A/N: I just want to reassure everyone that this is a Bamon story. But these are two broken people that have been lying to each other from the very start of their marriage. They don't really know one another. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. But it will get better...eventually.

Damon stood in the doorway as he watched Bonnie get ready for the day. She was dressed in a sleeveless sapphire colored sheath dress that fell just above the knees. It hugged her curves perfectly and displayed a tasteful amount of cleavage. However, his eyes were trained on her face as she used makeup to cover her healing bruises. He hated that she had to go to such lengths to cover what his father did. It didn't help that Damon was no closer to finding the elusive bastard. He wished that Bonnie had told him about the incident as soon as it happened. Her decision to wait meant that Giuseppe had a two-week head start that was beginning to look insurmountable. They were working on the assumption that he was in Milazzo. However, all they really knew was that he had been there a couple weeks ago. It was anyone's guess where he was now. For all Damon knew, his father could be hiding in Los Angeles. The old mobster had plenty of ways to enter the country without going through the proper channels.

Bonnie had been studying Damon's expression in the mirror for a few minutes. This was the first she had seen of him since John Gilbert's arrival last night. Damon had stayed in the study with his father's consigliere for a few hours. However, her husband left the house after he finished meeting with John. He didn't return until well after Bonnie had fallen asleep. She wondered if his absence from their bed was for business or pleasure. She asked, "Is everything okay?"

Damon smiled to cover his surly mood and walked up behind Bonnie. He wrapped arms around her waist and said, "Everything is fine. I was just thinking about my schedule for today. I have to make an appearance at Velocita even if it is the day before Thanksgiving. According to Rose, I have been MIA for too long. I can't tell if she is telling me the truth or if she's just tired of doing my job for me."

The girl chuckled quietly as she finished putting on her lipstick. "I am sure it is a little of both. In any case, she is right about you making an appearance. People will start to talk if you are out of contact for much longer. You know it doesn't take much to get the rumor mill churning at Velocita."

He kissed the side of Bonnie's neck and said, "You are supposed to side with your husband against everyone else."

If Bonnie were made of weaker stock, she would have tensed at his playful assertion. Instead, she merely turned in Damon's arms so that they were facing one another. She took his face into her hands while wearing a gentle smile. "You're about to force your father into early retirement. He could easily call the board together for a no confidence vote out of spite. You can't give him any ammunition, Damon."

Some small part of Damon wondered if Bonnie would suspect his part in Giuseppe's death. He would never tell her the truth. However, he was slowly learning that his wife kept certain knowledge to herself. His mind went to the recording that Sheila left Bonnie and the text messages that Katherine had been sending for God only knows how long. She only shared the information when it was advantageous for her. Damon hated to think of it that way because it assigned some level of deviousness that his sweet bunny just didn't possess. He pecked her lips and asked, "What are you going to do today?"

"I need to stop by the beach house to pick up Grams' roasting pan. Then I am going to the church. I might do a little Christmas shopping, too. Afterwards I am getting lunch with Lucy. I'll be back here after that because my mom will be here to help me cook. We have a lot of prep work to do before we can get started."

He lifted an eyebrow when Bonnie mentioned going to church on a Wednesday morning. Damon wasn't particularly religious but he had grown up in the Catholic Church just as Bonnie had. "What does my wife have to confess?" he asked teasingly.

Bonnie laughed lightly. "I am sure there are a few things for which I should be asking absolution. However, today I'm only stopping by to see Father Finn. He called yesterday to say he has the wish lists for the two families that we're adopting for Christmas."

Damon's eyes widened as he remembered that Bonnie had asked for his help last month. "The turkeys for Thanksgiving…"

"Don't worry about it, Damon. I took care of it while I was in Shadow Hills. Father Finn has two truckloads of turkeys and hams courtesy of the Bennett family. He has already handed out the majority of them to the less fortunate. The rest will be cooked to feed the homeless on Thanksgiving."

