Just before dawn of the day after Lia's birthday, Paul returned from taking Sienna and the women to a safe location. He emerged from the car with three other men. Lia looked surprised as they all entered. 

"Cousins."

Paul said with a smirk.

Papa Marco came downstairs and Paul took him aside to talk about strategy--securing the estate and such. The house felt more like a fort already. There were weapons scattered about, from rifles and shotguns to the quintessential Italian lupara.

Lia hadn't slept at all. There was no way she could quiet her mind. She spent a long time the night before sitting in the kitchen, drinking black coffee and thinking about home. Really, she was thinking about Gavin. She wondered where he was, and if he was alright. Moreover, she wondered what he would advise her to do in this situation. 

Her eyes moved to the two pistols on the table. They had seen generations of this life; probably situations just like this. She thought about Regina and the stories she read. She thought about Sofia, and the confidence she'd always had in Stella. That was her only guidance at this point - a line of strong women that now rested their legacy with her. That had to mean something. 

She wandered through the large house, feeling like a caged lion. Anxious. In the sun room, she found Marco, but she didn't enter, as Paul had instructed her to stay away from windows. Instead, she leaned against the archway with her coffee cup. 

"Hey. You get any sleep?" 

Marco popped his head over the back of the couch.

"Like a baby."

He stretched and grimaced.

"Not the same for you, I suppose?"

Lia shook her head.

"Not a bit. Despite the small army we've got, I can't help but worry. I guess it's not knowing what Carlito is capable of. Tara said he's probably running out of money  which means he's desperate or getting there. A man like that is dangerous."

Marco chuffed.

"I've run out of money plenty of times, and I haven't been dangerous once. Let's go get some breakfast, eh? That will make you feel better."

Lia laughed a bit.

"I hope you don't want any coffee. I may have drank it all."

They walked to the kitchen, passing multiple new people with weapons in hand. Lia shuddered a bit.

Food that had been prepared for the party had been taken out for the growing militia. Lia took a plate and got some orange slices and a few slices of capicolla and mozzarella. She eyed a bottle of wine, but thought better of it. Plate and coffee in hand, she walked to the round table and sat down, waiting for Marco to get his food and join her. 

Marco piled up an amount of food that seemed to contradict his wiry frame. With a grin, he added some more mozzarella on the top as he was walking over, however, a man knocked hurriedly on the door outside and shouted in Italian.

"Paul! We got a guy in a suit here just walkin' up the road!"

Marco turned with surprise, dropping his plate and smashing it on the floor before looking at Lia with concern.

Paul looked at Lia steadily.

"Orders?"

For a moment, Lia was frozen in place. Why was Paul asking her? Surely Papa Marco was better suited? But, this was her fight, so if she had to make the calls, so be it. She stood and grabbed the pistols. 

"Get your cousins to the front. Two with you at the front door. One at each window facing the driveway. Donny, Marco, and Papa Marco, I want you three up on the balcony overlooking the foyer. If there are more coming, you will have better range on them."

Lia followed Paul with the intentions of watching the front, but Paul shook his head. 

​​​​​​"Stay out of sight. We can handle this if it's just one guy. It could be no one. It could be a messenger. Just wait, stay safe."

Paul nodded. If it were him, he would have just started shooting and asking questions later. But he trusted Lia's judgment- which was confirmed when she gave good orders.  Paul pointed to the two guards assisting him and started to head for the front door, but they all heard the voice of the man in the suit as he shouted- and three of them recognized it.

"Does anyone here speak ENGLISH?!"

It was, unmistakably, the voice of Gavin Byrne.

Lia practically flew out from the hallway at the sound of Gavin's voice. She was still barefooted, clad in a pair of dark green work pants and a black sleeveless t-shirt. Her hair was pulled up in a rough bun, with a few stray curls at her face. The two pistols rested in shoulder holsters. Her skin was more tan than it had been when she left. 

She bolted past Paul to Gavin, her lean and somewhat more muscular arms around him. 

"Jesus fucking Christ, I'm so happy to see you."

​​​​​​

Gavin grinned- he couldn't help himself. He raised his arms around Stella and held her for a moment, remembering the way her hair smelled and a thousand tiny details about her. He inhaled, eyes closed for a moment, before dropping his arms. He stepped back, paused, and leaned into to kiss Stella before he winked and started walking. 

"So two guns, huh? Overkill... but I like it. You look good, Stella. Wanna take me in and explain the situation?"

It had been so long since anyone had called her Stella. For that matter, too long since that voice called her Stella while looking at her with those glacial blue eyes. Her lips were like magnets to his. In that moment, she remembered just how much she had tried to hide that she missed him.

