Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch5

A sullen fog fell over the table in response to Norah’s offer, and Vince swore the temperature dropped several degrees. The effect wasn’t entirely psychological, however.

Shadows grew along Gabriela’s body, deepening and lengthening despite the cloudless sky allowing the sun to shine down on her. Her usually iridescent horn lost its luster and instead appeared to be solid silver, but with deep, dark grooves etching its spiral pattern.

A thunderous scowl overtook her face, and her eyes held nothing but contempt for Norah. Whatever relationship these two women once held, it had been dashed into the ground long ago.

“I think you’re overstating my influence on Gabriela,” Vince said quietly. “And if I did have the ability to convince her, I wouldn’t betray her by selling her out to you without knowing exactly what’s going down.”

Also, Vince didn’t exactly have the best opinion of education. Telling Norah to fuck off because he thought school sucked sounded kind of dumb, though.

“You fail to understand your own importance in her world, but that can only be a good thing,” Norah said, ignoring the fury pummeling her from behind. “What else is there to know? I am offering you the power you need to battle this errant fox, and you need it.”

“You’re selling him a fucking shit deal, Miss Second Ring,” Gabriela said, voice like nails on a chalkboard as she desperately withheld her anger. “The reason V might be able to convince me is the very reason he should never take the deal.”

A sly smirk slipped onto Norah’s face, before she caught herself and smiled normally. The British Knight gave Vince an elegant bow like something from a period drama.

“Gabriela knows how to contact me. I await your call, Mister Keys,” Norah said. She glanced back at the other unicorn. “You cannot outrun what you are. The academy has offered you a lot already, and stands to offer you even more despite your attempts to spurn us. But we cannot save you if you destroy everything that makes you valuable.”

“Uh huh. Now fuck off, before I pull V’s cock out and make you leave.” Gabriela grinned toothily and made a crude gesture with one hand.

Norah sneered, then strode away. The lights flashed on an Aston Martin parked nearby. Figured she drove a British sports car.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Vince shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Gabriela sighed. “Sit, guapito. I have some explaining to do before we talk about… whatever you need from me.”

The moment he sat down, a waitress appeared and removed Norah’s empty cup and saucer, then took Vince’s order for a coffee. Swift service. He suspected she did well on tips here.

“You don’t have to explain,” he said. “I butted into something private.”

“And Norah made it your business.” Gabriela picked up a long packet of sugar from the middle of the table and spun it between her fingers. “I invited you out here knowing the risk. This is where I came from… sorta.”

He frowned. “Odd background for a cartel captain.”

“Duh.” She let out a short bark of laughter. “You don’t know much about all the shit surrounding unicorns, I take it? The British Empire spends a fortune on PR campaigns, and nearly as much covering up the dodgy shit they do. Being a superpower lets you lean on others, funnily enough.”

“The academy, I take it?”

“That’s a no, then.” She smiled. “They found me when I was nine. Until then, I’d grown up down south, where I hear you’re from. Not as bad as the slums of Elfland up north, but still rough.”

Vince’s mind raced, and he knew where this was going. “And somehow you ended up here, in one of the ritzier and older parts of Aulfair. What do you mean ‘found you?’”

“My parents kept me secret. They got an inkling I was special and did a homebirth. It was… rough.” Gabriela’s expression darkened and she stared off into the distance. “I’m an only child, and fortunate that’s the worst of it. But the reason is simple: fear. It’s rumored that unicorn children are taken away from their mothers and effectively gifted to the British Government. They scour the planet for unicorns, you know?”

“That I did know,” he admitted. “Unicorns are descended from the original demihuman tribe from northern Britain, but they spread across Europe and now any horsefolk can give birth to a unicorn.”

Quintus had mentioned once that the Romans had been partly responsible for the mess. Large numbers of unicorns ventured into Roman-controlled Europe, found the local horsefolk attractive, and suddenly there was unicorn blood in every horse demihuman in Europe. Within a few centuries, that extended to every horsefolk in the world thanks to trade with Asia.