The use of her maiden name didn't escape Damon's notice. It was her subtle way of acknowledging that she had used her own money to pay for everything. Sheila had established a veritable firewall between the two families' finances before Damon and Bonnie wed. He couldn't touch a cent of the Bennett fortune. Moreover, Damon controlled her family's North American smuggling operation, but the lion's share of the profits got kicked up to Bonnie. He said, "I'm sorry, Bunny."

She smiled. "It's fine. I had free time on my hands. It was easy to just put in a few calls to local wholesalers."

Damon said, "Let's do the same thing for Christmas."

Bonnie looked genuinely surprised. Damon never really took much interest in her charitable work with the church. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I know it's important to you and it is the season for giving, right?"

She leaned up and kissed Damon passionately.

Afterwards, he grinned like a Cheshire cat. He tugged on the zipper at the back of her dress. "I'll be charitable more often if it gets this sort of reaction from you."

Bonnie laughed as she batted his hands away and slid by him on her way out of the bathroom. She called over her shoulder, "We don't have time for that this morning, Damon. You have to go to work and I have to go to see Father Finn."

He followed her into their walk-in closet. He gasped in mock horror. "There is always time to make love to my beautiful wife."

She giggled while stepping into a pair of pumps. "As soon as we get started Rose will show up to drag you to Velocita. Or worse, Lucy will finally get back and come looking for me."

Damon knew that Bonnie was right. Rose was downstairs having a cup of coffee right now. He had maybe ten minutes before she came to collect him. They would already be on the road if not for his insistence on seeing Bonnie before he left. He asked, "Where is Lucy anyway? I thought that she was going to be staying here."

Bonnie put on the sapphire and diamond tennis bracelet that Rose purchased on Damon's behalf. Then she searched for the matching earrings gifted to her last Christmas. Bonnie said, "She went out to have drinks with Tyler's uncle."

"That was quick," he commented. Not that he was surprised. Not many men would turn down a woman who had Lucy's looks. He and Lucy had flirted when they were younger. However, he was grateful that it never went any further than that.

She switched her belongings to the purse she selected for the day. "Well, you know Lucy. She doesn't do anything by half measures. I should get going. I have a lot to do before this afternoon. I will see you when you get home from work."

"You look beautiful." Damon walked over and kissed her. "Try not to overdo it. Please?"

She smiled. "You have my word that I will not push myself too hard. I'll come home when I start to feel tired."

He patted her on the backside. "Alright, I guess that you are free to go then."

"I love you, Damon," Bonnie said on her way out of the bedroom.

"I love you, too."

When Bonnie walked out of the bedroom, Tyler was already waiting for her. He had arrived fifteen minutes ago to relieve Matt. His brown eyes darkened as he drank in Bonnie's appearance. He licked his lips without even thinking about it.

Bonnie's cheeks heated up when she saw Tyler's reaction to her. She said, "Hey."

"Hey," he replied. "Have you eaten breakfast?"

"Not yet. I don't really have time to get anything right now. I have quite the to-do list this morning," she answered.

He nodded. "I will bring the car around front for you."

"Thanks." Bonnie went downstairs to the kitchen where the kids were all eating breakfast around a long farmhouse table made of redwood. "Good morning," she said cheerfully.

A chorus of 'morning' came from little food-filled mouths.

She stopped behind Sarah's chair and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm leaving for a little bit but you are going to have such fun with Monique today. You can call me at any time if you want me to come home. Okay?"

Sarah looked up at her mother with a smile and nodded in agreement. "Okay, Mama."

Bonnie was glad that her little girl seemed more secure around her cousins. She pecked the top of Sarah's head again. "Be a good girl while I'm gone."

"I will," she promised with a giggle.

Bonnie walked out of the house just as Tyler pulled up with the car. She climbed into the backseat without waiting for him to open the door. They were on a clock. She needed to be back around lunchtime as she had told Damon. She wouldn't classify her husband as controlling. However, he had been raised in the old ways. He liked to know where his wife was at all times. Their current tenuous situation made it more of a necessity than a luxury. Despite their issues, Damon's concern for her safety was genuine.

