Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch14

Fia’s and Pola’s arrival forced Vince to shift back to the massive couch, although he made certain to finish the meal Ally brought for him.

Four pairs of eyes watched him make his way over to the couch. At first, he thought they worried for his condition after his earlier outburst.

Then he sat down and realized they were trying to anticipate where he’d sit. Nina shot across the lengthy cushions, only for silver hair to whirl through the air in front of her.

“Hah!” Pola shouted in triumph as she leaped over the back of the couch, intent on claiming the seat next to Vince.

She celebrated too soon. Nina caught her wannabe rival with her hands and threw her screaming against the floor. Pola’s tail slapped Vince in the face as she flailed around for grip, but failed.

Rolling along the floor, Pola pulled herself to a desperate stop before she hit the windows. Not because they’d break but due to the object behind her.

After glancing backward to confirm she hadn’t broken the new TV the Lionetti sisters had bought, Pola bounced to her feet. Only to scowl at what she saw.

“You got greedy,” Fia said, sitting by Vince’s other side. “If you hadn’t tried to block Nina, you’d have won.”

Ally balled up in Vince’s lap, her face blazing red and tails curled around herself. She refused to look at Pola, even as the wolfgirl walked up to her.

“Um… I don’t actually think I should sit in Vince’s lap for this,” Ally murmured.

Pola grinned. Until Fia placed a hand on Ally’s head.

“She needs to learn, and you earned it,” Fia said.

“You pushed her into his lap,” Nicki observed from the far end of the couch, sipping her coffee while watching with wide eyes. “Vince, do you make them compete like this for your bed?”

“No,” he said.

A long pause.

“Huh. You really are tired.” Fia stroked the side of his head and tucked his hair behind one ear. “You would have made some joke about maybe making us do this, or that we do it anyway.”

Would he? But she was right that he was tired.

He shook his head, but Ally had already risen to her feet. Despite her excitement, Pola remained put under the fierce glares of both Nina and Fia.

The girls gave him some space as they spread out across the couch. Fia had brought some takeaway coffees.

“I expected you to take longer to get here,” Vince said. “Sounded like you were busy.”

“We were. Trying to get a handle on the mess that started when you fought those foxes downtown.” Fia frowned, then clarified, “Today. The foxes downtown, today. Fuck, it’s so confusing this has happened twice.”

“This wasn’t an attempted assassination,” Nina said. “Just some fox prince insulted that Vince helped kill a member of his clan.”

“Oh?” Fia raised an eyebrow. “You might want to go over everything from the start.”

“What about Alessia?” he asked. “She’ll need to know this as well.”

“Repeat it later. She could be hours. Last I heard, this interfered with her planned meeting with Mayor Kochhar today, but I know she’s meeting with the governor now. Pola and I were handling the mafia in her absence.”

Calling it an “absence” sounded more serious than it came across to Vince. He knew he was missing something, but pushed on.

“I can skip a lot of the more confusing stuff and tell you what we’ve learned,” he said. “Things only started to make sense later, but we know—”

Fia’s eyes flashed, but she kept her expression clear. “I think you should start from the beginning, V. Maybe you know everything. Or maybe you’re making assumptions. Today blew up so badly that I don’t want to tell Alessia a week or two from now that everything’s gone to shit because I missed something you didn’t tell me.”

While Vince winced, Nina nodded.

“Yeah, I think I know what’s happening, but we’ve still made a few leaps of logic. I don’t want us to start arguing mid-recollection,” the lioness said.

“And here I was going to make a comment about Fia really getting into her role as consigliere. She’s acting like Alessia would,” he said.

Fia grumbled under her breath, cheeks coloring, while his other girlfriends giggled at her. Pola’s tail flicked against Fia’s, and the two of them fought a short battle with their fluffy appendages.

“So did this start before downtown?” Fia asked. “I know you were busy before you planned to take Ally out on a date.”

“I still don’t know how this started,” Nicki said.

“This has nothing to do with the meeting with Quintus that I told you about,” Vince said. “It was essentially random chance. The heir to the Miura clan, Goro, stumbled on me outside a store while shopping with Nicki and Nina.”