Most of Rome’s horsefolk had been Spanish, which likely explained the fairly large unicorn population in the US. Vince also recalled mention of Numidian horsefolk, although he had to admit he didn’t know what or where Numidia was, other than African.

“Yup. I’m a throwback to a greater race and all that.” Gabriela rolled her eyes. “By the time the Brits found me, I was too old to disappear—if they actually do that. Instead, they filled my head with dreams of being a hero, like the unicorn knights I’d read about and seen in cartoons. If I went to the academy, they’d give us everything. A new home, steady income for my folks, insurance—lots of shit I didn’t really understand then, but know the value of now.”

“That’s… a hell of a choice to lump on a nine-year old kid.”

No response. Gabriela smiled into her coffee cup. Her ears drooped and her horn dimmed. Those shadows from earlier had long since vanished, but he noticed that the light of her horn shifted according to her emotions. Was this related to her control over light magic?

“You don’t have to continue,” Vince said. “I’m guessing there was a catch.”

“One that I think my parents understood, and struggled over. Sending me to the academy solved my family’s problems, just like winning the lottery. But the British Empire doesn’t give away millions for nothing. The academy is an indoctrination program. We walk in bright-eyed little girls that dream of being heroes, and exit brainwashed knights that serve Britain.”

“And you left.”

Gabriela nodded. “Yup.”

He leaned back in his chair and took in what he’d heard, as well as what he observed.

Gabriela lacked her usual bouncy energy. A solemness exuded from her, as if she was exposing some deep, dark secret about herself that she despised. She clasped her cup tightly in two hands, hunched her shoulders, and adopted a defensive posture. Nervousness permeated her every word and action.

“I don’t think that’s something to worry about,” Vince said. “I’m not a fan of school, and the ones I went to weren’t secret military training camps.”

“Heh. Thanks.” She cracked a smile. “That’s what Norah’s here about, though. Normally, they reel us runaways back in with threats and crippling debt. That house they gave my parents? Suddenly they have to buy it at current market value, plus interest since I joined the academy. My tuition becomes retroactively payable, and is worth six-figures a year. Every cent they spent on me becomes due at once, with huge penalties and markups.”

Fury seared Vince’s veins and his knuckles whitened against his cup. Gabriela’s eyes glanced down at his hands, and she relaxed a little.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

“I haven’t done anything,” he said gruffly.

He’d pinned Norah as dangerous and a bitch, but not at this level. She was a debt collector. Those comments about debt had been literal and was her weapon of choice instead of breaking kneecaps.

“Fortunately, Aulfair has a law that stopped them from kicking my parents onto the street and that forced the academy to offer them a payment plan,” Gabriela said. “As a cartel captain, I make enough to afford repayments. It’s mostly a nuisance.”

“What about your dragon overlord?” he asked.

“He paid off around half of my debt when my gang made the cut for the Mane Eleven.” She shrugged. “I didn’t even realize until months later when I got a letter with an updated balance. Thought it was an error. Not sure what goes through that bastard’s head. Maybe he wanted me to beg him to pay off the rest.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Thank fuck, because it shouldn’t,” she said. “I’d only spoken a few words to him back then, so maybe he thought otherwise.”

“So instead of being saddled with ten million in debt, you have five.”

“Not quite that high, but yeah, basically.”

Both of them leaned back in their seats, lost in their thoughts. Vince tried to make sense of what he’d heard, and why Gabriela took such a massive risk. She hadn’t started as a cartel captain, and he doubted she planned to mire her parents in debt hell.

For her part, she gazed off into space with a distant expression. He wondered if she asked herself the same question.

“Why’d you leave?” he asked.

The question was more for his own satisfaction than anything else. Nina walked away from a bright future as an elite enforcer because she hated the gig, only to despise office drudgery in a different manner. And Vince now found himself at a loss in his own career as an enforcer.