Tyler passed Bonnie a travel mug and an insulated lunch bag. "I brought breakfast for you. I stayed the night at my parents' house. My mom was happy to put something together for you."

Bonnie smiled a little as she inspected the items. The travel mug was filled with peppermint tea. The lunch bag contained two blueberry scones, fruit salad, and Greek yogurt. She took a sip of the tea. "Thank you, Ty."

He said, "We gotta keep you and the kiddos fed, right?"

"Right," she replied. Bonnie tried to ignore the warm fuzzy feeling overtaking her. "I'm not going to be able to eat all of this. Do you want one of these scones?"

He chuckled. "Sure."

She picked up the scone with a napkin and passed it to Tyler. As Bonnie dug into the freshly prepared fruit salad, she hoped that her morning sickness wouldn't rear its ugly head.

Tyler bit into the lemon glazed pastry as he sped away from the Salvatore Manor. He said, "Everyone is waiting for us at the beach house."

Bonnie's attitude shifted on a dime. She lifted an eyebrow at the mention of that morning's activities. "Good. Who is it? Matt wasn't able to tell me much because we couldn't get any privacy. He just said that we found one."

"It's Freddie…"

The young woman's face took on a pensive expression at this unexpected news. Frederick had always been loyal. Her grandmother had trusted him implicitly while on her deathbed. Bonnie wondered if his allegiance changed with her grams' death. How many people had abandoned their duty to her family because she was at the helm now? "Well, that's not good news. Does that mean that we should be worried about John Gilbert, too?"

"I don't know. Mason didn't give me very many details when we talked. He only said that you weren't going to like what they found. Mason scooped up Freddie during his morning run. We couldn't wait any longer after finding out that he's been visiting Shane in prison. Mason made sure it was a clean grab with no witnesses. We're lucky that idiot likes to go running at 4:45 AM every morning like clockwork," he explained.

She sighed and rubbed at her temples. Bonnie would have a tough hill to climb if her relative inactivity with the business had caused people to lose faith in her family. Richard and Mason had been managing their people in her stead. They made sure that everyone was compensated well. The information about the Salvatore family's organization had been flowing up the chain as it should. It was the same way that her grandmother had run things for years. However, Sheila had earned a level of respect from the men that Bonnie had not. Perhaps they viewed her as a naïve little girl as her husband and his family did.

Tyler met her eyes in the rearview mirror. "Hey. I've got your back, Bon. I'll do what needs to be done…even if that means getting rid of John Gilbert. I've never liked the son of a bitch anyway."

"What about Elena?" Bonnie didn't want to put him in an awkward position with his girlfriend. No matter the state of their relationship, she knew that Tyler loved Elena. "You can leave the job to Mason or Brady if it comes to that."

"She's never been particularly close to John. Besides, you know where my loyalty lies. I will choose you every time," he swore.

She smiled in response and then went back to eating breakfast. Bonnie knew that Tyler was talking about his loyalty to the Benedetto family. She selfishly wished that his earnest words had another meaning. Briefly, she thought about how they made out like teenagers yesterday. Neither of them had let it go any further than that. However, being with Tyler was the first time that she had felt truly loved in a very long time.

The drive out to Sheila's beach house was a little over 40 minutes long. However, it gave her time to think through their current predicament.

When they arrived at the beach house, Tyler climbed out of the SUV and opened the door for Bonnie.

She nodded in thanks and walked into the house with Tyler.

The young man set the security alarm so that no one could enter undetected. They couldn't risk any unexpected visitors. Fortunately, Bonnie had never seen fit to give Damon keys to the beach house. He said, "They're upstairs."

Bonnie walked up to the second floor and then headed up to the attic. Her grandmother had done little more than soundproof the cavernous space and install easy to clean non-porous floors. Sheila had renovated the space with exactly this purpose in mind. This side of the business was ugly but necessary.

A couch, an antique desk, and a couple of chairs were the only furniture in the room. However, she was happy to see that the Lockwood brothers had thought to put plastic down to contain the mess. However, she had not expected anything less. They were professionals after all. Mason had many purposes in the organization but this was Brady's specialty.

