Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch1

[Note: Book 4's ending has been extended and is included here to avoid confusion. There'll be a note for when the Book 4 section ends for those reading this after the Kindle version instead of Patreon.]

Once they finished cleaning up after dinner, Ally darted around the apartment to tidy up seemingly random spots. Kiho shook her head at her daughter’s antics before almost physically carrying her into the main bedroom. They emerged a few minutes later, with Ally now dressed in one of her usual sundresses and her face competing with Mars for the title of the red planet. She carried a bag full of gear.

A truly massive convoy escorted them back to Lionetti Tower. Kiho remained behind.

“Um, is this normal?” Ally asked as she leaned against Vince from one side.

Pola glowered at her and pressed against Vince’s other side. There was plenty of room for both women in their seats, but they apparently decided this was a one-seater, and his seat was the one. Lucia chuckled in the front.

Unlike past lockdowns, he didn’t spot police vans everywhere or lights flashing in the air. But he did notice police motorcycles escort them through downtown and across the bridge. This was despite the convoy consisting of a good half-dozen black Benz SUVs, no doubt stuffed to the gills with Lionetti enforcers.

“Has anything happened?” he asked Lucia.

She shook her head. “Tensions are high, though. We’re pretty certain word’s leaked of your involvement in the mess between Houou and the Yakuza, even if the heist is still a secret. Not too surprising, given we were thick with the Yakuza and you were being publicly targeted, and we’ve now fallen out.”

Ally looked at them curiously. Due to the insecurity of her apartment, they hadn’t discussed the details of the heist and Mei’s betrayal. He rubbed behind one of her fox ears to reassure her. In response, her tails whapped him.

“Not in public,” she whispered, ears flat against her head.

Pola grinned, then pulled Vince into a French kiss. She looked triumphantly at Ally, who stared at her in shock.

“You want to be part of the pack—” Pola began to say.

“Pride,” Lucia corrected. “Vince’s group of girlfriends is a pride, because Nina is top dog.”

Pola glared at Lucia.

Only for Ally to nod. “Mama explained this part. I’ll need to do my best to fit in with the other girls and prove to Miss Nina that I’m worthy of Vince.”

Pola’s ear fell and she gaze Ally a quizzical look. The wolfgirl reached out and gently patted the fox on the head.

“None of us need to prove anything,” Pola said gently.

They pulled into Lionetti Tower’s basement parking, past a patrol of enforcers that kept watch. Ally looked around in wonder as they were led to the elevators. The Lionetti enforcers kept their distance. Presumably, their job was done.

“You’ve seen this with the Yakuza, right?” he asked.

Ally grimaced, but nodded. “It was always more of an external display from Mei. But even then, they met in renovated basements or restaurants. The closest I’ve been to this is the complex my uncle owns outside NYC. I, um, think it’s the HQ for the New York Yakuza.”

“It is,” Pola said drily. “It’s in the Hamptons, right? Papa visited it with me and Alessia when we were little once. I had to wear a kimono.”

Vince tried to picture a little Pola in a kimono. It was too damn adorable.

Whereas Ally’s eyes widened and she looked away while biting her lip. Pola mirrored her expression while they rode the elevator up in near silence.

Lucia took them to Alessia’s floor. A team of bodyguards waited in the foyer. Unlike normal, they did give Ally a cursory examination. Her bag confused them, as nobody was enough of an expert to vet it.

“We, uh, usually don’t let non-vetted professionals bring a bunch of random magic tools and catalysts past here,” Lucia explained to a very nervous Ally. “Especially right now with security high. But you’re not here to work on Alessia.”

Vince had a feeling the problem wasn’t with who Ally might be working with, but the chance those catalysts could do a lot of general damage.

Once past security, they walked past Alessia’s office. Vince had expected as much after the fuss made over Ally. Instead, they entered the conference room they’d used to plan the heist.

The plans had been torn down by now. Instead, a small platter of food and drinks lay on the table. Sandwiches, danishes, and the like, along with a pot of coffee. Although the occupants all had cups, Vince suspected came from Alessia’s fancy machine and Fia held a takeaway cup.

Speaking of Fia, she stood by the door. Her blonde tail hit Vince in the legs the moment he entered.

Alessia stood by the window with Nicki beside her. The two appeared to be talking and made for an odd pair. A familiar older wolffolk male sat at the conference table with a laptop in front of him—Alessia’s lawyer, Enrico, if Vince wasn’t mistaken.

