We got to the diner early, a little after eleven in order to make sure our deception was in place. Luisa was dressed in one of her sexiest semi-casual outfits, a short-sleeved blouse with a plunging neckline, along with a set of slacks that left little to the imagination. She had a borrowed miniature Beretta in her purse, a Model 950 that had only a three-inch barrel, the smallest gun in our house arsenal. Ironically, it was also one of the guns that was produced in Italy, the United States and Brazil, which lent a touch of rightness to her carrying it. I hoped that she wouldn’t have reason to take it out, let alone use it.

I came in ten minutes after Luisa, dressed not as Tomasso Bertoli, but as your typical day laborer who was down on his luck. Underneath my jacket, I wore my own pistol, this time a military-style M9. I crutched over to a booth that allowed me to see both the entrance and where Luisa was sitting and dropped in as if I were exhausted. It wasn't that hard of an act, as I'd crutched nearly three blocks in order to make my arrival seem natural.

The waitress came over, not recognizing me even though I'd been in the diner multiple times before. I was glad my disguise was decent enough, at least. "What can I getcha, hon?"

"Coffee and a slice of pecan pie," I said, pitching my voice higher and screechier than normal. Until Pietro came in, I didn't want anyone recognizing me. "That's three bucks, right?"

"With tax, it's about three fifty," the waitress said, waiting until I peeled out the crumpled and dirtied four singles from my pocket. It was that sort of diner, pay as you go unless you were a Bertoli man. "I'll get you your change with your pie."

"Thanks," I said, watching as Luisa sipped at what looked like an herbal tea. I reached inside my jacket and tapped the little device inside, activating the Bluetooth earpiece that I had in my ear underneath my disheveled hair. "Whatcha drinking?"

"Chamomile . . . and Everclear," Luisa mumbled softly before laughing, cutting her eyes over to me as she took another drink. "Okay, minus the Everclear."

"Good. We've got about three minutes before Jake gets here. You ready?"

She took another sip of her tea and nodded, seemingly to herself, if anyone was watching. "I'll be okay."

The waitress brought my coffee and pie, along with my change, which I left sitting as a tip. I tried the pie, enjoying the rich flavor, and reminded myself to order a slice again when I came here as myself next time. The reality was that the diner was mostly a greasy spoon-type joint, and I was glad to have at least one thing on the menu that wasn't going to give me indigestion.

The bell above the door jingled, and Jake came in. He was wearing not the more typical off-the-rack suit that I assumed he wore for work at the pizza offices, but instead, his tailored suit, the one that he probably wore when he was being a Bertoli man. A little slick, custom fit, and certainly one that said whoever wore it was in charge of himself. He barely glanced in my direction as I huddled over my coffee and pie, but instead, his attention was all on Luisa, who half stood up and waved. Then again, with her cleavage exposed and the smile on her face while she half bent over, I could understand.

"Jake, it's good to see you," Luisa purred, practically oozing sensuality as he sat down across from her. "Thank you for making the time to see me. I know you actually have a real job to do, and don’t sit around on your ass all day."

I heard Jake chuckle, and I had to admit, it was a good opening line. It went straight to the point, letting Jake think that not all was cool between Luisa and me, and it complimented him all at the same time. "Well, you can't blame the guy too much. Kinda hard to do pickups when you're on crutches. But he's okay overall. A bit soft, in my opinion, but he'll come along all right. So what did you want to ask me about?"

They launched into a discussion, pausing only when the waitress came over and got their orders. "So what weapons did you learn about?" Luisa asked after they'd already talked a bit about basic training. "My brother loves the pictures he's seen of the . . . what is it again? The machine guns, I forget the names."

"Well, I trained on the M60 when I was at Benning, but later on, I fired the M240," Jake said, "but I never was in the heavy weapons squad. I did get to be the SAW gunner for my squad—that's a machine gun that we have at the squad level. That baby rocked."

"Hmmm, which one was the one that is used in movies most? Matteus first saw it in one of the old Rambo movies, I'm not sure which you're talking about."

"Oh, that's the sixty," Jake said with a grin. "We called it the Hog, and yeah, it’s pretty cool to fire. Only time I ever got to do any time on it in Korea, though, was when I was on point defense along the DMZ. That's pretty freaky, really."

"Why's that?" Luisa asked, acting fascinated.

"Well, you're up on this reinforced guard tower, looking out over about a mile or so of totally untouched terrain. Seriously, since nineteen fifty-four, almost nobody's been in there at all except in very defined areas. Anyway, you're staring out at this mile of pretty much pristine land, knowing that a mile or two away someone is staring back at you, ready to blow your damn head off. Hell, he wouldn't even need to, because you know the North Koreans have had the coordinates for your outpost in their artillery since before you were born. They could probably hit that thing in their sleep, and you wouldn't even see it coming. Still, you’ve gotta be up there, doing your bit for God and country."

