She extended her arms out towards us, and Liam walked closer to her, reaching out his hand and shaking hers firmly.

"Welcome to my estate." She said as she gripped his hand before placing her other hand on top of their handshake. Her voice sounded like venom, slow as she emphasized every word with grace. Her accent was thick, graceful. Each word alluring yet threatening.

"I didn't know we'd have another join us?" She said as she eyed me while tilting her head. This woman. Something about her seemed... off. On the outside, she seemed put together. Her expensive gown didn't have so much as a crease in the fabric. Her skin was untainted by scars and her complexion was flawless. If I were to see her on the street, I would assume she was some sort of actor or model rather than a Mafia Don.

"She's just my bodyguard, nothing to be concerned about." Liam said as he glanced over at me. I resented the fact that I couldn't speak for myself almost as much as Liam's label for me, but ultimately, I just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. I gave Liam a disapproving glare before I turned my attention back to the woman, eyeing her guards.

"How interesting." She said as she tilted her head, her piercing blue eyes staring directly at me. "I would never take you as a man who would need one." She said in an insincere tone, making Liam clench his jaw. "Let alone employ the services of such a tiny woman."

"Amora Lavella, pleasure." She said as she extended her hand out to me. I reached mine out, and she firmly gripped my hand before shaking it.

"And you are..." she said curiously as she tilted her head and looked at me. The way her eyes draped over my body told me that she was sizing me up, evaluating how big of a threat I could potentially be.

"Her name doesn't matter." Liam said, making me clench my jaw as Amora looked over at him.

"Hmmm... I've heard rumors of the female company you like to keep. From what I hear they're usually... better dressed." Amora said as her eyes scanned my simple outfit.

"It's harder to kill someone if you're in a dress." I said as I slightly cocked my head to the side, the corners of my lips forming a small smile at the annoying woman. I saw Liam tense slightly in the corner of my eye, most likely internally fuming at the fact that I disobeyed his direct order.

"So, she speaks." Amora said slowly as she raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me.

Sensing the tension, her bodyguards took a step forward, and she gracefully raised her hand up, making her henchmen scowl at me before retreating to their original flanking position.

"You can leave us." She said with a small smile as she looked back over to Liam. I watched as the men behind her began walking away, giving us one last glance over their shoulder before disappearing into the house.

"It's a beautiful day, why don't we discuss the contract with a walk through the gardens." She said with a fake smile as she looked over at Liam and turned on her heel. He gave her a small nod before placing his hands in his pockets and walking beside her. I quietly trailed behind them, just far enough to give them some privacy, but close enough to still eavesdrop on their conversation.

"So, our contract is expiring soon?" Amora asked as we began walking along the side of the house. The porch was wide and adorned with large planters filled with colorful blooming flowers.

"Yes. I came here to see if you'd like to negotiate anything about your previous contract before we renewed the term." I heard Liam say coolly, keeping up his professionalism in the face of this unsettling woman. They turned the corner, and I quickly increased my pace to keep my eyes on Liam.

I watched curiously as they continued walking down the porch and towards a long strip of concrete in the center of the home. Lining the right side of the walkway were large balconies. The balconies went up at least three floors and were gated by a low white fence. Large windows accompanied the balconies, and white curtains flowed the in breeze from the open doors. Between the windows and balconies were large, brown wall trellises housing vines that covered the entirety of the building. The vines contained blooms of white flowers and leaves so large the trellis was barely noticeable.

I looked up at our surroundings, tensing as I saw men standing above us. Some had their arms crossed, others had their hands on their guns, but the one thing they all had in common was that their gazes were fixed directly on Liam.

I halted my steps, gaining some distance between Liam and Amora in an attempt to get away from them. Liam walked a few steps before he paused, looking over his shoulder towards me with his eyebrow raised. This caught Amora's attention, and she turned towards me with a stoic expression.

Fuck. What were his stupid codewords again? Chinchilla... bible... juice? Fuck, what was the other one.

