Neil shook his head, he was frowning.  If he could yell at her, he would have been.  Happily, for Bella, she didn't have to hear more than disapproving grunts and bear the glares from the man who'd been with her since she was little more than a goomba.

"Gavin would understand."  Bella insisted.  "And even if he wouldn't, I don't much care.  There are plenty of things he does without clearing it with me and I think we've long had an understanding ... would you stop that, please?!?  God, you know how much that noise bothers me!"

Bella walked around Neil over to the chair in the corner of her New York City hotel room and began to put on her boots.

"I'm bringing you, it's not like I'm going unprotected."

The mute man frantically scratched onto his notepad:  "Durden!!!"

"What about him?"

Neil glared.

"It's not like I'm going after Tyler Durden."

Neil crossed his arms.

"I'm not."  Bella insisted again.  "And even if he is in New York tonight I'm pretty sure that Jermaine and Space would have a lot to say about that fucking Delaware degenerate dicking around in their turf and the conversation would be had in hot lead."

Neil scribbled again, "His man!"

Bella shrugged.  "Details."

Neil pressed his lips together tight and furrowed his brow.

"It's been more than half a decade, I'd say I was generous as hell in letting things go this long.  Really he should be thanking me."

Neil wrote frantically, "Not funny.  If you die, he'll kill me."

"Gavin wouldn't kill you."

Neil wrote frantically, "He would."

"He won't."  Bella reassured him, pulling out her lips stick and applying it in the mirror on the wall beside her.

Neil held up his notepad so she could see it in the mirror, "I've seen the knife.  He'd use it!"

Bella turned around and looked at Neil and smirked far too much like her husband, "If you're so worried... call him, but if you do, I'll be gone by the time you hang up."

Neil made angry noises at her that might have been words if he still had a tongue.  Bella winced at the noise that so annoyed her.  

"Neil!  We're not discussing this."

Bella grabbed her jacket and she could hear Neil writing.  This time he sprinted to get between her and the door, showing her the notepad.  "Will wouldn't want this!!!!!"

Bella tilted her head to the side and stared at the words for a long moment before saying, "Well... since he's not here with us anymore we're just going to have to disagree on that point."  Bella took a step forward, "Are you coming, or not?"

Her bodyguard nodded clearly not happy about it.

"Good.  And look at the bright side... hazard pay!"  She winked at him.  

Neil shook his head writing, "You die. I eat my gun."

"Your choice."  She added.  "After all, dead men get no votes."

Music pounded so loud and hard Bella could feel it through the walls of the car.  She could almost smell the alcohol and taste the bloody sweat dripping off rage-drunk bodies inside.  The hazy memories of dangerous dances with pure white powder, that she'd dared not touch in years, beckoned her back to this place from her youth.  Her gateway into the criminal underworld still stood and still called the sons and daughters of Brooklyn out into the dark of night from which many never returned.

Bella looked at her fist and squeezed it tight, imagining William adjusting the fedora atop his head. 

Softly she whispered, "You ready for this, Angel?"  

Angel.

Will use to call her that.  Now, ironically, she used it to refer to him.  In her mind, William was her Guardian Angel, just as he'd always been in life.  And even if Neil hadn't come with her tonight, even if this had fallen through, she knew she would never really be alone again.

Bella stepped out of her car, putting one shiny black leather boot onto the black pavement that glistened in the street lights.  Standing up out of the car, Neil was already next to her writing on his paper.  

'???'

Bella looked at the paper, understanding he wanted to know why they were here and what this place was.  To this, she replied simply, "Trip down memory lane."  She nodded towards the old warehouse, covered in graffiti, and proceeded towards the door where a man just under a decade younger than her stood as a lookout for cops. 

The kid narrowed his eyes at Bella and she tried not to marvel at how young he seemed... or that it was only a scant handful of years until Aurora was this boy's age!  

The young man's eyes wandered up her form-fitting black slacks in an appreciating manner and the small tickle of feeling old quickly faded.  While the boy was well below the age she'd have ever pursued if she were a single woman, it didn't hurt her feelings one bit that he was clearly excited by the look of her.

Bella offered her hand to the young man as was the tradition in her youth.  "Evening."  She said shaking his hand.  When he took it back he found that she had passed off a bill that would clearly get him to step aside.

"You need anything... just let me know."  The young man said, marveling at the $50 he'd just been handed to open the door.

Bella simply winked at him and walked in with Neil following close behind.  It was almost enough to make her laugh the way her bodyguard was trying to make himself look as dangerous as possible only to find he'd entered an orgy of delinquents.  Dancing, fighting, gambling, and drugs... enough product to make a low-level capo a very comfortable living really.

Bella patted his arm reassuringly, "You didn't think we were going to do this alone, did you?"

'Kids?'

"Damn shame what's happening to today's youth, don't you agree?"  She said smiling and looking out across a wide open floor full of young people engaged in all manner of criminal acts.  "Idle hands really are the devil's tools ... or a dragon's."

Looking around the room, eventually, her eyes landed on the person she was looking for.  The man stood nearly a foot taller than Gavin and was as wide as Will Bowden, maybe a little more so.  Clad entirely in leather he wasn't known in organized crime as anything other than a small time hustler... a bruiser for hire who was far, far beneath the notice of most Dons ... but to the misguided teens of Brooklyn, New York Charlie 'Baron' Sheffield was a bonified God.

