Mob Sorcery 2 - Ch20

Chapter 20

The soft amber rays of dawn woke Vince in the morning. Although Pola’s bedroom faced north, that did little to stop the sun from blasting through the curtainless windows that stood two stories tall.

His body ached, especially around his pelvis. Sure, the pills had prevented Pola from crushing his balls, but he doubted they’d been made for a woman of her enthusiasm or strength. Pangs of pain rippled along his body as he stretched in bed.

Doing so caused the wolfgirl cuddled against him to murmur and pull him against her like a teddy bear. He seized up, worried she’d crush him, but found her grip to be surprisingly gentle. Pola nuzzled her head and ear against his chest. The fluffy sensation around one leg suggested she’d wrapped her tail around his leg in her sleep.

He stroked her head while thinking. That also proved to be a painful mistake. A dull stinging pain rang throughout his brain, as if somebody had driven a spike through his eye. It weakened, but remained a fairly constant presence.

The thirst for magic sat deep within his mind. But it failed to resemble anything else he’d experienced. He was used to the thirst by now. Last night, it had struck him hard. To say nothing of all the times he’d run close to empty.

Yet this time, it felt deeper. Like a more fundamental lust for magic that coursed throughout his entire body. Jokingly, Vince wondered if he was secretly a vampire that lusted for magic instead of blood.

He knew he had to be close to human, however. Juliet’s little spell in their duel proved it.

Rather, he’d somehow pushed himself too far. He’d expected the consequence of using too many infusions to be vomiting them back up or collapsing. That’s what he’d read about online. Instead, something more sinister lurked within his body.

If the thirst lingered even after he downed an energy drink or other magic-restoring food, Vince knew he needed to get some serious medical help. Ideally without letting anyone know he might have fucked up this badly.

The thirst was a reminder that the body lacked enough magic to sustain itself, after all.

He rose, leaving Pola in bed. Her tail unwrapped itself as he tugged against it. She rolled over into his remaining warmth, spreading out her arms in her sleep as she mumbled cutely. Pola was a deep sleeper, apparently.

The lights of the bathroom turned on automatically when he opened one of the frosted sliding doors that separated it from the bedroom. Inside stood a bathing wonderland, so to speak.

More floor-to-ceiling windows dominated even the bathroom, granting a view of the bay and the Pacific Ocean beyond. The bathroom was a marble affair, with an open shower that occupied the far wall with two showerheads high enough that Vince would struggle to reach them. A stone bath large enough to fit two or three people looked out the windows.

“The bathroom alone is worth more than my apartment,” he muttered as he checked for towels and toiletries.

Fortunately, there was an entire cupboard stocked with what he needed beneath the oversized sink. He turned on the shower and marveled at the instant hot water. Presumably, it wouldn’t run out after five minutes.

Vince nearly made up his mind to marry Pola then and there.

As he cleaned and lathered up, the aches in his body faded away. Or at least, he got used to them beneath the pummeling of the hot water.

Then he turned and realized he’d left the sliding door open. Pola lay awake on the bed, resting her head on one hand. She stared at him with a grin, her tail flicking back and forth above her body.

“Enjoying the view?” he tried to ask above the roar of the shower.

Maybe she heard him anyway, as she bounced out of bed. Her tits bounced in the process, and he realized he might need a second shower to clean up after this one.

Pola slunk up to him. The water poured down her face, wetting her hair and causing her ear to droop. She wrapped herself around him and pressed her breasts against his chest.

“Good morning, Vince,” she purred. Her tail sprayed water everywhere as it whirred.

“Morning. Are we cleaning up or…” He gripped her butt with one hand.

She blinked. Then poked him in the side of his hip.

He hissed without even meaning to. Pola rolled her eyes.

“Thought so.” She huffed. “Fia and the others told me not to have sex in the morning because I’d probably go too hard. I thought they’d be wrong, but…”

Pola seemed put out. Vince recalled that Fia had told him to take another pill when he woke up, but he’d forgotten to.

Then again, he probably shouldn’t. Memories of the insane selfie Pola had taken came to mind.

So he shrugged. “We can work out time in the future, Pola. Once my hips aren’t dust.”

“I wasn’t that bad, was I?” she whined.

Vince mimicked being an old man, and Pola nearly pushed him over. Or she did, but caught him before he fell over.

“Sorry,” she said, cheeks red. “Um, let’s clean up.” Then a wicked grin ran over her face. “I can definitely clean you up another way.”

