Jaime winced, but he didn't answer. I shook my head in disbelief. "I have tried to pretend that everything is fine, that this is somewhat normal." I gestured vaguely around us. "But it's not. Nothing is fine. You disappear, working, doing God knows what. And then just now you beat a man, that was tied up in your basement, into unconsciousness or worse. Jaime, who are you?"

The step creaked as Jaime sat down, his arm brushing mine. He took a deep breath in before starting. "My father passed down our family business to me the day after my eighteenth birthday. We own places like Gionno's, the restaurant I took you to, and we also do business that isn't like Gionno's. I was born into this way of life. Ever since I was a child, I trained everyday for the day I would run the organization. I work hard to keep my family safe."

Family business. Organization. The truth hit me, and my eyes widened, suddenly feeling lightheaded. "Mafia." It wasn't a question. As soon as I said it, I knew it was true.

"Yes."

A question rested on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer to it. "So you deal in drugs and weapons and... human trafficking."

"Not trafficking." His voice was firm when he said it which provided a small amount of relief, but he didn't deny the other things.

"So drugs and weapons?"

"In short, yes."

"And in long?" I bit my lip, determined to look anywhere else but him and his bloody fists.

"It gets a little more complicated." I finally turned to look at him, mouth open to grill him for more answers when he cut me off. "And I can explain later, but first you need to get that checked out. Why did you come down here in the first place?"

He pointed a finger to my neck and I remembered the other part of tonight. The part where I was almost choked to death. "I'm fine. And I was just grabbing a bottle of water when I heard something. I think I left it in..." I drifted off softly, glancing back at the open doorway where someone else just walked in. "I'll just get a new one."

"So you went snooping around in the middle of the night?"

"Well, it sounded like someone was hurt. What if no one else heard them?"

Jaime only shook his head in disbelief. His eyes dropped to my neck, where I'm sure angry red marks were forming around it, but he stayed quiet.

"Have you.... Have you killed people?" After what I just saw, I thought I knew the answer but I wanted to hear it from him, needed to hear it from him.

"More than I can remember. But I promise it was only to keep my family safe and protected. They all deserved it. That man in there," Jaime jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the occupied room down the hall. "He works for Pavlov. He's his nephew. He's part of the same group that murdered the thirty men at the warehouse tonight and they're going to keep hurting my family. He wouldn't have hesitated in killing you."

I gulped, taking in his words. Nothing excused killing other human beings. But the man crumpled unconscious on the floor a few feet away has tried to kill me twice and has apparently killed a lot of other people. Did that mean he deserved to die though?

My head dropped to rest against my knees, unsure what to think.

"I have lived with the deaths on my hands and I will continue to live with it, but if that means that everyone in this house and everyone a part of my family can sleep safely at night, then it's worth it." Jaime took on a new tone of conviction.

"Ava?"

I lifted my head. Jaime's face was pleading for me to understand. I nodded slowly. "Okay. I just need some time to think."

Jaime's shoulder sagged slightly and he stood, helping me to my feet. When we reached the top step, I struggled to take in a deep breath. I leaned against the wall and Jaime steadied me with a hand on my back. "I think you should get checked out before you go back to bed." He said, wearily.

I shook my head, wanting nothing more than to crawl back in bed and forget this night ever happened. "I'm fine." Jaime looked about to argue, but I held a hand up to stop him. "I'll get checked tomorrow, but what I really want is to go to sleep please."

Jaime yielded. "First thing in the morning."

*****

"I think you'll live." Dr. Kaila Reid smiled, coming to stand in front of me in the exam room. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. I recognized her from dinner, but I had never met her until now.

She was a doctor that resided in the house for any accidents. They only had a couple exam rooms equipped with a metal bed and cabinets filled with the usual stuff, bandages, antiseptics, and across the hall, there was an operating room.

Jaime sighed in relief at Dr. Reid's diagnosis. He had been standing in the corner with more patience than I thought he possessed. He'd been tense ever since he woke me up this morning from a restless sleep and forced me to visit Dr. Reid. She had seemed a little surprised when Jaime brought me in, but that didn't last long. She was probably used to injuries worse than this in their line of work.

"You'll probably be a little sore and the bruising will last a couple days, but nothing too serious. I'd still take it easy for at least the next week, Ava."

"Compared to my usual rigorous schedule." I muttered, hopping down off the hard table. "Thank you, Dr. Reid. It was good to meet you."

I walked out into the hallway, expecting Jaime to be right behind me, but when I turned around, he was talking quietly with Dr. Reid. I waited right outside the door for him. I was pretty sure I could find my way back to my room, but I didn't want to risk getting lost and finding another secret torture room.

I heard footsteps and a second later, Jaime turned the corner out of the exam room, almost running into me. He looked down at me in surprise but quickly recovered. I shrugged at the question on his face. "This house is a maze."

Jaime laughed and he led me back through the house until the rooms finally looked familiar. He took my arm and stopped me, his face serious again. "I have to go away for a few days. If you need anything, let Alma know."

"Where are you going?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Out of town."

"Hm. Cryptic, okay."

"Just try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone."