She hated the way everyone looked at her.

Mira stood in one of the Lucchese's large warehouses, military grade vehicles and small aircrafts lining the open space before her military base style.

As soon as she'd stepped foot into the warehouse, she felt everyone's eyes on her. Several weeks ago, none of these people would have batted an eye at her. But now, she was a mafia fugitive, and everyone was wary of her. She wondered if anyone was ballsy enough to go against the Lucchese families orders and turn her over to the Bonnano family. She could only hope not, otherwise she was totally fucked.

She sucked in a sharp breath as she stood next to Adrian and Matteo, her nails digging into her arms as she stood with them folded over her chest.

Adrian wore a stern expression as he stood next to her, taking in his surroundings with thoughtful eyes.

They'd been given a vague brief on the operation, but nothing more.

Adrian said that the only reason he could think of for them being dragged along on this operation, was to show face of not only the Genovese's cooperation with the Lucchese family, but Mira's as well. An intimidation tactic, as well as throwing some bait.

Now Mira wasn't exactly a huge fan of being bait, but clearly no one really cared about her opinion on the matter anyways, because there she was, about to bait the most notorious mafia family in the country. She'll have to be sure to add that one to the resume.

"This place is sure worth a pretty penny," Matteo whistled next to her, taking in the place with big eyes. "Yo boss, why don't we have this kind of shit back at base?" Matteo asked, glancing over at Adrian, who shrugged.

"You like to get paid right? My bet is that no one here realizes that all this comes out of their paychecks. I'm sure if they realize how much money they lose to pay for all of this, they won't be too happy." Adrian explained, wildly unimpressed. "But you know, not my circus, not my monkeys," he added on after with a shrug. Mira bit back a slight smile. He really did have the mind of a businessman, and a good one at that. An extremely attractive trait, she had to admit

"Adrian," They all turned to look at Xavier, whose real name was actually Elliot, as he made his way towards them. Mira bit back a frown. She usually wasn't one to hold a grudge, but in her defense, he was the one who dragged her into this mess and at one point threatened her life. He was lucky she behaved as well as she did around him as it was.

Elliot flashed a smile as he stopped in front of Adrian, sparing Mira a curt nod before directing his attention back to Adrian. Mira didn't even bother smiling as she folded her arms over her chest.

"This your first time in our base?" Elliot asked, and Adrian nodded.

"Indeed it is. Very impressive." He said, although his tone hinted that he was anything but impressed.

"Thank you, we've been working on it for several years now. Anyways, let's get your people all mic'd up so we can maintain contact throughout the operation." Elliot lead them to a area separate from the large open space where the vehicles were. He reached into a compartment and began passing around earpieces.

Mira pressed the small power button on the side before slipping it into her ear. This was secret agent as fuck.

"Alright, can everyone hear me?" Elliot's voice came through her earpiece. Everyone nodded in confirmation.

"Great. Now, a few things I want to go over; time is crucial for the success of this operation. We have a large carrier ship stopping at an abandoned port on the coast. We'll have roughly an hour to get everything loaded up before the Coast Guard will notice they have stopped, and try to make contact. Next, we can't rule out the possibility of the Bonnano family interfering with our efforts. If that's the case, we get what we can, and the crew will dump the rest, which unfortunately will be a loss for us. Still, it's better than having the Coast Guard on our ass. Now, any questions?" Elliot scanned the group before motioning for them to return to the main area.

"You all can load up into the vehicles with my men, we'll head out soon."

Mira moved to follow behind Adrian, but Elliot spoke up again.

"Mira, ride with me, will you?"

She and Adrian both turned around to face Elliot, their faces scrunched up in confusion.

"Yeah, no." Adrian said, stepping in front of her. Elliot rolled his eyes.

"I just want to talk to her Adrian, we're on the same side, remember?" Elliot stated impatiently, meeting Adrian's gaze head on. They stared at one another for a moment, basically burning holes into a hole others head before Mira pushed past Adrian.

She was a big girl, she could handle having a civil conversation with Elliot. And if he happened to get a bloody nose during that conversation, that was fine too.