But Vince’s attention was stolen by a certain golden-haired lioness who rose from her seat and loomed over him. Nina grinned and pulled him against her with her good arm.

“I wondered if you’d visit me yesterday, and apparently you went off to chase some new tails,” Nina said.

She shot a wink at Ally, who stared up at Nina with a rapidly descending jaw. The two women were of vastly different builds and heights. Nina stood between seven and eight feet tall, and could probably compress Ally into a ball with one hand. Whereas Ally was a petite five-foot tall fluffball who was as much tail as woman.

“You’re… Nina?” Ally asked, voice almost mouse-like.

Fia, Pola, and Lucia burst into laughter, which drew the attention of Alessia and Nicki. Then Nicki began to giggle.

Shaking her head, Alessia strode over. “Don’t let them intimidate you, Alexandra.” She frowned when Vince looked at her. “Or Ally, if you prefer.”

Ally looked between Alessia and the other women and tried to draw herself up to her true height. Her tails wrapped around Vince nervously. Nina shot them an annoyed look, then schooled her expression when both Fia and Pola glared at her.

“Um, I prefer Ally,” the fox said. She nervously played with a flower ornament in her hair. “I know we’ve met before, but I didn’t know you were Vince’s, um, girlfriend.”

Alessia’s face went as red as Ally’s and she hurriedly covered her mouth with her coffee cup. The other women snickered.

“I’m not dating Alessia,” Vince said. “She’s my boss.”

Ally shot him an odd look, then looked at his actual girlfriends. When he followed her gaze, all three of them looked strangely innocent. Alessia’s eyes screamed murder.

“I think you’ll fit right in,” Fia drawled. “Welcome to the pride, Ally. Although I think you’re in the perfect position to steal the top spot. Our big gal is a little torn up.”

She ran a finger along a line of stitches across Nina’s biceps. The lioness winced.

Nina dressed mostly normally, but her right arm was bereft of any covering. Her muscles largely distracted from the fact black stitches ran around the entire circumference of a noticeable scar. A soft green glow ran along the scar.

“I got a bit roughed up,” Nina said. Vince expected her to flex her damaged arm, but she instead gripped her bad biceps with her good hand. “If you can give me a hand speeding up the healing, I’d appreciate it. Sorry we had to meet under such awkward circumstances.”

Ally’s smile lit up her face like the sun. “It’s my pleasure to meet you, and I love being able to help you and the others. I worry that I’ve been nothing but trouble. Um, if you take a seat…”

Ally pushed Nina back to her seat, and the group began to break up. Vince hovered nearby while they worked.

Both his wolfgirl girlfriends remained by his side. Their tails rubbed against his back and legs even as they chattered about various things. Their words went in one ear and out the other as he watched Ally work with Nina and prepare a healing ritual using her catalysts.

More than anything else, he felt blessed by the women by his side. Pola grinned at him while Fia rolled her eyes. Alessia shot him a smile when his eyes met hers across the room. A nervous harpy scratched the back of one leg but gave him a thumbs up. Lucia merely winked.

[Book 4 ends here with the ending spiel in the original Ch37 post. Note, this chapter will likely be heavily altered in the actual Book 5 release later this year.]

After ten minutes of fussing over Nina, Ally made little progress. She switched to a different healing ritual after running an odd-looking magic tool over Nina’s sutures.

“Sorry, I’m a little rusty at active healing,” Ally said, frustration writ all over her expression. “It’s different when I craft infusions. Especially as I don’t have to contend with another healing spell interfering with my own.”

“Take your time,” Nina said. “I’m not going anywhere for a few days.”

She flicked one of Ally’s ears with her good hand, and the fox nearly fell on her ass.

“If you can even cut a week off Nina’s healing time, we’d appreciate that,” Vince said, while Ally straightened up.

“I’ll try, but…” The fox stopped herself and slapped her cheeks. “No, I can definitely do at least that. The wound wasn’t even 24 hours old when they re-attached the arm, so it shouldn’t even scar. Mama’s told me stories about hunters who were cut in half and put back together back in Japan.”

Everyone stared at Ally.

As if on cue, Alessia glared at Pola. “Don’t even think you can come back from that, Pola.”

“I didn’t say anything,” the younger sister whined. “How would you survive that?”

