** GHOST POV **

Confusion. Attraction. Frustration. Arousal. Anxiety. Nervousness... Strange. I've simply just felt strange since I first saw him unconscious and hanging upside down in the basement of Safe House 37. 

Damon Carbone was evoking things within me that I would have never imagined, and I've yet to decipher if those feelings were beneficial or not yet. I sat in the passenger seat of the Range Rover, still trying to collect myself after I exited the jet. Whenever I was around him, my OCD and strategical mind calmed into nothingness, and it made me feel uneasy. It's as if my brain stops functioning around him, and if that kept up, it would lead to my ultimate demise for not just myself, by the crew I call a family as well. So I distanced myself from him, ignoring the brief jolt of emotions that would temporarily arise whenever I was in his presence. 

"So what's the plan?" Gio asked from the backseat. I looked in the rearview mirror to see that Damon was already staring at me. 

"We go in, talk to her, and make a deal." Damon said calmly as his eyes continued to look at me. 

"That is the worst plan I have ever heard in my life." I said slowly as I glared back at him. 

"Ghost, not everything needs an intricate scheme or a detailed plan. Sometimes things are more simple than they appear." Damon said as he raised his eyebrow at me. 

"She's one of the largest arms dealers in the world, and you just want to go and talk to her?" Rebel scoffed as she rolled her eyes. 

"She deals with my cousin, and we share the same last name. She wouldn't kill or turn away someone who she does business with. So yes, I'm just going to go in and talk to her." Damon said confidently. 

"Ghost, what's the real plan?" Rebel said as she crossed her arms, and all eyes fell on me. 

"Since Damon is so confident that he can pull this off, why don't we just let him." I said coldly as I grabbed a cigarette from the cup holder. He was deranged, completely insane to even think he can just walk into the estate to talk to her. 

"Thank you." Damon smirked at the same time Rebel exclaimed "Are you kidding me right now?!" 

"Since you're so adamant about walking into this blind, let's see how well it goes. We'll hook you up to a mic, and monitor the conversation from the car. If shit hits the fan, we'll come in armed and ready, which will most likely happen." I scoffed as I lit the cigarette and inhaled a deep breath. 

In the slim chance that his ridiculous plan will work, we'll solidify the deal and be one step closer to getting our favor. If it fails, Damon dies and these strange mix of emotions I've been feeling with die along with him. It's a win win for me. 

"This is 'bout to be a shit show." Rebel said as she scowled and looked out the window. 

"We're almost to the estate." Storm said as he turned a corner. 

"Here, put this on your shirt." Fox said as she handed Damon a small mic. He grabbed it and examined it before he attached it to the inside of his collar. 

"And don't fuck this up." I said as I smirked at him from the rear view mirror. He furrowed his eyebrows at me in annoyance before the car came to a stop. On the other side of the street was a large mansion. It looked like a damn castle. Behind the large steel gate was a long road surrounded by grass that led to the front door. The estate was encapsulated behind a tall brick wall, guards patrolling every inch of the mansion. 

"Good luck, you're going to need it." I said as I exhaled the cigarette smoke out of the window, slightly excited to prove his thinking process wrong. Damon grabbed the handle of the door and slid out of the car. He started to walk towards the gate, only to be stopped by ten guards who all aimed their automatic rifles directly at him. 

"He won't even make it through the gate." I chuckled as we watched the situation unfold. 

"I'm here to speak with Emilia Thorn." I heard him say confidently through my earpiece. 

"And who the fuck are you?" A guard called out as he cocked his gun. 

"Damon Carbone." He said coldly. 

One of the guards grabbed his phone out of his pocket and held it to his ear. I heard him say Damon's name to someone on the other line, before hanging up and putting his gun down. He walked over to Damon, and started to pat him down for any weapons. 

"Come with us." A guard eventually said as they led him inside the large steel gate. It opened up slowly, and Damon walked inside, surrounded by the guards behind him. We watched as they walked across the yard, and into the mansion. 

Shock coursed through my body, my mouth hung open and the cigarette between my lips fell down onto the leather seat. 

This fucker just...walked right in? No plan. No strategy. He just... fucking walked in?

"Well look at that." Angelo said as she smirked at me. 

"Let's see if he can seal the deal." I scoffed as I continued to look at the lavish estate. 