"It's fine, I'll just find you when we get there." Mira gave Adrian a reassuring look as she stood next to Elliot.

He hesitated, steely grey eyes flickering with conflict before finding Elliot's.

"Fine, but if you try to pull anything, I've got a bullet with your name on it." He looked back at Mira.

"I'll find you when we get there."

Mira nodded. He must've also realized too that Elliot had a lot to lose if he decided to turn against them, far more than he had to gain.

They didn't say anything as Elliot lead her to a grey SUV, opening the back door for her. She mumbled a quiet thanks as she slid into the backseat, folding her arms over her chest.

"So," She stated as he slid into the seat next to her. "Is this some sort of pathetic attempt at an apology?" She grunted, rolling her eyes.

"That's exactly what this is."

His words startled Mira, her mouth twisting in surprise when she saw him looking at her. His electric blue eyes met hers, and they seemed different than usual. They were the ones she remembered from class; kind and honest.

"After everything with your father and whatnot... it's really shitty. I know we started off on rocky terms, but I just wanted you to know that I really am sorry. I manipulated and threatened you, dragged you into this world when you had no part in it. It wasn't fair. Still, I had orders and even if I had known the cycle of events that would come from my actions, I'd probably still do the same thing, but that doesn't mean you deserved it. A lot of people have to go through things they shouldn't have, and you were one of them."

Mira let her eyes drift down to her hands fidgeting in her lap. She did cast a lot of the blame onto Elliot, convincing herself that somehow if he'd never stepped foot in her life she'd be playing for the state championship right then. But that was bullshit and she knew it. Her dad was the head of an organized crime organization, it would have been some kind of miracle for her to never get involved.

In any case, she didn't see any point in holding a grudge like this. It wasn't going to turn back time or change anything, and frankly, Elliot was doing what he needed to to survive.

"In all honesty, I don't want to forgive you. But I will, because everyone deserves a second chance. And quite frankly, I think I'm starting to see through this tough guy facade you got going on." She smiled softly, looking up at him. "You don't deserve to be judged by a single moment."

The words didn't exactly come easily, but she meant them.

"Thanks. I hope everything works out for your sake. Maybe I'll even get an invite to the fairytale wedding," his tone shifted, edged with humor as his lips curved upwards.

Mira snorted.

"Uh-huh, and what makes you think I'm going to have some fairytale wedding?"

He shrugged.

"I think Adrian would do anything for you, a fairytale wedding included."

Mira felt her cheeks heat up at the comment, but she couldn't help but smile.

"How-?" She begins but Elliot cuts her off.

"Word travels fast around here. I didn't really believe it at first, Adrian's always been a total ass, but the way he looks at you made me realize it was true. I've known him for years, and I've never seen him look at someone the way he looks at you. You mean a lot to him, I can tell."

Her heart did a little somersault. She thought about the way her dad used to look at her mom, the sheer adoration in his eyes. Was that how Adrian looked at her.

"He means a lot to me too. After everything that's happened, he's the one good thing that's come out of it." She said softly, reflecting. Elliot brought her into the realm of organized crime, but he had also brought her to Adrian.

"And what about you?" She asked curiously. Elliot bit his lip, letting out a shallow breath.

"The girl I love thinks I left her. She's probably long since forgotten about me, but in a perfect world, she'll be waiting for me." His eyes grew distant, clouded with emotion.

His words felt like a punch in the gut. She immediately regretted asking him, but seeing his vulnerability reminded Mira that they weren't that different after all. She wasn't the only one who'd lost something. Someone.

"She'll be waiting. So make sure you keep yourself in one piece." She said softly, reaching over and giving his hand a gentle squeeze. He looked surprised by the gesture, but gave her hand a squeeze back before they both let their hands return to their laps.

They rode in silence the rest of the way, veering off onto backroads that were surrounded by dense forest.

When they arrived, there wasn't a building in sight, the port hidden behind a wall of green. She hopped out of the car and followed Elliot to where the others were gathered.

Adrian found her, making his way swiftly to her side.

