"This is outrageous!" Ray slammed his fists on his desk. "Not only did he break out, but he was able to escape after attacking my Gracey?!"

  "Boss, I know you hate it when I say this, but you have to calm down—"

  "How the bloody hell do you expect me to calm down?!" he snapped at Zain.

  "You need to for your own health." Zain tapped his chest over his heart.

  "It's not like he really did anything to me." Grace shifted uncomfortably in the chair across from Ray, rubbing her neck.

  "He was on top of you when I got in there, and you seemed trapped."

  "Yes, he did that because he knew I can get out of most holds." Even then, he was close enough to headbutt. No one wins in a headbutt. "He didn't want to fight with me; he wanted to talk to me. We didn't end up settling anything, though." Zain showed up before we could, not that it was going well before that.

  "I can't believe I was so careless. Bringing that man here without knowing his true identity." Ray fell back into his chair, hanging his head. "How have we not heard about the Kuros trying to come back?"

  "I don't think he has that many people," Zain said. "I think it's mostly Roger's strong urge for revenge bringing a few people together to get back at you."

  "A man like him, he wouldn't have had only one plan." Ray's head shot up and he stared at Grace. "He wants revenge, so he was going to control from the shadows, but I don't think he would go into anything without at least a Plan B, if not more."

  "Do you think we have to worry about him trying to recruit Vincent?"

  Ray shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Vincent has power on his own and wants to work together with us. Since we're on amicable terms with him already, he won't change to side with a weaker family, and he's known to be loyal. He wouldn't gain anything by siding with Roger."

  "What could he be planning to do now? A frontal assault?"

  "No; I suspect they don't have enough people for that."

  "More than likely, he's the one that shot up the restaurant, trying to kill us."

  "But that doesn't make sense... Grace was there."

  "Doesn't it make sense?" Zain asked. "Isn't the best way to take revenge on you, to get rid of what you care about the most?"

  "It's too messy. That was likely Samuel up to no good again. But you have a point; Gracey is probably his target."

  "Why wouldn't he just try to shoot you?" Grace asked. "Wouldn't that be the revenge he wants right there?"

  "He sees me as the source of his family's ruin, which in some part is true, but that means he wants to see me have a similar fate. Hurting the two of you would have the biggest effect on me. But he'd want to do it in front of me."

  "Roger wouldn't—"

  "Still defending him?" Zain huffed. "Even after knowing the truth, you still trust him? Grace, he's been lying to you, and he'll use that affection you have for him to his advantage."

  Maybe if I went with Roger, he'd be willing to leave the family alone. Not having me in his life would be some form or revenge.

  Ray sat up straight. "Whatever's going to happen, we need to make sure we're ready for it."

  Knock, knock.

  "Sir, you have a guest," the guard outside the door informed him.

  Ray knew he'd only mention it if it was something important. "Let them in."

  The door opened, and Vincent sauntered in, dragging a roped up man in a white coat behind him. "I found this little one skulking around outside your estate. He didn't put up much of a fight, but he said he's a friend of Grace's." Vincent's attention turned to her. "Hello, cara mia. I hope you're doing well."

  Grace shrugged. "Fine..." Her eyes widened. "Pez, what are you doing here?" She rushed over to untie the ropes.

  "Oh, so he wasn't lying?"

  "No." Grace looked him over, checking on the bruise on his face.

  "I'm okay," Pez whispered.

  Grace sighed and gave him a hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you; just hearing your voice isn't the same."

  "Agreed. I'm glad you look like you're doing well." Pez hugged her back.

  A frigid air ran through the room and both of them shuddered.

  "You felt that, too?" Grace asked as goosebumps ran up her body.

  "Who wouldn't have? Geez... I'm afraid to look."

  That's totally Zain giving off the negative vibe, right? Grace backed up a bit and glanced over at them. She went rigid. It wasn't just Zain; it was all three of them glaring.

  "Ahem." Ray's shoes clacked against his wooden floor as he rounded his desk over to them.

  Pez flinched under Ray's dark gaze as he towered over them, and he hid behind Grace. He had been looking into the Bertolottiss and other mafia families in the area, so he recognized all of them. He couldn't help but think it was both cool and terrifying, as he expected. What he didn't expect was how much her grandpa would tower over him. Definitely didn't have a 'grandpa' vibe to him.

  "Who are you to my granddaughter?" Ray asked, tilting to the side to get a better look at Pez.