“Random? You call the heir to a major fox clan finding you and trying to kill you random chance, when Houou has a hit on you?” Fia crossed her arms.

“You really are acting like Alessia. Not even letting me explain fully,” he said drily.

Her tail slapped him in the side while her face reddened. She remained quiet.

“Anyway, I think Goro is earnest. He’s…” Vince looked at Nina. “Would you call him a dog?”

“He has Golden Retriever energy for sure.” His lioness girlfriend grinned, even as the wolfgirls scowled at the comparison of a canine demihuman race to dogs. “Guy’s naïve as shit, and oddly earnest for someone over a century old.”

He nodded. “He dueled me because he didn’t believe a human could kill Teru, and wanted to restore the honor of the fox clans. Changed his tune fast when I held my own against him. Then the Miura clan head and clan guardians showed up, ended the fight, and teleported us to the hotel to talk further.”

“To talk?” Pola asked, leaning forward with wide eyes. “You went with them even after they tried to kill you?”

“Your enforcer tails mentioned something like that, including Goro acting weird,” Fia said. “The blackshirts held them back during the fight, even as they did absolutely nothing—useless bastards—but they said you were teleported abruptly. But it was to talk? How the hell did things end up at the point of police intervention?”

Vince stared at her and Pola, while Nina’s eyes widened.

“Fuck. You guys have no clue what went down, do you?” Nina placed her fingers against her forehead.

“We know what we saw and have been told, but what you’ve said is already different to that,” Fia said.

Pola nodded rapidly. “We thought the Miuras were assassinating you!”

Nina and Vince stared at the wolfgirls. Nicki spluttered and sat up straight, cursing.

“And you commented about me potentially burning myself,” he told the harpy, but swiftly used his magic to prevent the coffee she’d spilled on herself from burning her.

Eyes wide, Nicki stood up and stared down at herself. “Wow. That actually works.” Then she scowled. “I wish one of you knew water magic to clean this up.”

“Alessia’s not here.”

“I realized.” The harpy sighed and wandered into the kitchen, presumably to clean herself up. The sink ran a few seconds later.

“Assassination?” Nina asked. “I hate to say this, but that’s dumb. If Houou wanted us dead with a clan head and two guardians there, they’d have just flattened us. Definitely wouldn’t have sent their clan heir.”

“We didn’t know about Goro,” Fia said flatly. “Think about what we saw. Several five-tail foxes attack you downtown, while you’re conveniently between two meetings. The cops refuse to intervene and even hold back other enforcers. When you’re about to win, the clan guardians show up and teleport you away.”

Vince’s mind processed what he’d heard, then sighed. “I get it. There are some gaps even from that, but I get it. You thought war was coming.”

“Yeah.” Pola grimaced and looked out the windows. “Sis was in city hall, and safe there. But Fia and I needed to both find out where you were and prepare for a possible Houou onslaught. If they broke the rules so openly, let alone with the support of the blackshirts, we needed to be ready.”

Hence why they’d been late. Fia and Pola had been on the ground preparing for a war with Houou which wasn’t coming, and getting caught off-guard by the police action.

“What does the hotel situation look like?” he asked.

“Like REAT raided it to get you out. That’s what social media thinks,” Fia said. “I found out about it from your cop friend, Ronin. One of the capos put him through to me and he ranted about an elemental going crazy and trying to put you in prison.”

“Put that way, he sounds less cool,” Nicki said from the kitchen.

“The fact he called me at all makes him a cut above the rest. Guy saw corruption, knew he needed help to stop it, and acted.” Fia crossed her arms. “But, yeah, he was panicked as hell when he rang me.”

“Can’t blame him.” Vince leaned back. “The Miuras teleported me to the hotel to talk. The cops came out of nowhere. The Miura clan head, Toya, made me an offer.”

The harsh intake of breath from his left signified both wolfgirls didn’t appreciate the news.

“Fuck.” Fia gritted her teeth and looked away.

“Uh…” Pola looked between Fia and Vince. “Um, I know it’s bad, but Vince is ours, right?”