Bonnie carefully surveyed Frederick's bloodied and bruised body. Mason and Brady had strung the man up from the attic's structural beams before torturing him. They had done a top-notch job judging by Freddie's current state. She glanced at the bloody drill bits lying on the floor. It took skill and years of training to learn how to torture your victim without killing them prematurely. Fortunately, Brady and Mason had that down to an art form.

Lucy was sitting atop the antique desk drinking a cup of coffee. "Morning, cuz."

"Good morning," Bonnie chirped in a chipper voice. She kissed Lucy's cheek. "Did you have a good night?"

The older woman smirked and looked over at Brady. "You know I did. I'll tell you all about it over lunch."

Bonnie patted Lucy's arm with a fond smile and then walked up to Frederick. She asked, "What do we have here? It appears that Christmas has come early for me this year."

Tyler walked up behind her and huffed. "I can't believe I missed out on all the fun. I was looking forward to making this fucker squeal."

The green-eyed girl removed her cardigan and placed it on a chair along with her purse. She squeezed Tyler's arm and said, "Maybe the next one."

Brady was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of Fruit Loops. His white tank top was smeared with blood. "I'm sure there will be more than one. We have a small insurrection on our hands. It's nothing we can't squash quickly. It isn't as wide spread as we feared."

Mason nodded in agreement. He already had ideas about how to handle their situation. He asked, "Where does Damon think you are now?"

They were all walking a tight rope here. His job was to protect Bonnie from all threats and that included her temperamental husband.

Lucy scoffed but didn't say anything. She hated that Damon had Bonnie on such a short leash. She also felt guilty for not spending more time with her younger cousin recently. Lucy thought that she had been doing the right thing by not causing friction with Bonnie's in-laws. She had recognized that Giuseppe was trying to muscle the Benedettos out of the girl's life. She didn't interfere when Bonnie did not object to the move. However, Lucy didn't care what Damon wanted going forward. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Bonnie sat down on the arm of the couch and crossed her legs. She said, "He knows that I am here. Only he thinks I am looking for my grandmother's roasting pan before going to see Father Finn. Oh, I should pick that up before we leave. I have a massive glazed ham to cook in it."

Tyler said, "I'll make sure that we grab it on our way out."

"Thanks." She asked, "What do we know?"

Mason said, "He hasn't just forgotten that his loyalty lies with you. Freddie has also decided to feed information about Damon to Giuseppe. He's the reason that the old man learned that Damon was making a power play to take the family from him. Freddie has been feeding information to Giuseppe for at least a year now. Looks like he went running to the boss the moment Damon started making moves to consolidate his power. However, it doesn't seem like he told Giuseppe anything about what we've been doing. Brady pressed him hard on that and he denied it."

Bonnie looked to Brady and asked, "How hard?"

"I pressed hard enough that he gave up two more people that are siding with Giuseppe over us. One of those people just happens to be his younger brother," he replied.

Bonnie nodded in satisfaction. Freddie practically helped raise Raphael. There's no way he would rat out his brother unless he was at his lowest. "What about John Gilbert? Is his loyalty to us in question?"

Mason nodded. "He intends to join Giuseppe in Milazzo. He wants to take over once the old man kicks the bucket. He's also not opposed to hastening Giuseppe's trip to the great beyond now that Damon has turned on him."

Bonnie's eyes darkened dangerously. She said, "That beady eyed snake. I want him gone, Mason. John could expose all of us to Giuseppe or worse Damon."

Brady asked, "When?"

"I want him gone before Damon takes out Giuseppe. But it can't look like a hit. I won't start a war to cover my actions the way that Giuseppe did."

Mason nodded in agreement. Freddie had his own crew but John was big game. His death would have repercussions. He asked, "Should we make it look like an accident?"

Brady suggested, "A home invasion gone wrong. His affinity for whores has exposed him before."

"What about a drug overdose? John's been doing party drugs since he started fucking 20-year-olds," Tyler said. He had to pay off more than a few girls to keep them from sharing pictures of John partying.