***********************************************

**DAMON CARBONE POV **

The guards led me through the mansion until I was standing outside a pair of wooden double doors. A guard walked past me, and opened the doors to reveal a modern office. A woman, who I assumed was Amelia, was looking out of a large window with her back turned to me. I stepped into the office, the guards following closely behind, until I was standing in the center of the room with my hands behind my back. 

"What the fuck does that prick Martino want now?" She growled in annoyance and anger as she continued to look out the window. 

"I'm not here on behalf of Martino." I said calmly as I continued to look at her. She turned around slowly, and looked over at me. She was older, but still an attractive woman for her age. Her piercing blue eyes contrasting with her jet black hair. I never came here with my father, only been apart of conference calls during negations, but she seemed somewhat familiar for some reason. 

"And who might you be?" She said simply as she crossed her arms. 

"Damon Carbone. Martino's cousin and the son of Ricardo Carbone." I said confidently as I looked at her while she furrowed her eyebrows. 

"Ricardo's son died the day of his funeral. What sick game are you playing at, boy?" She said as she scowled and her guards once again raised their guns towards me. 

"I almost died." I corrected her, emphasizing my words.

"I'm here because I'm going to overthrow Martino." I said honestly as she continued to glare at me. "And I need your corporation and help in order to do that." I said as I walked over to a chair near her, and sat down. The guards rifles still following my every move. 

"I can already tell you harbor negative feelings towards my cousin from the way you spoke to me when you thought I was one of his representatives. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if the Italian Mafia underwent a change in leadership, no?" I said calmly as I leaned back in my chair. She stared at me with her eyebrows furrowed as she processed my words. 

"And how would I play into your little plan, child?" She said curiously after a moment of silence as she motioned for her guards to lay down their weapons. 

"Pledge your loyalty to me instead of Martino. When the time is right, cut off the shipments of weapons you supply to him, only temporarily of course. Once I kill him and gain control of the Mafia, business will resume as usual if not increase in profitability." I said seriously as I looked at her. She raised an eyebrow at me before she started to laugh loudly, her feminine voice filling the tension filled room as I continued to glare at her seriously. 

"You think you can come in here and demand my loyalty? You are out of your mind if you think I would purposely sabotage one of the largest accounts I have, even if only 'temporarily'." She scoffed as she looked at me with a deadly glare. 

"You must have a death wish coming here, boy. Especially if you're trying to overthrow the largest Mafia in the world, heir or not." She said in a deadly tone as she walked closer to me. 

"I'm a man who makes a fair trade, Miss Thorn. I am not coming in here to demand, but more so, offering you a proposition." I said as I tilted my head and raised my eyebrow.  

"Nothing you can ever offer me will change my mind." She scoffed as the guards raised their weapons at me again. 

"Not even your son?" I said as I raised my eyebrow and looked at her. Her expression changed from a scowl to a worried frown. Her eyebrows furrowed and her body tensed at the mention of him. I had her exactly where I wanted her. 

"Leave us. Now." She demanded towards her guards. They quickly obliged, scurrying out of the room and closing the door behind them. She stared at me, with her hands balled into fists. 

"What have you done to Axel?" She growled through her teeth, her face filled with worry that was hidden by her furious exterior. 

"It's not what I've done to him, it's what I can do for him." I said confidently as I lifted my chin up slightly. 

"I've done everything within my power to get him out of jail, and nothing has worked. What makes you think you can do what I've been trying to do every single day for the past year?" She scowled as she crossed her arms. 

"You pledge your loyalty to me, follow through with freezing Martino's weapons supply, and I'll break your son out of jail." I said calmly as I stood up. 

"You really do have a death wish don't you?" She said after a few moments of silence with her eyebrows furrowed. 

"It's only a death wish if I know I can't succeed. So no, I do not have a death wish." I said as seriously as I stood in front of Amelia. 

"Alright Mr. Carbone, you have yourself a deal. You bring me my son, unharmed, and if you survive, I'll help you overthrow Martino." She said as she held her hand out to me.

"Unharmed, Mr. Carbone." She emphasized with her eyebrow raised. 

"You have my word. Pleasure doing business with you, Miss. Thorn." I said as I grasped her hand and shook it firmly as I smirked.