Bella walked through the mob of dancers unafraid of being accosted with Neil looming behind her.  This room was full of people who thought themselves mobsters... at least until a real one showed up then the hoodlums parted like the red sea before Moses to let her and Neil pass.  Near the center of the room a makeshift stage/dais was erected and upon it was an old restaurant booth and table.  Splayed out across the booth, legs spread wide, arms across the back - Baron held court.

He watched her approach as he had once in her youth.  They had both been younger then.  He'd been an olive-skinned beauty with soft lips that she could have kissed for days on end, but now he was wrinkled and looked more like someone's father or almost grandfather really.  Only at a distance did he still hold that magic he'd once held ... up close the illusion was ruined somehow.  Perhaps this was why he kept himself on a dais these days?  To separate himself from the teens he clearly still enjoyed the unadulterated worship of?

"Hot Rod."  He smirked in greeting and reached under the table with his right hand.  A moment later a girl rose up and wiped her lips, departing from him.  He made a point to zip his fly before continuing.  "I never thought I'd see you return to New York.  Word is you moved up in the world.  You got too big for us Brooklyn low lives."

Bella shook her head.  "Well, the saying is that you can never go home... but I make it a point not to forget the people who helped me get where I am in life."  She stepped closer to the table.  "YOU, of all the people in this world, you helped me find Sal Luciano.  I haven't forgotten what you did for me Baron.  I thought maybe it was time I showed you the depth of my appreciation."

He smirked, "Well, we could take this somewhere private... like in the old days?"

She shook her head, wishing she'd felt comfortable wearing her wedding ring out on this job.  Instead, she just said, "Trust that you never want my husband to hear you talking about the finer details of our past.  And the only way I'd let you between my thighs again is if I decided you needed to be taken care of."  She chuckled.  "He's not the forgiving sort."

He shrugged.  "Then I can't imagine what the hell you'd have of any interest to me."

"How's your sister these days?"  Bella asked, nonchalantly.  "Did she recover from what they did to her?"

Baron narrowed his eyes.

"I'll take that as a no."  She said genuinely sad.  Lucria had been a kind soul who Bella had liked immensely.  "What they did to her... it could have happened to me, or any other Italian girl in Brooklyn.  I've never forgotten it and I've always kept the promise I made to her in the hospital the last time I saw her... I've never let anyone use that sort of talk around me without paying for it in blood."

To his credit, Baron didn't smart-off, or jump to conclusions.  This was probably the only reason so many Dons and Godfathers had let him live and never demanded a bit of his action.  The man knew when to shut the fuck up.

She stepped closer to the table, letting her thighs touch it.  The corners of her lips curled upwards ever so slightly, "A name, Baron.  I've brought you a name and if you're willing - vendetta can be had at long last ... tonight both yours and mine."

Baron sat forward, hands on the table, eyes burning like red-hot coals, "Who?"

Bella woke up late and had breakfast in her hotel room.  There was many hours in the day before tonight's activities, and so she planned to relax and enjoy herself with a bit of shopping and enjoying the sights of the city.  Gavin and Aurora weren't expecting her home until tomorrow now.  A quick call last night let Gavin know things were taking longer than expected - and that had been true.  Baron wasn't ready to make his run against his enemies right off... she had hoped his rage would burn hot and he'd be ready to go at a moment's notice, but when a man waits for justice it makes him particular.  She should have realized.

It was just as well.  Now she had time to visit her mother's grave and put fresh flowers there.  

Finishing her coffee, Bella looked out the window of her hotel room and across the city that used to be her home.  Holding her robe closed silently she wondered what Gavin and Aurora were doing this morning without her.

Neil, dressed in his best suit, opened the car door for a well-dressed Bella to exit.  Standing outside in the New York winter air, she pulled a mink stole tight around herself for warmth.  The weight of her gun a small comfort to her considering how sideways her last visit to this establishment had gone.  

The location was in a part of Brooklyn that wasn't much nicer than the one she'd been in on the previous night, with one small but important difference: the number of nice cars parked up and down the road and the amount of muscle watching over them.  The owners of these cars, important personages, minor celebrities, and mobsters from all over the world were inside - enjoying the hospitality of a man who had no claim to this territory.  A man who had managed to run an operation in every major city in the United States right under the noses of each city's Godfathers and Dons.  Whatever you thought of Tyler Durden, Bella maintained a healthy respect for what he managed to get away with and the blind loyalty (or fear) he instilled in his seemingly endless stream of followers.

"Dona Byrne."  The giant man at the door greeted her with deference before pounding on the steel door he stood outside of.  A man inside opened it and welcomed her & her bodyguard to 'Fight Club.'

Neither the man on the inside or outside of the door was the same as the who had been there all those years ago, but Bella made note that these goombas weren't nearly as flippant with their tongues.  Were they smarter?  Or was it she who had changed - did she now give off that same dangerous air that she once associated exclusively with people like Spaceman, Marie, and her father Salvatore?

Thoughts for another time.

The doorman offered to take Bella's mink.  She gave it to him and asked bluntly, "Is Durden in-house tonight?"

"Not tonight Dona Byrne.  I hope you didn't came all the way from Philly for business with him?"  The man hung up her fur and looked back to her.

"No.  Not in so many words."  She said politely.

"Well, Mickey Donahue is here, one of his Captains.  If you need somethin' ... he'd be the guy to talk to."

