Waking up every couple of hours for a concussion was no problem, especially when I couldn't fall asleep in the first place. After seeing Alessio react so quickly when the man broke in, I wasn't scared that anything would happen to me. It was more about my protective streak and my past experiences. The night that everything went wrong in the warehouse, there might have been a very different outcome if I had been awake. Lily shouldn't have been on watch, it should have been me.

Alessio, on the other hand, seemed exhausted. He fell asleep resting his head on my lap and then slept through the night steadily, vaguely mumbling when I tried to wake him up every couple of hours, just in case he had a concussion as well. I had the feeling that neither of us slept particularly well, me in part because of nightmares, and for him, because of the extreme hours that he worked. In some ways, we both seemed to help each other- in sleep I seemed to instinctively feel safer with him by my side, and I got the impression that he was going to bed at a more moderated time because I was.

At some point, I knew that Alessio and I were going to have to address the fact that I wanted to go back to work, and I couldn't keep lying to Ezrah for much longer about why I hadn't seen them. I was headed back towards his office to discuss the very issue a couple days after the break in, but a voice calling me from the other end of the hallway gave me pause.

"Eliana."

I turned around, already knowing that it would be Leonardo or Angelo- the only people that called me by my first name were the two of them, Alessio, and Lucia. Leonardo was the culprit this time, hurrying to catch up to me.

"What's up?" I asked.

"A letter, addressed from Violet."

Scarlette must have managed to decode what I had written, or at least had managed to make an excuse or explanation as to why she wrote back. I excitedly ripped it out of his hand as soon as Leonardo held it out, tearing open the envelope almost in half. He leaned over my shoulder as I read it quietly under my breath.

My dearest Lily,

I was overjoyed to receive your letter, and I have missed you too. I think about you quite often, especially since we last saw each other in such a chaotic time, I suppose sudden departures always create a bit of a stir. Your new home sounds enjoyable, and I know how much your music means to you. I myself miss it greatly, I swear I heard someone listening to Salieri somewhere the other day, I know his music would take great hold in this household. I myself was always a fan, but this home is very full of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Rimsey-Korsikov.

Anyways, I was also surprised that I was able to write you back, as I've been limited in my communications now. I would love to see you soon, I think attending the symphony together sometime would be fantastic. It may take some convincing on my part, but the performance of Bethoven's 3rd would be good timing from what I can tell, I assume you were referring to the performance on November 12th, at 6:00? It was the only one that I could find listed in the area. I'm sure I could work something out if it was only for a few hours!

I listened to Sviridov's rare piece concerning religion today, I even got an agreeable opinion by an acquaintance I've made here, Dmitri. Penny for your thoughts on the composition, I'm curious if it would be as popular there as it was here. As per your last letter, I hope you know that you will always have a friend in me. At the drop of a hat, I will always be ready to help you.

Apologies for the brevity of this note, but I have a lot of work to do if I am to convince my new master that I should be allowed to attend. If I manage it, I will send you another letter!

Violet

I stared at it a moment longer, working through it all in my head. Leonardo took a step back and gave me a blank expression. "You're going to have to help me understand that, because I didn't get anything from it. Was it a good response, or bad?"

"It's great, if I got the message right," I mumbled as I read over it again, hurrying towards Alessio's office.

Leonardo trailed not far behind, a suddenly serious expression on his face. "I should warn you that there are currently a few other men here, they're in his office discussing whether or not Niklov has crossed the line enough to face retaliation."

"My vote is yes, he's crossed the line."

He gave me a rueful grin, "I agree, but they might not, and this would all be much easier if we had support."

"Should I be wary of them?"

"I would recommend some form of caution. You're not stupid enough to insult or upset them, but I should warn you, you might not like their answers."

"My concern isn't with what their responses will be, I'm talking about their personalities. How carefully do I need to tread?" I asked, refolding the letter.

"Elias is very reserved, but very strong headed, a bit like Alessio. Hopefully they're on the same page because he'd be a harder person to sway. Fynn said that he would be here a little bit later, but he's had some internal issues lately so it may be his father, Ansel. They're both moderators in their own way, they're level headed. Blaise is soft spoken, but I wouldn't mistake that for passivity, he only has the job because he helped overthrow the last French leader. To be fair, it needed to happen. Aldrich came this morning, he's running the British syndicate. Very nice, very relatable, very friendly. No matter what you do, do not cross him."

"May I ask why?"

"What do you know about Red Foxes?"

I froze in the middle of the hallway, giving him a look. "What?"

"They aren't as big as other predators, they're adaptable, everyone thinks they're cuddly, and they're unassuming. But the last thing you want to do is disturb a den, because they're incredibly protective. Especially the males. Aldrich is genuinely nice and fun to be around, but pushing him to a breaking point will probably get someone killed."

"Good to know," I mused as I began walking again. "That's a lot of new names to remember."

"I'll be in his office too, I'll try to help you out. Each one brought a couple of extra people and some enforcers, but we still outnumber them. There are more leaders scattered around the states, but some are too far away or dealing with other issues and won't be here. I'm sure that you'll meet them someday at one event or another. By the way, Allegra is coming too. Should be here any minute."

