Emily could feel every eye on her as she limped into the casino. Her ankle was swollen and agonizingly painful under the black robe and apron of her old nun's get-up. A security guard gave her a puzzled look. 

"Can I help you, Sister? You lost?" 

Shaking her head, Emily tried to look as normal as possible, forcing a friendly smile. 

"Oh, no thank you. I'm quite certain this is where I'm supposed to be. There's a poker game here, and my brother is playing in it. I was hoping to get to watch him play."

The guard squinted his eyes slightly. 

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Sister. There ain't no tournaments tonight. You want me to get you a chair or something?" 

Emily reached out and took the man's hand, as if she were shaking it. She pressed a hundred dollar bill into his palm. 

"You're sure about that?" 

The security guard, somewhat dumbfounded, blinked a few times, then motioned for her to follow him. 

The game was taking place inside a private room. It was fairly large, with a gallery of about 25 or 30 people surrounding the table in the center. The players were all heavily focused on their hands, but Emily's entrance turned quite a few heads in the gallery. She hobbled to the nearest chair and settled in. She knew very little about poker, but she could see Silvio, and there were several empty seats. Silently, she watched him, hoping he'd notice her. 

Silvio rarely stopped talking at the poker table for long. He emanated a steady string of friendly banter, jokes, and questions. For him, it was second nature. As he engaged in these conversations, he learned things about most ofhis opponents. And, frankly, he entertained himself. He'd had a good time with most of the men who'd played. Now, there were only four players left. And one of them was no fun at all. Two of them seemed like businessmen, wearing fancy looking suits and shining rings. The fourth man had been the bane of Silvio's existence that evening: he'd been mostly silent, deflecting Silvio's attempts at conversing, and he'd been consistently winning. The man in question seemed older, with a lot of grey in his hair, and the focus in his blue eyes made Silvio vaguely uncomfortable.

The nun arriving at the poker game turned heads. She certainly turned Silvio's. And that was even before he recognized Emily. She'd been limping- did someone hurt her? He hadn't seen her since the night they'd fled El Rancho under cover of darkness, although he'd given her his number. After another twenty minutes of play, the two businessmen had been eliminated, leaving just Silvio and the old fellow. Silvio was getting antsy; he desperately wanted to speak to Emily... but there were tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

The overseer of the poker game stepped near the old man, speaking quiet enough where the gallery couldn't hear him, "Mr. Byrne, you have a phone call from your sister. However, it will be another half hour before our next scheduled break and taking a phone call would result in you forfeiting. I told her that you'd call her back, but she said it was urgent."

Mr. Byrne? Ah, so this must be Rora's famous father.

"Mr... Byrne, yes? Why do we not simply split the pot?"

Silvio grinned. Gavin stared at him a moment, then nodded.

"Appreciate it," said Gavin. 

The overseer announced the result and the gallery applauded. As people mingled to discuss the game, Silvio slipped up to Emily.

"You are, ah, a bit conspicuous here, no? Is everything okay?"

A small but greatly appreciated wave of relief washed over Emily as Silvio made her way to her. The guard who had let her inside was standing at the door, so Emily put on her best Italian accent and gave him a big hug as he sat beside her. 

"Fratello! I'm so sorry I was late. You did well I hope?" 

She lowered her voice then, and leaned in. 

"In here, yes. Outside, it's my best chance. Things didn't pan out with Mike Riddle. He was all set to help me, but the same evening after I met with him, his office was torched. I haven't been able to find him. They, however, managed to find me. I had to go back under cover."

There was a heavy look in her blue eyes; tired. 

​​​​​​"Yesterday, two agents cornered me in a little Indian market. At first I wasn't sure they knew me, but I was in street clothes. They're getting better. Anyway, I made a run for it. They got off a few shots, and thankfully missed, but one of them ran me down. I fought as best I could. One of them got kicked in the teeth. The other crushed my ankle so I couldn't get away."

She stopped and cleared her throat, nervously." 

"I shot him. I don't know if he's dead or not, but I know I hit."

Silvio reached an arm around her, supporting her as he walked her through the large poker room back towards where the office was.

"Sorella, non mi aspettavo di vederti qui. Ah, very well yes. I'm sorry you had such a difficult evening; traffic accidents can be so dangerous. Sometimes I miss walking through the streets of Venezia on foot without worrying about those death machines. Let us, uh,...."

Silvio trailed off; a man in a suit was arguing with the bouncer for the poker room. Was he trying to force his way in?

"... come, this way. That gentleman over there seems to be very angry. We will avoid him. In fact, there is someone that we can ask for help back here.