“An empowerment spell, probably,” Nina said. “I use a basic painkiller spell in battle. Dulls the impacts when my punches hit something really hard, and meant I wasn’t a crybaby after I lost my arm. Based on what that Teru bitch could do, I wouldn’t be surprised if she lived through getting cut in half and had someone sew her back together. Hell, I’ve always wondered what fucked up Quintus’s leg instead of just going off rumors.”

Nicki padded across the room and ran a hand over Pola’s head. The wolfgirl’s single ear twitched and she tilted backward to stared up at the harpy’s hand.

“If you can re-attach an arm and get sewn back together, how come Pola is missing an ear?” Nicki asked.

“Um, because I lost it,” Pola said, blinking at Nicki as if she’d asked the dumbest question in the world.

The harpy glowered at Pola, then pivoted to face the rest of the room. Ally giggled at her expression while sprinkling powdered catalysts on the floor. Presumably, somebody would have to clean up that mess later.

“She really did lose it,” Nina said. “I’m not sure you’ve ever watched the videos of my fight downtown…”

Nicki shook her head and rubbed her arms. “Nah. Too… creepy given I was carried away. Even the parts after I’m missing, I see the crater that fox made around me and just…”

Fia’s arm slid around Nicki and squeezed her shoulder. The harpy shot her a smile.

“Well, I hit hard,” Nina said. “And my attacks are made to pulverize and skewer. I didn’t rip Pola’s ear off with my hands while I was grappling with her. She took a glancing blow to the side of her head from one of my earth spikes that nearly killed her and left a mess.”

Alessia looked away with hand covering the lower half of her face, eyes closed. Both Lucia and Fia grimaced.

Whereas Pola merely pouted. “Don’t make it sound like I was getting my ass kicked! I broke your barrier! And broke your arm. There was blood all over you.”

“Yours, mostly,” Nina said.

The lioness’s tone was matter-of-fact, rather than prideful or dry. She was speaking of her fateful battle with Pola, which had changed the course of both women’s lives, as if she were talking about the highlights of an old boxing match that nobody particularly cared about.

“Anyway, that sort of damage needed an instant infusion,” Nina said. “A good one. If I’d lost my arm outright, instead of carting it back, I’d…” She stared down at her wound. “Well, I’d be haggling with Alessia about how expensive of a prosthetic I can buy.”

“Wait, so you can’t regrow limbs at all?” Nicki blurted out. “What about when I lost part of my wing in that ambush?”

“It’s possible, but every hour after the wound occurs hampers recovery,” Ally said. “If cast in the minutes after a wound, a healing spell can completely restore an individual to full health or regenerate even missing limbs. Immortals can survive near obliteration in myth for this reason. But for mortals, healing magic has hard limits. After a certain point, it’s more about transforming the body or grafting on a new body part.”

Nicki stared at the fox in confusion.

Ally grimaced. “Um, if you’d been sent to hospital, they probably could have regenerated your wing. There’s something known as the 24-hour wall. Almost any wound can be healed within the first 24 hours. After that, it becomes complicated. Not everyone is willing to alter their body to undo an injury.”

Pola placed a hand over her missing ear and looked away.

“That’s why I kept my arm,” Nina said. “There was no guarantee they could have dispelled the curse within a day.”

“It’s also why cancer and degenerative diseases are still a problem,” Ally added. “Once the disease takes root, curing it means effectively rebuilding the affected parts of the body. Aging faces a similar problem.”

Fortunately, even Vince knew this one. “So you either need to stop the problem from occurring in the first place or repeatedly heal it as it happens. This is why sorcerers stay the same age instead of getting younger. Undoing the aging process means transforming their body, and transformatives still have tons of side-effects if used permanently.”

“Side-effects…” Nicki shuffled nervously.

Ally shot Vince a cautious look, and he shook his head in return.

“It might be best to talk about that in detail later,” Ally said. “I really should focus on Nina.”

The harpy’s eyes widened and she waved her hands in front of her body. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to hog your attention. Fix up the big cat.”

After Nicki drifted back to the window, Pola joined her and distracted her with natter about her fight with Nina. The harpy initially appeared nonplussed. Soon, the wolfgirl’s enthusiasm infected her, despite the morose topic, and she listened attentively to Pola’s biased account of how she absolutely, positively, nearly defeated Nina and wasn’t at all spared by an elite enforcer conflicted over their role in life.

