"I'll have to take out the power for more than just the estate, so no one suspects this," Pez said as they stood in his room.

  "Make sure no one catches you." Grace gave him a hug and gripped his shoulders. "We'll talk soon."

  "Sure..."

  Grace double-checked she had everything she'd need. "Okay, I'm ready to go."

  "And you're sure you can make it all the way there?"

  "Don't worry, Pez; I know what I'm doing." The buses didn't run that late at night, but she grabbed money for a cab, in case she ran out of steam on the way there.

  "What about a bicycle?"

  "I don't have time to borrow one. Now, get ready to take out the power."

  "Yes, ma'am." Pez sat at his desk with his laptop open. "Three... two... one..."

  Everything went dark.

  Pez kept his back turned away from the door. When Grace left and the door clicked shut behind her, Pez wiped away a tear. "Please stay safe."

  A couple of men in the hall yelled about the power being out. Grace made it down the hall in the dark and slid past a couple of men who didn't notice her in the darkness. With careful steps, she followed the railing downstairs.

  "What's going on?" Ray called out as he came down the hall from his office with a flashlight.

  Grace jumped over the railing and hid behind a marble statue of a lion. I really shouldn't use the front door. She stayed still, her heart racing as she kept her breathing steady.

  "It seems like a massive power outage." Ran came while checking on his phone.

  "So it's not just us?"

  "No; it looks like all of the southern area in the city is experiencing a blackout right now."

  "Shouldn't the backup generators kick in?"

  "They should have. I'll go check on them."

  Damn... As quietly as she could, Grace moved to the other lion statue on the other side of the entryway, and slipped into the hallway.

  Another man with a flashlight was headed her way. She quickly entered the living room and headed for the back door.

  "Is someone there?"

  Grace froze for a second at Zain's voice calling out, her heart wrenching.

  "I swear I saw someone..."

  She slipped out the back door before his flashlight could sweep over to it.

  I'm sorry, Zain. Without looking back, Grace took off running from tree to tree, not wanting to be spotted by the guards outside. Damn, there're more people out here at this time of night than I expected.

  Two men walked down the path from the gate with flashlights, scanning the area as far as they could see as they patrolled.

  Grace hid behind a tree as one of them turned her way.

  "Did you see something?" one guard asked, the light from his flashlight staying on her tree.

  Dammit. I can't be caught this early. She lunged for a bush and rolled into it.

  "There! I heard something." The guards rushed over in time for a squirrel to come running out of the bush.

  The other guard burst out laughing. "Scared of a squirrel now, are you?"

  "Tch." He elbowed him. "You never know who could be hiding out here. With the blackout, it's the perfect time for our enemies to strike."

  "Strike? They can't see anything either."

  Grace waited for them to head back to their patrol route before coming out of the bushes with leaves in her hair, and a twig hooking onto her pants. She tugged it off, and it ripped.

  Can't keep any clothes nice, can I?

  Grace sprinted to the fence around the estate and pushed off with one foot on the brick post, using it for a boost so she could reach up and grab the top of the fence. Using her strength gained through all her training, she pulled herself up and over the fence, landing with a slight stumble.

  Sticking close to the trees, she put some distance between her and the estate before gathering her bearings. She pulled out the map that she made, having turned her phone off so they couldn't track her, and figured out her location, squinting because even the streetlights were out.

  I'm in for a long walk.

  Grace kept her head down as she travelled, worried that the cameras would catch her when the power came back. She avoided the main streets, using as many back streets and parks as possible, and walked for a couple of hours before taking a break.

  I should've brought water with me. Grace stretched out her neck and sat on a park bench to relax for a few minutes. Also, I should've napped first! She couldn't fight back a large yawn.

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  "Oh ho-ho, a woman alone in a park in the middle of the night. You're just asking for trouble, aren't you?" Two thugs came sauntering up to her. "Don't worry; we'll take care of you." He touched her shoulder.

  Grace twisted his wrist and brought him to his knees. "What kind of disgraceful little punks go after a lone woman like this?"

  "Ow!" he yelped and cried out more when she twisted it further.

  "Tch, what are you doing to him?" The other man lunged at her. She released the first one, deflected the hit from the second one, and punched him in the throat.

  "Ugh..." He fell back, holding onto his throat.

  Wish I could put these two thugs in jail for assault!

  The first one started to stand, glaring at her, and she snapped, kicking him in the jaw.

  Oops. "Keep acting like this, and I'll sick the Bertolottiss after you," Grace snapped at them and their eyes widened. Damn, where'd that come from? I guess I'm turning into a thug... Why did I mention them?! Grace mentally cursed herself. She had gotten used to being a part of the family without even noticing.

  "You're with the Bertolottiss?"

  "I don't believe it."

  "Dude, it's not worth it. Let's run!"

  They scrambled to get away, falling over each other.

  "Ugh," Grace groaned and headed back onto the empty, dark street. She grabbed a bottle of water from the nearby vending machine, downed it, and continued on her way.

  My feet are killing me. Grace tried to shake off her fatigue as she got close to the factory. After a giant yawn, she spotted the gate to the factory with its warning sign.

  Do I really have enough energy to hop another fence? Wait, this one might be active.

  She stared up at the barbed wire at the top of the fence.

  Unable to fight it, she let out another yawn.

  "How long have you been up to be yawning like that?"

  Grace jumped at the familiar voice. "Roger..."

  He was standing on the other side of the gate.