Once Pola finished giving him her first proper blowjob—one she actually took until the end—they cleaned up properly. She insisted on washing as much of his body as possible, but seemed antsy when he did the same in return. He insisted and she let him wash her back at least. Every time he ran across a sensitive part of her body or certain scars, she’d seize up and he’d slow down.

“Sorry,” she mumbled again.

“It’s fine,” he said. “Is this a guy thing, or…?”

She shook her head. “I just… don’t like being touched much. We used to have a live-in maid when I was in high school. Papa sent me and Sis here because it took too long to get to school from home. Like a lot of people, she left after the attack.”

Pola’s eyes hardened. The flex of her fists told Vince everything he needed to know.

But a live-in maid? Pola truly was a princess. No wonder she thought nothing of dumping ice in whiskey worth thousands of dollars.

This was also where he ran into the true reminder of how much of a princess Pola was. Vince had finished cleaning well and truly by now, especially with her focus on him. She began fiddling with her lusciously long hair.

Dread filled him. Nina applied minimal care to her “mane” because of how little hot water they had, which is why it became such a mess and needed his personal care every week. He knew how much effort was needed to take care of so much hair.

“Want a hand?” he asked Pola.

She bit her lip and stepped away. “Um… Sorry.”

Third time already. This time he experienced mixed feelings hearing it.

Vince pushed them away and shrugged. “I understand. It’s a personal thing. I’ll leave you to it.”

Her eyes filled with emotion and he stepped out of the shower, but Pola said nothing. With the sex over, she seemed to have been reminded of some of her demons, especially in her own bedroom, which was her sanctum. Vince decided against pushing.

Especially as he’d said himself last night that this was only sex for now. This morning was the optimal chance to work out what else stood between them. Like some long-standing trauma that Pola otherwise kept hidden. Alessia had said Pola had difficulty with everyone outside the Lionetti Family, after all.

His clothes lay strewn across the floor of Pola’s gargantuan bedroom. He attempted to admire her room, then gave up due to the mess. Instead, he threw on yesterday’s clothes while regretting his lack of any deodorant to cover up the smell.

Sure, Pola had a bunch of fancy perfume bottles sitting on a shelf, but he sincerely doubted any of those were to his taste. Not to mention that a single sniff would cost more than his entire ensemble.

He checked his phone while staring out the tinted windows. Just like those in the living room, these appeared to keep out prying eyes using magic.

Nothing from Nina. Hell, not even Nicki or Ronin had reached out. Probably because they suspected he’d be sleeping in today. His phone told him it wasn’t even 8AM. Even with the late sunrise this close to winter, he was up far earlier than he expected after last night.

Fia had messaged him roughly 20 minutes ago, however.

Figure you’ll need a bite to eat. Knowing Pola, you’ll be up around now, she said.

He read the message a couple of times before he comprehended it, then cursed and slipped out of the room.

Only to remember where he was. Pola had led him down a couple of corridors to get to her bedroom, and the many closed doors left him a little confused. Even with the addition of daylight streaming through the skylights and windows.

Vince did his best to get his bearings. The corridor leading to Pola’s room seemed to be a dead-end, in the sense that the door at the very end led to a terrace balcony. Another closed door led somewhere he remained uninterested in.

Wandering down the hall, he ignored the general opulence surrounding him. Fancy paintings decorated the walls and elegant stands sometimes held expensive vases. Part of him wondered if all of them should hold vases. He found the answer in some shards hidden in a corner. The lack of dust suggested somebody had shattered something fairly recently, and missed the pieces.

Notably, nothing living resided here other than Pola. No indoor plants at all.

He corrected himself when he stepped into the next corridor. Pola might not be the only resident. A long corridor contained no less than five doors, plus what he guessed to be a pair of cupboards. One of those doors bore elegant gold letters that spelled out Alessia’s name.

Pola had said the girls had come here for school. Vince wondered why they still lived here instead of their family home, wherever it was. Assuming Alessia did, in fact, still live here.

If she had come here overnight, he hoped the soundproofing was good. Pola had started howling at one point.

As Alessia’s room stood at the far end, Vince guessed the other side led to the living room.

His guess proved correct. He found himself in the absurdly huge main room of the penthouse, which acted as a combined kitchen, dining, and living space. Except, unlike the cheap open plan space of his apartment, this one felt like it had been built to be enjoyed as separate spaces. Hell, the living room was on a slightly lower level, with a twenty-foot couch curling along the length of the recess that separated the spaces.