What led this unicorn to ignore a chance to join the elite unicorn knights in favor of becoming a common gangster? The cartel weren’t exactly the crème de la crème of Aulfair’s underworld.

“Partly, I was bored.” Gabriela’s tone was self-deprecating. “No matter what cool things I was being taught, it was still school. Lots of fluttering girls, I rarely found myself challenged, and the blatant indoctrination was clear. Also, while I don’t particularly like guys, being banned from going close to any pissed me off.”

“They told you not to do something, so you wanted to do it,” he said drily. “I thought unicorns only had one lover?”

She shot him an odd look. “Obviously. Why do you think we’re talking?”

He winced. “This… is why Norah made me that offer, isn’t it? She thinks I can manipulate you because you like me.”

“I don’t call you guapito because of your dashing good looks, V.” Gabriela smirked. “It’s because one day I plan to see how riding you compares to my Indian. But… not yet. That’s the catch with Norah’s plan. Once a unicorn willingly takes a lover, we’re bound to them for life. We’ll never show interest in other men, and our magic is for him only. You, probably.”

The way she shifted nervously, her white horse ears twitching and tail swishing through the air suggested being so earnest about love was new to her. Sexual innuendo came easily to her. Talk of love less so.

“I think that’s something you should take slowly,” he said. “Especially when I already have four girlfriends.”

She didn’t even blink. “Vince, the unicorn knights serve a single king. I practically got raised on the idea of sharing my man.”

He stared at her, and she laughed at his expression. Then she sobered up and scowled into her empty coffee.

Fortunately, the waitress caught her look and took her order.

“Like I said, that’s the catch,” Gabriela said. “Norah wants you to manipulate me using my love. But going back to the academy and joining the unicorn knights means giving up on you. It’s stupid. So is she, but it’s a manipulative plan.”

“Wait, every unicorn knight is bound to the king?” Vince asked.

Damn. Who knew being a king gave you access to an entire race of superpowered magical demihumans? Let alone an all-female race.

“No.” Gabriela dashed his dreams in a single syllable. “The knights are organized in ‘rings.’ Lower ring, lower status, lower strength. You know the drill. The lower rings take vows of chastity, in case they make it to the upper rings. I believe the second and third rings are partially bound to the king, whereas only the first ring are his lovers.”

Partially bound? Vince frowned.

She answered before he even got to voice the question. “All sexual activity counts for us, FYI. I think you’re my man, but, uh, despite the shit I say I’d like to get to know you before I magically bind myself to you. So no blowjobs.”

“Ah. So the king has two rings of unicorn knights who suck his cock and one he actually fucks?”

Damn. What a harem.

Then again, how much of the king’s time was spent taking care of the knights? Probably less than should be.

“So once you join, that’s it?” he asked. “That seems… short-sighted. Won’t the Empire run out of unicorns that aren’t incest babies of the British Monarchy?”

Gabriela broke out in giggles. “Christ, V, you get right to the point. Anyway, the lower rings can leave the knights. Dunno how or when. The upper rings… Well, if you’re only partially bound, the binding vanishes when your lover dies. Some retire and find their real soulmate. Only the first ring remains bound to the king. One lover, even in death.”

The sober look on her face told Vince plenty. He sure as hell wasn’t about to push her about her interest in him.

If they ever had a lover’s quarrel and broke up, Gabriela would never be able to find anyone else. Hell, even after he died, would she be forced to hang around for centuries with little more than her memories of him?

“I can guess why you lacked any real interest in joining,” he said.

“There’s more to it,” she said. “But, yeah, I didn’t like the future it led me to. So I made my own. I get the impression you’re the same.”

Gabriela abruptly leaned forward and poked his cheek with one finger. Her smile shined almost like the sun and her horn glittered almost like gold.

