Michelle wasn't sure how she knew. She just did. But the whole situation was a complete mystery. Noah had seemed genuinely surprised to discover she was his aunt. She had been around liars and fraudsters for most of her life and she would know if he were faking it. She was sure he wasn't.

Almost from the moment she'd seen Noah she'd sensed some kind of hesitation from him... that he was holding something back… almost like a fear. She wondered whether he knew the child was hers. But when she'd revealed herself as family he HAD been shocked. There was no doubt in her mind about that.

And yet…

If he didn't know he had an aunt then how the f*ck had he ended up with the child? How could he have the child without realising the connection? And more importantly how had her child travelled almost two thousand miles across country to get there? If Noah had stumbled on her son by accident and now had him living with them in the house, then wouldn't he say something if he realised she was the mother? It all seemed like too much of a coincidence. Her mind was ticking away, coming up with ideas, coming up with solutions…

Suddenly a sly smile crossed her lips.

There was definitely something to be gained from this! She needed more information. She had a little time before her flight back to Branson…

It was possible this was the break she needed!

...

The puzzle was of a Lion and the child's eyes grew wide with amazement when Maddie handed him the brightly coloured box. His mouth gaped open in surprise and Maddie had to motion the box in his direction a few times before he took it.

"That's right, it's for you…" she assured him with her usual kind smile.

He climbed up on the couch and examined the picture on the box with wonder, running his finger along it. Then he shook the box and smiled when he heard the rattling sound from inside.

While Maddie and Noah said their goodbyes by the front door, Jonathan briefly took Luke aside, "I've left the kid a little gift outside on the decking. You can give it to him later. I figured two gifts at once might be a little overwhelming for him."

"Thanks! We didn't know how long he would be here and, with everything going on, there's been no chance to get him any playthings. So it's really great you guys thought of him!"

"No worries."

"And Jonathan…" he said, suddenly shy. "About what you did at the hospital…"

Jonathan squeezed Luke's shoulder, "Don't mention it!" He lifted his backpack and made for the door where Maddie waited patiently for him. They were both due back at work in Montana the following day.

"Thank you both so much for coming like you did." Noah said hugging them goodbye.

"Yeah!" agreed Luke. "It was a massive help!"

"Are you sure you two will be alright?" Maddie asked concerned, "I mean things are far from settled. I feel bad leaving you like this."

"Mad's! You two have your own lives to lead! You have Bruce to look after. We'll be fine from now on." Noah assured her.

"Okay, but if you need anything just let us know! And keep us posted."

"Lion!" the boy shouted at them the moment the front door closed on their friends.

Luke and Noah exchanged a knowing glance. Okay then? The child was only willing to talk to the two of them for the moment.

...

Adam Amadeo liked to think of himself as 'street smart'. He wasn't your usual mobster type. The type usually portrayed in Hollywood movies. If you were to pass him in the street you would think he came from some idyllic suburban family, blonde, handsome, well groomed and sharp as a razor's edge.

But you would be only partly right, for, although he was all these things, he had also been working for the Grimaldi family in New York for over ten years. And before that he was always involved in some illegal wrangling or another. He was always in trouble with the police as a kid. So despite his middle-class upbringing, he was a born criminal, pure and simple! He just about drove his pious Catholic mother to an early grave with all his antics.

"Why me?" She would often cry to the rooftops, gesticulating to her god, "Why Lord? Why give me such a wicked son as this?"

But his loyalties didn't lie with his mother. Sure she had raised him, but that was about it! Her way of showing love and affection was slamming a king sized bowl of pasta in his face. By the time he was thirteen he was the size of three grown men. He would have died young had it not been for Anton Grimaldi. Mr Grimaldi felt sorry for him and took him under his wing, introducing him to the gym and a healthy diet, before training him up to become a useful member of the family.

And that was how he thought of himself… as a Grimaldi and not as an Amadeo.