He'd expected to see a TV the size of the wall to match, but the windows prevented that. In fact, there wasn’t a TV at all. An empty entertainment unit sat where one should be for some reason.

A gentle chime emanated from beyond the kitchen, where he’d wandered in last night. After a few seconds, it grew in volume. That had to be the door, or elevator, or whatever alerted him to guests.

An in-built panel in the entrance hall showed Fia standing in the foyer just outside the door, two bags in her hands. She waited patiently, twirling an unlit cigarette in her fingers.

Vince stared at the panel, which consisted of a touch screen with a dozen pictorial icons but no words or explanations of what anything did. None of them looked like an unlock or open button. Why the fuck did tech companies hate making things simple or easy to use? Sure, the screen looked cool, but did Pola even know how it worked?

After a few seconds, he simply walked over and opened the door.

“Morning,” Fia said, looking him up and down. “You don’t smell of sex and I can’t hear Pola, so I’m guessing she’s still asleep.”

“Showering. I forgot to take the second pill, but she remembered not to break me.” He stepped back and gestured her inside. “Can any capo use the elevator to get up here?”

“Not anyone. Pola and Alessia only hand out fobs to people they like. I had one before I was even a capo.” Fia strode straight into the kitchen and plopped her bags onto the counter. “Good to hear the protection worked. I was a little worried Pola might be too strong for it.”

He grimaced as he leaned against the counter next to her. His hips still stung. “She was. I’m certain I’m not supposed to feel like I fell fifty feet on my ass.”

“Ah. Well, I guess that means the two of you had fun.” She grinned. “How’d you sleep? Enjoy the penthouse? I imagine it’s a step up.”

“A step? This is more like taking the express elevator from the underworld to heaven.” He waved a hand at the windows, with the gorgeous view of the bay, which glittered in the morning sun. “How much does this place cost, anyway? I’m assuming the Lionettis own it.”

“The Family doesn’t rent,” Fia drawled. “I’m no property expert, but my Dad mentioned this place is worth tens of millions at least. He didn’t even bother putting a price on their family estate out in the hills, as they’d never sell it.”

Vince nearly choked on his own saliva. “Tens of…”

He stared blankly at the kitchen, which was full of the latest top-of-the-line appliances, and no less than four ovens. Given how clean they were, he doubted anyone even used them. Although the breakfast bar looked worn and he’d spotted a wine fridge on the other side of it.

“Hey, Alessia’s offer to marry into the family is still open.” Fia pulled out some drinks from one bag as she talked. “Dunno if Pola bothered to give you the tour before jumping on your dick, but there’s two unused bedrooms here. Plenty of room to squeeze in Nina.”

He remained dead silent.

Fia caught on and stopped fiddling with her bags. “Wow. You’re actually thinking about it, aren’t you?”

“Let’s just say it’s a good thing Alessia isn’t here to make the offer here and now,” he muttered, running a hand down his face. “It’s one thing to talk up my independence in theory. Another when I’m staring down more money than sin. Alessia’s playing hardball over my pay while her sister lives here.”

“Both of them live here, although Alessia splits her time pretty evenly between her condo in Lionetti Tower and here.”

“What about the family estate?”

“I don’t think Pola’s been there since the assassination. Alessia goes there once a year for family matters and to make sure nothing goes missing,” Fia said.

Damn. He really had underestimated the sheer amount of wealth the Lionettis controlled. They were old money in the city and had practically controlled the whole place once.

Something cold pressed against his cheek, pulling him from his thoughts. He turned and saw Fia holding some sort of coffee drink up.

“You need to stop doing that,” he said.

“But it’s fun.” She smirked. “Anyway, drink up. I know you’ll need a proper supply of magic after last night and Pola doesn’t keep energy drinks around. This is a lot better than that junk anyway.”

He took the drink and looked it over. “It’s coffee-flavored milk. Infused with magic. You got me magic coffee milk.”

“Yes. It’s good for you.”

Shrugging, he undid the cap and took a gulp. It was decent, mostly because it tasted like coffee and wasn’t loaded with sugar. “I thought milk was bad for dogs.”

Fia hit him in the arm.

“Fine. I thought milk was bad for wolves.”

“We’re wolffolk, not actual wolves. And you’re human, so drink up.”

However, she pulled out a black iced coffee drink for herself. Hypocrite.

The other bag contained food and interested Vince far more. Once she cracked open the paper bags, the scent of breakfast sausage struck his nose and he groaned.

