Dance Of Devils

Seven - Lorenzo

"What does that mean for us?"

"Well, it reads to me that Victor really didn't want Ivan to find something out. Maybe he was using the deaths as a cover-up for something."

My eyes involuntarily flickered to the small assassin beside me, already facing me, brow scrunched as she puzzled through what had been said. "Yeah," I rumbled quietly, "maybe."

Victor was certainly hiding something, suddenly I wasn't convinced he had hidden it as well as he believed he had. By the look of shock slowly transforming Nadia's face, she wasn't either.

"We also followed up on the latest date in the book. Took us to a little run-down apartment in Hell's Kitchen. Looks like whoever lived here was in the process of putting shit into storage when we got there. Found a bag with half a mill lying around along with passports and all kinds of documentation. Whoever was here was set up to run but never made it."

Nadia's breath audibly caught in her throat. I knew, without her having to say a word, that was Michael's apartment.

"Did you find anything else there?"

"I've sent Giovani everything we got from the place. Figured you'd want to have a look through yourself for anything interesting or relating to The Reaper."

The underlying suspicion in his voice didn't go unnoticed but I let it slide, knowing Marco had gaps in his understanding of the situation, gaps I feared I had filled in. "All right," I dismissed, "Let me know if you find anything else."

Without another word, I hung up, letting my mind continue to fill in the gaps I didn't want it to.

Nothing more was said. Not for a long while after we arrived back at Dante's estate, not till long after Nadia and I had reached our room. It was late, closing into the early hours of the morning, but neither of us wanted to sleep; there were still difficult conversations to be had.

"You need to tell me everything. Now." Nadia stood opposite me, arms folded over her chest as she stared me down, every inch the fearsome warrior I knew she was.

The things I knew she needed to know were things I myself couldn't be sure of. Telling her left us to face all of the problems that came with that knowledge being out there. It made me question if it would truly be worth it.

"Leo," she rumbled, her tone changing completely, softening nearly to the point of begging. "Don't keep me in the dark again."

I watched her change in stature, the tension in her shoulders, the way she bit her lip as she watched me, the softening of her eyes, knowing she had me pinned. "Come here," I told her,  waiting for her to fall into me, needing the security of feeling her in my arms to be able to face any of this.

Nadia didn't move, her face blank, still, waiting. 

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears under her stare, hating every second she stood there. I knew it was cruel of me to stand here without saying anything, but I couldn't bring myself to say a single thing. My jaw clenched at her blatant defiance, clamping down on any chance of me telling her what she wanted to know.

"I will walk out of this room right now," she threatened lowly, "I will leave you here and I will go and find someone who is willing to give me answers Leo. Don't think by standing there and glaring at me I will back down from this. Don't think I won't get answers."

I felt my lips trying to twitch into a snarl but stopped myself, knowing it would only escalate the situation. "Will there ever be anything you don't fight me on?" I grumbled, undoing my suit jacket, lowering myself to the sofa nearby, feeling a rush of air escape my lungs when I realised how exhausted my body actually was. She saw the crack in my resolve and moved at last, but not towards me as I'd hoped, she moved closer to the door.