Bella hid her smile.  Her intel was checking out.  So far everything was coming up aces tonight.  "I'd share a drink with him, if you'd be kind enough to point him out to me?"

The doorman had her walk with him to the entrance to the main floor.  Not much had changed in the years since she and Will had walked into this den of murderers.  The money pit wasn't any better than it had been, nor the ring improved.  Seemed Tyler didn't feel he'd been in competition with her and William's operation of Purgatory.  Or if he did, he didn't feel the need to commercialize his operation. 

The mezzanine she'd shamefully stole the idea of was just as she remembered it as well.  Dining tables decorated the second floor and men who made laws to criminalize alcohol guzzled bottles of it while dandling Durden's whores on their knees while their wives rotted back home no doubt.

These 'good men' were positively falling over themselves as they watched men turn each other into mutilated sacks of flesh in Durden's make-shift ring ... at least she and William's fights had rules.  Here, in Durden's Fight Club, the rules weren't created to keep the fights civilized... murder and mayhem of all sorts weren't just allowed they were encouraged.  People died in this ring and it wasn't the exception to the rule.  The brutality was what drew a crowd.  It was the sort of entertainment that the worst of humanity enjoyed watching, and it turned Bella's stomach to once again be reminded that the best and brightest of her home city were among those who paid good money to be here. 

The doorman pointed to a table on the second floor with the best vantage point to watch all the action, not just in the ring, but in the betting pit.  From his table, Mickey could see the odds on each fighter and their stats scrawled out on the giant chalkboard that took up a whole wall and the young men in Durden's operation who were constantly updating the data.  He'd be able to know Durden's profit margins minute to minute and shut the whole thing down the second things turned bad for the house.

"Up there."  The doorman said, pointing out the capo.

"Thanks."  Bella said palming him a twenty before strutting up the metal stairs, careful not to catch the heel of her pumps in the grated metal steps.  She could feel Neil's body so near her own he was touching her, clearly giving every person they passed a look that suggested they think seriously about even talking to her let alone looking in her direction with ill intent.

From up here Bella could see what death trap this place really was.  Previously she and William had never come up to the second floor.  She'd never gotten to see just how fucked they really had been that night... only suspected what her eyes now confirmed.  The fire marshall, who was here tonight, would have shut this shit down if he had been here on official business.  If there was an exit other than the one she came in through, she couldn't see it.  From up here, it was clear, no one left Durden's Fight Club without his people's sayso.

As Bella reached the table, she got her first good look at Donahue.  He was an Irish scrub, and while she usually wasn't so racist, he certainly looked every bit the stereotype right down to the whiskey he was chasing with some sort of cheap potatoe beer.  He was clearly two sheets to the wind when she sauntered up in the red dress she'd meant to wear on the cruise to Sicily for Gavin - her Wolf tattoo visible to everyone in the room behind and below her like a flag.

"Well fuck me running..."  He chuckled silencing the others at his table.  "Hel-lo beautiful."

Bella gave the Irish Capo her husband's wolfish smirk to hide her disgust at the beast in front of her,  "Mickey?"

"I'll be anyone that you want me to be if you just sit down and share bit of whiskey with me, Miss... ?"

"Byrne."  She breathed her last name as if it were a promise, not an answer.  Neil pulled out her chair and she smoothly sat down.

The man's muscle, clearly paid to keep his ass out of the fire when he was this drunk, leaned down and whispered into his ear.  Bella supposed he was finding out who she was, where she was from, and how he should NOT fuck this up and while he was learning these details she took his bottle of whiskey and poured herself a drink.

The man was too drunk to be having a conversation with her, if she'd been in his shoes she would have found a way to excuse herself and save Tara the embarrassment.  Durden's lackeys were loyal, but no one ever accused them of being competent.  And so the fool pushed his man off his shoulder clearly before he was done saying all he knew. 

"Boys, let Mrs. Byrne and I have some space."  He dismissed the people at his table and only once they were alone did he continue, "Sorry to hear about your club, Dollface.  Fucking shame.  You know I saw a fight there once.  Damn nice place."

Bella sipped her whiskey.  "Is that so?"

He nodded.  "Is it true you ripped off the idea from Tyler?"

Bella laughed.  "He's hardly the first to think of making a place for guys to beat the shit out of each other... still..."  She looked around the room.  "I would be lying if I didn't say this place did help inspire me."

"I've always wondered,"  He leaned in, "Why did you call it Purgatory?"

"Well," Bella paused and then changed her tone to something more suggestive, "Maybe by the end of the night, I'll show you."

It was all the encouragement the asshole needed.

"We could cut out of here.  Go somewhere more secure and ... ah... talk."

Bella leaned back in her seat and took one leg and crossed it over the other allowing her dress to fall in a very revealing an unlady-like so of way.  

Bella smirked.  "Don't you want to know what I came here for?"

"Will it get us out of here faster?"

Bella nodded.

"Name it."

"Crowbar Frankie."  She said softly.  

Donahue narrowed his eyes.  "What the fuck would you want with that low-life goomba?"

"Well,"  she said crossing her arms over her breasts obstructing his view.  "Six years ago he insulted me and I promised him that I'd come back and make him eat his teeth for it.  Now, between you and me, if I have to kill every son of a bitch in this room to make good on my word - that's what I'm prepared to do.  But, if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer your boys hand him over to me for the payback I'm due and I might leave some bit of him alive for Durden to do with as he likes."