"That has to lead to a lot of stress," Luisa said, turning the conversation. "I've heard a lot of the soldiers find Korean girls who are willing to have fun with the soldiers and let them release some stress."

"Ah, the camp girls and Princesses," Jake chuckled. "Yeah, they're around."

"What's the difference?" Luisa asked, purring. "Looks?"

"No," he admitted, his eyes caught between looking at her lips as she sensuously ate every bit of her steak, or her cleavage that was still on display. "The camp girls are amateurs, just finding a boyfriend. Some of them were actually looking for a real boyfriend too, usually to get a green card to get out of Korea. Hell if I knew what they did when they got back here. They were actually more of a risk than the Princesses, since those girls were pros. They got health checks from the Korean government and everything. I don't know how that all worked out, but basically, if you needed your pipes cleaned, it was better to go to a Princess than a camp girl. Why?"

"Well, these girls—were they pretty?" Luisa asked.

"None of them held a candle to you, if that's what you're asking," Jake replied, his voice dropping. "Although they certainly had some Far East secret techniques that they taught me. I could maybe show you, if you're interested."

"Hmm, maybe later," Luisa said, putting her fork down and reaching underneath the table. I knew what she was doing—getting her pistol ready—even though I couldn't see anything from the angle I was sitting at. "First, though, one more question. Did you ever know a Princess named Sul Ham Kook?"

Jake had been distracted for nearly ten minutes, and the sudden frankness of her question threw him off, just as we'd intended. He stammered, then set his fork down. "Who?"

"Sul Ham Kook," Luisa repeated, keeping her hand steady under the table. I could now see her tiny little pistol from my vantage point, and I slipped my hand inside my jacket, ready to help if needed. “Come on, you know her."

Jake sat back, trying to play it cool. "Luisa, I have no idea who you're talking about. How about we call Tomasso, or maybe my dad, and we can straighten this all out . . .”

“Don’t reach for the jacket," Luisa warned, cocking her head. "You don't want to know what's in my hand and pointed at your balls under the table. Now, Sul Ham Kook. How'd you two meet?"

Jake sighed and set his hands on the table. "At a bar. A Princess bar, at least that's what the guys in my platoon called it. I met her soon after coming to Korea and needed my pipes flushed. She and I hit it off pretty well, and we got a pretty regular thing going. Then her village was wiped out, and she started talking to me more about her life and family. We got to be friends, nothing more."

"And that's how you got introduced to Leonard Frakes?" Luisa continued. "What, a mutual admiration society?"

Jake laughed and shook his head. "Mutual? Please, that fucking nut job thought she actually loved him. Stupid fucking airman is what he was, but man, was he committed to their cause."

"So it wasn't love. It wasn't money . . . why'd you sell me out then?" Luisa asked. "You don't sound like someone who commits to an eco-terrorist cause."

Jake shook his head. "Nope. Actually, good old-fashioned blackmail. I got bored in Korea, to put it bluntly. I mean, my dad's the top Bertoli lieutenant, and here I was on year two of manning a fucking outpost along the DMZ. I went months without a decent Italian meal, and for what? I knew how to stand guard. Whoop-de-fucking-do. So, when I heard a few rumors about some of the guys getting some action going, I got involved. Wasn't much, just smuggling some automatic weapons out of Korea for the Yakuzas in Japan, but it broke up the monotony."

"They got caught," Luisa said. Jake nodded.

"They did. Some fucking Air National Guard Captain flying the C-17 with our shit on it landed at Yokosuka Air Base and promptly got snitched on by someone or the other. I covered my tracks pretty well, except that I'd told Sul Ham. She came to me just before I left service, told me that Frakes was going to be going back to the States soon too, and that he'd look me up. I thought she was full of it until he actually did, about three days before the shit at the center went down. Then afterward, he recognized Tomasso and called me."

"So you sold me out. Why not just get rid of him?"

"Because something could’ve gone wrong,” Jake replied. "Besides, you aren't a Bertoli, and if I had, who knew if Sul Ham was going to sell me out? I was covering my ass, plain and simple. Just like I will now."

Jake's foot shot out, without a lot of power, but enough that he kicked Luisa pretty good underneath the table. He rolled out of his seat, reaching beneath his jacket, and I had my pistol out in a flash. "Jake Marconi!"

He froze in mid-draw, his eyes going to me. The door of the diner dinged again, and Pietro walked in, his own gun drawn. "What the fuck?"

