Gustav glanced over the front passenger seat, checking Lucian’s mood. Ever since Silvestre left, there had been something in the air around Lucian that even Gustav couldn’t name.

I wonder... what made him upset?

Although the entire situation had already been unsettling, Lucian’s mood had only shifted after Silvestre walked out.

As for Lucian, he stared quietly out the window. His stoic expression gave nothing away, but plenty was running through his head. Among them, a realization about why Silvestre had acted the way he did.

That man hadn’t come with arrogance. He had come with confidence.

Silvestre’s intentions were still unclear, but Lucian could list a few possibilities.

Most importantly, Lucian had come to understand that Silvestre was a dangerous man. Not merely dangerous in the way violent men were, but dangerous in the way that he posed no threat to Dominion now — yet might, in the future.

"Gustav," Lucian called quietly, and Gustav promptly looked back.

"Yes, Master?"

Lucian pulled his gaze from the window to the driver. Catching his look, Gustav signaled the driver to put his earphones in. Once the driver was no longer part of the conversation, Gustav turned his full attention back to the big boss.

"This order is highly confidential, and I can only trust you with it," Lucian said, and Gustav furrowed his brows. "Find a way to contact the current boss of the White Serpent."

The lines on Gustav’s face deepened.

Just before they left the building, Lucian had clearly ordered them to pull the men he’d planted on Silvestre’s tail. And now he wanted Gustav to find a way to contact the current Don of the White Serpent?

"Keep your team small," Lucian added. "And make sure they are people only you can trust."

"Master," Gustav cleared his throat. This wasn’t the first time he had received an order of this level of confidentiality from Lucian. That part didn’t confuse him; he trusted the man he answered to that much.

What confused him was something else entirely.

"Do you think we have a mole in Dominion?" Gustav asked, glancing at the driver to make sure he wasn’t listening.

"That’s for you to find out," Lucian answered, turning back to the window.

Gustav pressed his lips into a thin, firm line, studying the big boss. By the time he settled back into his seat, the confusion on his face had slowly faded.

Moles and traitors in Dominion were nothing new.

There had been plenty before, and Lucian had made sure to set examples of every last one of them. In recent years, as Lucian solidified his grip on Dominion, those problems had largely disappeared.

If there’s a mole, that would explain Silvestre’s confidence, he thought, a glint flickering in his eyes. Everyone had better hope the Master is wrong. Otherwise, things are going to get... bloody in Dominion again.

*****

When Ashley got home, she immediately got ready to pick up Primo. She and Lucian had agreed to do it together, but, as usual, she took her bike to school.

And, as usual, Red, Rum, and Vodka followed on bicycles, maintaining their distance like a trio of overly dedicated stalkers.

"Are we early today?" She wondered, idling just outside the school gates as cars filed in to collect their students.

She checked the time and smacked her lips, eyes drifting to the large gates across from her. The others glanced at her and said nothing.

"At this point, I could sing we get the best of both worlds," Rum muttered, only to pause when Red suddenly straightened to his full height.

Red turned to Ashley, and she turned to him. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Huh?" She blinked, glancing at Rum and Vodka, who were watching Red with curious expressions.

"Privately," Red added.

"Oh," she nodded. "Okay."

The two of them walked a little further from the others. Rum and Vodka kept their eyes on them, brows furrowed.

"Say, Vodka — what do you think Red wants to talk to her about?" Rum murmured, studying the stern look on Red’s face.

"I’m not sure," Vodka answered quietly. "But whatever it is... I think it’ll decide our fate."

"What?"

"Don’t forget Red is still the captain of this unit," Vodka reminded him. "And Gin and Tank respect his calls whenever it matters."

Hierarchy within their group almost didn’t exist, but when it needed to, it did.

"Red was the angriest when she was abducted," Vodka said, glancing at Rum before shifting his gaze to Ashley’s back. "We had one job. Make sure she’s alright. And we failed."

By Dominion’s logic, it wasn’t about whether the rescue succeeded. It was about why it ever had to happen in the first place.

"Ah." Rum nodded slowly, tongue running along his inner cheek as he watched the two in the distance. "Right."

***

Meanwhile, Ashley stood before Red and waited. Her brows rose when all he did was stare at her solemnly.

"Didn’t you say you had something to tell me?" she asked, tilting her head. "You’re just staring."

Red drew a slow breath and shoved his hands into the large pockets of his jeans. "I’ve been thinking of requesting a transfer," he began. "It’s clear you need female guards because we have our limitations."

Ashley blinked, waiting for him to continue.

"But then you went and said all that about trust," he added, a quiet frustration lingering in his voice. "Why do you trust us?"

Ashley didn’t answer right away, studying his solemn expression. It was almost impossible to picture him like this. All she ever saw on his face was that perpetual look of irritation.

After a moment, the corners of her lips curved up. "Why?" she hummed, thinking it through.

There was only one real reason she trusted this crew, and Red specifically.

Because in her first lifetime, Red was supposed to be dead. He hadn’t made it out of that country alive. He had used his own body to shield Lucian. And she knew that those four would one day become Lucian’s most loyal guards, second only to Gustav.

"Because you came for me," she said simply, giving him the easier answer. "My new recruits told me you almost caught them. If Khan didn’t consider all variables, they were sure they would have failed during the chase. For you, it’s probably unacceptable that it happened at all."

"But no one’s perfect," she added with quiet certainty. "Things like this will happen no matter how careful we are, simply because we are part of Dominion." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

She shrugged. "Besides, it’s less scary when you know someone will come for you."

"If this happens again —"

"If this happens again, I know you’ll come for me," she said, cutting him off gently. "And I’d come for you too, if it were the other way around."

With that, her smile shifted into a grin. She bent slightly forward, leaning her face closer to his.

"Stop beating yourself up over it. And you can’t exactly request a transfer when you’re unemployed," she teased with a laugh, pulling back before turning on her heel. "That look doesn’t suit you at all."

She held one hand behind her as she walked away, glancing back at him playfully. "I like our love-hate dynamic much better."

With that, Ashley resumed her steps — almost skipping — back toward Vodka and Rum. As she did, she glanced at the gates and spotted Primo’s figure just beyond them.

"Ah, Primo~! My cutie Primo~!" She waved widely and broke into a skip toward her bike, dragging it across the street. "Mama is here!"

Rum and Vodka watched as Red rejoined them.

"Are we saying goodbye to her?" Rum asked immediately. "Did she agree?"

Red drew a breath and glanced at the two, then shifted his gaze to where Ashley was — currently squishing her cheeks against Primo’s.

A helpless exhale left him before the corners of his mouth curved up. He gave the two a knowing look.

"She said... how can we request a transfer when we’re stuck in unemployment?"

"What a scheming woman!" Rum burst out, then laughed. "She’s right, though! Hahaha — she’s stuck with us!"

"We’re stuck in unemployment," Vodka corrected. "Not stuck with us."

Rum ignored him, lost in his own villainous laughter. Vodka shook his head, then looked at Red.

"So we’re sticking around a little longer?"

"Seems like it," Red nodded, watching Ashley and Primo. A dry laugh escaped him. "She’s not so bad, is she?"

Vodka shrugged, though his head was already nodding.

No, Ashley wasn’t bad at all. And honestly, the more they got to know her, the more they realized just how badly they had misjudged her.