“So, I’ve unburdened myself. What suspicious shit are you up to?” she asked, eyes curved in a smile. “Or will asking get me killed like my emoji catgirl?”

“It’s complicated,” he said, then immediately regretted it. “Sorry. I mean that I’m here for two things. One is what Norah brought up. The other is personal. How much have you heard about what led to the shitshow the other night?”

“Way too many rumors. There are some crazy ones out there, like the Yakuza assassinated Saito Fujiwara and he’s now a doppelganger. Or the one about you being a secret agent of Houou’s.”

“Wow. I wish they’d given me the suit and gadgets,” Vince said drily. He picked at his clothes. “I could do with the upgrade.”

“You look cute. I don’t pick you for the sort to walk around in a suit, all pompous-like.” Gabriela held her fingers out and formed a rectangle to look through. “Suave, maybe, but you need to keep a wild note. Not too polished.”

Vince felt lost, so instead he steered the conversation back on topic.

He gave Gabriela a brief rundown of what happened. A lot of details were left out, particularly about the soul egg.

But he covered the important parts. The Yakuza and Lionettis worked together on a heist, but both Houou and the Yakuza had schemes. Mei had failed and betrayed everyone, while Houou was focused on taking her down as publicly as possible. That left a lot of wreckage in their wake, including the cartel.

Gabriela let out a low whistle. “So that’s why you knew about the police trap. Houou used them, just like the Yakuza used us. We nearly got fucked by foxes from both ends. What a shitshow. Therox will be pissed.”

“Will he do anything?” Vince asked.

“Fucked if I know.” She shrugged. “You don’t mind if I feed this up the chain, right?”

“I didn’t tell you anything our wannabe dragon overlord shouldn’t already know.”

“Got it.” Then she raised an eyebrow. “So? Why did Norah think you were getting further involved in this pile of shit?”

“Because I am.” He leaned forward. “If Houou takes out Mei, they get the glory and strengthen their position in Aulfair. But if somebody else strikes first, we take the glory. More than that, we can take what we want from the Yakuza. Denying Houou a win and getting revenge is sweet, but I bet we can turn a profit.”

Mei’s soul egg might be fake, but Vince would bet it would still go for a pretty penny. Especially as it was a copy of an egg not in circulation or even known at all by the general public.

“I can go for glory,” Gabriela said. Her horn glittered as she smiled. “Part of the problem the cartel faces is that we’re treated like actual criminals, while the conglomerates do whatever they want. If we smash someone big—especially someone the cops are after—then maybe we get more leeway.”

“Then—”

“Not a single captain will go in for it, though.”

Vince closed his eyes and bit back a curse. A sigh escaped him. “I had a feeling. Too risky?”

“V, you went toe-to-toe with me at a disadvantage and were winning. I’m one of the entire cartel’s biggest bruisers. When we go up against corpo enforcers, such as when Houou gets pissy at us, our gangs tend to get nuked. We’re a menace because of our numbers, dragon-daddy cash, and organization. Fighting a fucking demigod is suicide.”

Her words and tone were out of sync. A broad grin stretched across her face and excitement leaked into every word she spoke. Vince narrowed his eyes at her.

“You’re interested, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Maybe.” She snickered. “Okay, I am. It’s a huge challenge. Plus, you’re asking me personally. Makes me giddy. I don’t see you as suicidal, so that means you think you can win. Maybe I can round up a couple of girls who can hit hard enough or have good enough tools to help. Hell, Therox might splash some cash if it sounds like we have a chance.”

Damn, Vince hadn’t thought of that.

Would letting Therox know of their plan ruin it? He’d have to check with Alessia.

“Don’t tell Therox about this. Yet,” he warned.

Gabriela nodded and mimed zipping her mouth shut. “But, yeah, give me a solid plan of attack and enough allies to make this sound reasonable, and I’m in. You and your kitty are tough, but I’d expect some buy-in from other heavy hitters. Killing an eight-tail, even if she’s not a warrior, isn’t something you just do.”

