Eliana:

The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't get a read on her at first glance, which was terrifying in and of itself. I had developed a knack for reading people over the years, and I had relied on it heavily in uncertain situations. When she strolled into the room without much of a glance at her surroundings and leaned nonchalantly on the edge of Alessio's desk, she completely threw me off.

My eyes stayed focused on her from my corner, an odd sense of protectiveness running through my chest. For once, it wasn't just self preservation, I felt defensive of the people who had been taking care of me over the past week or so. She had somehow managed to look like an intimidating assassin and combined it with the look of a business professional. Whoever this girl was, she seemed completely comfortable surrounded by these mafia leaders, if not slightly bored by the whole thing. Her aesthetic was greatly aided by the fact that she was absolutely beautiful, almost flawless at first glance.

"Allegra, it's a pleasure to have you here," Alessio stretched out his hand and offered it to her in a professional manner.

She raised one eyebrow and reciprocated. "Pleasure to be here."

Angelo nodded at Alessio, and receiving one in return, he came to stand near Leonardo and I in an almost militant pose. I could tell that having an unknown entity in the presence of himself and the others was obviously bothering him. His spine was ramrod straight and his face was back to the stern self he usually had, but I wondered if Alessio sent him to bring Allegra up to the office as an intimidation factor.

"I must say, I'm a little confused," Allegra mused, leaning back on her elbows, crossing her legs, and shaking her hair out of her face. "You're usually not so hospitable. Last time you offered a contract, I picked it up from a man in the back of a car. A nice car, though."

"I was under the impression that you preferred your contracts stay anonymous?"

Allegra smirked at Angelo's comment, "Usually. But if I'd known this type of venue was the alternative, I might've reconsidered."

Alessio leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, "This is more complicated than a simple name and location. It requires an explanation."

"Consider my interest piqued," She seemed restless, suddenly standing and waltzing slowly across the room to look at the books on the shelves. Most of the eyes in the room were glued to her movements as Alessio began his explanation.

"I don't know if you've been communicating with any others recently, but the Russians have begun to step out of line. They attacked us during a shipment and put one of my men in the hospital, and the French lost a couple of men recently, they've gone missing and Blaise hasn't been able to find them."

I doubted that anyone else caught it, but there was a slight shift in her body language, a flex in her arm as she almost imperceptibly clenched her fist. Something was bothering her, but she wasn't about to address it. Obviously missing the change as she circled the room and stepped between the men, Alessio continued on.

"They attacked a store that I had been to a few times recently, they seemed to think that we were using it to launder money. They then attacked an associate of mine and tortured her for information. The Russians have crossed a multitude of lines and broken practically every mutual code of honor."

Allegra looked back over her shoulder at him, "You might want to run it by the other dons, but it sounds like you have every reason to retaliate. I have to admit, though, if that's the contract you're hoping to offer me, there may be issues. Killing Niklov, the leader of one of the strongest mafias, would be bigger than anything I've done."

"I figured that was a greater job than just one person, but I was wondering if you might have any information on the inner workings or their structure. Have they ever contracted you?"

"A couple of people in the organization, but never Niklov himself. If you need information, why not just hack their systems? There's bound to be stuff on there that could help you."

Alessio nodded at Lucia, letting her know that she could interject, "I'm having a hard time with the encryption on their system, it's hashed and I'm worried that if I go too far there might be a trojan horse-"

"Rainbow table," Allegra shrugged. "You've got to start somewhere, you may as well start with the basics. Break the encryption."

It was obvious that the men in the room were taken aback and impressed with her depth of knowledge in different topics, but Lucia still seemed to disagree slightly, "It's still risky, and I'm worried that they might back hack me."

Allegra hummed quietly to herself, pulling a pen from her inside lapel pocket and twirling it between her fingers. "Fair. You need an informant, but I'm afraid that I don't know much about them."

"There's another matter," Alessio recaptured her attention. "There's evidence that the Russians have involved themselves in human trafficking. Have you seen much of that popping up in these circles?"

