Page 75 of Consumed By the Mafia

Felicity frowned. “You look troubled, though.”

Ryoma allowed himself to perch on the edge of one of the chairs. “Is that so crazy?”

“No,” Felicity said, “I mean, more than you did a few minutes ago. If you didn’t see something, then did you get a call?” Her brow pinched, like she was working out how to say something, and her gaze shifted aside. “Is … is Abby okay?”

Abby.

Not Abigail, not Agent Fitzgerald, not any derogatory variation of ‘that FBI girl.’ Not even a generic reference that would imply her without mentioning her by name or title. Felicity had chosen to mention her by the name she had first learned, nearly a year prior. The name of the woman who had once helped her out of a difficult spot. The name Ryoma himself also used for her most of the time.

It was a nice change.

Ryoma felt his lips lift upward in a small, raw smile. “Yeah. She should be, anyway.” The words were barely out of his mouth when his phone buzzed, indicating a call. He shifted his weight and slipped it from his pocket, more feelings twisting in his chest when he recognized Abby’s new number on the screen. Calling instead of texting her reply.

“Go ahead,” Felicity said, apparently misinterpreting his moment of hesitation.

Ryoma took it as a cue regardless and connected the call, setting the device on his thigh. “You’re on speaker, baby girl. Say hi.”

“I’ll say it later.” Abby’s voice was tight and rushed, like she was trying to say three things at once and wanting to make sureall of them resonated. “You need to get the hell out of there. All of you.”

Alarm shot through him, sharpening his focus.

Felicity sucked in a breath. “Why?”

Ryoma was already on his feet and motioning for her to follow. “What about the rest of the building? There are other residents here.”

“I’ll call Miguel,” Abby said, “see if he can send out some kind of evacuation notice. I don’t know. You don’t have time to knock on doors, Ryoma, just get the hell out.”

“Thirty seconds,” Felicity said, already sprinting around the sofa.

Ryoma frowned. “Felicity, now!”

“Thirty seconds!” she called back as she disappeared down the short hall that led to the bedroom.

“What’s thirty seconds?” Abby asked.

Ryoma bit back a groan. “Cris probably has a go-bag or something. We’ll get out of here, Abby. If you’re sure about this, make those calls.”

“Don’t you fucking die,” she said firmly. Then she disconnected, not waiting for a response.

Ryoma heard shuffling from the bedroom and more rushing steps, so he took a moment to shoot a quick text to Cris. The man was probably almost there, after all.We’re evacuating. Update soon.

“Ready,” Felicity said as he sent the message.

“Good.” Ryoma tucked his phone away, but not his gun. “Stay close and get ready to duck behind me.” The elevator was stupid by most standards in the event of a power-disrupting emergency,but it’d take them much longer to run down all those flights of steps. Not to mention the increased risk of injury. So they went straight to the private elevator he’d arrived in, him with his gun in hand and her with a large, leather duffel slung around her shoulders.

The elevator was mid-descent before Felicity quietly asked, “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

Not knowing how else to comfort her, Ryoma reached over and laid his free hand on her head, lightly ruffling her hair. “The building’s been compromised. That’s my guess, anyway. I’ll get you out, little sister. Don’t worry.”

She swatted his arm away. “I just don’t understand how that happened.” She turned and frowned up at him. “You know I still trust you, right,onii-san?”

The question caught him off-guard and Ryoma stared at her a beat too long before pulling his lips up into a smile. “I appreciate that.”

The elevator settled as Felicity’s phone started ringing.

Ryoma stepped forward, staying ahead of her and sweeping his gaze from side-to-side. He saw no movement, of course. He barely heard her confirm it was Cris calling, and he didn’t question her choice to answer, he only appreciated that she knew how to walk and talk at the same time.

“Hey—no, I’m fine. We just got into the—”

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