"And if I hand over the goomba then you and I... ?"

Bella moved her arms and leaned onto the table, forcing herself to look at Donahue in a way she only ever looked at Gavin.  Speaking in her best bedroom voice she offered, "You leave me alone outside with that piece of shit for ten minutes, then I come back in here and spend a bit of time with you losing some of my money to your boss, and before the end of the night I promise you'll know why I'm called the Dragon."

The man's mouth twisted up into the sort of grin that made Bella's stomach turn.  He reached out his hand and put it on her cheek, rubbing her skin with his calloused thumb.  "Dragon, eh?"  He chuckled.  

She nodded and leaned back in her chair again.  This, of course, allowed her to slip out of his grip.

"I'm liking the sound of that."

"First my business."  She reminded him.

Donahue nodded and waved his guy forward again. 

"Take Crowbar outback.  Wait for Mrs. Byrne here.  See that she gets to handle her business with our guy.  Scrape up whatever is left of him and make sure none of our guests see it."

"You got it, Boss."  With that the man left.

"Damn shame you're gonna mess up your pretty dress handling something like this."

Bella rose smoothly from her seat, shaking her head.  "Oh... don't worry about me."  She glanced at Neil.  "These days I rent the messy shit out.  I'll be right back."

"I'll be waiting."  He said lifting his glass to toast her.

Bella descended the stairs carefully and made for the door not taking much time to look around the room, caring less and less about who was inside as who was now being taken out. 

Step one - promises made, promises kept.  It was time for someone to have his long overdue dinner date with the Don.

Gavin had just finished a job in South Philly when he was informed that Bella was AWOL. Tara had mentioned she could send someone else, but they both knew Gavin would be there in hours. It had taken him a while to track her down using Tara's sources; he'd just missed her at the cemetery, apparently. He'd tracked her footsteps just like he'd have hunted anyone down, including the club full of children that made him worry far too much about his daughter. From there, he'd known where Bella would be... but he wasn't sure where she'd be coming from. 

Having traded in his suit for a more inconspicuous set of clothes that matched the few days of stubble on his face, Gavin made his way into the proverbial lion's den. He was drinking and gambling with a man missing a few teeth when he saw Bella walk in; everyone saw Bella walk in. He kept half an eye on her as he drank and watched the fight.

Although he couldn't help but notice how she was acting talking to the man across from her; he took a long drink from his ale when the man had his hands on her cheek. As they moved, he blended into the crowd, coming up behind Neil just before they reached the door. Making eye contact with his old friend, he winked... and, after a moment, Neil seemed to recognize him and nodded. They made their way outside behind Bella, and he spoke up when they had a brief moment alone before anyone else joined them. He spoke softly, so no one would hear him except Bella and Neil.

"And here I thought you only wore red for me..."

Gavin's voice was out of place here. Neil had put his hand on Bella's forearm stopping her from pulling her gun, which meant he'd seen Gavin at least a moment before he'd spoke.  The reality of Gavin being here and not being at home with Aurora was jarring, especially after flirting with a disgusting asshole only moments earlier.  She blinked hard and suppressed the somewhat woozy feeling that washed over her as she took in the sight of him.  

She smiled briefly at her husband, indulging in the act of returning his quip with one of her own, "I have to remind you from time to time that you're not the only one looking.  That way you'll keep on your A-game."

Her smile faded though, knowing there were people waiting on her.  "Tell you what, when I'm done here, I'll model the matching bra and panties for you if you promise not to shave.  I just have some shit to get done first."

Neil took his hand off Bella, watching her closely, his brow furrowed.

She knew better than to think he was leaving her alone now.  Not surrounded by Durden's people who weren't exactly known for playing by the same rules as the rest of the Cosa Nostra.  She glanced down at Gavin's footwear, "You want to join me?  Dumb shit inside won't pick you out as my husband.  He's convinced he's getting me in the sack tonight so he's not going to listen to his people's sound advice... unless of course, you give yourself away.  If you want to join me, you do you'll have to play the enforcer though and shit's about to get real messy." 

A smirk grew on her face, "Or maybe you'd rather just sit back and watch?  Some men like that I'm told."  

Gavin rubbed the short beard on his jaw. 

"You know Tara keeps an eye on everyone, and if she was going to send anyone to check in with you... well... I volunteered, obviously. But I trust you to handle your own business. I was planning on staying close enough where I could step in if you needed a hand, but not stepping on your toes. Might seem suspicious for you to pick up a random enforcer halfway through the evening- but if you need me, I'm there."

He grinned.

"Your show. I'm just here to make sure you get home."

"Glad she cares."  Bella wasn't mad that her boss kept tabs on her.  At least it was Gavin who had shown up and instead of someone else.

"When I leave here with the shithead ... whatever you do, don't stick around.  If you got friends in there, give them a plausible reason to make tracks.  I'm at the Marriot in Manhatten, room 224, in case you lose track of me."

She looked around knowing there were too many eyes about to make a spectacle of kissing her husband and so she refrained.  

"I gotta go."  She said.  "See you in a few hours, alright?"

Bella walked away, headed down an alley to the back of the building. Neil walked slow enough to give Gavin a meaningful look as he passed by the other man, one that suggested he was very glad for Gavin's sudden appearance.  Then, after the moment passed, he returned his full attention to his charge and followed her into the shadowy depths of the alley an out of Gavin's sight.