His good looks and slight frame often lead other men to underestimate him. He may not have seemed it, but he was efficient and fearless and most of all brutal! A wicked combination. And it was through his steely determination and intense loyalty that he had earned the respect of the remarkable man that was Anton Grimaldi.

So he loved the family… he really did! But this business of sitting around watching Luciano Grimaldi and company go about their daily routine had begun to grow stale. Until the bomb that is! And then the drive by shooting! And the poisoning was an interesting twist. Oh and he had so enjoyed the time they arrested some other guy for spying on the house. He still didn't know who that guy was!

His phone rang, "Mr Grimaldi?"

"Can you give me an update?" the deep, accented voice asked him.

"Their friends left a few minutes ago but besides that there has been no further activity. The cops are still watching the house."

"How many?"

"Two cruisers."

"Listen up Adam. I've just had an interesting phone conversation from Luciano's grandmother. Keep a close eye on them! I'm sure Gianni will make his next move soon…"

"Yes sir!" He hung up and smiled.

Things were hotting up at last and he had a front row seat for the ride.

...

After breakfast Noah was leaning up against the edge of an armchair, drinking from a coffee mug. He watched happily as Luke eagerly introduced the boy to what they assumed was his very first puzzle, because that was exactly his expression when Luke tipped the shapes out onto the coffee table… puzzled! They both sat on the carpet and Luke spread the pieces out, "You need to turn them all the right way up, so that you can view the picture on them, see?"

The boy was mesmerised by it and smart too, quickly following Luke's lead. It didn't take him long to catch on to the concept and he was soon searching out the connecting pieces with fascination.

"And so we build the lion like on the box." Luke continued.

"Lion!" The boy exclaimed with a broad smile making Luke laugh.

The sound of their giggles warmed Noah through and he thought how great it felt with just the three of them… how right…

Obviously he had always imagined Luke and he would marry and have kids someday. Even in the early days he had wanted that, eventually. But they were both still so young and having kids, however that was to come about, had always been a future kind of thing. They had only been back together for a few short months, and they were still trying to find their feet within the whirlwind of obstacles life had decided to throw their way.

Neither of them would ever have thought they would be thrust so quickly and so unexpectedly into a parental role. But now, watching the two people he loved play together, Noah realised how their relationship, their love for each other, had only been reinforced even further by their unspoken understanding that this small boy somehow belonged to them… that he had entered their lives for a reason and that they needed to do everything they could to keep him.

Luke's phone rang where it sat amongst the puzzle pieces on the table.

"Hello?" Luke scrambled for a few pieces as they fell to the floor when he answered. "Grandmother! Hi! Aha? Okay, just hang on a minute I'm going to put you on speaker so Noah can listen in." He clicked a button on his phone and placed the device back down on the table. "Okay, shoot!"

"Hello Noah…" Lucinda's strong voice emerged from the phone and the child glared at it with trepidation. Luke rubbed his back softly. The blue eyes calmed but stayed glued to the object.

"Hi Lucinda. How are you?" Noah replied.

"How am I? I think the question we should be asking is how are you, my boy? We are very lucky to even be speaking to you today! Both of you! This is quite a situation you've found yourselves in! All thanks to that miserable father of yours Luke."

"Did you get to see him?"

Noah looked up and Luke nodded at him. They hadn't yet been able to continue their conversation from earlier that morning.

"Oh yes! And you'll be very interested to know that he wasn't the one to order the hit on Di Alberto."

Noah and Luke exchanged another glance.

"He wasn't?" asked Luke surprised. "But if it wasn't him then who?"

"Well, he seems to think it might have something to with this uncle of his… an Anton Grimaldi. And after the phone conversation I have just had with the man, I'm inclined to agree. Apparently he is a major shareholder in your company, my darling."

"Yes he is. I know the name but he's always been a silent investor. Did he admit to it?"