She hummed. "Maybe or a suicide. We are approaching the anniversary of Isobel's death and Christmas is right around the corner. You know the holidays are always the hardest for those who are grieving. April and Violet barely speak to him now. Perhaps it has all become too much for him. Figure out which option can be accomplished quickly and cleanly."

Mason nodded in understanding. "I will have something for you by the time I return from Milazzo."

She nodded at Mason and then turned to look at their bound associate. Bonnie's eyes narrowed dangerously as she regarded Freddie's bloody visage. Then she removed a stiletto blade from a sheath that had been hidden inside her bra.

Brady lifted an eyebrow at the hiding place but remained silent. However, he did share a look with Lucy before going back to eating his cereal.

Bonnie walked up to the bound man and thrust the blade into his abdomen. She twisted the knife slowly and stared into his eyes as he screamed. "You could have cost my husband his life, traditore," she hissed.

"Please," he tried to beg. "John made me do it. He threatened to tell the boss that I was working for your family."

She shushed him as she removed the blade from his stomach. Bonnie then rammed the blade into Freddie's thigh. "You could have gone to Mason or Richard for help. No, you chose John's side because you thought he was the better bet."

Freddie didn't bother refuting the claim. John had convinced him that Bonnie was a child incapable of wielding the power Sheila left in her hands.

Bonnie slowly enunciated, "You. Were. Wrong."

The girl's verdant eyes held an eerie darkness as she studied the man in front of her clinically. Giuseppe and Sheila disagreed on many aspects of childrearing. The Bennett matriarch had never raised her hand to Bonnie. A raised voice and sending the girl to her room was punishment enough. However, Sheila and Giuseppe agreed that their business wasn't meant for anyone with a weak stomach. The price for power was always blood. Sometimes it was the blood of their enemies. However, other times it would be the blood of their allies. Sheila ensured that her granddaughter would never need a man to help her protect what was hers.

Freddie mumbled. "Please. I'm sorry. I'll do anything. I can make this right."

"The time for mercy in this life has long since passed, Freddie. However, I promise to make it a quick death. I'm not a sadist by nature," she replied.

His eyes went wide as tears slipped down his cheeks. "No. Please, don't do this. I can help you. I can prove my worth to you!"

She looked at Tyler. "Cut him down."

Tyler removed his jacket and pulled out a pocketknife. He cut Freddie down and let his exhausted body collapse onto the floor.

"Please," he murmured.

"There is nothing I can do for you, Freddie. You picked the wrong horse. However, I am going to give Raph an opportunity to redeem himself. He's still young. He can earn his way back into my good graces. I hope that gives you some solace in your last moments," Bonnie said sincerely.

"Thank you," he murmured in resignation.

She walked up behind Freddie's weak body and grabbed him by the hair. She swiped the razor sharp blade across his throat in one smooth motion.

Blood gushed forward and sprayed the plastic sheeting covering the floor and nearby wall.

Bonnie released his body and watched him bleed out at her feet. Bonnie wasn't her grandmother, nor would she try to be. However, they would all learn that she wasn't the one to be fucked with.

Brady shook his head with a mirthful smile. This was the reason his family remained loyal to the Benedetto family. It wasn't because they feared retribution but because they respected the power. Sheila had been pulling Giuseppe's strings for years. He believed that Bonnie would do the same with Damon. Today, she had taken the first steps to doing just that.

Lucy knew that it was time for her to make Los Angeles her home. If Bonnie was about to make a move of this magnitude then she would need more than just the Lockwoods and Donovans watching her back. Giuseppe had inadvertently awakened a sleeping giant when he attacked her younger cousin.

Bonnie surveyed her handiwork and then held the blood soaked blade out toward Tyler. "Take the signet ring off his finger."

He quickly took the knife from Bonnie and offered her a towel. Tyler wrenched the gold ring from the man's finger. Freddie had proudly worn the ring for years. It would be easily recognizable to anyone in the family.

She meticulously cleaned Freddie's blood from her hands. "I'm going to go freshen up and then I will be ready to go."