Behind the building, as it turned out, was a bit of a misnomer.  First of all the building was bigger than Bella had assumed and she hadn't scouted the area so she had no idea what lay behind the building was currently a rather open construction area.  Likely to be a new storage building unit or a large warehouse, it was impossible to tell with only the concrete bases poured.  

Three goons, including the one from upstairs, kept a familiar face company.  Bella's mind struggled to break away from Gavin's handsome and scruffy face flirting with her and go back to the place it had been - the past, anger, a need to keep her word to this scumbag who had been a part of a beating that had nearly killed William an offense that had gone unanswered for far too long.

"What the hell is all this about?" He was asking, but as Bella's face came out of the shadows and into one of the dim street lights, his questions seemed to stop.

"It's been a while, Frankie."

"Guys... guys... look you can't take orders from this woman, do you know who she is?  She's Luciano's brat.  If Tyler finds out you guys are jumping when she barks he's gonna put a bullet in all your heads.  Look I'm trying to save your lives here!"

Durden's men threw him down at her feet.  He scrambled, coming up onto his knees in front of her.

"Despite all time you've had, I see you still have learned any manners."  she shook her head.

He spit on her.  "Fuck you, you fucking cunt! I -"  His voice was strangled and cut off as Neil, who was moving before Bella could think to tell him to do anything, grabbed Frankie by his collar.  Her bodyguard dragged the man towards the foundations of the new construction, eyes full of hate.

"Damn."  Bella said looking down at the bodily fluid on her dress, clearly annoyed and ignoring the sounds of the struggling man who was getting road rash on his way to the place of his ultimate fate.  She felt her stomach clench in disgust and she unconsciously put an open palm onto her abdomen as she slowly followed, shadowed by Durden's men.

"I'm not done talking to him."  She said in a normal conversational tone.  Neil forced the man up so he could see Bella, pulling his gun and putting it to the back of his head so he knew the score.  If Bella got any more of his bodily fluids on her dress, the next bout of it would be closely followed by blood splatter and the dress would be a total loss.  It wasn't a threat coming from Neil who was overly protective of his boss, it was a promise.

She looked at Frankie who now appeared far less cocky, clearly understanding that Durden's men were not going to step in on his behalf.  His family, such as it was, had abandoned him for nothing less than the promise of a sniff at a skirt.  She smiled at that thought and wiped a small bit of sweat from her brow.

"Apologize."  She said flatly.

He said nothing.

"Ask me to forgive you.  It's a simple thing.  Just... ask."

For a moment the sounds of the city were all that anyone could hear and then, quietly he whispered, "I'm sorry."

Bella tilted her head to the side.  "Oh come on Frankie.  You can do better than that.  Make me want to forgive you... do you remember how you laughed at me that night?  Imagine how I felt.  Now... come on... make it right.  Let's bury the hatchet between us and go back inside."

Again silence for longer than she wanted, Neil pushed the gun to the back of his head a bit and Frankie found his voice, "I'm sorry... Don Isabella.  Please... forgive me."

Bella smiled and nodded and shrugged.  

Neil picked him up off the ground.

The man was clearly confused.  He knew better.  Things like this did not end this way.  He knew it was too good to be true.  She could see the desire to run in his eyes, like a rabbit hiding in a bush from a wolf or in this case - a dragon.  She felt like a fire was burning inside her as she stepped closer to him, this man she promised would eat his own teeth.

"Now..."  She growled, low and quiet.  "Ask me to forgive you for what happened to William Bowden that night."

And now he knew how it was meant to go down.  Word must have reached New York.  Bowden was known in fighting circles.  People knew he'd died tragically - murdered.  And this scum had the unfortunate advantage of knowing what William meant to her.  That she'd held him that night and worried he might die in her arms and now he really was gone.  

The man sobbed.

Her voice was a whisper, "Go on..."

"Ppp... please?"

She slowly shook her head, 'No.'  

Neil grabbed his neck again and pulled him down to the edge of the concrete.

"You see, Frankie, a lot of shit has been done to me in life.  I've been stabbed and shot, called every name in the book and while I could overlook every bit of what you said and did that night to me -- well, as the right-hand of a Godfather, I can't overlook what was done to one of my Dons."

"God, no!  Please!  I'm sorry!  I... I...  mmm..."  His mouth was forced open on the edge of the concrete and his sobs became frantic.  Snot and drool quickly covered the foundation where he was biting down.  One of Durden's men looked away, pretending to look for people walking upon the bloody scene, but she knew better.  Not everyone had a stomach for this work and as Neil looked to her, her stomach lurched in a way it never had before making her briefly question her own resolve. 

"You see Frankie..."  Her open palm on her stomach clenched and she winced visibly.  "The fear you're feeling right now, Will felt that too and just like that night, no one is going to stop what's about to happen."

Bella nodded.

Neil's foot came down hard. 

Teeth broken on the cement fell out of his mouth.  The sound echoed throughout the lot.  Frankie, like Will, passed out instantly from the pain and the injury done to him.  Whether he'd survive or not, just as it had been that night with Will, was now in his friend's and God's hands alone.

Bella walked over to her bodyguard.  Strangely she was almost thankful that Frankie had spit on her.  Neil was a kind-hearted soul... until someone hurt those he loved.  Once he saw this man had no love for her, that he'd treat her harshly if he had half a chance, the work was easy for him.  

"You good?"  She asked him.

He nodded.