“Forget the milk, give me the sausage,” he said.

“Did you make Pola say that last night?” Fia asked.

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I needed to say it, because she sure as hell acted like it. Anyway, gimme.”

A pair of breakfast rolls came out, each wrapped in parchment paper and containing breakfast sausage, bacon, cheese, and egg. A white aioli leaked out. Naturally, they tasted delicious. Vince and Fia bit into them in silence. A third sat in the bag, waiting for Pola to eventually join them.

Fia paused halfway through hers, flecks of sauce on her lips that she lapped up with her tongue. She put the sandwich down and took a swig of her iced coffee.

“So, are you serious when you say you’d marry Pola if Alessia asked you right now?” She stared out the window, refusing to look up at him.

Vince stopped eating his own sandwich. “It’s a harder proposal to say no to. I live job to job. Right now, I feel I’m being indirectly slapped in the face by wads of cash.”

“Yeah, Pola does that. Alessia’s tighter with the money, because she manages the entire empire and needs to balance the books, plus keep the branch families happy. But both of them are princesses.” Fia looked up at him and poked him in the chest. “If you continue to say no, are you going to hold all this wealth against Pola? You said you’d think about what comes after the sex later, but I don’t think you can form a relationship if you’re pissy about how much money she has.”

“This isn’t a fairytale. I can’t magically get over all the cash the sisters splash around,” he said. “Even if I’m refusing a chance to get a shot at it. It’s not like it’s mine if I just marry into it.”

“They were born into it.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. That’s not my problem, though. In the end, I’ll be dealing with Pola as she is, which will include all the unsanded edges and her profligacy.”

“Big word. Didn’t you give me shit last night over ‘vamoose?’” Fia narrowed her eyes and bit into her sandwich.

“Profligacy is a modern and accurate word. Vamoose sounds like something from the 1950s.”

“Sure thing, old man.”

He glared at her. Defiant, Fia simply grinned at him around bites of her sandwich.

They ate in silence for a little longer. Pola couldn’t be too far away, he assumed. His peace and quiet with Fia would soon be interrupted.

“Did you plan to hang around this morning?” he asked.

“Depends on your plans. If you’re going to take another pill and make a mess of the couch, I’ll go enjoy my weekend. Otherwise, I can give you a lift.” She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder at the elevator. “Pola’s not the only girl you need to worry about.”

He winced. “Nina told you about last night?”

Fia’s expression vanished, and she looked at him with an unreadable expression. “Told me about what? I messaged her you wouldn’t be home due to the party. She’s said nothing to me since.” When he said nothing, she pushed further, “Vince?”

He sighed and fished his phone from his pocket, pulled up the messaging app and passed it to Fia. “Pola sent her a… surprise.”

The door opened right as he handed Fia the phone and Pola walked in, wearing a fancy black top with silk edges but only a pair of white panties on her bottom half. Vince’s eyes shot to the long, gorgeous pale legs padding into the living room. Pola’s ear shot up upon spotting him and her tail began to wag, before she tilted her head at Fia.

“Oh, Fia, you’re here. I thought I heard you,” Pola said.

But Fia wasn’t paying attention to her superior. Instead, that empty expression was slowly contorting into an expression of utter rage and confusion. Vince hadn’t seen anything like it on her face before. Or anyone’s really. She seemed furious, yet uncertain about what she was looking at.

“Cazzo! Merda!” Fia spat, abruptly reverting to Italian. “Pola, what the fuck? Have you lost your fucking mind? What the hell is this?”

She thrust Vince’s phone across the breakfast bar so that Pola could look. Presumably, it showed the selfie Pola had taken of her riding him last night.

Pola immediately puffed up with pride, which looked ridiculous in her current outfit. “I had to make my claim clear to that bitch. She got to Vince first, but I’m on top now. And I wanted her to know it.”

Spluttering, Fia dropped the phone. Vince snatched it up.

“You… Do you even know who Vince’s girlfriend is?” Fia asked.

Pola sneered. “Of fucking course. I’ve smelled her on him almost from the start. I didn’t recognize the scent at first, but do you think I’m going to forget the enforcer who ripped my ear off, just because she’s all over a guy? My nose isn’t busted like yours.”

Vince and Fia stared at Pola in disbelief.

So, his hunch had been right. Pola had known all along and had now admitted as much. She also held a bit of a grudge, judging from the way she said “bitch.”