"Yes, of course. Come in."

She ushered him all the way inside and Paul shut and bolted the door behind him. The large foyer, with its grand marble floor and polished wood staircase, looked less welcoming wall to wall with weapons and men. Papa Marco, Donny, and Marco came downstairs.

"Gavin, this is Papa Marco, Sophia's brother and caretaker of the Viacelli estate. His wife, Julia, is with Nona Carlotta and little Sienna somewhere safe. Of course, you remember Donny."

Her eyes came to Marco, and she almost froze, not sure what exactly to say. Still, she smiled to Marco and continued. 

​​​​​​"And this is Marco Bianchi, that I told you and Tara about in my letters. He's been absolutely wonderful to me. I don't know what I'd have done without him."

Papa Marco reached out to shake Gavin's hand. 

"Lia-- ah, I mean  Stella, has told us much about you, Gavin. We are so glad you are here. Come, you must be hungry. Stella can tell you everything while you eat."

​​​​​​

Gavin shook hands with Papa Marco and nodded to the rest. He threw some food on his plate and sat, digging in. He looked up with Stella, chewing with one side of his mouth and smirking with the other.

"Alright. Tell me everything."

Marco moved closer to Lia, standing somewhat behind one of her shoulders.

"We don't know much - only what was in Tara's last letter. Rough description of Vincent Carlito, and that he's either on his way here or already here. But that's all the information we have. As far as manpower, Paul has three extra men with him and Donny. Papa Marco hired five, and two of the vineyard workers volunteered. With you, Papa Marco, me, Marco, and Donny and Paul, that makes sixteen all together."

Stella swiped an olive off his plate and popped it in her mouth, then continued. 

​​​​​​"The biggest hole right now is not knowing where Carlito is it what his move is going to be. That's why we've basically gone to the mattresses here."

Gavin took a large bite of cheese, impressed, as he thought.

"You should check in with Rosaleen. She's here in Sicily- got some sort of business here. Maybe she can put you in touch with people who know things, get you pointed in the right direction. Come on, we can head into the city and try to find her. I'll go with you, everyone else can stay here. That way we're split into equally dangerous groups."

With a wink, he popped the remainder of the piece of cheese in his mouth.

Stella nodded, straightening up. She turned around to find Marco directly behind her, which she hadn't realized before then and jumped a little, then laughed. 

"Shit! Sorry, I didn't realize you were behind me. Good, this is good. Gavin and I will go find Rosaleen. I don't think Carlito would be stupid enough to try anything in broad daylight, but Paul is going to go with us. Will you stay with Donny and help Papa Marco baracade the other entrances to the estate?"

​​​​​

Marco nodded, looking more serious than Lia had ever seen him.

"Are you sure? No one knows the city better than me. I could help. Or, if you prefer, I'll stay."

Stella nodded, reaching out and hugging him. 

"We'll be fine, I promise. Besides, Paul has gotten to know his way between here and Palermo pretty well. I need strong men here with Papa Marco and Donny, and I don't trust anyone else to be here with them."

She gave him a smile, then turned to Gavin.

"I'm obviously going to need shoes. Come with me, I'll show you my little house and grab my boots. Paul can get the car and pick us there."

Gavin and Stella left through the back door, walking through the vegetable garden toward her little bungalow. The early morning sun was bright, making a million tiny glints of light from the dew on the fields. 

​​​​​​"I was hoping you'd get to see this place. I just wish we had more time to enjoy it. But, really, I'm so relieved you're here."

She opened the door to her villa and led him inside. 

Gavin smiled as the sun hit his face. The place was beautiful- there was no doubt about it. His eyes kept returning to Stella as she walked in front of him. 

"It's beautiful. Wish you were here under better circumstances.... so this is where you're staying? Mind giving me a tour?"

She giggled a little. 

"There's not a lot to it, but it's cozy. I've grown rather fond of it."

The door led directly into the small kitchenette. 

"This is the coffee and tea making room. It's not so much of a kitchen because I've never cooked in it. Nona Carlotta would just die if I lifted a finger to cook."

Stella turned and opened the wooden slat door that led to the loft. 

"This is where Paul and Donny sleep. Actually, this whole house used to be an aging barn for wine. They converted it into a guest house, but this part looks pretty much the same. You can tell the beds are on shelves that used to hold wine barrels. Oh, and over here, on this post, there's a carving where Regina and Dante put their initials when they were young. It's really sweet."

Turning again, Stella took Gavin's hand and led him back through the kitchen to the small bedroom.

"And finally, my bedroom. It's just a bed and a desk, but it's comfortable, and in the early mornings the sun wakes me up. It's...simple; and in that, it's really refreshing."