock, knock.

  Grace jumped and automatically shoved Zain. "Ah!" he yelped as he fell off the couch and landed on his shoulder on the floor. "Dammit..."

  "Grace!" Pez knocked repeatedly. "What was that? I heard a man yell out in pain. Are you okay? Please answer!"

  Grace took a deep breath and carefully stepped over Zain lying on the floor. She opened her door. "Pez, hey..."

  "Grace!" Pez leapt at her for a hug. "You're okay?" He sniffled, on the brink of tears. "You have no idea how worried I've been. The device went out—"

  "Device? Did you track me?"

  Pez froze. He forgot he put it there without telling her. "Uh..."

  Grace hugged him tighter so he couldn't run away. "I guess that's a yes. You know, I should've known you had something to do with them finding me."

  "In his defence, his tracker saved you." Zain groaned as he rolled onto his back, off his bad shoulder.

  "Thank you for spying on me." She squeezed him even tighter.

  "Can't... breathe..." Pez wheezed.

  Grace released him. "Thank you, though. I know you only did it because you care."

  "Ha..." Pez nodded as he took a deep breath. "By the way, why is Zain on the ground?"

  Grace glanced back at him. "He fell."

  "Is that what the yell was?"

  "Yes..." Grace tried to keep herself calm as she thought about the kiss again, but she couldn't stop herself from blushing.

  Pez pressed his hand to her forehead. "Your cheeks are red. Do you have a fever?"

  "No... I'm probably dehydrated." Grace could feel Zain looking over at her with a triumphant smirk. "I haven't had anything to drink since we got back."

  Grr... Grace's hands flew to her stomach, and Pez laughed.

  "It always knows the best moments to do that at. Oh!" Pez finally remembered why he was allowed to see her. "Roger has stabilized for now. He's still asleep, but you can visit him if you want. I'll tell Mary to whip something up for you."

  "Okay, thank you." Grace watched him leave and then closed the door.

  "Still blushing, are you?" Zain snickered.

  "Oh, be quiet," Grace huffed and wandered into her walk-in closet, closing the door behind her.

  "Do you want me to come with you?'

  "Come with me where?"

  "To see Roger."

  "..."

  "It might be hard to see him in that condition."

  He has a point, but would I really want to bring him in there? "I'll... I'll be fine." Grace came out with a change of clothes and a towel. "But I think I'll take a shower before I see him." She headed into the bathroom.