Fia said nothing, but Vince nodded at Pola.

“I’m not going to sell you out to Houou,” he said. “This offer wasn’t about you, anyway. Toya thinks Houou is about to break out into civil war as they fight to determine who the next CEO of Houou is. Saito Fujiwara’s leadership seems fatally wounded.”

“Too much has gone wrong, and I bet they want a politician instead of a warrior,” Fia said.

“Or just somebody else, knowing how these types work,” Nina added.

Pola tilted her head to one side. “Didn’t we already know this? Sis mentioned Houou were infighting.”

“The Inaba twins making stealthy moves is different to one of the major clans actively recruiting for civil war,” Fia said. “What was the offer?”

“Millions to go on retainer and exclusively work for the Miuras once shit hits the fan,” Vince said. “I get the feeling he was less worried about money and more ensuring nobody else could hire me.”

“Including us, so we couldn’t interfere, right?”

“He said exactly that.”

Fia laughed while shaking her head. “I’ve heard mixed things about the Miuras. They’re to enforcers what Inaba is to stealth, but they also take a backseat and act and look weird. A clan head that wanders around in traditional Japanese clothes? The guardians who act like romance novel interests? They’ve been derided as washed up, but I knew something was up.”

“They disagree with Houou’s actions lately,” Vince said. “Or claim to. Including constantly warring with the Lionettis.”

“I’ll trust a fox when I’m standing on their grave.” Fia’s expression darkened, and Pola joined her in scowling.

Ally blinked at them, the tips of her fox tails drooping.

Hurriedly raising her hands, Fia said, “I trust you, though, Ally. You’re different.”

“What about Mama?” Ally asked, eyes too wide.

Fia grimaced. “Uhhhh…”

“She was pretty nice,” Pola said.

“And the only reason she’s not with Houou is because she landed on the wrong side of history,” Fia muttered.

Ally giggled, and the wolves stared at her.

“It’s fine. I just wanted to tease the two of you,” the fox said. “I knew what you meant.”

Fia rubbed the side of her head, messing up part of her hair. “Let’s keep going. The heir duels you, then the clan head conveniently has an offer to make you? Bullshit. This sounds like a way to test you.”

Vince nearly refuted her, then paused.

Damn, that made a lot more sense than a failed assassination. Including how swiftly Toya showed up and dealt with the damages. Maybe the cops knew this would happen beforehand? Had the reason Kreesa been able to act so quickly that she’d been co-opted into this plan?

“Okay, that’s probably correct,” Vince said. “Toya says he was in the area, but I never saw the business associates he was meeting.”

“Be more skeptical,” Nina chided while stroking his hair.

He shot her an annoyed look, and she grinned.

“How did the blackshirts get involved?” Fia asked.

“They just showed up in the hotel restaurant,” Vince said.

“Restaurant?” Ally tilted her head. Then her eyes widened. “Wait, you went to Sushi Ito in the hotel? I’ve always wanted to go there. You can’t get in without a special reservation.”

Pola’s stomach grumbled, and she blushed. “We still need to eat lunch.”

“Sounds like somebody had two,” Fia said with a look at Vince. “And yeah, that place is infamous for being restricted to Houou and their guests. The Inaba clan owns the hotel and restaurants.”

He’d heard this from Toya, so merely nodded. “Did you order some lunch, or…?”

“The girls are going to grab some food nearby in-person, to avoid any… incidents. Security is too high at the moment otherwise.”

“Gotcha. I won’t talk about the amazing sushi and sashimi then.”

Fia glared at him, only for Nicki to cackle as she walked back into the living room.

“It was so damn good,” Nicki said in an exaggerated whisper, leaning over the back of the couch. “Tuna that melted in your mouth, several kinds of specialized tea, sushi so pretty it looked fake. Best part is, it was free.”

Pushing the harpy’s face away with one hand, Fia urged Vince to continue. “So, the blackshirts?”

“An elemental by the name of Kreesa showed up with REAT,” he said. “You know her?”

