Gael didn't know how long he looked away, but Angela was no longer there when he checked her booth. Fûck.

He straightened in his seat and scanned the whole second floor, but she was nowhere to be found. His cousin Val and his soldier Trigger weren't there either. So where the hell were they?

While Giovanni was still talking, Gael got to his feet and tried to look around once again, thinking he couldn't see her because he was sitting down, but there was still no sign of her. "Fûck," he cursed again, this time, audibly.

"What's going on?" Giovanni was on his side right away.

"I can't find Angela."

Giovanni began searching for her from left to right as well. "She's probably just in the restroom."

Getting off the elevated platform of their VVIP booth, Gael began to stalk towards the restrooms, but when he reached the railing, he paused as if something was pulling him to look into the crowd below. The ground floor was crowded, the music was loud, and the whole place was illuminated with party lights. There was no way he could see Angela from up here when everyone looked like they were crammed sardines down there.

However, just when he was about to turn away, he caught sight of the glittery dress with an open back. The wearer had her hair resting on one shoulder, causing the back V cut of her dress to display her creamy skin. She was with Val, and Trigger was nowhere near them.

"Oh, relax. She's with Val. No one can touch her," Giovanni muttered behind him, lighting up another black cigarette stick and then blowing a thick cloud of smoke.

A strong urge to take the stick from the other and suck on it came to Gael. The aroma of the smoke wafted in his nose—the rich and delicious clove and cinnamon flavor were too tempting. He missed it. He fûcking missed smoking. And seeing Angela down there grinding in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by men ogling her was just driving him to the edge even more.

Gael shouldn't be pissed, but he was. He rested his arms on the railing and just stared at her. He wasn't the jealous type. His pasts could vouch for him on that. But when it came to Angela, he found himself becoming so dangerous to everyone around him. He wanted to light this whole place on fire and burn everyone who dared to look at her.

His brows drew together as he watched Trigger hand them two flutes of bubbly. She was having the time of her life, and he was fine with that. He wanted her to have fun. But the men around her? That...he was not fine at all. "I wanna smoke," he muttered in a low voice.

Giovanni hesitated but handed him a pack anyway. "I like that you're weaning off the deadly sticks, but if this helps you ease that tension, I'm not gonna stop you. You've been doing great, though, so far. You've been so tense lately. I'm pretty sure it'll be just a matter of time before you crack."

His uncle was right. He had been doing just fine recently without smoking. But there were just those times that he badly needed to take a hit—those times when things were just too much—and it was painful to try being a good boy. His jaw ticked.

Angela turned her head and raised her gaze. He held it. Even from a distance, Gael saw her breathing hitched. 'Angel… I'm going to taint you, and you won't like it. When that happens, would you still stay?' he thought.

Giovanni tapped his shoulder, and when he turned his head, a chuckle escaped his lips. "What's with the banana suit?"

The man in a yellow suit stopped in his tracks and looked down on himself, his brow cocking. "Seriously? This is mustard."

"So flashy." Gael shook his head and went back to sit on the leather couch. Good thing he could still see Angela from where he was sitting. She had already looked away.

"J." Giovanni nodded at the man and sat down.

"Boss. It's nice to see you both." J smiled. He had black slicked back undercut faded hair. The wolf tattoo on his neck growled at anyone who dared to look at it.

"Really? I don't know if I can say the same, J. Are you thrilled to see me?" Gael, who had avoided looking at the other, dragged his gaze until he met the man's eyes. "Aren't you hiding from me?"

As tough as J looked with his neck and arms covered in tattoos underneath his fûcking banana suit, he was no match for Gael. For one, he was still a soldier—a really good one at that. He was one of the best soldiers alongside Trigger. Two, Gael was his boss. And he couldn't handle him. He wouldn't dare to try his luck in testing who was better—not when he had a thing for Gael's sister, Gabby. He wasn't that stupid.

But he was stupid enough to disobey orders. And one thing that Gael hated the most...obviously, those who didn't fûcking follow orders.

"I'm not hiding. I was just finishing the operation in Australia. That's all," J responded; his otherwise low and rough tone was calm when he spoke.

"Right. You left right after what you did. Didn't you?"

"Boss…" J sighed. He brushed his hand on his jaw, seemingly trying to calm himself as he addressed Gael, "I did that because… You know why I did that! Fûck! They tried to touch her. They tried to fûcking touch Gabby. Was I supposed to ignore it? You're her brother!" Then he glanced at Giovanni. "You're her uncle. And you—"

"Jino!" Gael roared. His eyes were like daggers, staring straight through the man in a yellow suit.

The other guards nearby flinched at him calling out the soldier who dared to speak against the two bosses.

"I'm sorry, Boss." He lowered his head right away, not meeting Gael's frightening stare. "I didn't mean to yell."

Gael downed the seltzer and groaned, wishing that he was drinking a hard liquor instead. He slammed the glass down on the table, slightly surprised that he didn't shatter it. "You think I don't want to march in there and finish them? I want to kill every single one of them for killing our men and taking Gabby. But I didn't. You think I'm stopping myself because I couldn't?"

"No…" J's jaw popped. He obviously knew what he said was out of line.

"We had a plan, J. And it might not work now because you disobeyed me. You disobeyed my orders when I clearly said not to do anything," said Gael under gritted teeth.

J's fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. "I couldn't sit still. I just wanted revenge—"

"Yeah. You did. And it was sloppy. The first time you made a big mistake. If you were really out for revenge, you should have done it without a hiccup. How could you let that fûcker live?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen. He escaped—"

"Fine. You took Filippo's right-hand man and beat him because you were taking out your anger on him. But your mistake wasn't taking him… It was when you didn't end him and let him escape to go back to their camp."

Gael leaned forward, resting his arms and tilting his head as he glared at Jino, his heart ramming against his chest because of anger. "Now, Filippo knew what you did. And he'll be sure to get what he wants. What are you going to do about it now, J?"