  "As was already stated, he's Pez, my friend," Grace answered, squaring her shoulders as she tried to block their view of Pez. Why in the world did he come here? We all know how bad he does with confrontation!

  "Friend? That was a long embrace."

  Both Zain and Vincent mumbled their agreements in the background.

  "Friend whom I haven't seen in a long time now—"

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "Wait, I remember you." Zain pointed at him. "While keeping an eye on Grace... You worked with her at the police department, didn't you?"

  Pez froze, his hands tightly gripping the back of Grace's shirt.

  "All of you, back off." Grace pointed at the chairs by Ray's desk.

  "No," Ray said right away. "Not yet. I want to know your relationship with this man that would make you two embrace like that. If you had a relationship, you should've told me—"

  "Grandpa!" Grace stomped her foot and clenched her fists, suddenly feeling like a teenager who was caught with her boyfriend. "We are friends, and I haven't seen him since I got here. Quite frankly, he's the only one who understands what this situation with Roger feels like. He's Roger's friend, too—"

  "Which makes him dangerous," Zain said. He was about to step forward, but Grace's glare stopped him.

  "He's hurting, and he..." Grace glanced back at Pez. "Why are you here?"

  "A few reasons, actually. I missed you for one. I want to help, and as I told you, I want to join the Bertolottiss, so long as I can do good here." Pez swallowed hard and tried to stand up straight without shaking. "I'm an intelligence officer. I may not seem like much, but I'm the best computer support and hacker around."

  "Why would you leave the cops to come here?" Ray asked.

  "Because my eyes are finally open. I know there are more dirty cops than I care to even think about, and because it's not the same without my two best friends around. I can't stand it there anymore. I normally like being alone, and don't feel lonely, but since I don't have them visiting me all the time, I've grown truly lonely. I know the mafia isn't the most moral, but if I can make a good difference here that I can't with the police, I'd be better off here. Besides, if Grace is choosing to stay here, there must be something good about you guys, even if you are a mafia family."

  "So, you're loyal to my Gracey?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Good; she could use some close friends. I know she must've felt out of sorts, being brought here, and I believe most of the people here will look out for her, but it'd be nice for her to have someone she's trusted for a long time. We also could use someone more adept with computers than our current people."

  A sparkle twinkled in Pez's eyes. "Does this mean what I think it means? Are you going to let me join?"

  Ray turned to Grace. "What do you think? Would you like him to join us here? It'd be more of a trial run at first."

  "I..." I could use a friend here. "I can vouch for him, and I'd like us to hang out again, but that's up to you two," Grace said, and she could feel Pez staring at her, though she couldn't tell if he was upset with her response or not.

  "In that case." Ray held his hand out to Pez. "Welcome to the Bertolottis family. If you're as good as you say you are, then we can set you up with all the equipment you need to do your job."

  Pez's eyes widened, and he smiled. "I'm definitely as good as I say I am." Pez shook his hand emphatically.

  Ray pulled him in close, startling Pez as his grip tightened to crush his hand. "But if you betray this family, we will get rid of you."

  "Y-yes, sir." He swallowed hard, and his legs shook as his heart raced.

  "And don't cross any lines."

  "Of course not, sir."

  "Stop scaring him." Grace stepped towards Ray and rested her hand on his forearm.

  "Gracey, I can't help but want to scare people; fear is a tool."

  "So is friendliness. In case you couldn't tell, Pez isn't a fighter; you have no need to scare him like that."

  "Grace," Zain called out to her. "No one interrupts the boss like that, especially not in front of company."

  She didn't let go or look away from Ray. "And I don't let anyone intimidate my friends in front of me, not even my grandpa."

  At the word 'grandpa', he let go of Pez. "Zain isn't exactly wrong," Ray said. "But I think everyone here knows I have a soft spot for you, and rightfully so." He held his arms out. "Pay for talking back to me like that with a hug."

  Grace chuckled and gave him a hug. She couldn't help but think about her deceased grandparents. He had the same vibe as them when he hugged her, and she knew that meant he truly loved her.

  He wiggled her around a bit. "You're the only one who can get away with acting like that. I hope you know that."

  "I know. Thank you, grandpa."

  Pez wiped a tear away from the corner of his eyes. "That's so sweet, especially since you've been so lonely since your other grandparents died."

  All of them froze.

  "Seriously?" Zain shook his head and ran his hand through his hair.

