A/N: Happy Christmas Eve! I apologize for this taking so long. I've been so busy with work and the holidays that I've been slowly inching away with writing this, but the update is finally ready and it's long! Hope you all enjoy this update! I'm so excited to share it with you all!

Hope you have a lovely holidays!

Also, thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate the feedback and I'm glad you all are enjoying the story!

Angel walked in the coffee shop, finding Ailee behind the counter, cleaning the area near the coffee machines. He looked around and saw Xander sitting by the table, paperwork in front of him. Michael was cleaning one of the tables beside him and he nodded his head at Angel.

"Well, well, well, look at what the cat dragged in," Xander commented, placing the paper in his hands on the table. He never thought Angel Reyes would be a welcoming site, but he had no real reason to be hostile towards Angel. Angel's biggest problem was being a part of a biker gang. Could he really hold that against him? He was always a decent guy, bit of an asshole, but who wasn't an asshole?

"Xander, always nice to see you," Angel smirked.

Ailee turned to face them then, a smile on her face as her eyes landed on Angel. "What are you doing at this side of town?" Ailee questioned.

"Nothing, wanted to finally check this place out." Angel shrugged. "John ain't around?" He was expecting to see John, seeing as how he received a nice text message from John last night.

"He didn't come a few days ago, had to make a trip to New York to close a deal." Ailee was thankful that John ended up not coming. At first she was worried, trying to think of the things she has done as of late, but he called her from New York, rescheduling their planned pow wow.

Angel nodded his head. "You free?" There were a few customers in the shop right now. He could see their eyes lingering on him, on his cut. He always revel on the respect, the disgust, the awe he received whenever they looked at him.

"For?" Ailee wiped her hands with the apron tied to her.

"Just want to talk," he kept it simple, he figured he didn't have to explain much to Ailee.

Ailee looked at Xander who nodded his head. "Don't worry, we got this, Arthur is coming in soon."

"Then yes, I am free," she removed her apron, placing it in the drawer behind the counter. "Please don't let this place burn down."

"Have faith in us Lee," Michael chuckled. "I won't burn it down, oldie over there, not so sure."

"We're the same age dumbass," Xander rolled his eyes. "You two have fun, don't do anything I wouldn't do." He couldn't resist teasing Ailee. What they were seeing right now, it was the remnants of old Ailee and it was definitely something to see. He didn't believe Angel still had a hold over her, but he was wrong.

Angel and Ailee walked to the back of the coffee shop, sitting at the table that they had at the break room. He didn't plan on taking her anywhere and he figured having her at her safe space with people around wouldn't make her nervous. Though she shouldn't have anything to worry about, it was him after all.

"The last time I ever saw you, I was sitting inside the previous coffee shop that occupied this place." Ailee couldn't look at him. Ever since the dinner, she knew she had to face the music and let Angel back in, it was the only way she could gain his trust.

"What?"

"It was that morning I left you on your bed," Ailee looked at him then, confusion on his face. "We were supposed to go to a clubhouse party, last time we slept together."

Angel smirked. "I'm sure that was a memorable one for you."

Ailee laughed, his arrogance always made her smile. Half the time he was joking, while half of the time she knew he was being serious. When it came to his sexual prowess, Angel played no games. She wasn't ashamed to say that no one could top Angel. "You were top of the line in bed after all."

"Don't sweet talk me now mi dulce," Angel leaned against the table then, placing his forearms on the table with his hands folded. "Talk to me, you've always been able to talk to me. Why'd you leave?" He paused. "Why'd you leave me?"

Ailee pursed her lips. She was thinking of how she should approach this situation. Should she be truthful? What angle was she going to play?

"I'm a Maquina agent, Angel. I had to get rid of personal relationships to assure that I was going to become something in the agency." That was half a lie. She never wanted to be anything in Maquina. Being the essential go to agent was not something anyone strived for in Maquina except for egotistical pricks. The only reason she was able to get so high on the totem pole was due to her ruthless aggression. She asked no questions and just did her job. Every government official wanted someone who was subordinate and willing to kill with no questions.

Angel didn't expect her to respond with that. Maquina was basically that elephant in the room that no one ever addressed. He always knew she was part of Maquina, but she never came out with it. He wasn't angry that she lied to him, in some ways, he understood why she did. But he was almost certain he would be angry if Vince had not told him. She was putting herself on the line every fucking day and that alone upset him. He didn't give a shit if she was great at what she did, but shit happens and she could die. That's what he would forever hold against Vince.

"I know," if he she was being honest, so will he. "Vince told me," he kept his eyes focused on her, not wanting to break eye contact. He was glad she took him in a more secluded place since he was almost certain speaking of Maquina in a public place wasn't allowed.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew?"

"Why didn't you tell me in the first place?" Angel retorted. "This is a two way street baby girl, you don't get to play victim just cause I knew your secret and played along."\

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but it was to protect you, the club and your family."

"That sounds like some martyr bullshit."

"If Theo knew about us, he would have killed you."

"Theo Kane?" He knew Theo Kane well. He was Ailee's psychotic ex-boyfriend who basically left her to die. "Please do not fucking tell me you let that asshole intimidate you. I would have killed him if he even came near us."

"He would have had someone kill you, Theo wouldn't get his hands dirty." Ailee pointed out. This was not where she expected the conversation to go. How can Vince tell Angel about Maquina? His father would definitely disapprove, but she guessed that didn't matter since Vince was six feet under.