Alessia waved a hand at Vince and led him and Fia outside. He raised an eyebrow at Nina, but she waved him out. When they passed Lucia, she winked.

“Enjoy your threesome,” Lucia said. “Ouch!”

Alessia’s fingers pinched Lucia’s forearm hard enough to leave a bruise, and the bodyguard chuckled. She remained in the conference room to keep watch.

The three of them entered Alessia’s office. The mafia don shut the doors behind them while a pair of other bodyguards took up positions outside.

“Thank you for bringing Ally over, Vince,” Alessia said. “Getting Miss Hayes back up to…”

She stopped herself, then rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“You don’t have to force yourself,” Vince said.

“It’s precisely because I am the head of the Lionetti Family that I do have to force myself,” she said. “As I said yesterday, Nina is well past the point where I talk about her so coldly.”

“It’d help if she doesn’t talk about caving Pola’s head in as if she was picking up milk,” Fia said while rubbing one arm. “Even that was a bit much for me. Dunno how Pola shrugged it off.”

The two wolfgirls shook their heads and their tails shivered.

Alessia led them to dining space rather than the lounges. Before they could settle in, she drained her own cup and eyed Fia’s. The other wolfgirl shook her head.

Vince held a hand up to forestall her. “Before you rush off to get us more caffeine, what is this about? You left both Pola and Nina behind, so this can’t be too important.”

“They can be briefed later,” Alessia said. “And this is more of a planning session. Pola would get confused due to the hierarchy.”

That explained why she didn’t want Nina involved. Even if Alessia was trying to act warmer toward the lioness, she had no love for Nina’s brusque attitude and willingness to ignore decorum.

Or, put another way, Nina enjoyed needling people. Her knack for pissing people off couldn’t be denied. She’d managed to ruffle even Kiyoko’s feathers, and the Yakuza tengu rarely did more than raise an eyebrow.

“The city is settling into a new normal, as detestable as that term is.” Alessia made a face. “Unless something happens, I expect we’ll begin lowering security again over the weekend.”

The heist had been on Wednesday night. Today was the second full day since it had started, making it Friday. Vince had lost track of time and genuinely need to focus on the day of the week thanks to how long the heist had run into Thursday morning.

“Lucia said everything seemed fine,” he said.

“It is,” Fia said. “Fine, that is.”

“More than fine,” Alessia corrected. “The heist might have been a trap, but we’ve come out of this smelling like roses.”

“You’ve come out of this smelling like roses.” Fia glared out the window. Her fingers crushed the sides of her takeaway coffee cup. “The heist wasn’t just a trap, it was a disaster. Duilio’s dead, along with Zaira and two of our girls. We’re damn lucky we didn’t lose nearly the entire team. And despite Vince’s idea to hit the Yakuza, we got nothing—”

“Fia, I love you, but shut up,” Vince said.

His girlfriend stared at him, while Alessia laughed under her breath.

“I agree with Vince,” Alessia said. “Fia, shut up. You’re beating yourself up.”

She flicked Fia’s nose, causing her advisor to recoil with a scrunched up face. Alessia then turned on her heel and strode into the kitchenette, her tail swaying from side to side behind her.

Ignoring Fia’s sour look, Vince wrapped an arm around her back. Her tail whapped the back of his legs as they followed Alessia.

None of them spoke while the don made two coffees. The liquor and various flavored syrups remained untouched while Alessia let her fancy coffee machine work its magic. Fia loudly sipped her coffee, as if to rub it in their faces.

Once they each had a caffeinated beverage, they sat around the mahogany dining table in front of Alessia’s desk. Vince wasn’t sure he’d ever sat here. The chairs were plush, but it was still a dining table. He wondered how often Alessia ate here, or if she was the sort to eat at her desk while working.

“Fia, surviving the heist was an achievement in and of itself,” Alessia said. “I know you feel responsible because you planned it, but I am the head of the Family and I agreed to work with the Yakuza.”

The other wolfgirl inclined her head and said nothing.

“More to the point, the heist wasn’t the trap. Everything was.” Alessia looked pointedly at Vince. “Even before I hired Vince, Houou and Masaki Hatoyama intended to erase us. I thought we’d poked the bear and allied with the Yakuza to defend ourselves, unaware that the Yakuza had poked the bear first. If we’d survived, I’d be happy. Instead, the mafia is the strongest it’s been since my father’s assassination. Our territory has doubled, investors are approaching us, we’re actively recruiting, and I can say we have elite enforcers again.”