Bella glanced back at Durden's men gathering up their broken companion.  The light-headedness came again and this time she found herself putting a very hot hand on Neil's arm.  He quickly realized she wasn't okay and pretended to be escorting her back inside.

"I don't feel so good."  She whispered.  

Neil grunted softly.  He didn't need to write down his words for her to know what he wanted.  She was burning up and Neil was scared for her.  He wanted to walk away.

"No."  She said softly.  "Baron and his people need us to play our part.  We're in this now... I have to see it through.  I won't let a touch of stomach flu get in the way of all we've done."

There was nothing for it now.  Bella, his Don, had her mind set and so Neil sighed and helped her back inside.

Gavin nodded drunkenly and sadly to Bella, looking as if he'd approached her and gotten rejected. He headed back to his former drinking partner. He drank, curious about what the hell Bella was doing but with no real need to question her. If she was doing it, it must be important. They'd have time to talk later.

He saw her re-enter, walking slowly, and he continued to drink, gamble, talk, and keep a watching eye on the situation.

A slightly paler than normal Bella walked back inside, her open palm held on her lower abdomen as she moved. Neil walked at her side more than behind her which was not normal in the least.  The bodyguard's eyes searched, as Gavin might expect, but lingered on the Wolf's for longer than would have been casual.

Neil could not speak and so much of what he communicated was through writing and gestures and when it wasn't, it was through facial expressions.  Sometimes only the barest hints of facial changes due to the need for secrecy.  For those who knew what they were looking for, it became easier to notice and the movement of his gaze or the twitch of an eyebrow could be as much as a declaration by other men.  Most people would miss these changes in his expression if they didn't know him well or if they were poor observers but Gavin was neither of these.

Neil had gone from outwardly being concerned about the operation to hovering protectively near Bella.  Worst of all he was worried enough that he risked seeking out Gavin's presence in the crowd just to make sure he was still handy.  Obviously, something had changed in the half-hour Bella had spent out back with Donahue's people but not enough for Bella to call off the operation.  Perhaps it wasn't a huge deal and Neil was making mountains of mole-hills or Bella's investment was too great to simply throw in the towel... but whatever it was, it was clear Neil was relieved to see Gavin was present.

Donahue chuckled loudly as he spotted Bella reappearing on the second floor.  "You're going to love the next fight, I hope you don't mind I've ordered you two drinks?  You've got some catching up to do."

Bella smiled and shook her head and that look of false infatuation returned to her face, "Not at all.  I could use one right now."

Donahue turned his attention to the fight just starting on the first floor and so didn't notice Bella winced as she lowered herself into the chair which had been moved from its place across from Donahue to a position beside him.  After only a moment Donahue's arm went around the back of her and rested on her chair so his fingers could play on her bare back.

Bella downed her first glass of whiskey as if she was Gavin on a very bad day.  Again she winced as the crowd cheered for a near knock out blow and she leaned over to whisper in Donahue's ear what anyone at a distance had to know were sweet nothings - or by his expression something much more explicit.

The Irish man turned and looked at Bella with a shocked but clearly thrilled expression.  She smirked and gave a tiny nod towards the door.  Donahue looked down at the fight.  "Just until the end of this one?"

Bella leaned in again and whispered something else.  Her desperation pushed the man further than she expected as he turned to her and captured her lips.

Neil tensed, as did Donahue's men.  

Bella lifted her hand from her gut and put it into his hair, gripping tight, and twisted.  She bent the man's neck back at an extreme angle and his mouth detached from Bella's.  The dragon looked pissed, and NOW the man who knew her better than anyone in the world could see what had been troubling her bodyguard so badly: Bella was trying to hide physical pain and in this moment of surprise she let her 'mask' slip. 

All the muscle was watching each other and their bosses - waiting.

Gavin knew the knife he'd given to her was likely strapped to a garter on her upper thigh, and if she wanted her left hand could grab it and open this asshole up all over the table - but she didn't.  Instead, she leaned in as if this attack on him was part of some sort of sexual game.

"Not.  Here."  She growled low letting go of his hair.  Instantly the men around them relaxed.

"Where?"  He said eagerly.  The room erupted into cheers and applause again as one of the fighters went down and struggled to get up to his feet again.  Donahue's eyes only flickered towards them but went back to Bella getting up out of her seat a heartbeat later.

"Lamplighter Inn on 12th.  Room 102." she replied.

"I've got nicer places you know, places worthy of someone like you..."

"Do you want my husband to open you up like venison?"  She asked, shaking her head 'no'.  "People watch for me in nice places.  You need to trust me.  Low key is the only way something like this happens.  Come ... or don't, but I'm only waiting thirty minutes.  Not a minute longer.  You better hope your fighter down there gets his knock out soon or you'll miss your shot."

Donahue finished her second glass of whiskey for her and then nodded, "I'll be there."  

She gave him a wink and put a hand on Neil's arm.  "I'll go freshen up then.  Neil... let's get out of here."  And with that she allowed her bodyguard to 'escort' her down the stairs and back outside to her car.

Gavin started moving the moment he saw Bella was in pain, but as she stood he let his hand dropped away from his shoulder-holster. He was outside before she was, trailing behind her in a cab. He'd noticed the look on her face... something was wrong... but he kept his distance as he saw her walk outside. Too many eyes.