"Dad, I . . .” Jake said, his eyes going from me to his father, then freezing, his mouth yawning open as he didn't know what else to say.

"Pietro, say hello to the man who sold Luisa out to Leonard Frakes," I said, my pistol still leveled on Jake. "We've got it all on a recording."

I didn’t want to get Pietro involved, but with Dad out of town, I needed someone whose word and authority were great enough for the accusation I was throwing around. I watched as Pietro's face opened in shock, and he looked from me to Luisa to his son, who was still on his knees on the ground. His pistol faltered, and his hand fell to his side, the pistol still in his grasp. "Jake . . . is this true? Did you betray your oath to the Godfather?"

"Dad . . .” Jake said, his voice trembling before he found his nerve. "Yes. I told Frakes when Mendosa left the house alone. I didn’t know Tomasso would come storming out after her.”

I noticed that all of the diner staff had vanished. They knew enough to not get involved when the word Godfather was uttered and guns came into view. Pietro looked at me, his throat working to find the words. "Why didn't you tell me or your father?"

"I had to make sure who it was, and to make sure it stopped at him," I said simply, my eyes still on Jake. Luisa got out of her seat, leveling her pistol at Jake, and I glanced at Pietro. "I couldn't be sure who had betrayed me, or why."

Pietro nodded, tears welling in his eyes. "I see. And does the conspiracy go any deeper?"

I shook my head. "No. He was blackmailed because of something he did in the military."

Pietro nodded and looked at Jake. "You betrayed the Godfather. You betrayed your friend, and you betrayed your own blood."

Pietro turned his attention to me. "What are your orders, Mr. Bertoli?"

I looked at him, then at Luisa. She kept her pistol on Jake but made her way around toward my side of the diner. As she did, Jake for some reason reached out, grabbing her ankle and yanking, even as his hand went back to his jacket for his pistol. I raised my pistol up, but had no angle on them with the way Luisa fell.

Suddenly, a pistol shot cracked, and Jake was spun backward. I glanced as Pietro lowered his pistol and walked forward, the total enforcer. He held his hand out, but his eyes never left the bleeding form of his son on the floor. "Are you okay, Miss Mendosa?"

"I'm fine," Luisa said, getting to her feet without his help. She pulled her foot back, far out of Jake's reach, and shook her head in exasperation. "Thank you, Pietro."

He ignored the thanks and walked to his son, who was lying on the tile, his shoulder bleeding. Pietro raised his pistol and looked at me. "Wait,” I said.

I grabbed my crutches from where they'd been kept under the table and made my way over to them. “You’d really do this?” I asked.

"He betrayed you. He betrayed me. What else is there to do?” His hand quivered, and Jake lay on the floor, blubbering for his life.

"Dad, please . . . I'm sorry. I made a mistake.”

I put my hand on top of Pietro's and lowered his weapon. “You don’t need this burden on your soul. I say we let him go, but my father can decide his fate."

Pietro looked at me, then at Jake. He put his pistol away, a single tear trickling down his cheek. He leaned in close, his voice low so that I could barely hear it in the strange quiet of the diner. "Please don't kill him, sir. He's my only son, the last chance my family line has, as pathetic as that may be."

I glanced at Luisa, who nodded her assent. I took my gun and leveled it at Jake, thumbing back the hammer. "I shouldn’t let you get away with this. You may be the last of the Marconi men, but your father is wrong. His family line is ensured in the way he’s going to teach me and the way that he mentored Daniel Neiman."

Jake lay on the ground, still pleading.

“Maybe you’re right. I am a little soft. Maybe I'm not hard enough for this yet," I said, lowering my gun. "You have one minute. Get up off the floor, get the fuck out of this diner, and get out of Washington. In fact, your privileges west of the Rockies are fucking revoked. Don’t come back until you’re invited—if that day ever comes.”

"Tommy . . .” Jake said, sitting up. "Come on, man."

"Fifty-five seconds. If you're not out of my sight by then, Luisa and I will both shoot you. Fifty seconds."

Jake was on his feet in a flash, running into the night, clutching at his bleeding shoulder and looking back, hatred, fear and hurt in his eyes. I noticed as he went through the door that a light rain was starting to fall, the drops matching what I felt in my heart. I holstered my gun and looked at Pietro, who nodded his thanks. "I owe you, Mr. Bertoli."

"Tomasso, Pietro. I'm just Tomasso, remember?"

He shook his head and wiped the tear away from his face. "No sir. You're Mr. Bertoli. I'll speak about this with the Godfather after you have a chance as well. In the meantime, I need to make sure your orders are carried out and to get some cleaners over here. I'll explain this to my wife later."