“Is that me or Nina?” Vince asked drily.

Fia smirked. “I don’t think I want to answer that. Nina will kill me no matter what I say. She’s so proud of how well you fought, but if I shittalk her for losing her arm, she’ll rip mine off.”

A knock sounded on the door. One of the bodyguards poked her head in. A plate of danishes hovered in her hand, which she deposited on the table.

Vince took one, even though he wasn’t sure if he really needed more sweet things after the breakfast he’d eaten. It was a damn nice danish, though.

“So, planning,” he said.

Alessia nodded, mouth covered by her coffee cup. She lowered it and sighed. Her ears twitched, and the sunlight streaming through her floor-to-ceiling office windows twinkled on her earrings.

“I want to wait until the weekend before making plans regarding the Yakuza,” she said. “By then, Mei should have recovered. If what you heard from the Inaba twins was correct, the fighting will intensify. Should Houou crush her swiftly…”

“We can’t enact our plan,” he said.

“Exactly.” Alessia’s eyebrows lowered ever so slightly. “Otherwise, I expect a battle of attrition to begin. The ‘new normal’ of the past couple of days will settle in for weeks, perhaps. Enrico’s preparing a contract in the other room for exactly that reason.”

Vince winced. He’d almost forgotten the lawyer’s presence entirely, as the man had kept his silence the entire time.

What did the old man make the antics of the women?

“Today, I want to deal with your current contract,” Alessia said, focusing her gaze on Vince.

Vince’s expression turned to stone. Immediately, both women broke down in giggles.

He scowled at them. “What?”

“I told you he’d react like this,” Fia said.

“You did.” Alessia shook her head. Her eyes twitched with each giggle that escaped her mouth. “My apologies, but you do a poor job of acting businesslike, Vince. Nina pulls it off because she always has a gruff edge, but you go from overly friendly and flirtatious to poker face too fast.”

“Uh huh.” He did not appreciate their teasing.

Wasn’t the whole point of negotiation to have a poker face? Maybe he should ask somebody other than Nina how to approach this.

Who the hell could he ask?

“So, the contract is a bit of a mess,” he said, dropping the poker face. “Mei planned to cover all the expenses. I don’t know if you got the money from her, but…”

“The vast majority of the expenses we incurred for equipment, magic tools, infusions, and other incidentals were wired over a week prior to the heist,” Alessia explained. “We’re only short Mei’s grandiose promises to pay everyone extra. Including you.”

“Especially me,” Vince said drily.

She shot him an annoyed look and kicked him lightly under the table. Her tail wagged, so he simply winked at her. For some reason, their playful actions caused Fia to grin. Alessia’s face reddened once she spotted Fia’s face.

Alessia coughed, and Vince knew his dreams of financial security had gone up in smoke.

Okay, that was harsh. Even with Mei’s extra cash, the heist was far from retirement money. Including the amount she’d originally offered, his total payment would have fallen shy of half a million, particularly once he took out some of his expenses. Nina’s expenses would skyrocket thanks to the damage done to her enforcer gear, which cost a ton more than his. With just Alessia’s payment, they were looking at far less income.

Hell, he worried if she’d be in the negative after what Teru did to her.

“I hate to be the one playing bad cop, but I think I need to pull a Nina,” Vince said, resuming his poker face.

Fia grimaced, while Alessia blinked several times at him.

“We knew the heist was bad, but the damages got far worse. Especially as the main reason we didn’t pull out was because of your obligations,” he said.

Alessia shot Fia an odd look. Mostly because the blonde wolfgirl rubbed the back of her neck.

“We knew the Twins, illusioned as Agent, were interested in the heist a few days beforehand,” Fia said. “The day we, uh, redecorated your desk.”

Alessia’s eyes turned to slits. “Ignoring that last part, I understand. We were in too deep, but…” She sighed. “You’re pushing for more money, Vince. That’s not the issue.”

“I think it is,” he said. “Nina nearly died. Hell, I did, too. More than that, Nina’s expenses—”

“I’ll cover any expenses you sustained during the heist,” Alessia said hotly. Her hands clenched into fists before she lowered them beneath the table.