"Is something wrong, bodyguard?" Amora said as she tilted her head. Her eyes were hard she narrowed them suspiciously.

Moose? Fuck what did these words mean again?

"I... I have to make a call. I forgot to feed my chinchilla and moose their... bible juice." I said, not convincing in the slightest. Liams expression morphed into one of disappointment and annoyance while Amora raised her eyebrow.

"Bible juice?" She asked as Liam shook his head.

"Yes. It's... juice that has been blessed by... a bible." I said. Even though I was usually an amazing liar, even I struggled to believe that any part of this was truth.

"Sounds... interesting?" Amora said after a moment, her chin tilting upwards. "And... concerning."

"Please, excuse me." I said quickly as I pulled out my phone and turned on my heel. I turned the corner and ended up back at the front of the Lavella estate. I quickly put my phone away before I grabbed onto a trellis. I shook it slightly, testing its stability before I planted my foot onto the platform.

"Is she alright... mentally?" I heard Amora ask Liam as I began to scale the trellis up to the second story.

"Not quite." Liam said in a disapproving tone, making me grit my teeth at his stupid code words.

"Yes, well. Back to business I suppose." Amora said as their footsteps sounded once more. I reached the second story, looked to the side to see one of Lavella's guards staring down at Liam with his gun pointed towards him.

"I'll get to the point. The contract you negotiated with us was unacceptable." Amora said as I quietly jumped onto the balcony. I made sure to make as little noise as possible as I began inching towards the guard. I gripped my knife from my waistband, holding it tightly in my hand as I lurked towards my prey.

"I thought that the contract that was signed was fair and reasonable." Liam said coolly as I lunged towards the guard. I quickly covered his mouth before stabbing him in the stomach multiple times. I lowered him to the floor gently as his life drained from his body.

"There were hidden clauses everywhere. Although I will give you this, they were expertly disguised. Even our brightest lawyers didn't see them in time." Amora said. There was another balcony to my right. The guard was so fixated on Liam that he didn't even notice me. I quickly stepped onto the white fence lining the balcony as I jumped onto his platform, not even making a sound as I landed.

"Needless to say, that team of lawyers are no longer around. I enjoyed watching as my men killed them." Amora said with darkness lining her words. I quickly jumped towards the man, lifting my knife up before digging it into his throat. He didn't see it coming, and I quickly grabbed onto his heavy body, softening the sound as he hit the floor.

"So not only are we paying you for guns, ammunition, weapons, but we're paying for... what was it again? A service fee, security fee, privacy fee? These fees which equate to about fifteen percent of our overall profit?" Amora said, her anger bubbling to the surface. There were two men on the next platform. I quickly ran towards the next balcony as I grabbed a second knife from my waistband, stepping onto the fence that lined the platform before jumping onto the next balcony. I lifted the knives in my hands while I was in the air before digging them into the heads of the guards at the same time, killing them both instantly.

"Those fees are necessary." Liam simply said. I grabbed onto the nearest trellis and began climbing up to the second floor.

"Please, elaborate." Amora said impatiently.

"A service fee is to ensure that your deliveries and shipments arrive when we say they are going to arrive. A security fee is our guarantee that your shipment arrives without any issues from your rivals. And a privacy fee is to make sure that our transactions remain between us. Would be a shame if someone found out exactly how many... or how few weapons you held in your arsenal." Liam said in a professional and poised manner. But even from up above, I heard the threat that loomed within his words.

"And if we were to waive those fees?" Amora asked with a scowl. I jumped onto the balcony, grabbing the attention of the guard beside me. He quickly turned his gun towards me, but I gracefully ran towards him. I quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him towards me as I bent his wrist, I slightly rotated my body, giving me just enough room to cock my arm back before plunging the blade into his throat. He quickly fell to the floor, his hand covering his new, gushing wound before I placed his gun beside him.