"Thank you, Pietro."

He left, and I looked at Luisa, who walked back to the booth she'd been sitting in and got her purse, tucking the pistol back inside and tapping her phone. I heard another soft double beep in my ear, and I realized that until that moment, her phone had been recording everything we both had said or heard. I sighed and looked out the glass window to the rain that could be seen highlighted against the streetlights. "How'd I do?"

She came over and kissed me softly on the lips, then rested her head against my chest. "Let's go home."

The whole ride back to the house, she said nothing, driving with care, parking and going inside to get an umbrella before coming back out and holding it open for me. There were a few other people up as I came in, and I could tell from the way they looked at me as I crutched toward the front door that word had already gotten around. Aunt Margaret was waiting for me inside, her face proud. "Welcome home."

I nodded, the strain starting to overcome me. With a glance, she dismissed the other members of the staff who’d greeted me, and she and Luisa helped me to the downstairs study. I collapsed into the chair, my hand trembling as I wiped at my face. "I just banished my best friend for life."

"You showed mercy as well as strength," Margaret said, pouring me a glass of water. "You let Pietro have his honor, you protected your family, and you defended Luisa's honor. I couldn’t have expected better."

It was all I could do to keep tears at bay as I felt a little bit of my innocence slip away. It wasn't play time any longer—I was in this for life. I would have to become the man I'd always meant to become. My shoulders shook, and I felt soft hands rub at them. "What am I to do?"

"Be guided by your conscience and your honor," Luisa whispered in my ear. I looked up and saw her looking at me with an emotion in her eyes that I wanted more than anything else. "Come, let's get you to bed. You've had a long day."

My aunt looked at up approvingly as I got my crutches under my armpits. Instead of heading to the stairs, however, Luisa led me to the end of the hallway, turning right and toward the room she'd been staying in. I followed her inside, where she closed the door behind me. Going to the bed, she climbed on, patting the mattress next to her.

I was nervous sitting down, and we looked at each other in the soft room lights. "Luisa, I wanted to shoot him for what he did to you," I whispered, reaching up and stroking her face. “I almost did it.”

"You did the right thing," she said softly, taking my fingers and kissing them. "You returned an eye for an eye plus some. I’m proud of how you handled it.”

Getting to her knees, she reached for the first button on her blouse, undoing them one by one until she was able to shrug it off, leaving her in just a bra. "I know. For days now, I've known. I know how you feel, and I know how I feel. We won't say it, maybe because we're both too scared, or maybe because it’s just too soon to know for sure. It doesn't matter, does it? Because we know that in two days, you're going to the doctor, he's going to say that your leg is coming along fine, and that you're to start putting it on the ground again while you crutch around. And I'm going to have to go back to Brazil, back to my father and my family. Our honor gets in the way, even when it helps us."

I nodded, unable to form words as I fought to keep tears from forming in my eyes again, and I watched as Luisa got off the bed. "It's not fair. It's not fair, and I hate this part of our lives. But I'm going to do the right thing, even if it's only for the next few days, or even if it's just for tonight. I want you, Tomasso Bertoli. I want you as a woman wants a man, and not with the anger of last time."

"I want you too," I rasped, my throat going dry as Luisa slid her slacks off. In just her lingerie, she walked to me, taking me by the hand and helping me stand up. "For as long as I can have you.”

"Then kiss me," she whispered, leaning in. Her lips were warm, and the feeling of her skin under my hands was like God himself had granted me an angel for just that night. Her tongue traced my lips, and I met it with my own, our kiss deepening until we were joined, sharing one breath.

Breaking apart, she crinkled her nose cutely at my clothes. "We're getting this hobo suit off you. Come, lay down. Let me serve you."

I sat down but took her hands. "You're too precious to be subservient to any man, including me."

Luisa smiled and stroked my face with her hand before reaching down and helping me off with my hooded shirt. Reaching for the belt of my filthy pants, she kissed my chin and shook her head. "You're right, no man will command me. But I choose you."

She tugged, and my dirty pants fell, leaving me in some track pants that I'd worn underneath and my brace. She helped me into her bed, then slowly undid the straps on my brace, taking it off and laying my lower leg on the bed cover.

Luisa smiled and reached behind her back, finding the catch on her bra and undoing it, shrugging off the lacy cups. I was stunned at the vision before me, the large, perfect half-globes standing proud on her chest as she stood before me, her hands clasped behind my back. The twin perfect orbs were capped with crinkled tanned nipples. She smiled at me devilishly, waiting for a response.

"I've never seen anything more perfect in all my life," I whispered.

