Anger. No scratch that. Fury. That's what's pulsing through my veins right now as I slam the car door shut. It's almost midnight and I just got back to Luciano's place. I'm injured and exhausted but too riled up to sleep. Walking into the house, I'm a little surprised to find Luciano, Angelo and Emilia sitting at the kitchen counter. They're in the middle of a conversation, a bottle of whiskey on the counter when I enter. Their gazes snap to me and widen at my disheveled appearance. I looked like shit and I knew it but I was too out of it to care right now. I hadn't slept in almost two days giving me an almost zombie like look, my all black outfit was torn in a few areas and stained with blood while my hair was falling out of its messy ponytail. They seem to be in shock, unable to say a word but I don't mind the silence. I wasn't in the mood for chit chat. I gulp down the cold water I grabbed from the fridge in seconds when my phone rings. Looking at the caller ID, my eyes flash with rage and I unconsciously crush the empty bottle. Sliding to answer, I put the phone to my ear and gingerly sit down on a stool, wincing at the pain in my ribs. I don't even care that I'm sitting beside Luciano. I had bigger problems to deal with.

"What?" I answer harshly, my voice low and deadly. There was no mistaking the pure rage in it. "I'm sorry, Alessa. We didn't know it was a CIA black site." Thomas's voice comes through the line, sounding apologetic. But I was good and I knew him well. Right now, that remorse and guilt sounded fake as hell.

"Do not play me for a fool,Thomas." I warn him and he knows that I've seen through his facade.

"It's not what you think it is." "And what am I thinking?" His voice turns frustrated and slightly annoyed. "What exactly are you insinuating here?" "Nothing. I just think it's funny how you of all people gave me the wrong intel. It's never happened before." "I am human Alessa. I do make mistakes." "Not mistakes that can cost your agent's life."

I can almost hear him roll his eyes at me. "When did you become such a drama queen? You got out of there alive didn't you?" His indifference is what drives the final nail into the coffin. "What did you just say?" I'm shaking with rage now and my voice is deathly low. He pauses, knowing that he screwed up. "Fuck, I didn't mean it like that. You know I would never-" "You sent me into a CIA black site completely blind. Your intel was that our agent was locked up in a warehouse with 4 guards who were gang members. I walked into a fucking death trap with 10 highly trained CIA agents shooting at me. Let's not forget that I had to basically carry a heavily wounded, barely unconscious agent out of there. You're lucky you're not burying two dead agents right now because let me tell you, for a minute there I thought I was done for and you know how confident I am."

Thomas is silent on the other line for a few long seconds before he clears his throat. "I know and I'm sorry but this isn't my fault. I had no idea it was a CIA black site." I scoff, letting out a humourless laugh. "Spare me the bullshit Thomas. I'm coming in to see you tomorrow morning and I pray that you've come up with an explanation by then." I don't wait for a reply and hang up on him, slamming the phone on the counter and letting out a string of curses. Closing my eyes briefly to calm myself down, I open them to meet three wide and shocked gazes. Shit, I had forgotten about them being in the room. "Hey." Emilia is the first one to respond. "Hey? That's all you have to say? Hey? What the fuck happened to you?" "It's a long story." I feel Luciano get up from beside me but I don't turn and look. Instead, I pour myself some whisky, wincing when I lean forward because of my bruised shoulder and ribs. I needed to pop some painkillers before I go to sleep.

"CCC gave you the wrong intel?" Angelo asks, his voice worried and confused. I just nod, closing my eyes and trying not to think of the pain. "Has this happened before?" Emilia asks and I shake my head, sighing frustratedly. "No." Luciano sits back down beside me, a first aid kit with him. "May I?" He asks pointing to my jacket. A part of me didn't want him anywhere near me but I was injured and too tired to care right now. I just nod silently, slowly shrugging off my jacket. I hear gasps from Emilia and Angelo and Luciano inhales sharply. My bullet wound had reopened and was bleeding through my makeshift bandage. "You need to go to a hospital, Alessa." Emilia says worriedly. "I'm fine. It was a clean shot." Luciano gently removes my bandage and stitches the wound up. It hurts like a bitch but I'm falling in and out of consciousness at this point. I startle awake when I feel something soft touch the side of my face. I flinch back, my hands moving up to a defensive stance. Luciano jerks back in shock, his hand holding the disinfectant that he was using to clean my wounds lifting up in surrender. Looking down, I see that he had finished stitching my bullet wound and had moved to clean the cuts and bruises on my face. "I got it." I say, moving to stand up. "Alessandra, your ribs are -" " I got it, Don. Thank you." I don't look him in the eye, just nodding to Angel and Emilia before heading up to my room.