He ushered back towards the office, where Gavin was just hanging up the phone. He moved to walk by Silvio, and Silvo placed a hand on his chest to halt Gavin back so they could converse.

"Scusami, signore, but- AH!"

Gavin had grabbed Silvio's wrist and started to twist it; he raised an eyebrow as he calmly spoke. "I don't know who you are, but you should know that I don't like being touched." Noticing Emily, he raised an eyebrow and released the Italian man, "Forgive me, Sister. Didn't see you there."

Silvio cradled his writs, wincing, "Mr. Byrne, I know your daughter. She is a dear friend of mind. I overheard your name, and Aurora has told me a bit about you, and- well- I need your help."

Gavin didn't seem particularly impressed.

"More particularly, she needs your help."

Gavin sighed and pointed at Silvio.

"You. Stop talking."

Then he pointed at Emily.

"You. What's going on?"

While Silvio was speaking to the rather dashing gentleman, Emily was trying to keep her face neutral. Gavin Byrne was dead, buried alongside his wife. Everyone knew that. Then again, Emily had been separated from the info game for some time. It wasn't impossible that she had missed something. Still, she was trying to formulate coherent words when Gavin spoke directly to her. She straightened up a bit and stumbled over her first few words. 

"My name is Emily Renfroe. I'm being pursued by several FBI agents who want me dead for information I have. I've been evading them for a few months, but they've closed in on me."

The Wolf had every right to be skeptical, so Emily knew she had to pull something out of her hat to gain his trust. Besides, if he really was Gavin Byrne, this would prove it. 

​​​​​​"I worked for the DiVasio Agency."

Gavin stared at her for a moment. Then he smirked.

"Is that place still up and running?"

"Not exactly. Last I heard, Roxanne got bullied out of the business and had to sell. I actually drove by the old house when I got into town. It's in sad shape, but if I can ever get this mess behind me, I've got plans for it."

She glanced nervously toward the door, trying to see if the suited man had gained access or not. 

​​​​​​"I'm no nun, and I'm 90% sure they haven't figured out my cover yet, but they are getting uncomfortably close. I met with a man named Mike Riddle. He was going to help me, and even gave me some new information. But, his office was torched and now I can't find him."

Emily gave Gavin Byrne a grave look. 

​​​​​​"If you can help me, I can pay. But I've got to be alive to do it."

Gavin turned back to Emily and, for a moment, he could have sworn that it was Stella looking at him- Stella from 25-30 years ago. He stared for a moment, then he nodded.

"Give me a minute."

He disappeared, and Silvio and Emily looked nervously at each other. When he reappeared, he was flexing his right hand. 

"Go ahead. Walk out the front door, get in a cab, and head for Stella's old place. If you hear anything, don't turn around."

With a shrug, Silvio took Emily's arm and led her out into the casino. The man they'd just seen previously was nowhere to be seen. They walked slowly due to Emily's injury, and the number of eyes on them caused the hairs on the backs of their necks to stand up. 

Looking through the row of gambling machines, Silvio noticed a tall man in a suit heading directly towards them with his hand in his pocket. As he was blocked by one of the columns in the room, Silvio and Emily heard a woman scream. When they'd moved to the other side of the column, they saw Gavin standing over the man. As more people began to shout or talk, another man in a suit on the opposite side of the casino headed towards the shouting. As he walked around the column, Gavin's elbow sprung into his face; the older man had just started to follow up with a flurry of punches when Silvio and Emily reached the door. There was a man keeping watch there, but Silvio led Emily into a crowd of panicked people exiting to cover their escape. They jumped in the first cab that they saw, and they headed off towards the old DiVasio building. 

Silvio glanced back through the window.

"Mio dio... now I know where Aurora gets it from..."

Emily's heart was beating just about as hard as her ankle was throbbing. She kept her head down the whole time they were leaving the casino, leaning against Silvio. She could hear the sounds of people in a panic, and the familiar sound of punches and jabs being thrown. Following Gavin's explicit instructions, Emily looked at nothing but the ground as they moved on.

Before she knew it, they were in a cab that was moving speedily toward the dilapidated old mansion she used to call home. Silvio mentioned "Aurora," and Emily recognized the name as Gavin Byrne's adopted daughter. Sighing, she rested her head against the back of the seat and rubbed her temples.

"I just want all this over, Silvio. I want some semblance of a normal life back."

The ride wasn't long. Stella's mansion was just barely out of the city limits. The cab driver hesitated, asking if they were sure this was the place they wanted to be dropped off. Emily didn't say a word, just got out of the car after Silvio and looked up the steps at the front door. It really was a shame to see the place looking so unkempt. 