Although Vince nodded and kept his cool, a mixed explosion of relief and excitement burst inside his stomach.

He’d gone to Gabriela first because she was strong and also a good candidate for his other problem. But getting her agreement so easily gave him hope this plan might work out.

Having a captain of the Mane Eleven onboard, and potentially Therox’s support, might win over others. Vince still needed to find those others, unfortunately. His list was way too thin.

“Does the cartel hire any heavy-hitters like Nina these days?” Vince asked.

“We used to hire Hamelin, but mousey is fucking dead,” Gabriela said. “Heard you vaporized her. Not even a body left. Just ashes.”

“Huh. Word hasn’t gotten out she’s alive?”

She stared at him. Vince stared back.

“Hamelin’s been involved on two attempts on my life since her ‘death,’” he explained. “I saw her phantoms with my own eyes once.”

“Shit.” The unicorn leaned back and made an odd face. “She has a soft spot for the cartel, as we’re all demihumans. Maybe I can dig up some contact details.”

Vince almost reminded her about the assassination attempts, but then realized they probably wouldn’t matter.

Enforcer contracts were business. If someone paid Hamelin, she’d be in.

Unless she held a grudge over being blown up outside Lionetti Tower, of course.

“So, what’s the personal thing?” Gabriela raised an eyebrow at him while swirling her coffee. Her horse ears twitched inquisitively. “Gotta admit, I’m surprised you’d come to me for something personal.”

He winced. “It’s…” He stopped himself from saying it was complicated. “Have you ever felt like your own image of yourself and that of others is completely out of whack? That what you’re being offered isn’t matched by what you’re bringing to the table, or that you don’t even have a clue if you’re the crazy one, or they are?”

An explosive breath left the unicorn and she closed her eyes. Her horn glittered like the rainbow while she nursed her cup in front of her face. Vince copied her, feeling as if he’d shown more vulnerability than he planned to.

“I like an honest guy. Makes my horn vibrate with pleasure,” Gabriela said with a smirk. “And, yeah, I know the feeling. I spent my entire life being treated special, and never knew if it was the horn or me. When I joined the cartel, it only took a few months before I could start my own gang, as everyone just… expected me to be hot shit.”

That sounded similar, but different enough to Vince’s experience. He tried to hide his grimace.

“Different for you, huh?” She raised an eyebrow.

He almost wished he’d skipped right to asking for a job, but knew that would have been dishonest. Gabriela had spilled her past to him. Her earnestness and open love would have made it disrespectful not to return the favor.

“I’m shooting up in the enforcer world too quickly,” he said. “I can’t tell if I’m being underpaid because my boss knows I expect it after dealing with Immanuel, or if I’m being overpaid because she wants to fuck me.” He saw Gabriela’s expression and quickly added, “I’m not fucking Alessia Lionetti, by the way.”

“Just her sister. And now both billionaire puppers want the V—sorry, the D.” She winked at him. “I get it. I have a bad feeling about what you’re about to ask, though.”

“I’m looking to take on other work, or at least hear what’s on offer,” he said, ignoring her last comment. “To test the waters on my current contract with the Lionettis, but also work out if I’m actually as big a deal as some people tell me.”

“And there it is,” Gabriela said. An odd expression lingered on her face. “You’re definitely a big deal. I saw that fire tornado of yours in person. Two meister-tier spells? Hot shit, literally.” She laughed at her own pun.

“So?” he asked.

That odd expression remained as she looked him up and down. “I don’t want to make you an offer. For two reasons.”

A mixture of disappointment came over Vince, but he kept his expression neutral. “Go on.”

“One, I can’t afford you. Each gang needs to be profitable on its own—Therox only covers big stuff and backstops us for unexpected shit—and you’d take too big of a slice out of my profits for a big thumping dragon cock I use to slap others around.”