"No, but I didn't get to my position in life without the skill of reading people. I'm sure he was involved. He was very interested to hear about your current predicament. And Damian is willing to wager that Anton didn't appreciate the way the Di Alberto's targeted a family member. Whether YOU think of yourself as a Grimaldi or not is neither here nor there as far as they are concerned. It is how they are perceived externally that matters to them. They cannot afford to lose face because of it."

"So they ordered the hit to stamp their mark." stated Noah in horror. "Damn! This has become way more then just being about the smuggling and access to ships! This is a full on battle for power…"

"I'm afraid so, Noah dear, with you and Luke caught right in the centre of it all."

...

The whole business with Luciano Grimaldi or Luke Snyder or whoever the hell he liked to call himself was so fucking out of control that Gianni was ready to kill!

Gianni had acted rashly when he ordered the hit on Luke Snyder. At the time he could barely control his rage at the death of his father and he had immediately sought a swift and quick revenge. He also needed to let the underworld know, as fast as possible, that his father's death would not go unpunished and that he would be as brutal a dictator as Marco had been. In their line of business they could not be made to look weak. It left them open to attack from other factions, keen to get a piece of the LA pie.

When his men had dragged a beaten and disorientated Julius to his feet he could still remember the rage that consumed him toward the man. Julius had humiliated him and by doing so had cast the Di Alberto family in a negative light. Julius had been right inside the heart of their organisation. Julius had been his friend! Men on the street were laughing at him and laughter meant disrespect! Which meant some men might be brave enough to challenge Di Alberto turf.

Gianni had killed before, but killing Julius had been the most satisfying ever!

Now that he had released some of his anger on Julius, he was actually glad his men had failed to kill off the queer. For one thing he loved the idea of Snyder tearing himself apart that his darling lover boy suffered in his stead. Bastard had probably wet his pants because of it! What a result! And for another, he now had the opportunity to personally pursue retribution.

...

The gift left by Jonathan in the back yard turned out to be a pretty decent soccer ball. The child was ecstatic. He could barely hold onto it, it was so big, but he hugged it close to his body and ran down on the grass where he dropped it to the ground and immediately kicked it about as hard as he could.

Noah hugged Luke from behind and they swayed softly together as they watched him play from their vantage point on the deck. "I realised something today…"

"What's that?" asked Luke.

"I haven't thought about Oliver Deagostino once since that boy arrived… Not until today when I was thinking about us."

Luke brought his hands up to grip Noah's forearm where it crossed his chest.

"The child's like the perfect counterpart to the pain left by Oliver. His presence is… soothing… and it's like he's somehow repaired the final cracks that had remained inside of me." Noah smiled as realisation hit him, "It doesn't even hurt so much to think about him anymore. It's really finally over, Luke!"

Luke turned into him with a smile and they kissed for a long moment before they continued to watch the child. Then after a few minutes he said, "He's so much better now, isn't he? He's like a shadow of the kid we picked up at Jasmine's. Don't you think?"

"Yeah! It's so great! He's not so scared to try things anymore. Like before… it was like he was scared to move… to breathe even! And he's so smart!"

"As much as we need to check out Branson, a part of me really doesn't want to know!"

"I know what you mean." Noah kissed Luke's cheek, "I'm going to do the dishes, want to play ball for a while?"

"You bet!" And Luke skipped off the deck to grab the wayward ball between his feet before kicking it over to the child. "Okay, catch it! That's right! Now kick it back over to me!"

Noah smiled and bit his lower lip before leaving them to it.

He had only just begun to wipe down the kitchen surfaces when the doorbell chimed. He noticed through the back window that Luke and the boy were still playing football in the yard. He thought briefly that it was starting to go dark and they should get the child ready for bed.

The child!" he thought as he dried his hands on a kitchen towel and made for the front door, "Finding out his name was definitely a priority!"

The person standing on his doorstep caused sweat to instantly bead on his forehead. He could feel the perspiration soak his armpits and his back. He couldn't find his voice… couldn't react at all. His hand trembled on the door handle.

"You lied to me…" It wasn't an accusation, just a statement.

He swallowed and felt his heart rate double.

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