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    The Bunk had a unique smell to it. Ang thought it smelled like expensive leather and cigars, a little musky—probably from all the men staying here—and something else she didn''t recognize. She could taste the darkness in the air as she walked past the rooms with everyone''s eyes following their movement and their entwined hands. The overall vibe felt dangerous.


    As soon as theyid eyes on her, they paused whatever they were doing to stare. ''Who the hell is she toe inside ourir?'' was probably in their heads, Ang thought.


    Before going in The Bunk, Gael had briefed her that she was not to engage with anyone inside except him, Trigger, and Rick. She agreed.


    And just before they alighted the car, he also asked her if she was okay with going inside, knowing whatever she would see, she couldn''t ever talk about it to anyone. Of course, she immediately agreed, swearing she would never do that.


    Gael already knew she wouldn''t, of course. But he needed verbal confirmation between them.


    At first, it was the nerves that got her heart racing; the thought of being inside the De Lucas'' den—their center of operation. There were men she hadn''t seen before—some of them looking like the stereotypical criminals: tattoos all over their bodies, wearing suits, wearing casual clothes; while others looked like they should be somewhere in their mother''s basement with Cheetos in their hair.


    Ang only saw two women in the lounge area, one dirty blond with a skimpy ck dress and another with ck hair and tight leather pants and jacket. Both of them were packing something inside a box. They nced in her direction, and the blond red at her, her eyes bouncing between her and Gael while Leather Pants Girl only looked at her curiously.


    Gael red at his people and said, "Get back to work." The nerves disappeared once everyone ignored her presence and returned to what they were doing.


    The nerves were then reced by a mixture of nervousness and urge to go down to the basement and just take a peek of Evan, wondering how he was doing down there—not that she was concerned about him. He could rot in hell for all she cared. But she couldn''t stop the intrusive thoughts in her head when she thought about her ex-boyfriend—a man whom she had spent precious time with back in her youth, someone who turned out to be the biggest shithead she knew—was being tortured.


    She wondered if Gael still kept Evan alive or if Evan was suffering at the moment.


    The thought of it got her distracted while Gael started their training session in the gym. A few men were lifting weights when they entered the room, but Gael kicked them all out, leaving only the two of them inside.


    Gael practiced Ang''s forms, punches, and kicks on the pads for nearly an hour. Then they sparred, but her mind was elsewhere. Gael "tried" not to hold back whenever he simted an attack on her. Though she knew very well that if he really gave it his all, she would''ve had already broken so many bones today.


    He grabbed her from behind and tackled her to the floor. For a few seconds, he gave her a chance to get out of his hold, but she failed every time.


    Sighing, Gael pushed himself off of her. "Again," he barked in a tone so strict she flinched.


    Ang breathed in deeply and exhaled as she got into position, standing with her back facing Gael and her hands at her sides. She was breathing fast now, sweating buckets from all the grappling they did for over an hour. She waited for his attack. A few seconds passed, but he still didn''te closer.


    Something buzzed underneath her feet like the floor was shifting or something. It was faint, but she felt it. And just like that, her mind whipped back to the basement.


    Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, jolting her back to reality. He trapped her in as he roughly whispered to her ear, "You''re not safe here," as an attempt to scare her off.


    She stepped backward just like he taught her to gain advantage and possibly knock him a few steps back, but Gael hardly budged.


    She tried moving sideways and twisting in his arms, but he was faster. In the next second, he had her on the floor, pinned her arms above her head, spread her legs with his, and locked them in ce.


    If it were any other circumstances, this would have been hot, and they would have been all over each other.


    But not this time.


    Gael''s piercing stare kept her in ce as she panted underneath him. He was angry, disappointed, and worried at the same time. "What''s bothering you? You haven''t outdone me even once."


    Ang looked away, feeling disappointed at herself too. "It''s—"


    "Don''t tell me it''s nothing, Angel. What happened to no more lies?"


    Her body sagged as she rxed in his hold. He released her and got to his knees, his eyes still narrowed at her as he said, "If we weren''t training, that would have been the end for you."


    He helped her up to her feet, grabbed towels from a shelf, and gave her one.


    Ang let out a sigh as she sat on a bench. "I''m sorry."


    "Are you feeling unwell?"


    She shook her head. He handed her a bottle of water, and that''s when she finally met his gaze and saw the concern written all over his face. "I''ve been having nightmares…"


    Gael''s face softened, and so did his voice as he sat next to her. "About what?"


    Ang then told him about the nightmares she had about Evan andst night about her grandfather.


    "He''s not going to hurt you anymore. I can assure you that," he said, referring to Evan.


    Turning her body to face him, she hesitated, "I have to see him." She needed to see him. Maybe then, she''d feel safer and the nightmares would stop.


    Gael shot up, now looking pissed. "No. Absolutely not."


    "He''s just below us, isn''t he?"


    "Even if he''s right next door, you can''t see him."


    "Why not?"


    "Because no one is allowed downstairs." He gave her a look she couldn''t decipher. Then his tone sounded final as he grabbed their things and headed out the door. "Drop it, Ang. This conversation ends now, and we''re not speaking of it again."


    Ang. She hated it when he called her that because he sounded so distant.


    ***


    Ang always looked forward to Sunday dinners at Nonna''s house. However, tonight wasn''t as enjoyable as the other times despite all the delicious food on the table.


    Gael hadn''t spoken much to her since The Bunk. He remained a gentleman, though: opening doors, pulling out chairs, serving food for her, but he hadn''t talked to her like usual, and she couldn''t me him for it.


    Thinking about what happened in the gym that afternoon, she regretted asking him to see Evan. Gael had already opened his world to her, even brought her to a ce no one should have been allowed to without the Boss''s permission. And yet she pushed him into letting her see more than what he was okay with. Who in their right mind would want to see a man being tortured? There were ces for that—like the dark web.


    Gael was torturing Evan, and she wanted to see. How fucked up was that? Both of them weren''t in their right minds.


    While Gael and Giovanni were outside the door, Ang sat with Gabrie in the living room. Mariano was on the other side of her, looking out of ce in a room full of De Lucas.


    "Are you guys okay? You barely spoke to each other since you got here," Gabrie wondered.


    "Yeah, no. We''re fine." Ang beamed—it was fake, but Gabrie didn''t press on.


    Alessandro called for a meeting in the study. His consigliere went in first, then Giovanni and Mariano followed. Ang watched them from a distance, and when she thought Gael would go inside, he signaled her toe over. Confused, she walked towards him, and he ushered her inside the study, locking the door behind them.


    She hesitated by the door, unsure why she was there in the first ce.


    "Ang, take a seat." Alessandro smiled at her, gesturing to the empty seats around the coffee table. "Wherever you''refortable."


    Gael sat on one end of the couch first, and she followed, sitting beside him.


    Giovanni poured two fingers of scotch into a ss and pointed at Ang. "I get why Ang is here, but what about him?" His brows furrowed as he pointed at Mariano who sat in an armchair with his legs crossed. "Why the hell is he here? This is a family meeting."


    Alessandro sat in thergest armchair in front of the desk, unbothered by his brother''s rudeness. "He has something for us. But we''ll talk about thatter."


    "And why am I here?" Ang wondered as she scanned the faces of the men around her.


    Alessandro''s consigliere took out a thick brown envelope from his briefcase and slid it towards Gael and Ang. Alessandro gestured at the envelope as he told the two, "This is everything I have of your grandfather.. Dates and crimes that could put Matvey Novikov in jail—or six feet under if they fall into his enemies'' hands."