“Only by name. She used to run the Albion precinct before… Well, before Houou overstepped and the cops rotated everyone in Albion out due to the corruption issues.” Fia flicked her hair with one hand and balled the other hand into a fist. “We always suspected an elemental backed the foxes, but this proves it… Maybe?”

Her expression transformed into confusion, and Pola nodded at her, before looking just as confused.

“Don’t worry, I don’t follow it that well, either,” Nina said drily. “It was pretty clear that Toya knew Kreesa personally. Likely due to the corruption issues.”

“Ronin said she tried to arrest you on trumped up charges,” Fia said, still confused.

“She did.” Vince held up a hand to stop them. “Let me explain.”

The door opened, and his attempt to explain was interrupted by the arrival of four women bearing a large bag of food.

Vince stared in surprise at the new arrivals. Not because they were unfamiliar, but because they’d arrived together.

Why was Alessia together with Kiyoko and Gabriela?

Why was Gabriela here at all?

“Yo!” Gabriela held up a bag the size of Vince’s torso with one finger. “We got word you needed food while heading back, so we swung through and grabbed something from a good place.”

Alessia rubbed the bridge of her nose, while Lucia patted her back. Kiyoko ignored the other three and strode into the living room. The tengu stood in the middle of the room and surveyed it while standing still, her head pivoting around unnaturally.

Before Pola could rise, Alessia gestured at Vince. “Could you finish, Vince? I know I walked in partway through, but I’m certain you’re explaining something about this absolute disaster of a day.”

He looked at the women, Gabriela’s horse ears pricked up even as she began unloading a bag full of wrapped burritos and containers. Of course she grabbed Mexican.

Vince wasn’t sure he had the appetite for three lunches, but knew at least one thing there would have been chosen for him by Gabriela. The trials and tribulations of a man with too many girlfriends and potential girlfriends.

“Uh, I was explaining what Kreesa was doing there,” he said.

Both Kiyoko and Gabriela paused, then gave him their full attention. Everyone except Nicki and Nina did the same, and even they appeared curious to hear his words.

“Don’t you love being the center of attention?” Daji murmured in his mind, before giggling. “Imagine if they were all naked, and desperate for your big, fat—”

Shut up if you’re not going to be useful, he told the fox with his thoughts.

Plus, most of them technically were desperate for what he was packing. Daji snorted when he thought that.

“Kreesa wanted to arrest me not just because of what happened downtown with Goro—uh, that’s—” he interrupted himself.

“The Miura clan heir. I recognized him from the videos,” Alessia said. “Continue.”

Gabriela shot the mafia don an annoyed look, but said nothing. Clearly she had no clue who Goro was.

“Instead, Kreesa was charging me with working with the cartel. I’m pretty sure she was using the special anti-cartel provisions to ignore my status as an enforcer and charge me criminally, instead of just fining me like would normally happen,” Vince said.

“Holy fucking shit.” Gabriela stared at him with wide eyes. “Is this because we met?”

“I suspect it is because he spoke with you on the night of the heist,” Kiyoko said, voice quieter than usual. “The police may have interpreted that as leaking police information, although I do not recall anything being relayed other than suspicions.”

“Pretty good suspicions.” The unicorn’s face reddened for some reason.

Alessia shook with rage, her eyes darkening as she nearly bared her teeth. Her tail puffed out like it never had before. “Criminal charges against you? At this time, with Houou desperate to hold onto its power? I’ve always known that wind witch to be a traitor, but this is the first hard proof I’ve received.”

“I don’t think this was just to help Houou,” Vince said quickly.

Fia nodded. “That’s the confusing part, Alessia. Vince says the Miuras wanted to hire him to fight on their side when Houou brawls over their next leader. Why the hell would a corrupt elemental for Houou intervene…” Her eyes widened. “Fuuuuuck.”

“Ah, you caught on,” Vince said.

“I hate that you’ve known this all along.” The blonde wolfgirl pressed her hands against the sides of her skull, her wolf ears drooping. “Makes me feel stupid for chiding you over making assumptions. Kreesa was there to stop you from working for the Miuras. She’s on the payroll of a different clan—one that backs someone the Miuras will oppose, right?”