“Thanks. I think. But what about Therox?”

“That’s the second reason.” She hesitated, then placed her cup on the table with a clink. “I think it’d be a mistake to steal you from the Lionettis. I respect what’s going on with them, and reckon you’re not just there for the cash. If I ask Therox, he’d throw a pile of cash at you. Wagner’s in town and everyone knows he has a huge inferiority complex about the ancient bastard. Stealing you away from the Lionettis, who Wagner backs, would make our dragon very happy.”

Vince scowled. “That… doesn’t help me much. It again tells me my worth is based on other factors.”

“I hate to tell you this, but I don’t think you’ll get any better answers. You’re not some common thug, V.  Every offer will be about your special circumstances. Fuck, if you’re anything like I was before I made it into the Mane Eleven, you’re looking for every excuse to shrug off proof that you’re worth as much or more than you currently are. They used to call me Princess Gaby, and I only got over that recently.”

The cops still called her that. “Do… you not like being called Gaby?” he asked.

“Nah. I’m not going to let some assholes take my name away. Call me whatever you want, V.” She winked at him. “Maybe we’ll come up with some cute pet names one day.” Her expression smoothed. “I have some words that I think can help you, though. That’s the best I can offer.”

“I’ll take anything to assuage my shattered ego,” he said, pretending to clutch at his heart.

“Well, I can tell you what I would pay you for a job. We only do short ones—a single night, maybe a few at most. I never pay more than 50k for a job, so that’d be what I offer. Anything above that means Therox has to handle it, assuming I think the enforcer is worth dragging him in for the job.”

“Fifty grand? For a single night?” he asked.

“Too low?”

“Uh, that’s crazy high. You remember how much I got paid for the hit on the traitor, right?”

“Ten grand for a hit that nobody expected to go pear-shaped, and where all costs were covered by your boss.” Gabriela eyed him oddly. “Okay, I’ve heard the Lionettis are scrooge-like, but I think this is a difference of perspective. A one-night job might still require a few weeks of planning, and usually enforcers foot their own bills. This heist of yours, what did you earn?”

He hedged. “More than double your max rate. Well, way more, but that includes bonuses.”

“Because everything went to hell, and your boss doesn’t want you running away screaming.” She nodded. “That’s arguably low, but not if costs are covered. The most dangerous jobs usually run like a quarter-mil, and enforcers might spend half of that preparing. Houou dropped nearly 3 million trying to take out Lionetti Tower—or should have, as I’ve heard they stiffed the vampire.”

“Really? That seems… unwise.”

“I’d say yes, but that cringy bitch only gets away with her shit because other vamps cover for her. Anyway, if you had been truly independent on the heist, I bet you’d have gotten at least a quarter-mil. Maybe three hundred thou.”

Funny. That came out to Kigenai’s number.

“That’s market rate, isn’t it?” he asked.

“I just said that…” She narrowed her eyes. “The Yakuza made an offer?”

“They said they’d have paid me three hundred thousand.”

“Then, yeah, that’s market rate.”

Vince leaned back. “So going above that is pretty crazy.”

“Eh, sort of.” Gabriela waved a hand from side to side while her horn’s light softened. “Someone like Juliet gets paid stupid amounts because she’s not supposed to fail. If you’re making her fail, and publicly killing corporate enforcers? I can see someone dropping a bank on you. I can’t make a profit if I take out a loan and give you a million bucks, but the conglomerates could roll up and offer you five million to fuck off without it even affecting their balance sheets. Easy way to solve a problem if they think assassins are too expensive.”

“I think I’d take five million bucks to fuck off,” he said.

Jesus fucking Christ, imagine the things he could do with five million dollars. Buying a house in a decent suburb big enough to fit all his girlfriends wouldn’t be a dream, but reality.

Gabriela’s raised eyebrows and worried look in her eyes brought him back to reality.

“That’s bad, isn’t it?” he asked.