"Unfortunately," Allegra admitted with an edge in her voice. A slight smirk graced her lips, "I offer discounts when they're the targets, though."

"Well," Alessio shrugged. "I'd love to see them gone as well as the Russians. A scope of that magnitude might require work amongst different groups, I hear the British have already started looking into it. We were going to try and meet soon-"

There was a slight skip in her step and she turned to face the room, "If you don't mind, I'll reach out to them immediately and start some work on that front. I'll take any contract you'll offer me, but I would like to request priority on the human trafficking ring."

Alessio seemed hesitant but nodded, handing her a file folder packed with papers, "I'm sure that something can be arranged. This is all of the information that we've been able to compile so far. It might be a good idea to talk to the others before we make any moves directly against Niklov, but a shadow organization that sells people.... Well, there's no question about that. They'll agree with me."

Allegra nodded with a smile that was a little too excited, "Any restriction or preferences on how they should die?"

"What justice do you see fit for someone who sells other human beings?"

"Well, the punishment should fit the crime," She mused, continuing to twirl her pen in her fingers as she waltzed around the room. "But this could be time sensitive, so I could just shoot them, but that's never as much fun. Or I could just slit his throat like the last one. Although I have to admit, I made a mess of things. I got so much blood all over-"

Alessio cleared his throat and eyed me pointedly in the back of the room. I was obviously some sort of outcast or of different status than these men, with my damp hair and weak frame. It was pretty apparent that I didn't belong among their ranks.

She raised one eyebrow, "It's not anything she hasn't been exposed to."

"She's not one of us," Leonardo quietly. "She's a civy."

"Maybe, but that girl has seen some death." Allegra thumbed through the file Alessio had handed her nonchalantly. I stared at her, frozen, while a few of the men in the room shot me furtive glances. Even Alessio seemed surprised and cast me a look.

I kept my face as impassive as possible but I wasn't going to sit silently, "And what makes you think that?"

"The look on your face when I said it," She muttered, her attention almost entirely focused on reading the papers. She didn't even look up. "After a while, you start to be able to identify that sort of thing in people, and you, my dear, have had some very close brushes with death or killed someone yourself. Probably rather brutal or vicious, you didn't flinch in the slightest."

I had a feeling that every person in this room was good at detecting lies, and while I was rather good at delivering them, there wasn't much point to it. Someone might catch me in it or think I was lying about something bigger, and it wasn't like everyone in the room wasn't guilty of something similar.

"She was the one recently kidnapped and tortured," Leonardo explained in a low voice, thinking that would offer an explanation and that he could defend me.

Allegra finally looked up and gave me a thorough once over, eyes narrowing once her gaze reached my face, but then she shrugged nonchalantly and went back to her work, pronouncing offhandedly, "It's not that. She's a killer, too. You don't have to worry about spooking this one."

This time, I knew that every eye in the room was on me. I had no option but to stare at her, did she expect me to say it out loud and confirm her suspicions to everyone? I had blocked everything possible from my mind about that topic, and I didn't want to dredge it up here. I merely kept my eyes focused on her, even though she wasn't looking at me any more.

Alessio said something to her, for which I was grateful. It took some of the attention off of me as I tried to calm my heart rate back down. I didn't want to think about it, I had done what I had to in order to survive, to protect someone that I cared about.

Unclench your jaw, take a deep breath, and don't think about it.

Leonardo leaned on the table between us and looked at me concernedly, "Are you alright?"

I gave a quick nod, staring at the floor because I couldn't make myself meet his eyes or say anything without my voice shaking. I blinked a couple of times and tuned back into the conversation, but I could feel Angelo's eyes on me as well.

The meeting didn't seem to last much longer, they discussed a meeting that everyone would be having soon but Allegra seemed excited at the prospect of getting to work.