Hurt flashed across her face and she glared into her coffee cup for a few seconds, before draining it and retreating into the kitchenette.

Vince remained seated.

Fingers rubbed the back of his hand. Fia gave him a strained smile.

“I get it,” she said. “For what it’s worth, I think you do need to stand up for yourself. But I don’t think Alessia is about to play hard ball. For once.”

He snorted. “For once?”

“Maybe rub that in her face when she comes back. She can play the sensitive princess, but not after being the ice queen.”

When Alessia returned with another cup of coffee, her tail hung low and didn’t move. Vince eyed her warily.

Was he about to see the return of the ice queen who nickel and dimed him on every negotiation?

“To be clear, Vince, we’re far beyond the point where I want to battle you over small matters,” Alessia said, voice soft. “I won’t write you a blank check. But you’re too valuable to fight with over a few thousand dollars.”

“Nina’s enforcer outfit costs six figures.”

The don’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. “And she just wears that around?”

“I mean, people usually don’t chop her arm off or knock her around the place.”

“Merda,” Alessia muttered. She straightened up. “I’ll cover the repairs, but she’s not buying a whole new enchanted outfit unless she proves she really, really needs one.”

So much for being beyond the point of battling him, but he let that dragon lie. But he would take Fia’s advice.

“Uh huh. I’l ltake what I can get, but you really can’t act sour when you constantly play the miser when it comes to money, Alessia,” he said. “Especially after bragging about how well the mafia is doing.”

She spluttered, then scowled at Fia. “You’re never on my side.”

“I am your consigliere.”

“Mine, or Vince’s?”

“Yours, but I am Vince’s girlfriend. You could consider me the advisor within his pride.” Fia grinned.

Alessia said something in Italian. Presumably something unkind, given the way Fia looked at her.

“I’ll make things clear, Vince,” Alessia said, trying to wrest back control of the conversation. “I’ll pay out all current contracts. The previous one was supposed to end after three months. I’ll bring it forward a month as there’s no point keeping it current. Juliet was hired by Houou, and they’re not our primary target anymore.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I’ll still need to deal with her, because—”

“That’s your problem,” she said snippily. “I’m giving you over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Vince. Try to just take it and be thankful.”

Wincing, he realized how ungrateful he had sounded. “Sorry. And thanks. I do appreciate it. Even if it is for work.”

“It’s for a job well done,” Alessia clarified, relaxing a little. “That’s not the end, though.”

“You want me to sign a new contract.”

“I said we’d talk about that over the weekend.”

Vince stared at her in confusion. Even Fia raised an eyebrow. By now, she’d finished her coffee and ran her fingers around the rim of her cup.

“I can’t make the associate offer again. Immanuel is too interested in you. But at this point, I want to make it clear that, if you do take future contracts, you are an associate in all but name, Vince.” Alessia stared into his eyes. “But the bonus I’m offering is independent of that fact.”

An odd feeling churned in his stomach, but he ignored it. “Bonus? After that heist?”

“Mei cheated you of a large amount of funds. That meant the possibility of paying you more for the increasing danger never came up, when it otherwise would have.”

Fair. Even if it was unusual for Alessia to be so generous.

“More concerning is the fact you’re in immense danger and have been the direct target of both the Yakuza and Houou,” she continued. “Other than paying any extra expenses you incurred, my bonus is simple. I need you to move, Vince. You’re in constant danger and your apartment is unsafe. If you won’t move into the penthouse with Pola and myself, then I’ll arrange for an agent to show you condos and townhouses. Pick one that isn’t obscenely priced, and you can have it.”

- - - - -

Commentary: Book 5 finally starts, a day later than I planned and just one chapter.

Book 4 comes out today (and is already out for some of you). If you're buying it, I'd definitely appreciate it if you borrow it through Kindle Unlimited for a reread, as that will give it a boost and help Amazon recommend it to others. Reviews are also really appreciated. There are also a few changes to the book: the kidnapping section early on is completely changed, including the later portions referring to it; the sex scenes are added; and the ending was extended as shown above (plus probably a bunch of other minor changes I've forgotten).

We're opening Book 5 with the continued fallout of the heist, namely with its impact on Vince. There's very much a focus on how both he and the Lionettis need to move up in the world. Again, I'm not writing all of Book 5 now - just part of it before shifting to Demon's Throne.