  "I said something I shouldn't of, didn't I?" Pez backed away from them. "I'm sorry; I have a bad habit of saying the wrong thing. It's like word vomit. Sometimes things come out before I think about it—"

  "Pez, don't worry about it. I know how you are, and that you didn't mean anything bad by it." Grace stepped away from Ray and patted Pez on the shoulder. "Besides, you're right." She bit her lip as she looked away from them. "I always had you and Roger, but I didn't have anyone to come home to. No family waiting up for me like my grandparents used to. I've missed the feeling of having a family." More than I thought I did. After her grandparents' deaths, she threw herself more into work to numb the pain and stop herself from having too much time alone at home.

  Ray hugged her again. "I'm sorry I didn't come for you earlier, Gracey. I thought you'd be better without me at first, so I kept my distance even after they passed. I should've just come forward at their funeral. I know things are messed up now, but I'll always do my best to protect you and be there for you for as long as I live."

  "You better live a long time," Grace's voice was muffled by her face smooshing into his chest.

  "I'll do my best to."

  "Now I miss my family." Pez sniffled. None of them lived nearby, and most of them kept their distance after he had gotten arrested.

  "I thought you were joining the Bertolottiss?" Grace asked.

  Pez's lower lip quivered, and he lunged to hug both of them. "My new family! Please treat me well! And don't be afraid to come to me for any of your computer needs."

  Zain pulled Pez off. "That's going too far."

  "Sorry..."

  "Now." Ray backed away from her. "I think we should have another party for you to announce your chosen husband, and the next leader of the Bertolottiss."

  "What?" Grace's eyes widened. "Time's up already? I have to choose now?" She looked at Vincent and Zain.

  "You're getting married?!" Pez's jaw dropped.

  Funny, just when I was thinking about turning myself in to Roger to stop his nonsense.

  "I wasn't going to wait forever for you to choose, and if you don't want to choose, then I will," Ray said.

  "What? You can't do that..." Grace trailed off. How long has it been? Did he even give me a deadline? She was in too much of a daze to remember.

  "I'm the boss of the Bertolottiss; of course, I can."

  "But I'm a grown woman, and you're not my guardian."

  "You knew the plan long ago—"

  "Doesn't mean I agreed with it. You said you'd stick around a long time, so why don't you just keep the job and give me more time?"

  "Grace, the boss's word is law here," Zain warned her.

  "You know, I thought we'd grown close, and I actually like being here, but maybe nothing's changed since the beginning." Grace turned to leave.

  "Where do you think you're going?" Ray asked.

  Bam. She left, slamming the door shut behind her.

  "Uh... Boss, I don't like talking back to you—"

  "What are you talking about?" Ray smacked him in the back of the head. "You're the one who talks back to me the most." He looked at the closed door. "The second most now."

  "Okay, but what's with the push?"

  Ray grumbled to himself for a moment before looking at the two of them – Pez had quietly backed away and stayed off to the side, not sure what to do – and nodding. "Because I want to make sure she's set up, and the future of the family is set up, before something happens to me."

  "Boss, did you get threatened or something?" Zain asked.

  "If you did, I can help you hunt them down," Vincent offered.

  "No, not yet. But with this whole situation, I don't know if Silvio will come after my head next time." Ray sighed. He hated putting pressure on her, but the family rested on her shoulders, and he didn't want her to be alone again.

  "Silvio?" Vincent frowned. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

  "Are you sure we should be talking about this now?" Zain asked, glancing at both Vincent and Pez.

  Pez flinched, surprised Zain hadn't forgotten he was still in the room.

  "The little one is her best friend, and one of you two will be her future husband, so I think everyone here has a stake in it."

  Vincent snapped his fingers. "I remember! There was word of a leader named Silvio trying to restart the Kuros... family..." He glanced at Zain.

  "I have nothing to do with it, I promise." Zain held a hand over his heart.

  "Some of his men caused trouble in my area a few years ago, and I had to push them out while sending them a message. They'd been quiet, so I thought they learned not to run in someone else's territory, but it sounds like there's more to this than I thought. Last I knew, they were staying up north, and the family wasn't big. Things may have changed, though."

  "Up north?" Ray nodded. "Thank you. It gives me somewhere to start."

  "I'll send a few people to scope things out and let you know if they find anything."

  "Thank you." Ray shook Vincent's hand and then sat back down at his desk.

  "Well, I'll leave you be, Ray." Vincent nodded to him and headed out.

  "Zain, keep an eye on Grace and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

  "Yes, Boss." Zain glanced at Pez on his way out.

  "Little one." Ray nudged his head to the chair sitting across from his desk. "It's time for us to talk."