Lucia said something else about hacking and giving Allegra a call when she got through their system, then left the room. Alessio, Angelo, and Leonardo escorted her out of the building, and while the other capos began to talk and plan amongst themselves. I took the chance to exit the room quietly and discreetly, trying to find my way back to the room I had woken up in. It took a few wrong turns and dead ends, but I finally found my way back and collapsed onto the bed.

The sun had already faded outside of my window at that point, which I honestly preferred. I always thought better and was more productive at night. Making sure that it wasn't too late, I called Ezrah and made up a story. According to our call, I was finally back into the world of cell phone reception, but it would be another day or two before I could get back to work. For good measure, I coughed once or twice. If I didn't heal fast enough, I could tell him that I caught a cold while hiking. Even if I could make it to work, I would be a little slow and achy, which could be disguised with a 'sickness'.

We talked for a while, he told me about his first appointment with the doctor and his treatment, he seemed optimistic even though he wasn't feeling the best. Ezrah still seemed a little upset about his ex-wife refusing to let him spend any time with his own child, but he seemed to be coping with it very well.

By the time we hung up, it was getting later into the night. I hadn't realized how long we were talking, but communicating with him had given me some small comfort. Ezrah was my only real family, and I didn't like the chance, however small with his new treatment, that he could die from the cancer.

I did everything that I could to to calm myself down and reduce the anxiety that had begun to pile up in my mind. Pacing had started to bother the cuts that were still healing on my feet, but sitting still was making it worse. My body felt exhausted, wanting to go back to sleep, but every time I laid back down my brain started back up again.

My feet, however sore, started to take me down the halls of their own accord. There wasn't much rational thought in my head, instinct was overriding everything- instinct to not be alone, instinct to do something that would distract me from thoughts that spun around my head in dizzying circles and colors.

It was a small miracle that my desperate instincts guided me back to Alessio's office without getting lost. I knocked, not sure if he might be having a meeting. It was pretty late, but I had a feeling that these men weren't working a 9-5 schedule.

"Come in."

I slowly opened the door and poked my head into the room. He didn't look up from the papers scattered across his desk at first, but he was at least alone. Clearing my throat quietly and hesitantly stepping forward, he finally looked up, seeming slightly surprised.

"How are you feeling, Eliana?"

"I'm doing alright, I think. You're working awfully late, did that meeting with Allegra go as well as you expected?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I wasn't sure what to expect, but at least now we know that we have her on our side. She's an asset."

I nodded, shifting my weight nervously. Now that I was standing there, I didn't know what to say or do. Alessio stood up from behind his desk and stuck his hands in his pockets, "Are you hungry?"

"No, I just..... I called Ezrah to let him know it might still be a couple of days and then I was....." I glanced around the room, crossing my arms and clutching my elbows. There was no way to explain what I was feeling. I was in a new place that I still didn't know, nervous and scared, the thought of nightmares and being alone was crippling at the moment. I decided to bite the bullet, ".... I was going to go to bed, but then I was a little freaked out. I get it if you want to work alone, I can find something else to do, but I was wondering if you would mind me just hanging out in here?"

Alessio seemed surprised, "Of course. In fact, I have a better idea."

He turned off the lamp by his desk and I followed him out of his room and up some stairs. We passed a couple people along the way, many of which acknowledged him with a nod or a quick question, one or two even gave me a hesitant grin.

He opened a door towards the end of the hallway and I followed him in, admiring what I realized must have been his personal suite. There was a smaller desk towards one side, a couch next to a fireplace, a large bed and some bookshelves, even a set of french doors that seemed to lead to a small balcony. The decor was warm and comforting, the books scattered everywhere and some nice sketches framed on the walls.

"This is really nice," I complimented, still looking around.

He chuckled, "Thanks. I don't spend as much time in here as I should. No one comes up here, they know I'm always in my downstairs office."

I stepped closer to some of the shelves to read some of the titles, and I liked his taste in books. Turning to him with a smile, "These are great."