"What was the name of your rival mafia?" Liam mused as if to himself. Amora scowled at him as her eyes narrowed. I saw three more men, two standing on the nearest balcony to me, and a third standing on a balcony directly above where Liam and Amora were standing.

"Costin.. Collins... Oh, that's right. The Costello's. Last I heard they were selling on your turf. Would be a shame for them to know just how much firepower you have." Liam said calmly as he glanced over at Amora.

"Is that a threat?" Amora seethed as I grabbed onto the trellis.

"Not at all. Just reminding you what your security fee entailed." Liam said as he raised an eyebrow. I quickly scaled the trellis before jumping onto the balcony. The men glanced over at me with a deep scowl etched across their features.

I just have one question for you, Liam Knight." She said, her tone growing more and more unpleasant with each passing word. I quickly ran towards the two men, launching my blade into the stomach of the first man multiple times as I covered his mouth. While his lifeless body fell to the floor, the second man lunged towards me.

"Did you really think you would get away with fucking over the Lavella Mafia?" She said, her entire tone morphed into one of anger as I watched the guards above us begin to draw their guns. The man knocked the blade out of my hand before he launched a jab towards my stomach.

"Do you know what happened to the last man who tried to swindle me in a business deal?" She asked, keeping Liams gaze on her as the guards quietly positioned themselves at their vantage points. I quickly threw a kick towards his abdomen, only for him to block it with ease.

"How about you enlighten me?" Liam said, his jaw clenching as he stared at Amora. I quickly stepped forward with my left foot while raising my right slightly in the air. I quickly kicked his knee back with my right foot, causing him to fall to the floor. I covered his mouth while he yelled in pain, muffling it as I moved towards his back. I held him in a rear naked choke while he struggled. I would have just snapped his neck, but I didn't want to risk Amora hearing the crack of his bones.

"He's sitting at the bottom of the sea. With his family. And everyone he has ever cared about." She said seriously.

"Very creative." Liam said sarcastically, making Amora scoff. The guards body began to go limp, and I held on tighter until he was completely motionless.

"You know, I don't particularity enjoy your presence. If anything, I absolutely detest you. I hate your attitude, and the way you conduct business is horrendous. I've had just about enough of you and this conversation about your useless fees." Amora said as she took a few steps back from Liam. I glanced at the only remaining guard to my right before looking down to see the knife that was knocked out of my hand. I lunched towards it, rolling forward as I grabbed it.

As I came up from my roll, I quickly threw the knife with deadly precision, and before the man had the chance to realize what was happening, the blade pierced the side of his throat. He gurgled loudly as he dropped his gun, both hands flying up to his neck.

"Take him out." She said loudly as her eyes narrowed. The tension in the air was thick as the man took a shaky step forward before going limp and falling over the railing. His body fell directly in front of Amora, blood splattering on her dress as her jaw clenched in anger.

Amora stood there, her breathing uneven as she frantically raised a hand up to her face to wipe off the warm blood that stained her flawless skin. She quickly looked up at me as jumped off the balcony to an adjacent one below me. I jumped off of that one and landed on the concrete walkway.

"Looks like the poorly dressed bodyguard was useful after all." She said as she glared at me.

"Here's what I'll do for you, Amora." Liam said as he looked at her with his hands still in his pockets. He stepped over the guards body carelessly, closing the distance between them.

"I'll forget that this little... incident, occurred. I'll forget the fact that you tried to end my life, but in exchange, you'll sign the damn contract and be grateful that I don't sell you out to the Costello's." Liam said as he pulled out his phone. He unlocked it before turning it sideways and handing it to Amora. She glared at him for a moment, her nostrils flared slightly and her jaw clenched before she snatched the phone from his hand.

"Bastard." Amora said under her breath as she signed the document on Liams phone.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Liam said as he grabbed his phone from her hands. He began walking towards the car, and I glanced over at Amora following his every move with hatred in her eyes. I waited a moment, eyeing the guards that ran towards a still seething Amora before I began walking behind Liam.

"I won't forget this." Amora said behind us quietly.