“My American man can be so romantic," Luisa replied, reaching down and pushing her panties down. "And I haven't even shown him everything."

I chuckled and lay back as she came back to the bed, her body swaying hypnotically from side to side, her hair swaying in a perfect counterpoint to her walk. Reaching the bed, she stopped, grabbing the waistband of my pants, which were already tented and painfully full.

“Now this is what I want tonight," she said, cupping my cock through my pants.

Slipping her hand inside my pants, she found my cock and wrapped her fingers around it, smiling as I pushed my pants down and freed myself from the nylon confines. "I can't let you do everything," I joked as I lifted my hips up slightly to push them down further. "I'm not a lazy slob."

Luisa nodded and licked her lips. "Let me show you what I can do."

Leaning down, her pink tongue came out as she licked around the head of my cock, tracing the underside with the tip of her tongue before tracing back up and swirling. My eyes rolled back in pleasure as she opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around the head, sucking me in slowly. She bobbed up and down, tasting me and sending electric tingles through my body. My cock was trembling, full and heavy, ready to come, and she'd barely begun. "Luisa . . .”

"Shh. No talking tonight. Lay back. Let me take care of you."

I looked into her eyes and nodded, lying back against the pillow as she sucked and licked my cock, her hand massaging my balls the whole time. I was in heaven, and I only had one more wish. "Luisa?"

"Yes?"

"Bring yourself up here with me," I said, reaching out and caressing her hip.

Her smile was worth the temporary pause in my pleasure as she climbed up, carefully swinging her long leg over my head and lowering her perfectly smooth pussy lips toward my face. I wrapped my arms around her hips and raised my head, tracing the silky lips with my tongue even as she found my cock again.

I quested deeper, finding the delicious nectar inside, gathering it on my tongue. She was sweet and tangy, with a hint of exotic spiciness that swirled around my head, more intoxicating that any liquor I'd ever had. I gathered her juices, drinking and sucking on her lips as she began to ride my tongue, her hips jerking as I found the tiny button of her clit and licked around it. She gasped, sucking all of my cock into her mouth and increasing her pace as I nibbled and licked around her clit faster and faster. I was about to come, and I didn't care as long as she bathed my face in her essence.

Suddenly, Luisa couldn't take any more and sat up, grinding her pussy into my face as she cried out, her voice full of desperate need. "Oh . . . that's it. Oh Dios Mio, that's so good."

Her cries devolved into guttural, staccato Portuguese as I licked as quickly as I could on her button until she totally covered my face in her hips. In the darkness, I could only go by touch, muffled sound, and most of all, the taste and smell of her on top of me. It was blind ecstasy, and I loved every shudder as I flicked my tongue over her clit, faster and faster, hoping to show her how much she meant to me, even if I only had this one chance. Luisa shuddered, and suddenly, her legs clamped around my ears, cutting off almost all sound as she cried out, her fingernails raking over my chest and stomach as she came. Quivering, she stayed on top of me for long seconds before sliding off and wiggling her way next to me.

She smiled and reached down, taking my cock in her hand again. Quickly climbing on top of me, she carefully positioned herself over my cock, holding me at her entrance. "I need you."

She sank down, my cock disappearing inside her and swallowing me with heavenly pleasure. Her eyes widened and she whispered in Portuguese again, her hips riding me even before I was all the way inside her. Leaning forward, her lips sought out mine as she shifted back and forth, slipping me in and out of her. I brought my hand up to find her nipple as we kissed, my cock sliding in and out, both of us gasping.

I don't know how long she rode me, as too quickly, my mind failed me. The world turned into snapshots and sensations. Her lips on mine, the feeling of her heartbeat thundering in her chest and through her breast that was squashed in my fingers, the arc of her hair as she threw her head back, both of us giving over to the torrent of passion rising within us.

Too soon, my cock was swelling, my orgasm trembling within me. I reached up, cupping both of her breasts as she plunged up and down on me, her eyes slitted in a haze of pleasure and joy. "Luisa . . . I'm going to come."

“Yes, yes, yes . . .” she whispered, squeezing with her pussy even more in rapid, pulsating clenches that rippled through both of us. I felt myself break over, and I thrust up as best I could with my one leg as I felt an explosion rip through me. Luisa's eyes flew open and she cried out again, her voice hoarse as she came as well, her eyes finding mine and our hearts meeting in a way that I'd never felt before. We stayed there, frozen in time for what felt like an eternity, until our climaxes passed and she collapsed into my chest. We were both sweaty and panting, smiling stupidly at each other.

We held each other in the soft light of her room, and Luisa laid her head on my chest. "My angel,” I whispered.