The cab followed Bella and Neil to a cheap hotel, and he snuck in past the front desk shortly after them; he strolled past Neil and into the room with his brow furrowed.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt? And what are you doing, anyways? And don't give me that look; if the guy shows up I can hide in the bathroom. Or the shower."

Before Bella could answer the bathroom door came open and the massive Baron stepped into the room.

"Don't!"  Bella snapped at both Gavin who had pulled his gun and spun around and Baron who clearly thought it was Donahue who had arrived.  "He's my husband."  She explained to Baron and added to Gavin, "I'm helping him with vendetta.  I had to get Donahue out of there and the ..."

She grabbed her side and doubled over as if stabbed, crying out in agony.

"Izzy?!?"  Baron asked.

She said, looking up to Gavin with tears in her eyes, afraid.  "Something's... not right."  

As her husband's hands made contact with her body, he could feel instantly that she was burning up with a terrible fever.

Gavin quickly lifted Bella into his arms, looking down at her with concern. The fear in her eyes was deeply unsettling.

"You have thirty seconds to tell me what you want to have happen here. Then we're going to the hospital. Go."

"Donahue dies tonight."  He said simply, putting his gun away.  His eyes looking to Isabella with concern.  "I can handle him, but if he brings a bunch of his guys..."  

Bella trembled in Gavin's arms, burying her face into his neck, moaning as she held her gut tight.

Shit.

"Shit."

Gavin glanced outside. Neil was good. But he wasn't that good. He kicked the door to summon the bodyguard and transferred Isabella to his arms.

"Get her to New York Hospital. They're good. Do it fast. I'll catch up after I handle this for her. Go- now. Bella, I'll catch up. I promise."

He glanced at the other man, apparently Bella's partner, as Neil carried Bella out of the room.

"How good are you with a gun?"

"Good enough."

Gavin rolled his eyes .

"Get in the bathroom."

***

Nineteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door. A muffled high pitched voice that didn't sound much like Bella called "come in!". Still, the man in question was focused on other things in his near future. He and his four men entered the room, which was pitch black. As soon as the door closed behind them, Donahue called out as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

The man sitting in the chair had been sitting in the darkness for a while, and his eyes were already adjusted. Remembering where each target was, his gun roared 7 times, joined by the man crouching behind the bed.

Standing, Gavin quickly flipped on the lights and kicked guns away from the wounded as he reloaded. Pausing at the doorway and ignoring the cursing men on the ground, he glanced back at the Baron.

"Finish this however you want, then get the hell outta here. Bella will call you."

***

Gavin's ears were still hurting when he got to the hospital; shooting that much in an enclosed space wasn't good- but he didn't have any other options, as he saw them. He moved quickly through the hospital, until he found Neil waiting in the emergency room waiting area. Bella wasn't with him. He ran up to the bodyguard and grabbed the man's shoulder to get his attention.

"What happened?"

Neil hugged Gavin and then scrambled to pull his notepad out of his jacket.  In frantic handwriting, he wrote, 'Surgery.  Doc thinks her appendix broke.'  His face, grim and fearful, said it all.  Even if Gavin didn't know shit about what an Appendix was, or if she could live without it, clearly Neil didn't like the odds.

Spotting a nurse over Gavin's shoulder, Neil made a noise and waved his hands to get her attention.  Quickly he was writing again.

The nurse was speaking as she approached, "I told you already, Sir, the surgery will take some time -"

Neil held up his paper which now read, 'Husband.' 

"Mr. Byrne?"  She asked trying to confirm his identity.  The moment he affirmed what Neil had said, she offered, "I'll go get a doctor to speak with you."

"Will she be okay?"  Gavin demanded of the nurse.  While the man before her was terrifying to behold in his state, this nurse was no stranger to angry and worried men demanding answers about their loved ones.  

"Your friend here gave us your sister's phone number and she had us wake one of our very best surgeons to help with your wife's procedures.  As I'm not qualified to speak on everything that's happening, I'm asking you to wait here... I'll bring you one of the other attending doctors who is assisting the surgeon."

Neil put a hand on Gavin's arm and nodded to him reassuringly, his eyes giving him a sympathetic look.  Gavin merely nodded and paced until two men in white appeared in the doorway dressed as if he was just in the room with Isabella.  One had a somewhat stoic look, but the younger of the two seemed lighter in spirit.  

"Mr. Byrne?" The more stoic man said opening a door to a side room made just for meeting with family members away from the eyes and ears of others in the waiting area.  

"I'm Dr. Alexander Gains and I'm the on-call doctor who was present your wife arrived.  I gave the initial diagnosis of acute appendicitis and I have been assisting Dr. Hapsburg in the surgery to remove the ruptured organ."

The second doctor inserted in a thick Greek accent, "To be perfectly honest we're not sure how this hadn't happened sooner.  Her previous... I hesitate to call them surgeries,"  He shook his head. 

Dr. Gains offered, "Procedures."

"Her other procedures," the other doctor continued, "Left much to be desired.  While I have no doubt they saved her life at the time she was shot, there's much we could do to improve her overall health in addition to the removal of her appendix."

Dr. Gains offered up, "She's been doing well so far, no issues with the anesthesia and very few men have performed as many successful appendectomies as Dr. Hapsburg but I would be lying if I didn't tell you that your wife's condition is critical, indeed."

As it seemed then that Gavin was taking in the news of Bella's appendix, the men continued with the rest of what they needed to tell Gavin.