"That's great."

Leonardo seemed to catch some of the sarcasm in my words. "You didn't like her, I take it?"

"I like her alright, she seems confident and very smart. She just has an ability to read people that is a little uncanny. I might even say unsettling."

Leonardo didn't say anything, but he had to know that I was wary of someone who had been able to announce to a room that I was intimately familiar with death, confidently knowing something that I wasn't able to deny.

Leonardo knocked on the door next to Alessio's office, gesturing for me to follow. I realized that he must be in the conference room in order to fit everyone, and was suddenly grateful that my cuts and bruises had healed enough for me to wear jeans and a real shirt, instead of just leggings and one of Alessio's sweatshirts. Thinking that I wouldn't be seeing anyone but those in the Italian mafia that I wasn't already familiar with, I hadn't been putting on any makeup, leaving what was left of a black eye and some cuts still visible. These men were mafia dons, however, and I knew they weren't going to be the squeamish type.

"Come in."

Alessio's voice, which usually provided a certain measure of comfort for me, was cool and distant. He was in business mode. I pulled my shoulders back straight, knowing that I wouldn't physically fit into a room of almost all men, but I could be imposing as possible.

Upon our entrance, Alessio stood, nodding to the two of us. "You may remember my consigliere, Leonardo. And this is Eliana North."

I glanced around the room at the full conference table. The men on the far end of the room were mostly Alessio's, and I knew them by name. Scattered through the middle section were those I didn't recognize, but most of them were so immaculately dressed that I couldn't tell which ones were the leaders and which were their capos.

The one nearest to me stood and offered his hand, "Pleased to meet you, Ms. North. I'm Aldrich."

Based upon the english accent that dominated his speech, I knew which syndicate he was representing. If Leonardo was right, a red fox was a good description, because he genuinely seemed calm and playful with a glint in his eye. Making sure to return the same amount of pressure that he applied, I extended my own hand to shake. "Nice to meet you, too."

Aldrich gestured to the man across the table from us, "Since I doubt they'll be gentlemen and introduce themselves, this is Blaise, and Elias is the one sulking at the far end of the table."

Blaise stood and leaned forward to offer me his hand, "A pleasure."

His accent was obviously French, but his innocent looking face didn't seem like one of a man who had overthrown his previous leader. I could only hope that he was a decent person who would help us, not as vindictive as that might imply. His grimace may have very well been an attempted smile, but it was a little difficult to tell the difference.

The man called Elias at the other end of the table barely inclined his head, but that was all of the acknowledgement that I thought I was going to get. I turned back to Alessio and handed him the letter that Scarlette must have found a way to send, Leonardo also watching him expectantly.

Alessio read it quickly, furrowing his brow by the time that he reached the bottom of the page. "You're going to have to interpret some of this, I don't understand what she's trying to say."

I leaned closer, perching halfway on the armrest of his chair and leaning over his shoulders to point to individual parts of the letter. "Ok, so this is what I think so far. She has to know it's me, because those are the names we first tried to introduce ourselves with, and she used it as her closing again. And at the beginning, she mentions that the last time we saw each other being chaotic, which it was- she was the one to see me off when I escaped. I got her out of her cell too, but she told me she wanted to stay behind and destroy them in small ways."

"So she's telling you that she wants to help?"

"And I think she has support. You see here, where she mentions Salieri having the potential to take hold in her household? He was supposedly Mozart's rival and enemy, some people even think that Salieri poisoned him which is what did him in, but most scholars disagree, it's mostly a general misconception from a movie. But nonetheless, it seems like she's trying to tell us that Niklov has enemies within his own organization, she knows she can get support within the household."

Aldrich leaned back in his chair, "That's good news. It would make it a less risky venture for us to support."

"It gets better," I nodded, pointing at the last paragraph. "That mention of Sviridov's rare piece about religion? I'm pretty sure that she's talking about The Betrayal of Judas, and she mentions the name Dmitri. Didn't you say he was Niklov's right hand man?"

Alessio nodded and leaned back, still narrowing his eyes in thought. Almost absentmindedly, his hand began tracing circles on the small of my back, "I have a hard time believing Niklov wouldn't know that his right hand man was actively plotting against him."

"I wouldn't," Elias finally spoke. His voice wasn't quite what I expected, not much of an accent at all, but very deep nonetheless. "You can ask Fynn when he gets here, but from what I can tell, his father, Ansel, always thought that Niklov was oblivious and out of touch. Back in the day, he made some unpopular choices as well."

"My father would support that statement," A voice said from the doorway. I turned to see a new man, escorted by Stefano. His shock of blonde hair took me aback, but Alessio gestured to him calmly, the intrusion obviously welcome.

"Eliana, this is Fynn. Fynn, this is Eliana North, and I believe that you remember everyone else. I'm glad you could make it today, I was worried that things got too messy."

He shrugged in response, taking a seat near Elias, "They almost did, I apologize for my lateness. My father is taking care of the issue, but I've heard over the years about how Niklov is overstepping his bounds. Blaise, you've had some of your best men go missing, haven't you?"

The French leader gave a dark nod, "Yes. One of them was found unconscious, but they're not sure if he's going to wake up."