"Everything go ok?" His asked under his breath, and Mira nodded.

"We just talked." Was all she said. He didn't need to know any more than that. The words they shared in the car were vulnerable, something meant to be kept between them.

"Alright, they drivers are going to pull the trucks up by the loading dock, so everyone get in position and stay alert." Elliot commanded, any vulnerability she'd seen before gone, hidden behind a mask of calm and confidence.

"Here you guys can stick with me," Elliot stated, motioning for her and Adrian to follow him. They did so, heading out onto the loading dock where the ship was docked, men beginning to unload crates full of drugs into the trucks.

"How do they even get this stuff past the border?" Mira asked Adrian as she watched what must have been hundreds of pound of illegal substances wheeled off the ship.

"Hidden compartments and whatnot. The ship is full with its registered cargo, this is just stuff hidden in the cracks." He explained. She nodded, although it still baffled her.

She turned around and slowly walked to the edge of the dock, the smell of saltwater filling her nose as she watched the flow of the Atlantic in front of her.

It always amazed her how vast the ocean was, that it would take over a week to cross it by ship. It was terrifying actually.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Adrian joined her side.

"Yeah, very cool." She agreed.

"We used to come to the coast every summer, my family and I. We had a beach house just a few miles down. It was always my favorite time of the year, when we actually got to pretend to be a normal family."

"Someday, you won't have to pretend. You can have a normal family that takes normal vacations to the ocean, taking normal embarrassing pictures." She smiled up at him. She wasn't necessarily implying a family with her, but just a family. He deserved that at least.

His smile reached his eyes as he looked at her.

"I'd like that." He said.

Slowly his smile faded, eyes growing wide as Mira's ears rang with the noise. She could barely register the sound of the gunshot before she reached out to grab Adrian as his body collapsed forward, his hand slipping from hers as he began to plummet towards the water.

Everyone was screaming and shouting, more gunshots filling the air, but Mira couldn't move. She was frozen in place as his body flimsily hit the water.

She screamed his name, hand flying to her mouth as her mind raced. Someone had shot him, and now his unconscious, or maybe even lifeless body was being swept away by the ocean waves.

The chaos around her was swallowed by her thoughts as she tried to think of what to do next.

She had to jump, she had to get him out of the water.

Mira was about to lunge when two hands wrapped around her waist, yanking her away from the edge.

"Stop Mira, we have to go now!" It was Elliot, yanking her down the dock towards land despite her flailing.

People were running left and right around them, bodies already laying on the ground, motionless.

Mira shook her head, struggling to breath.

No, they were supposed to be prepared for this. They knew there was a chance the Bonnano family would show up, so why were people dead?

"I have to get Adrian, Elliott, please let me go," she begged, tears streaming down her face.

"I can't let you do that Mira, then you'll die too!" He yelled back, his words piercing through her chest. Then she'll die too. He was acting like Adrian was already dead.

No, no, no, no...

Suddenly Elliott released her. She turned around, letting out a scream as he collapsed before her, blood spewing from the hole in his head.

"Elliott," she cried shakily, falling to her knees as she pulled his body onto her lap, his blood staining her clothes.

She didn't know what to do, his body had gone completely still and the bullet had gone straight through his skull.

"You have to get up Elliott, please, she's waiting for you, you have to get up," she sobbed, looking around for someone to help, but no one seemed to notice amongst the chaos and bloodshed.

"You really do leave a trail of blood everywhere you go, huh?"

Mira looked up to see Leo standing before her, hand wrapped around the hilt of a gun, a dangerous look in his eyes, not even a hint of remorse.

"You're sick," Mira spat angrily as tears continued to stream down her face.

"Sick? You aren't one to talk now are you?" Leo took a step towards her, but Mira remained still. If he was going to kill her, she wanted him to just do it. Why was he taking his sweet time with her when he didn't seem to bat an eye when he pulled the trigger.

"Go ahead, kill me. I'm sure dad would be so proud." She seethed, glaring up at him. Something flickered behind his eyes, lips contorting into a scowl.

"Killing you now would be a little too kind, don't you think, Amira?"