Within seconds, Fia’s disbelief transformed back into rage. She vaulted over the counter into the living room.

“You knew the whole fucking time and didn’t tell me?” Fia snapped. “Here I am, covering for you and Vince so you don’t get your head smashed in, and you know, then fucking taunt her.” She stalked right up to Pola, who reared up, tail and ear bolt upright.

“You knew as well and didn’t tell me,” Pola said.

“Yeah, because I knew you’d do something fucking dumb. Like send a photo of you with Vince’s dick in you to his girlfriend before either of you can talk to her.” Fia pushed Pola, only for the other wolfgirl to grab her arm. “Do you remember how I told you that talking helps and not to treat Vince like meat? That applies even after you fuck him.”

Pola’s eyes filled with fury and her knuckles whitened around Fia’s hand. “This isn’t like that. I’m not using Vince. He’s my mate now. But I’m making sure that bitch knows her place in the pack now that we’re together. What’s the problem?”

“Um,” Vince tried to say, aware that Pola seemed to be acting under some misapprehension over what last night meant.

Sure, the mating talk had been hot in the heat of the moment, but he felt he’d been pretty clear that taking things further than sex was a “later” thing.

Neither woman seemed to hear him. Fia instead growled and lashed out at Pola with her free hand.

A pushing and shoving match resulted for a few seconds, as both wolfgirls struggled for dominance. Pola’s raw strength granted her the upper hand and Fia began to buckle.

“It’s not about using him,” Fia ground out, about to fall to her knees. “It’s about growing the fuck up and treating people properly.”

Fia fell to the ground, and Pola fell off balance. In a rush of tails and hair, the two tumbled. Fia’s leg swept Pola’s out from under her, but the sottocapo simply fell on her underling with a growl and lashing claws. Neither used magic, but their raw strength meant they didn’t need to.

Both tumbled across the floor. Fia’s fist slammed into Pola’s face to little effect, while Pola tore one of Fia’s jacket arms off and her nails drew blood through her clothes. The deep red quickly soaked into her shirt.

“Fucking hell, calm down,” Vince snapped, leaping over the counter himself now. His food and drink lay forgotten.

Using strength to pull them apart was foolhardy. He’d need to throw one into a fire cage.

But before he could reach for his spell, Fia slammed her head into Pola’s.

Dazed, Pola loosened her grip, and Fia seized her opportunity. Her leg snapped up faster than Vince could blink. It slammed into Pola’s torso.

Pola flew across the room, hurtling toward the windows at breakneck speed.

Vince’s heart stopped. His mind played out the next several seconds before he even saw them.

Pola would strike the windows and they’d shatter, whatever magic might be holding them together. This high up, she’d tumble dozens of stories to her death. The scream would haunt him. None of his spells, nor Pola’s or Fia’s could stop her from falling.

Then reality returned. Pola hit the windows with a dull thud and a grunt. She collapsed to the floor.

Slowly, Fia rose and clutched her side where Pola had punched her nails into her skin. Pola rose as well, rubbing her back. The two women glared at each other.

“Done trying to kill each other?” Vince asked, genuinely amazed. “Do you have a stash of healing infusions for your little brawls?”

“Yes,” Fia said. “There’s one in the pantry.”

She waved at a small room in the corner of the room, opposite the kitchen. Figured that Pola and Alessia kept a stock of infusions for themselves.

Not that Fia let him grab them. She wandered into the pantry herself and returned momentarily with a couple of small green vials. After tossing one to Pola, she drank the other. Then she frowned.

“Pola, what happened to the TV?” Fia asked.

“It broke,” Pola said, refusing to meet her eyes as she wandered over to the breakfast bar.

“Why didn’t you buy a new one?”

“Alessia said I need to wait a month.”

“… so you mean that you broke it, not that it broke.” Fia rolled her eyes as she reached across the breakfast bar and grabbed the last of her roll. “What pissed you off so badly that you smashed it? I notice that a few other things are missing, too.”

Pola’s eyes landed on Vince but she said nothing.

Hmm. He had a feeling he knew the answer.

Rather than say it aloud, he grabbed the bag with her breakfast sandwich and tossed it to her. There appeared to be an iced coffee for her, so he threw it as well.

“I was going to eat that,” Fia said. “She doesn’t deserve food this morning. And I’m not apologizing for starting that fight. You should be kicking her ass, yourself.”