“If I was Alessia Lionetti, survivor of two serious assassination attempts by Houou and bearer of her family’s legacy, I wouldn’t be letting my biggest and best enforcer walk out over a few dollars,” Gabriela said softly. “If Houou could turn back the clock, don’t you think they’d have thrown the money they spent on getting Juliet to kill you on hiring you?”

“They, uh, tried.”

“Ah. And you said no?”

“I didn’t want to hear the amount because…” he trailed off.

“This is why I don’t want to make you an offer. Small jobs where we ride around and have fun are one thing, but this sounds bigger.” Gabriela leaned forward and placed a hand atop his.

She smiled when he didn’t pull away. Her fingers rubbed against the back of his palm.

“I fell in love with the man that fought like hell to get past me and then risked his life to finish a minor job. You’re worth it, Vince. If you knew back then to stay true to yourself, I trust you’ll do so now.”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Thanks. I needed that.”

Relief washed over Gabriela’s face. “Good. I’m new at talking to guys, and, uh, kinda worry about appearing like this.”

“Adorable? Incredibly attractive? The puffer jacket looks amazing on you,” he said.

Her face lit up like a rocket. “I know how you got all the other girls. You’re a real flirt, huh, guapito?” But her widening smile made it clear she welcomed the compliments. “But nah, I meant my personality. I like being the big, energetic dumbass captain, and it soothes a lot of nerves in the cartel.”

“I’m kind of used to women being smart and dangerous,” he said. “If a woman is acting stupid in Immanuel, they’re probably tricking you.”

“Ah, succubi.” Gabriela made a face. “The other thing is more personal that made me more worried about you. I had a close friend who once told me that guys preferred girls whose brain matter they could see visibly leaking out their ears. The dumber, the better, right?”

Vince snorted. “This is another unicorn?”

“You bet.”

“Quite the turn of phrase. I think girls that stupid can stay in anime and books. Even Pola can take care of herself, despite her rash behavior.”

“Ah, so I’d have competition in the dumbass department if I kept up the act.” Gabriela nodded knowingly. “I definitely made the right call.”

He gave her a look and she giggled. One of her fingers drew a crude figure on the back of his hand.

Seconds passed in silence while their gazes met.

Eventually, she sighed and pulled back. “This is fun, and I’m touched you came to me over this. Even if things got deeper than I think either of us expected. But like I said—”

“Take your time,” he interrupted. “If things don’t work out with Fia, Nina, or anyone else, it’s not the end of the world. But it would be for you, wouldn’t it?”

She refused to meet his eyes, but nodded.

“Let’s organize a date next month then,” he said. “Or a coffee catch-up, or whatever you want to call it. I’ve rushed into a few relationships so far. It would be a nice change to date a girl first.”

“Wow, you do move fast.” The unicorn blinked at him.

They organized a good time for another date in two weeks. Doing so reminded Vince that Valentine’s Day was coming up. A day he’d never had to worry about in the past, and now had four girlfriends.

When he left the café, he lurked under a tree for a minute to collect his thoughts.

What he got from Gabriela nearly felt like enough. He’d confirmed how much top enforcers earned from someone who actually hired them, and worked directly with Therox, the cartel’s backer.

But a niggling doubt remained. The very thing that Nina had brought up.

What would corporate life mean?

He only knew one man who could help him answer that question.

Pulling out his phone, Vince fired off a message to Quintus Hierum, Immanuel’s executive in charge of the underworld.

We need to talk.

- - - - -

Commentary: I did warn you about Norah. Thanks to alternate history shenanigans, the British Empire never saw the sun set on it, and its does the sort of immoral coercive stuff that superpowers love to do.

Gaby is going to be a slow burn (like a lot of girls), but she has good reason for it. Harem tends to treat permanent bonding extremely lightly, and I do it as well in other series, but it would definitely be a big deal, especially in a modern environment.