"The Spaniards have had some run-ins as well," Fynn continued. "I have to say that I'd love to see them get taken down a peg, but Niklov might be going too far."

"I think Scarlette wants to know if we would back them in return," I added, hoping that he had heard enough of our previous conversation to understand what was going on. "They may not be strong enough to do it all alone, even from inside the organization, but it sounds like she would be willing if they had support. She even gives us a date and time that the supposed symphony about betrayal would have been performed, and a promise that she'll write to solidify those plans. She's on board and she has at least a couple of people offering support from her side as well."

"This promises to be a very risky undertaking regardless of who is involved," Elias leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together. "I'm sorry that he abducted Ms. North, but if Niklov is targeting loved ones I can not take that risk. My wife is recently pregnant, and I'm not putting her in his crosshairs."

Blaise had his brows furrowed. "It would be better for you to get involved now, if that's your concern. Even if all of your dealings with Niklov in the past have been completely amicable, which I doubt is the case for any of us, you're still an obstacle in between him and dominating every industry we touch. He might not come for you first, but he will eventually. I'm sure you see the sense in our uniting now instead of individually when we are not as strong. Many of us have loved ones and wives that we would like to protect, we can keep them safer if we work together to get this done faster."

Alessio nodded his thanks, "Exactly. We have a chance now, and those odds would decrease exponentially if he could pick us off one by one. I'm sure that many of those leaders who are not here at the moment would still support us."

"And I might add that Niklov did more than just take Ms. North," Leonardo spoke up from Alessio's right to defend me. "He tortured her for information, and I have no doubt that he would have taken it to the death if she hadn't managed to escape."

A knock at the door once again had Alessio calling out, "Come in."

Angelo stepped inside, closely followed by Allegra, who was her usual professional, but somehow assassin-like, self. She stepped inside with such comfort and casualness that I worried the others would take it as disrespect, but Alessio's introduction seemed to make her untouchable. "This is Allegra. I'm sure that you're all familiar with her work, even if you haven't met her in person. I thought it would be wise to have a professional, and I've already spoken to her about the need for Niklo to be taken out of the equation permanently."

She nodded and smiled innocently, but there was something inherently dangerous about her. I wondered if it was possible to ever erase the vague feeling of fear that she provoked when she was in your presence. Obviously surprised but understanding the importance of finally meeting the woman who performed some of their most difficult hits, each of them stood.

"You're Allegra?" Blaise seemed stunned, the way he said it was odd. I thought maybe he had expected someone else, possibly a man, but the tone implied that he recognized her. I could tell that he was trying to play it off, and I was pretty sure that none of the others had noticed the oddity or their interaction at all, since Elias had said something to Alessio across the room and the others seemed to be more focused on it.

It was easy to assume that every person in this room was well trained at hiding emotions, including surprise, but somehow, seeing Allegra seemed to have shaken Blaise so badly that it was noticeable. There are some things that can't be faked, and the sudden loss of blood in his face couldn't be helped. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, but everyone else was too engaged in their own conversations. It only took about seven seconds for him to pull a professional look back onto his face, never breaking an intense eye contact with Allegra all the while.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," He said hoarsely, leaning across the table and shaking her hand.

Something about her quiet response, which I could barely hear above the other conversations, was almost sad and regretful. "And you as well."

They both stepped back and shared a slightly longer glance than I expected as the room began to quiet down again, and I noted that it was taking a while for the color to return to Blaise's face. In the meantime, Aldrich stepped closer and reached out to shake her hand, "I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting to see you here."

She returned his smirk with a half grin, looking him up and down. "I could say the same thing. I didn't realize that you cleaned up so well. I suppose this means that I didn't get your real name last time?"

"Aldrich."

"Allegra. Good to officially meet you, I suppose." Her tone was playful, but something scrutinizing in her gaze warned everyone to be wary of her, and he was no exception. If I was a betting woman, I would have placed money on the probability that they had met before, most likely during a job, and just hadn't realized at the time. She even shared the same playfully surprised look with his right hand man, making me think they definitely came across each other before.

The beautiful assassin leaned against the wall and began flipping a pen between her fingers. I had seen her do the same thing before, almost like a nervous habit, but the speed with which she did it was very distracting.

The gold plating on it flashed in the light and made her seem even more withdrawn as Elias nodded to her, "It's nice to finally put a face with the name."

She nodded in return, after which her eyes flickered towards Fynn, who she looked up and down until he nodded in acknowledgement. Allegra silently did the same in return, obviously content with leaving it at that.

"So," She glanced around with polite interest. "I'm assuming that you were making plans about the Russians before I arrived?"

"More like debating the viability of it," Elias frowned.

"Oh, it's definitely your best option. I've heard some talk among others in my profession, and from what I can tell, they're making a ploy to buy loyalty. I'd be willing to bet that you've all got a storm coming your way."

"Well, I'm not taking any risks with that, and Niklov's been a thorn in my side for a long time," Aldrich shrugged. "I'd be happy to offer support."

Blaise seemed to have regained some of his old demeanor, "He sets a bad example, too. If we allow that to start with him, there are others that might follow suit. You have my