"You can borrow any of them that you'd like to. Would this make you feel better, so you're not alone tonight? If you'd rather, I can get you your own room nearby, I just thought that might not be much better-"

"No, no. This is perfect, thank you so much. I really appreciate it, I don't know why I'm so nervous tonight." I headed towards the couch, rubbing my arms self consciously. I didn't want to be in anyone's way, but I had been trying to calm down for hours and the only solution that I could think of was to be around another person.

"What are you doing?" Alessio's voice rang out behind me.

I jumped in surprise, even though I knew he was in the room. I was more on edge than I had been in a very long time. "I-I'm sorry, I though that-"

"You're not sleeping on the couch. You can have the bed." He gestured to it, pulling the top blanket and sheet down.

"No, this is your room, and I'm more than used to couches and floors. I'm sure that compared to some places I've slept before, this will be great."

"I'm not letting you sleep on a couch when you're still healing. If you don't want to stay downstairs, you at least need to sleep in a real bed."

"I'm sorry," I shook my head. "I don't want to take your bed, I'll just go back to the other room."

"But you said you couldn't sleep because it's nerve wracking alone," He looked at me pointedly, calling my bluff.

I quickly began to make my way to the door, trying not to put weight too aggressively on my ankle or feet. "I'll make it work."

Before I could reach the handle, arms wrapped under my legs and behind my back, pulling me off my feet. A yelp of protest left my lips, but Alessio gently set me on the bed, "No negotiations."

He stepped into his closet for a moment and I couldn't see him. I spoke loud enough so that he could hear me. "I'm going to feel way too guilty to get any sleep if I've kicked you out of your bed."

"Then you won't kick me out," He shrugged as he walked back out from his closet, pulling a loose shirt over his head. He had switched into sweat pants and the casualness of his attire completely threw me off. I wasn't used to this look on him, but it wasn't unwelcome. There was something slightly less intimidating when he wasn't in his suit.

Before I could ask him what solution he had in mind, Alessio crossed to the other side of the bed and reached towards the middle, placing some of his pillows in a line. "Here, we can share and I'll be a perfect gentleman. This is no man's land, and I won't cross it. Is that alright with you?"

I had to hold back a laugh- this man didn't strike me as someone who played by the rules a lot, and he probably got what he wanted whenever he wanted it. Yet here he was, promising not to cross a pillow wall, and I completely trusted him. "Alright. That could work."

Alessio froze for a second, and I suddenly worried that he was going to change his mind, or that I had offended him somehow. "Eliana, would you mind switching sides?"

I didn't see the point of the request, but I didn't question it in case he had his own private reasons. I merely scooted over and fixed the pillows back into their line.

He turned off the lamp on his side of the bed, then looked at the one next to me. It was on the lowest setting, but still bright enough that it was noticeable. Alessio glanced at me, "Do you want to keep it on?"

"Um," I hesitated, biting my lip. Complete darkness sounded like a terrifying thing at the moment. Objectively, I knew that turning off one light wouldn't change anything, but I was still so nervous. "No, I don't want to keep you up."

I reached for it, but he gripped my wrist and stopped my hand. "It won't, I can sleep through anything."

"Are you sure?" I hedged.

"Absolutely."

"And do you... um, do you mind if I lock the door?" I hedged, knowing that a blush was rising in my cheeks. I hated feeling like I was inconveniencing anyone or asking too much, it was part of my independence.

"That's alright with me," He shrugged. "I'll get it."

I scrambled up before he could stand, "No, that's fine, I'm already up."

I didn't look back at him as I tried to lightly hurry to his door. In my ways of habit, I turned the lock once, then again, then again a third time, testing the handle to make sure that it was engaged all of the way. I couldn't quite meet Alessio's eyes as I hurried back to the bed, not knowing what expression would be on his face once he noticed my compulsion. Instead I just collapsed back onto the bed and muttered, "Thanks."

He laid back down on his side of the pillows, and a peaceful sort