Standing at the front door, after a painful trip up four steps, Emily brushed away the dirt and vines in front of the gold plate mounted beside the door. One could still make out the etched letters. "The DiVasio Agency - Proprietor, Stella DiVasio." She smiled a little, then looked at Silvio.

"You think you can pick this lock?"

"I'm not sure I can be much help with getting you a normal life, but the door? Si, I can manage that."

He had the lock picked within a minute, and he pushed the door open. He helped Emily inside the place. The foyer was dusty and dirty from where a window had broken; the place had obviously been abandoned for a while. Silvio regarded it all with a grimace.

"Well, I don't think people will be looking for you here. This place has most definitely seen better days."

"Oh, but what days they were."

Looking around, Emily took in the surroundings. Through the dust and cobwebs, she could see the splendor there once was. Slowly, she hobbled along around the corner to the sitting room. There used to be plush furniture, grand sweeping curtains, and a bar flowing with drinks. Now, there was nothing left but drop cloths and a few empty crates. 

Emily sat down carefully on one of the crates, wincing a little, and pulled the habit off her head with a sigh. 

"You're right, no one would even bother coming out to this is place. Not now, anyways. Maybe one day, though. This was part of my plan, you know. This place, getting it all set up and restored."

She gave Silvio a smile. 

"All this excitement, I haven't even gotten to say hello. It's good to see you again."

Silvio raised her hand to his lips, bowing to her and kissing her hand in one smooth motion. 

"It is better to see you. I am sorry you were hurt. Can I see your ankle? Perhaps you could instruct me on something I could do to help? I could find a cloth and cool water to wrap it, perhaps?"

Emily pulled up the hem of her robe, letting the black loafer style shoe slip off. Her ankle was twice it's normal size. Biting hard on  her lower lip, she moved her foot from one side to the other very slowly, cringing. 

"It's not broken, but there could be a fracture. Is the skin warm?" 

Silvio felt her ankle with a wink.

"Isn't broken and a fracture the same thing? Never mind. I am not a doctor for a reason. And yes, the skin is warm. Is this good?"

"Most people think so. A fracture is more like a crack rather than a complete break. If the skin is warm, then it's not broken in a way that impedes blood flow, but with the swelling it'll be hard to tell much. Best we can do for now is keep it elevated to try and reduce the swelling."

With Silvio's help, Emily sat on the floor of the drawing room against the wall and used the crate to rest her ankle. 

​​​​​​"What do you think happened with Mr. Byrne? Is he coming here? I heard quite a bit of commotion as we were leaving."

As if summoned, Gavin walked through the front door. A middle aged man- obviously a doctor by the equipment he was carrying- trailed him. As Gavin stepped into the foyer he froze, while the doctor moved to attend to Emily.

Gavin's mouth was open as he spun around, scrutinizing the room.

"What happened here?"

Both Emily and Silvio glanced up with slight alarm as the door opened, but then relaxed seeing Gavin Byrne enter from the foyer. The middle-aged doctor immediately went to examining Emily's ankle. Meanwhile, she watched Gavin look around. He had clearly been well acquainted with the place at some point. She wore a melancholy smile as she answered. 

"Roxy tried her best to keep this place going after Miss DiVasio left. She did, for quite a few years. That's when I worked here. But, some hot head Guido started muscling her for protection money. Roxy didn't want the business connected, so she fought it, but the guy finally just edged her out of business. The bank foreclosed on the house, and it just...sat here."

She cringes and retracted a bit as the doctor manipulated her ankle and foot, then continued. 

​​​​​​"I have a friend who is interested in starting a similar operation, so I might see if I can buy the place back and get it back to what it used to be."

Gavin sighed.

"Someone should have told me. I know I was on the other end of the country, but..."

He wandered off, heading upstairs to where Stella's old bedroom was. Emily was tended to by the doctor, treated, and given something for the pain by the time Gavin returned and paid the man. Sitting on a crate, his eyes wandered around the foyer again.

"Did you ever meet Stella? She's a good friend of mine. One of the best, actually."

The doctor was quick with his work, determining that it was likely a fracture and she'd have to stay off it for at least two weeks. He wrote out a prescription for pain medication, then wandered off with Silvio to look around the house.

Emily shifted her position on the floor, trying to get a bit more comfortable now that her ankle was bandaged tightly.

"I only had the pleasure to meet her a few times when she would come and visit from Sicily. She really was fantastic. Very sweet, but definitely had a wild side. I wish I'd known her back when she ran the place. I was sad to hear that she was killed. What an awful way to go for such a classy lady."

Gavin froze and remained very still. A chill came into the room and Silvio bit his tongue.

"Killed? By who? How?"

His icy blue eyes focused on Emily.

"I hadn't heard."