“I’ve missed a lot, but I can understand this at least,” Alessia said. “A corrupt police elemental tried to arrest you using the anti-cartel laws, which pierce the protections the Special Corporations Act provides for independent enforcers. This is why the video of the police outside the hotel is so confusing, isn’t it? And why your friend asked for our help?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Toya was confident Kreesa wouldn’t even make it to the precinct without someone intervening. He expected the state police to arrest her.”

“Toya?” Gabriela asked, her horse ears twitching.

“The clan head of the Miuras,” Alessia said. “And that is an impressive guess. Both June and Kochhar were furious. If Commander Frost hadn’t called the mayor to tell him that he’d interceded, I suspect Toya’s prediction would have been accurate. If only to stop another conglomerate openly assaulting a police convoy.”

“Okay, I don’t follow this at all.” Gabriela shook her head. “Forget the stuff I wasn’t here for. Why is it such a big deal that Vince gets charged? Therox intervenes all the time when cartel members get in shit. Everyone knows how it goes. We rarely get jail time. Even Malus avoided it after the stupid shit she pulled attacking Vince in public.”

 “Because the anti-cartel laws are punishing you for refusing to act as a single corporation,” Alessia said, shooting Gabriela an odd look. “I am certain you know why this matters.”

“I mean, this is complicated stuff. Way above my head.” Gabriela grinned and her horse’s tail flicked rapidly behind her back.

“And I’m sure the British would be so keen to get back a huge idiot. I know Kochhar offered to pay off your debts if you joined the police force, too.” Alessia stared at the unicorn. “Do not play dumb. The unicorn academy is one of the finest educational institutions in Aulfair.”

The two women stared at each other for several long seconds. Finally, Gabriela looked away with a huff.

“Fine. I get it.” Gabriela flicked her white bangs. “I’m not a dumbass.”

“Wow. Could have fooled me when I was bashing your head in a month ago,” Nina drawled.

“Oi.” The unicorn’s horn glowed softly.

Fia frowned at Vince. “You already knew.”

“Uh, we talked about this.” He shrugged. “But to answer the question, it’s a big deal because if the police start charging genuine independent enforcers with crimes for associating with the cartel, it means potentially every independent is in danger. Those laws might get extended to another conglomerate, and they even tried to take Nicki in.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty dumb. Therox was pissed when they made laws just to target us, I heard,” Gabriela said. “This basically nukes the Special Corporations Act, right? Independents exist because the cops don’t want the corpos to beat each other up with their monsters. Take that away, and the gang wars get hotter.”

“Which raises the question of why a police elemental would risk it, even if she is corrupt,” Alessia said.

“Um, maybe she actually wants to blow everything up?” Pola suggested. “Don’t some elementals disagree over this. Like Auntie June!”

“Except Kreesa is one of the originals, like Frost, from when the elementals showed up in Aulfair during the 1940s. Why now?” Alessia grimaced. “It’s pointless to speculate over motivations with so little information. Am I correct in assuming this is why Ronin acted? While Frost claimed credit—or took responsibility, depending how this falls out—I understand Ronin orchestrated this.”

“He got wind of what Kreesa was doing from a friend in the cartel unit. Or former cartel unit, based on what I’ve heard,” Vince said.

Gabriela grinned from ear-to-ear. “Fuck, I love that we nearly took out the cartel unit with that raid the other night.”

The other girls frowned at her, but she ignored them and finished unpacking the food.

“We should eat,” Gabriela said. “Warming spells only go so far. I grabbed a range of stuff, and I bet most of you like burritos, even if the queen here doesn’t.”

“I’m not a queen,” Alessia said. “You should know, given you were trained to serve a king.”

“That’s how I know you’re a queen, or think of yourself as one.” The unicorn winked at Alessia before throwing her a container.

Lucia caught it before her boss could fumble it. “The food should be safe. I still tested a couple of things before we arrived, just in case.”

“I’d call you paranoid, but I’d be too with this shit going down.” Gabriela picked out a specific burrito and tossed it to Vince. “Dunno if you’re hungry, but I asked them to make something special for you.”