"I'm sorry I didn't introduce him before,"  Dr. Gains offered, "This is Dr. George Papanicolaou.  He's one of the world's most brilliant minds when it comes to the field of gynecology and obstetrics... that is to say, the science of women's particular health needs."

"It' is good to meet you, Mr. Byrne."

"Dr. Papanicolaou was here in town for a conference.  When Dr. Hapsburg and I saw the aftermath of your wife's previous procedures I had him called in to consult."

The Greecian doctor continued, "You see, Mr. Byrne, one of the great dangers of surgery is putting the patient under anesthesia.  If your wife requires a second operation, and we've already got her on the table, it would be far safer for us to do that procedure without allowing her to come out of her sleeping state.  The risk of putting her into a sleep for a second time well, it's playing a sort of Russian Roulette and I'm loathed to do that if we can avoid it."

"And that's what we needed to talk to you about."  Dr. Gains stated.  "You see, your wife's previous procedures cared for what was probably her most pressing and life-threatening issues.  However, it's clear the priority for that doctor wasn't her long-term quality of life.  Dr. Hapsburg is required by our rules of ethics to repair any life-threatening issues left behind... but not everything wrong with your wife is life-threatening.  In fact, she could live a very happy and healthy life without any further surgeries assuming our appendectomy goes as we hope."

"But, there may be more we can do for her."  Dr. Papanicolaou added.  "There are parts of her anatomy, those related to childbearing, that were not cared for in a way that we would have done for her if had she been in the care of a specialist surgeon.  And, with your permission, I'm prepared to give your wife the very best chance anyone can at having a normal and healthy reproductive future."

"That's not to say we can promise she'd be able to have children."  Dr. Gains offered.

Dr. Papanicolaou shook his head, "No.  There is a great deal of scarring and one of her ovaries is completely gone, but reduced odds of conception do not necessarily mean eliminated.  Whereas, as things stand now, the chances of her conceiving a baby are... well, they are so small as to not speak of them.  It would be cruel to give her that manner of hope without these procedures we're speaking about Mr. Byrne.  However... with them."

He shrugged.

"Not doing this," Dr. Gains said, "Would feel like leaving the job unfinished.  We can see the wrongs done to her, but as I noted Mr. Byrne, it's not life-threatening to leave her barren and you alone know what her desires in this matter might be without us speaking to her... but, if we wake her to ask her what she wants, it only increases the risk to her life when we put her under a second time."

Both doctors looked to Gavin, waiting to hear his thoughts or to answer his questions.

Gavin glanced between the two doctors. For about five seconds, he closed his eyes to think. But when it came to making decisions, he wasn't usually one to wait.

"Do it. Fix everything you can as best you can. But when she's awake, I'll tell her about it- no one else."

Bella's eyelids fluttered, her body tried to pull her back into her dark and dreamless sleep, but her mind struggled for consciousness.  Her lips were chapped impossibly, but she forced them apart in order to speak.  When she heard her own voice it felt like someone else's, breathy and oh so quiet!

"Gavin?"

She knew he wouldn't be far away.  Reaching her hand out to find him even though her eyes still struggled to adjust to the false light above her in this private room where she was clearly recovering from whatever had happened. 

Gavin had sat in the chair, barely moving except to occasionally stretch and pace. He hadn't slept as he waited for Bella to awake. He quickly took her hand.

"I'm here. The business in the hotel is handled. You're fine... it was your appendix."

He squeezed her hand.

"For now, just rest. We'll have more to talk about in the morning. But everything is fine."

"Did it burn?"  She asked squeezing his hand.  She struggled to keep her eyes open and added, "I asked him to burn it..."      

Her eyes closed despite her desires.  

"Do you smell cookies?"  she asked dreamily.  She was clearly not entirely there, maybe dreaming already. 

"I swear I smell my mom's cookies ..."

For a moment she was silent enough to make Gavin think she'd gone back to sleep before she struggled awake enough to tell him one more thing before relenting to her body's needs, "Love you."

***

This time sunshine woke her.  She was in a new room.  Still a private room but this one was much more comfortable.  The curtains were pristine white and everywhere she looked there was flowers.  Clearly, she'd been in the hospital long enough to have people find out about it and send her well-wishes.

She wet her lips and turned her head to find a very scruffy looking Gavin sleeping in the chair beside her.  She watched him for a few moments before a nurse came in and ruined the moment.

"Mrs. Byrne, you're awake."

Gavin's eyes snapped open at the sound of the nurse's voice.  

"How long was I out?"

"This is your third day here.  I was seriously contemplating telling security to kick your husband out for a good shower though as he's likely the biggest risk to your health right now in that unwashed state of his.  The man has stubbornly refused to leave you."  It was clear she wasn't scolding so much as letting a recovering wife know her husband obviously loved her and it wa a fact that the nurse found endearing.

"You would have had a hard go of that... I haven't been able to get rid of him yet, no matter what I pull to anger him."  She smiled at Gavin.

"Well, you're looking well.  I'm going to check with the doctor and see if we can't bring you some real food."

Bella furrowed her brow.  "I don't think I can."

"You need to, soon I'm afraid."  the nurse stated like a mother telling a child what she was going to do whether she wanted it or not.  "But don't worry, after the first few meals you'll be right back to normal I'm sure."

The nurse took her clipboard and said to Gavin, more than to Bella, "I'll be back shortly."

Bella turned to Gavin and smiled.  "Sorry for giving you a scare."