“I’m not kicking her ass because it won’t accomplish anything,” he said. “I’ll apologize for Nina about not giving her a proper heads up, but she made it clear she was open to me, uh…” He scratched his cheek, aware of the words about to escape his mouth and how inside they sounded.

“Fucking other women?” Fia asked, lips quirking upward.

“That. Yeah. She’s talked a lot about how I’ll form a pride and her… position in it.” He looked at Pola, who let out a harrumph.

“See, Vince is nice. Just as my mate should be,” Pola said proudly, before eating half her breakfast sandwich in one bite. Yolk and aioli dribbled down her chin before she lapped it up. “But I don’t know about being part of a pride. Shouldn’t it be a pack if I’m the leader?”

He sighed. “Okay, we do need to talk about that.”

“About what?”

“The mate thing. And everything going forward. Nina is only a sliver of the problem, even if you’ve picked a fight with her. Do you remember what I told you when I agreed to sleep with you last night?” He wolfed down the rest of his sandwich and drummed his fingers against his own drink.

Pola screwed up her face. Vince resisted the urge to walk over and clean up some of the sauce she’d missed earlier.

“Um, Lucia said something about how we weren’t dating.” She blinked. “But we’re still mating. That’s what’s important, right?”

Well, shit. It seemed Pola missed what was important in his words.

Fia ran a hand down her face. “He meant that last night was sex, and the two of you need to spend more time together to work out if more comes of it. Because he was being Vindick, the only enforcer who casts magic using his cock.”

“Hey,” he muttered.

“I think his focus is his cane,” Pola said.

Both of them stared at her, and she smirked.

“My point, Pola, was that we need to find some time to talk things out,” he said. “The sex is great. But especially with Nina involved and the fact I’m only an independent enforcer taking a job with the Lionettis”—Fia shot him an annoyed look—“we’re not exactly a settled couple.”

Pola frowned. “You can just join the family.”

“He’s not wolffolk or Italian,” Fia said flatly.

“Oh.” Pola blinked. Then her eyes widened. “Wait, how does he join us? I know we used to have human enforcers.”

“Marriage.”

Silence.

Vince sighed. This wasn’t how he had wanted this conversation to go. He’d wanted to steer things toward a date this weekend once he calmed Nina down. Something where he could get to know Pola one-on-one without it being entirely about sex or work.

Instead, her face began to redden and she picked at her shirt with one hand. Her tail swished low and rapidly. Fia had less-than-subtly sabotaged his effort to turn things around here.

He reminded himself that even if he got along with Fia, she felt very strongly about her position in the Lionettis. Getting him to marry Pola was almost certainly part of her job.

“We have a lot to talk about and work through before we get to marriage,” Vince said. “That includes spending time together outside of work and bed.”

Pola’s tail whirred. “Oh! That sounds fun. You mean other than just drinking?”

“I know you have hobbies beyond getting smashed, Pola,” Fia said. “Maybe you should look up dating next, rather than pick-up lines.”

The two wolves glared at each other again.

A loud buzzing from the doorway interrupted them. Everyone looked over at it. Fia and Pola appeared alarmed.

“Wait, it chimed earlier,” Vince said.

Pola ignored him and dashed over.

“The chime means somebody’s in the foyer. Usually a capo or bodyguard,” Fia explained. “The buzzer is elevator access in the building lobby.”

“Wouldn’t it be pranked a lot?” he asked.

“That’s what building security is there to stop. Plus, there’s usually enforcers here if Pola or Alessia are here. There’s actually a guard room attached to the foyer for Alessia’s bodyguards.”

Sounded like a cushy job. Then again, Lucia and the other bodyguards had nearly all died last night, so maybe not. They’d proven to be quite capable fighting off the hit squad.

A strangled scream reached them from the hallway. A silver blur shot through the living room and crashed through the door with a slam. Vince presumed that had been Pola.

Fia rushed toward the panel, which showed a camera view of the lobby. He followed.

The cause of Pola’s panic became apparent.

Surrounded by a half-dozen enforcers was Pola’s worst nightmare.

Nina stood outside the elevator, dressed in her old enforcer outfit and wearing her gauntlet.

- - - - -

Commentary: The slow morning after, complete with surprise lion. Fia continues to play a mixture of wingman, Lionetti cheerleader, and a woman with some complicated thoughts about Vince. She's also a procurer of good food for him.

The penthouse is potentially going to come up enough that I might need to create an actual floorplan for it, in order to avoid contradicting myself about its layout. It's a gargantuan place, after all.