His prediction came true. Nina and Nicki grinned at him, while Fia shook her head in amusement.

“He already had lunch,” Pola said, staring at Gabriela with an unreadable expression. “I can eat it for you, Vince.”

“I’m good,” he said. “You two can negotiate the, uh…”

“They can negotiate where they stand in the pride,” Nina said. “I’m assuming Gaby’s an honorary member, given you’re probably not sticking your dick in her anytime soon with her baggage.”

“I don’t have baggage.” Gabriela glowered at Nina.

“Being bound to Vince until you die sounds like baggage,” Fia said. “I’m with Nina here. And if you’re capable of independent thought, I imagine that puts you above Pola.”

“Hey!” Pola hit Fia in the arm.

Ally broke out in giggles, and everyone began grabbing food. It was clear most of them hadn’t eaten. Nicki still pecked at a quesadilla, while Nina had no trouble downing a container full of enchiladas,

Even Kiyoko daintily took a burrito and nibbled at it. She perched herself on the arm of the couch, but kept her head so she could see both Vince and the entrance.

The girls chattered over lunch, and Vince found himself with different companions beside himself over the next thirty minutes or so. He overheard Fia explaining to Alessia everything he’d told her earlier, and both Gabriela and Kiyoko didn’t even pretend not to eavesdrop.

“Why are you even with Alessia?” Vince asked Gabriela when he got the chance. “I can guess why Kiyoko joined her, but last I heard you were helping Ronin distract the cops.”

His unicorn not-quite-girlfriend wrapped an arm around him, burrito in her other hand. “Yeah, to help you. And not even a thanks.”

He winced. “Thanks. I mean it. Picking a fight with the police to save my ass is huge.”

She grinned at him and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Cute. I love it.”

The hug reminded him of when Nina acted the same way, only without the huge cushions pressing against his side. Gabriela relied on more than just huge tits to look hot.

“Oi,” Nina growled at them. “I’m Vince’s big girl. Get your own niche.”

She leaned on Vince’s other side, and the two women locked eyes. Gabriela refused to budge.

“Nina, do you need to pick a fight with every girl I meet?” he asked her.

“I didn’t intimidate Fia,” the lioness protested.

Fia snorted. “Like hell you didn’t. Just being the same woman who took out Pola and a bunch of our enforcers a few years back made you scary as shit.”

“Oh, so my niche can be the big but nice girl?” Gabriela asked, her grin nearly splitting her face in two and her horn glowing a soft gold.

“Don’t pretend I’m mean,” Nina said.

“Who’s pretending?” Pola muttered and met Nina’s gaze with a snarl.

“To answer your question, I encountered Gabriela while returning here,” Alessia said. “She had briefly evaded a rather immense police pursuit. I extended my protection to her as thanks for helping you.”

Gabriela puffed out her non-existent chest, and Nina smirked. The unicorn ignored the other woman.

“The cops were hounding me like never before,” Gabriela said. “They weren’t going to ice me, but if I had to rely on Norah to bail me out, I’d be paying a price for it.”

“So that’s what Kreesa meant by a diplomatic incident.” Vince frowned. “How can you lead a gang and also be protected by the British Government?”

“Because I’m a unicorn. Everyone’s equal, but some of us are more equal than others,” Gabriela said.

“Yeah, I think that line works when you don’t have a glowing horn sticking out of your head,” Fia drawled. “It is bullshit, but no cop wants to kill a unicorn. Texas got turned upside down a decade ago when that happened. The governor resigned after a detailed MI6 dossier listing every affair, bribe, and other dodgy thing he’d ever done since being born got leaked.”

“I don’t think we lost anything of value there,” Nina said. “Wouldn’t mind if more of those dossiers got leaked.”

“Uh, back on Gaby,” Vince said, and saw the unicorn’s ears and tail bounce when he called her by her nickname. “Did everyone get out alright? I couldn’t use my phone for a few more minutes, and figured it might be too late.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Gabriela ruffled his hair. “I got word the second that crazy elemental started moving. Sent the gang home. Just needed a way to get away myself.”