  "I thought we were taking time to think things through? You could've called if you were going to visit." Roger gripped one of the bars of the gate as he stared down at her. "So, was it Pez? I know it wasn't you who found me."

  "And if it was?"

  Roger shrugged. "I can't hold that against him."

  "Um... Sorry for just showing up, but how did you know I was here?"

  Roger pointed up at the camera at the top corner of the gate. "Someone spotted you approaching. As soon as I saw it was you, I came out here. What were you planning to do?"

  "I came to talk, and then decide what I was going to do."

  "Does anyone know you're here?"

  Grace chuckled and shook her head. "If it was someone else who asked that, I'd think you were out to kill me for knowing too much. But other than Pez, no; I didn't tell anyone I was leaving."

  "I see..." Roger unlocked the gate and opened it enough for her to pass by. "So, are you planning on doing the talk out here, or are you coming in?" He motioned inward with a wave of his hand.

  Grace looked up at the factory, and a chill ran down her spine.

  "Oh, come on; we've gone into worse looking places than this. Besides, it's only like this on the outside. I promise it's better inside, or are you rethinking being alone with me?"

  "Tch; always pushing my buttons. You know I'm not nervous about being alone with you." She walked by him.

  "That was before you knew who I was." He locked the gate behind her.

  "I'm a little more nervous about whoever is in there." Grace pointed at the factory. "I know you, but I don't know who else you have in there or how many."

  "They know not to touch you already."

  "Ah!" Grace yelped as he pulled her in for a hug.

  He squeezed her tight and breathed in her scent. "I've missed you, partner." Grace went stock still, not sure how to respond. It's not the first time they'd hugged, but everything was different now. He pulled away and ruffled her hair.

  "Hey! Don't do that!"

  "I think I improved it." He snickered.

  "Ugh, I know I'm a mess, but that's what I get for walking here."

  "You seriously walked the whole way?" Roger rested his hand on her shoulder to lead her in. "Why didn't you call a taxi? Or if you called me, I could've sent someone to pick you up."

  "You have enough people and funds for that?"

  "I told you, this place isn't what it seems." Roger pushed the door open for her.

  Her eyes widened, and jaw dropped. The place was sparkling from top to bottom with Italian accents throughout the decorations.

  "How in the world did you afford all of this? And what about your house? It's nothing like this."

  "This is more like how my family house used to be. My place is... well, it's my place." Roger chuckled. "And as for the money—"

  "You're nowhere near as broke as you made it seem. Why'd you get me to pay so often?" Grace tapped him on the chest with the back of her hand.

  "Because it's nice having a woman treat me." He winked at her. "That and this was supposed to be a secret. I didn't want you asking where all the money was coming from."

  "Sure..."

  "As for where this came from, I worked hard with this family to get it back and running. We're not the biggest mafia family around by any stretch, but we're good at what we do. And most of our profits are from the black market auctions we hold and casino down below."

  Her eyes widened.

  "What?"

  "Even after finding out your background, I found it hard to believe you'd be into anything sketchy, since you always seemed so clean and moral."

  "Compared to many of the people we worked with, I still think I was. I put... no... We put the real bad guys in jail. The ones who did violent crimes—"

  "Are you trying to suggest your family isn't violent?"

  "I can't say we haven't done some shakedowns, but they borrow first and whatnot; we don't just randomly attack people. Come on, it's not like the Bertolottiss are so clean."

  "Fair enough." Grace sighed.

  "You came to talk, so we should go to my office..." Roger trailed off when she yawned again. "Or I can give you a room for the night, and we can talk in the morning after you've had a coffee."

  "Geez, I planned to do it all tonight and decide for certain, but it's getting harder to stay awake." She rubbed her eyes. "You'd think beating up those thugs would've been enough adrenaline to keep me up for longer."

  "Thugs? You had trouble on the way here? Where was it? Was it in this area?"

  "I handled it, Roger, so don't worry."

  "Always such a boss." He smiled. "I'll get you a room for the night."

  The few people they walked by all gave a tiny bow to Roger as he led her to a spare room.

  "You know, I came here with the intent to talk right away, not go to sleep." The more time I'm gone, the more likely they are to come searching for me. She stumbled forward, tripping over her own feet, and Roger caught her, his arms around her waist.

  "I doubt you can have a conversation when you can barely walk on your own." He snickered. "I can carry you if you want."

  "Thanks, but I'll pass."

  Roger shrugged. "One day, you'll agree to it and let me help you." She glared at him and he backed away. "I know, I know; you don't have to give me that look. I know you best of all."

  "I'm not sure about that since I don't seem to know you all that well..." Grace huffed and turned away from him.

  "Doesn't everyone have hidden parts?"

  "Not like yours, they don't."

  "Well, since you came to me – without a call first – I'm going to assume that's not a deal breaker."

  "We've been through a lot together, so it's not easy to just turn away from you."

  "Agreed; it's like how I can't ignore you, despite you being the granddaughter of my enemy. Here." Roger opened a door to a furnished guest room. "You can use this room for the night... or forever."

  Grace rolled her eyes. "If I stay with you, I'm not sure we should stay in this city at all. It'd be better if we restarted somewhere else, even if you're starting a mafia family."

  "Calm down, Grace; we'll talk about it all tomorrow." Roger led her over to the bed. "Get some rest and don't worry. You're safe here."

  "Thanks." She watched him leave and then lay down. As soon as her head hit the pillow, exhaustion took her, and she fell asleep.