Tyler watched Bonnie walk out of the room with a smile on his face. If it was possible, he loved her even more than he already had. He handed the bloody knife to Mason.

"I'll clean it and sharpen it for Bonnie," Mason said.

Brady slurped the milk from his bowl of cereal. "This was a great way to start the day."

Mason gave his brother a pointed look but he had to agree. He had believed in Bonnie because of the woman that raised her. However, it was nice to see her in action. He said, "I am glad that you are finished eating because we need to make Freddie disappear and get this place cleaned up. We're going to take him to DeCastro's funeral home for cremation after dark."

Tyler asked, "Do you need my help with anything?"

He shook his head. "No, we can handle all of this. You just keep Bonnie close to you. We'll see you later on at your old man's house."

The younger man nodded as he stepped into the attic's bathroom. He scrubbed away any trace of blood from his hands. He put on his suit jacket after exiting the bathroom.

Tyler grabbed Bonnie's purse and cardigan as he walked out of the attic. He went downstairs to the kitchen and searched the cabinets for the roasting pan Bonnie had mentioned earlier. Tyler knew that it was important to her even if it was also an excuse she fed to Damon.

He was just setting the pan on the counter when Bonnie walked into the room.

She said, "I don't think I got any of his blood on my dress. Do you see anything?"

Tyler watched as Bonnie slowly spun around in front of him. He walked up to her so that they were inches apart when she finally faced front again. He shook his head and said, "Not a spot on you."

Bonnie sighed in relief. "That's good news. I really didn't want to change clothes. I like this dress."

In a deep voice, he said, "I do, too. This shade of blue is a good color on you."

She bit her lip. "Thanks."

Tyler cupped her cheek. "I want to kiss you but…"

Bonnie followed his gaze up to the ceiling. "We shouldn't. I am about to go see Father Finn. He'll probably smell the adultery on me or something."

He barked out a genuine laugh. "Like the blind priest in Little Nicky?"

She laughed along with Tyler and nodded. She ran a hand down the buttons of Tyler's shirt. "Do you know where Damon went last night when he left the house?"

Tyler asked, "Do you really want to know?"

Bonnie said, "I wouldn't ask if I didn't…"

"Jesse drove him to the Claiborne so that he could meet up with Andie Starr. Jesse waited for him outside the room until 4 o'clock in the morning."

Bonnie wasn't surprised. Damon was probably stressed out after meeting with John Gilbert. Sex was always his way of blowing off steam. "Would it be wrong if I chose this dress with you in mind?"

Tyler's expression became more serious. He tangled his fingers in Bonnie's wavy hair and placed a kiss against the corner of her mouth. "Don't say things like that to me and then expect me not to kiss you."

"Yesterday, we said that we weren't going to do that again. Twice was enough, right? We've got it out of our systems," she whispered.

He rested his forehead against Bonnie's and said, "We lied."

Her green eyes darkened with desire. "We did," she agreed.

The pair jumped apart when Brady came lumbering down the stairs. He lifted an eyebrow at both of them but didn't question it. "I need a meat cleaver."

Bonnie rolled her eyes as she tried to slow her breathing. "You will not use my grandmother's good knives to hack up Freddie. Check out the utility room for a hacksaw or a hatchet. Everything you need should be in there along with ammonia and bleach to clean up."

"Okay. I'll head out there now," Brady replied. He gave Tyler and Bonnie one last knowing look before he went to the utility room.

"We should go, Ty. I can't keep Father Finn waiting," Bonnie said.

Tyler chuckled and picked up the roasting pan. "Come on. I'll let the windows down to see if we can air out the stench of our sins."

She rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of that statement. Bonnie put on her cardigan and grabbed her purse. "That won't work any better than cologne does to hide your smoking."

"You can smell that?" he asked as they walked out of the house. Tyler sniffed at his shoulder. "I hoped cologne would cover it better than the body spray did last night."

"Of course I can smell it. You smell like cigarettes and Tom Ford. One doesn't really cancel out the other," she explained.