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Gael was taken aback by the announcement. It hadn\'t even been twelve hours, and Ivanovich had already taken the deal. 

Slowly sitting up, he ran a hand down his face. Was this real? Did Volkov really sign the deal?

Angela shifted beside him and was also now sitting, a white sheet covering her breasts and tucked under her arms. Her brows raised as she wondered who he was speaking to. Gael held the phone between them and pressed the loudspeaker. 

"Where is Pavel headed to?" he asked.

"He\'ll drop it off at your house. Are you still in Williamsburg?"

Angela\'s eyes widened, realizing whose voice it was and what was going on. She hadn\'t heard the first part of the conversation, but she had already put the pieces together.

"Yes. What time?"

"He\'ll be there in 10. When will I expect your end of the deal?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

"As soon as I speak to my lawyer."

There was a huff on the other end of the line, and they could feel the irritation in Ivanovich\'s tone as if he couldn\'t believe he was making a deal with Gael. When they thought he would say something else, the line went dead.

"Oh my god. He really signed it?" Angela muttered in almost a whisper; her hands pressed to her lips in disbelief.

"Yeah." Gael sounded like he couldn\'t believe it too. He swung his feet off the bed, put on a pair of boxers and pants while calling Rick, telling him to wait for Pavel at the sidewalk and to check the package before bringing it inside.

Angela was still a little disoriented from waking up not too long ago and then hearing the call. She got out of the bed and covered her naked body with a fluffy black robe, and then she followed him downstairs.

While Gael was busy calling Alessandro and Giovanni in his office, Angela made coffee in the kitchen. By the time she poured coffee into cups, Rick had already entered the house and handed the thick parcel to Gael. The two men went over the documents, checking every page and ensuring they were legit.

She set the cups on the coffee table and sat in one of the oversized armchairs that faced his desk, waiting for them to finish. She couldn\'t help feeling anxious.

Gael placed the last page down on his desk and leaned back on his chair; then his eyes flickered up to meet Angela\'s. "He really signed it," he uttered, looking and sounding astonished. 

"Congratulations, Boss." Rick smiled and shook the other\'s hand before leaving the office and closing the door behind him.

Gael and Angela got to their feet simultaneously and met in the middle of the office. He grabbed her hand and tugged her towards him, his arms wrapping around her in a tight hug. "I can\'t believe that worked." He released her and leaned back just enough to see her face, and then kissed her deeply on the lips. "You\'re fucking amazing."

"I…can\'t believe it either…" She looked at him and saw the pure joy on his face. He really looked happy. Meanwhile, Angela wasn\'t sure how to feel about it. Then a reminder barged into her mind, making her shake her head. "No… You\'ve worked hard to get this, Gael. You did this. He wouldn\'t have signed the deal if he didn\'t think the bargain benefits him."

He pulled back slightly but still held her arms, not wanting to release her fully just yet. "Well… I talked to him last night—you know, before what happened in the hallway—and he admitted to considering Perry\'s offer, thinking he could expand his businesses in Ohio and Illinois. But he also wanted a stronger footing to be the next Pakhan in the New York Bratva. Perry doesn\'t have enough resources here, so he wouldn\'t be able to do that for Volkov."

"And you do?"

"Not exactly… I mean, we don\'t have power over the Russians that way, just like they don\'t have power over who leads our family. But when your grandfather will be replaced, the brotherhood will choose the best candidate—one who has power and influence. And I offered Ivanovich connections to influential people both here and internationally that they don\'t have yet. In our world, connection and favors are essential."

Angela got curious. A crease formed between her brows, and she bit her bottom lip. "Aren\'t they a big…organization? They still have people they couldn\'t reach?"

"True, but I\'ve done my research." A sly grin formed on Gael\'s face. "I already know the specific people they want to be in bed with but aren\'t sure how to. All he needs is for me to vouch for him."

She knew that Gael and Ivanovich spoke at the party regarding the deal, so she wondered if what Gael offered was enough to sway the other. Otherwise, Volkov signing this deal felt too easy.

"And you told him that? He agreed to the deal after your conversation?"

Gael nodded. "He seriously considered it…until that time he said that I should forget about the deal. I guess he didn\'t want to be associated with someone who was close to Cynthia\'s daughter. Maybe he thought he needed to be as far away from you as possible."

Angela could admit hearing that stung. She didn\'t know what particularly stung, but perhaps it was the idea of being Cynthia\'s daughter and not wanting to be associated with her—not like she wanted to be acknowledged by Volkov…but just the entirety of the situation sucked.

"What are you worried about?" Gael asked when she stayed quiet.

"You think it\'s a trap?"

"It doesn\'t look like it, but I\'ll keep my guards up."

She nodded, looking to the side as a bunch of things muddled her head.

Gael placed a finger under her chin and lifted it so he could stare into her eyes. "What\'s wrong?"

"It\'s nothing… I mean, it\'s everything. I\'m glad that this worked out for you, Gael. I\'m pleased that you got what you wanted." She smiled, but it looked a bit forced.

"But?"

She let out a long sigh and squeezed his hand. "I just can\'t stop thinking about last night. My grandfather saw me. If Ivan recognized me right away, don\'t you think my grandfather had as well?"

Gael nodded. "I already considered that. Are you scared?"

Angela placed a hand over her chest, feeling the racing heartbeat beneath her palm. A thousand questions ran in her head—all of them unanswered, and all of them, she didn\'t want to find out. What would Matvey Novikov do if he recognized her? Would he hurt her? Would he hurt her father and brother? The De Lucas? He wouldn\'t really hurt family, would he? Last night when she threatened Ivan, she was bold enough to say her grandfather wouldn\'t do anything to harm her. But she didn\'t know that, not really.

There was no point in denying it, so she admitted it outright. "I am. I\'m scared that he will find me…or that he will hurt you."

"I won\'t let that happen." Brushing his thumb on her cheek, he pulled her back to him and hugged her. "Come here."

She circled her arms around his midsection and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. "Tell you what. I\'ll send a couple of emails first and have the documents checked by Savannah. You take a shower and get dressed. Then I\'ll take you somewhere this morning."

"Where are we going?"

"To the firing range."

***

It wasn\'t the first time Gael brought Angela to the firing range. The weekend before he officially took his seat at KMH, he brought her there to shoot some rounds. Today, he wanted to check on her stance and aim if she had improved, and he wasn\'t surprised when she did. The one thing he noticed about Angela was that she was a fast learner—especially if it was something she was really interested in.

Angela didn\'t get a perfect score. However, Gael believed that it was enough. Getting a perfect score wasn\'t important; knowing how to handle a gun and shoot a target at center mass was.

When they were home for lunch, he toured her around the house to show her where all the weapons were stored. A lot of them were strategically placed and hidden, surprising Angela when she wasn\'t aware there was even a weapon hidden out in the open.

They spent the afternoon brushing up her kickboxing. Gael figured they needed a bigger place with a proper mat but still stayed within their territory. So for the first time ever, he brought her inside The Bunk.

Angela was a little hesitant the moment she stepped inside. The place was unlike anything she had seen before. Outside, it looked like a typical brownstone home, but the inside looked like it was a massive bachelor\'s pad with men milling about. Some were busy with their phones and laptops, others counting luggage bags of money—and there were a ton of them.

They didn\'t linger in the living room, though. Gael brought her to the farthest back where the gym was. When they passed by the stairs that led to the basement, the hair on her spine stood on end. He saw her go from looking cautious to looking terrified.

And there was a reason why she felt that way. Evan was still in the basement.

And she wanted to see him for herself.