Throwing my clothes away, I step into the shower watching the bloody water flow down the drain. Since I can't life my left arm due to my gunshot wound, I try my best to wash my hair with one hand before rinsing off and drying off. I'm out the minute I get into my warm bed, my subconscious reminding me that this was far from over.

The sun on my face wakes me up the next morning. I groan as I gingerly grab my phone, eyes widening at the time. It was already 10am. Slowly, I lift my bruised and battered body out of bed. My body was protesting, begging to go back to sleep but I needed to get to the bottom of this. Walking into the bathroom, I grimace at my reflection in the mirror. I looked like shit. Felt like it too. I felt numb to be honest, like I was disconnected from reality. I usually shut off during an assignment but once it was over, it was fine. This time was different though, this one had fucked me up because the threat came from my own house. There was a purplish black bruise blossoming around my lower jaw and my ribs looked just as bad. The bruises that Luciano gifted me around my throat had turned yellowish and weren't painful anymore, just sore. I apply some concealer to cover the bruises and some blush to my pale face. Applying a burnt red lipstick, I move to tie my hair up in a ponytail before realising that I can't. Goddammit. Having no choice but to leave it loose, I change into a pair of skinny jeans and a sleeveless bodysuit so my stitches won't be irritated.

I head down to the kitchen and Magdalene is sitting there having her breakfast. She gasps when she sees me and stands up, grabbing a plate full of food from the oven. "Alessa darling, Luciano told me you were injured. Sit sit, you need to get some sustenance." "Morning Magdalene. Thank you but coffee's fine." "Tsk, you need a proper meal. When was the last time you ate?" I pause, thinking back to my last meal. Did a packet of chips from a gas station count as dinner? She sighs at me, placing a plate full of food in front of me. My stomach growls at the heavenly smell and she laughs. "Eat darling. I swear you're just as bad as Luciano. Always working and never taking care of yourself." I send her a smile, "thank you Magdalene. Join me." She sits beside me and continues her breakfast. I eat in silence as she tells me about her kids and grandkids. I just listen, adding in oohs and oh really from time to time. She's oblivious to the fact that I'm distracted and a part of me feels guilty but my mind was racing. I place my plate in the dishwasher to her protests before thanking her and heading towards Luciano's office. Luca bumps into me in the hallway, heading there too.

"Alessa. I heard what happened. Are you okay?" "Hey. Yeah I'm fine." He looks at me worriedly and I feel uncomfortable, not used to all this attention. In the past, when I got hurt I would just patch myself up and get on with it. No one was there to check up on me. It was part of the job, part of my life and I had grown accustomed to it. So you could understand why having people fussing and being worried was unsettling to me.

"You sure? You really should go to a hospital." "I'm good. Is Luciano busy?" "He's in the middle of a meeting with his men. I was just heading in." "Oh. I'm heading to CCC to sort some stuff out. I should be back in a few hours." He furrows his eyebrows at me, "Do you have to go today? Why don't you get some rest?" "Luca, I'm fine. And it's kinda urgent." "Okay. I'll get one of the guys to drive you." He says, about to open the door to the meeting room. I stop him before he does. "No no, I'll drive myself." He sends me a wide eyed look, pointing to my injured arm. "You're injured." I roll my eyes, "I drove myself back here with a bullet wound. I can drive myself to CCC." He rolls his eyes at my dry tone, opening the door. "What are you-" "Don, sorry to interrupt but Alessa is heading to CCC and she's planning to drive herself." I glare at him and he sends me a cheeky smirk. I move beside him, coming into view of the room. Luciano is sitting at the head of the table and all his men are in the room.

"Sorry Don. I told Luca not to disturb you," I send another glare to Luca who just pats my head in a almost fatherly way and walks in. I notice a few confused looks when I call him by his title but I ignore them. Luciano stands up, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. You're going to CCC now?" I nod, "yeah. I'll be back in a few hours." "Give me a few minutes and I'll be out." I send him a confused look and he clarifies. "I'll drive you there." I'm not the only shocked one as everyone in the room turns to look at him wide eyed. "That won't be necessary, Don. I can drive myself." Luciano looks at me incredulously. "You're injured dolchezza. I'll drive you." For some reason, I feel a surge of annoyance when he calls me that. Annoyance at him for behaving as if nothing had changed with us and annoyance at my stupid emotional heart for skipping a beat. Sending him a polite smile, I say"thank you don but it's fine. Sorry to interrupt your meeting." I back out of the room, shutting the door behind me. Walking towards the garage, I hear the door open again and Luciano calls out my name. "Alessandra, hold up." I pretend I can't hear him and speed up but my stupid ribs start protesting. He catches up to me easily and I sigh. "You really don't have to drive me." He rolls his eyes at my stubbornness. "I'm not letting you drive in an injured state." "I'll just ask one of the guys to drive me then. I'm sure you have more important things to do." Which was true, Luciano was a busy man. He definitely did not need to take time out of his schedule to drive me places. He ignores me, grabbing a set of keys. "I need to see Thomas too anyway." I send him a doubtful look, but decide to give in. I was too tired to argue. That's when I notice that he's alone. "Wait, where's your men?" "I told them they didn't need to come." I shake my head, refusing to get in the car "No way. We are not leaving without your protection detail." Luciano sends me a dry look, "I do go out by myself you know." "I don't care. I'm not in a position to protect you right now should anything happen. I also had a very close brush with death last night that I would not like to repeat." He stiffens at the word 'death' and stares at me for a few seconds before sighing. "If I ask my men to follow us, will you get in the car?" I nod and he pulls his phone out, typing something. Within 2 minutes, a group of his men including Angelo enter the garage but they enter another car. "Why aren't they coming with us?" "You never said they had to be in the same car as us." He says and I roll my eyes at him before getting in the car. We drive in silence, the radio playing in the background.

"How are you feeling?" He asks quietly. I look away from the window and at him as he glances at me. "I'm fine." He opens his mouth as if to say something but decides against it. The car ride is awkward and uncomfortable so I just look at the passing scenery out my window.

As we near the CCC, I point to a lane. "Turn in here." He furrows his eyebrows but does so silently. We approach the employees car park and I smile slightly as I see my favourite guard there. Luciano lowers his window and I lean over slightly so Andrew can see my face. He smiles when he sees me and I can see him eyeing Luciano suspiciously. He knew who he was and was probably wondering what I was doing with him. "Alessa. How are you?" "I'm good Andrew. How are you? How's Kayla?" He smiles brightly at the mention of his daughter. "She's doing well Alessa. She misses you. You should come over one day." I nod,"I will. It's been a while since I've seen her and Jess." Jess was his wife. I can see Luciano look between the two of us in confusion and Andrew laughs lightly. "You've got a good one here, Mr Moretti. She's a keeper." I blush slightly, "we're not together Andrew. He's here on business." "Oh, my apologies for assuming." "Don't worry about it. You're not wrong about her being a keeper though." Luciano says and I look at him in shock. Andrew smirks at Luciano's words and nods. "She sure is. If it weren't for Alessa, Jess and I would have lost Kayla." "I'm guessing Kayla is your daughter." Andrew nods, his face grim. "She was born with a spinal disorder and couldn't walk. My wife and I couldn't afford the surgery. I was working two jobs because Jess needed to stay at home to care for her full time. Alessa here found out and paid for her surgery. She also paid for all the after surgery costs and started a college fund for my baby." Luciano looks at me in awe and I wave him off. "Please, Kayla is a smart one. She's going to do great things." "And she's gonna be able to do that thanks to you. You changed her life. You changed all our lives." "He's right. What you did was incredible." Luciano says, his steel gaze piercing me. I blush lightly, snapping my gaze back to Andrew .

"I'll stop by one of these days. I didn't bring my employee pass. Do you think you could buzz me in?" Andrew nods,"of course. I'm assuming the car behind is with you as well?" "Yup. Thanks Andrew." "No problem. Take care. Oh just a heads up. Thomas showed up to work in a foul mood today." "I wonder why. Alright, thanks Andrew." He waves to us and opens the barrier. Luciano pulls into the spot with my name on it while his men pull into the empty spot beside it. I step out, stopping when he does the same. "What are you doing?" "I told you, I need to see Thomas too." He says before heading to the other car and saying something to Angelo. Angelo nods and waves at me. I send him a small smile back before walking towards the elevator.

We walk through the lobby, ignoring the looks that we get. More like the looks Luciano was getting. After all, Luciano Moretti rarely came out in public, that too without his entourage. We head up to Thomas's floor. His secretary stands up when she sees me. "Ms Morino. You can't go in there. Mr Winston is busy at the moment." I don't stop, walking past her Luciano in tow. "He'll be free." She opens her mouth to respond but I send her a look that shuts her up. She gulps and sits back down. Luciano smirks beside me and I just glare at him for a second. I move to open the door when I realise he's following me. "Uhh, you could wait in my office if you want. It's just a floor below." "Or we can just go in together." "With all due respect Don, this is a CCC matter." Luciano just shrugs, "So is mine." I begin to argue but then realise who I was talking to. Luciano looks slightly surprised and...disappointed? at my acceptance as I just nod and open the door.

Thomas looks up in surprise, and I see a quick flash of fear in his eyes. Smiling coldly at him, I walk in. "Morning Thomas. I believe we have some things to discuss."