He left Gabriela and the girls to continue arguing over things. Although Gabriela excused herself from the political stuff swiftly, and introduced herself to Nicki instead. Vince sat back down.

Pola appeared next to him in an instant. She leaned against him, her tail trying to wrap around his back and fingers drumming against his thigh. They’d both finished eating. The wolfgirl happily pressed her head against his neck.

“Are you okay?” she murmured. “You sounded so tired earlier. If you need a break, I can make Sis wait.”

He smiled at his girlfriend and wrapped her hand in his. She stole a kiss before he could say anything.

“I get it,” she said. Her smile was a touch disappointed. “Fia’s comment earlier was about Sis, wasn’t it?”

“It’s time to deal with this,” he told Pola.

“The Yakuza, Houou, or the sexual tension this room is full of?” Gabriela asked.

She towered over them, beer in hand. Where the hell had that come from?

Given it looked Mexican, Vince guessed she’d snuck it in with the food.

“The sexual tension comes from you,” Fia said. “Most of us have already fucked him.”

“Yeah, but I know my place. I’m not the one who wants to ride him in front of you.” Gabriela paused. “I mean, I want to ride him, but—”

“And there’s the sexual tension,” Fia drawled.

While the unicorn glared at Fia, the others cleaned up and reformed along the couches. Alessia remained standing, leaning on the couch just behind Pola and Vince. Lucia lounged on a separate recliner, happy to keep her distance from the group while keeping an eye on things. While she had her phone out, the way she acted suggested she was still working. Likely directing enforcers in the absence of the others.

“Before we move on to anything else, I need to know more about Toya’s offer to you, Vince,” Alessia asked. Her face was oddly free of emotion and her tone cold.

Gabriela frowned at the mafia don, but said nothing.

“I think it’s better if we talk about that later,” Vince said. “Unless there’s nothing else from today that you need to discuss?”

“Later?” Alessia scowled. “You’ve been approached by a direct foe, and it sounds like they want you exclusively. That needs to be talked about now.”

“I won’t betray you,” Vince said. “I think that answers that. But we can discuss the money separately.”

“That’s not…” Alessia trailed off and looked away with a regretful expression. “Does it need to be about that?”

“I think that’s exactly why you two need to talk this out privately,” Fia interrupted, shooting Vince a dangerous look. “We still have to handle Mei.”

“Today isn’t about Mei, it’s about this mess, which revolves around others trying to poach Vince,” Alessia insisted. Then she glared at Gabriela. “Including you.”

The unicorn took a slug from her beer, but otherwise didn’t react. Her horn remained dim. “Vince approached me, not the other way around. I bet you know that given you have him tailed everywhere.”

“That’s…” Alessia flushed. “But you don’t deny trying to tempt him?”

“I won’t tell you a damn thing. If Vince wants to tell you, that’s up to him, but anything I did or didn’t offer is my business.”

Before the mafia don said or did anything unwise, Pola stood. “Sis, I think this can wait. Vince isn’t leaving us. And even if I’m incapable of thought”—she glared at Fia—“I know this is about Mei. If Houou are falling apart, can they really do anything? And everyone is here, too.”

“Even me.” Gabriela smirked. “Assuming nobody objects?”

“We’ll take your fists,” Nina said.

“Fine by me. Vince can have everything else.”

Alessia calmed herself with several deep breaths, and waved at Lucia. The bodyguard nodded, then returned to her phone.

Presumably, Lucia had shown some concern that Vince had missed.

“I understand that,” Alessia said. “But I think Vince and I need to sort this out first.”

Staring at her stony expression, Vince realized he couldn’t put this off. He stood.

“Agreed. I’ve had plenty of time to think and sort things out,” he said. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think Alessia and I need to talk in private. There’re some things we need to say to each other that are long overdue.”

- - - - -

Commentary: This chapter kind of felt like a recap when I wrote it, but the rest of the harem needs a chance to react to what's happened to Vince.

And Vince and Alessia are about to finally deal with their issues, after many, many, many chapters.