"I don't give a shit, if you're as good as they say you are, Theo wouldn't even be an issue." Angel scoffed. "This isn't a fucking novela Lee, you left me, with no words whatsoever. You should at least have the decency to call me, to let me know that you weren't coming back."

Ailee didn't know what to say to that because in all honesty, she agreed. She should have called made an effort to at least respect the relationship they had. "You're right, I should have."

"Can you do anything besides agree with me?" Angel was getting frustrated. He appreciated the truth, but he didn't need her to keep agreeing, it made her seem insincere.

"What do you want from me Angel? There's nothing that I can do that would give the 5 years back." Ailee hated feeling these emotions that were currently swirling within her: sadness, irritation, and vulnerability. It was a sign of weakness and that shouldn't happen, not to her.

Angel looked at her as he lit up his cigarette, he took a puff and let out a smoke. He wasn't even sure if he could smoke in here, but with this conversation, he needed it. "Nothing, I just wanted the truth. Why did you come back to Santo Padre?"

"The coffee shop is my side gig, an occupation away from Maquina." She looked through the little window that enabled her to see the ceiling of the kitchen. She saw Arthur and gave him a small smile as he peeked inside. "I want to leave Maquina."

Angel was thrown off by that statement. He half believed her but at the same time, he knew what Maquina was to Ailee. There was no way she wanted to leave. The organization relied on her heavily, he wasn't sure they would let her leave.

"Why?"

"Because I've shed enough blood and it's time to hang it up." Ailee knew it was a lie, but she needed to get Angel to trust her again. She needed Angel to feel needed, to be a savior, just so he'll let her back in. It was terrible of her to play on Angel's insecurities, but that's what she was taught to do.

The regret on Ailee's face made Angel question just how far off the deep end she had gone. His sweet Ailee, the one who use to cower behind him when they watched a scary movie. The one who used to sleep in her brother's room after watching that scary movie due to her vivid imagination. The one who used to stick to him when they were doing an evening hike since she was afraid of the dark. His sweet innocent Ailee, that no one could tarnish in his eyes.

Maybe he should have looked into this whole thing with Ailee before taking it. Putting a contract on his head might not have been the answer. Simply reaching out to her seems like the better idea.

"And you came to Santo Padre because?"

"I missed the person that I once was, I left her behind in Santo Padre. I was thinking that if I move back here, I can find that again."

Angel reached over the table, grabbing Ailee's hand. This move caught Ailee by surprise as she looked at Angel's hand, not knowing what she should do.

He gave her hand a soft squeeze before saying, "I'm here for you mi Dulce, whatever you need." For once in a long time, the club, Adelita, EZ and his father wasn't on his mind, it was all Ailee. He wanted to help whatever means necessary.

Ailee looked at Angel's face then. Hook, line and sinker. She knew what to say to reel him in. She felt awful, but in some ways, she was protecting him. Whoever took the other contract will be dealt with and once that was handled, Angel was hers.

Angel chuckled as Officer Rogan made his way out of Vicky's place. After his sit down with Ailee earlier, he definitely needed some R&R and Vicky's place was the place to get it. They caught up for a few hours, sitting down, catching up on what they've been up to, at least the legal aspects of Angel's life. It was nice to sit down with Ailee, to see her laugh again, to see her face scrunch when he would tell her about the dumb shit he and Coco had been up to. But at the same time, at the back of his head, he felt as if he was deceiving her. Sure, she's technically here to kill him, but she doesn't seem like the person who would play with someone before she killed them. He wondered why she hasn't pulled the trigger, she has had many opportunities, but then it goes back to his believe that she won't kill him. No matter how fucking jaded she was, she won't kill him.

"How was your talk with Lee?" EZ questioned as he took Gilly's seat on the table.

"It was great," Angel smirked, letting go of the girl that was standing beside him. It felt odd talking about Ailee while he was holding another woman.

"So is she as psychotic as Eva made her out to be?"

"No," Angel sighed. "I don't know." How could he even determine that? When he spoke to her, she seemed normal. She was laughing, joking, it was like she never changed. He saw the scars all over hands, but they weren't much. Maybe he was still in denial? He never really saw her in one of the missions Vince always spoke of, but he's seen Vince in action.

"Did you ever watch the tapes Evangelina sent you?"

Evangelina sent him tapes when this whole ordeal started. She wanted to show him just how heartless her sister has become, that maybe if Angel saw it, he would understand just how far the deep end she had gone. But who was he to judge someone? He wasn't an angel himself.

"No, did you?"

"I did," EZ nodded his head. "Shit in there is fucking brutal man, I don't know how she can fucking sleep at night."

"Worst than what we saw with the samoan?"

"She's up to par with Galindo," EZ wasn't exaggerating, he watched one of Ailee's men skin a guy alive as Ailee watched.

"You two talking about Baby Lee?" Coco questioned. "I can't believe you put a contract on your head," Coco chuckled at Angel's stupidity. "What if she decided to kill you without playing this game? What would you have done then?"

"He wouldn't be able to do anything since he would be dead." Creeper added.

"She isn't going to kill me." Angel informed them with confidence. "Why was she here with her uncle?" He directed the question at Bishop, but he didn't exactly look at him.

"They need to use the tunnel," Bishop kept it short, he didn't need to explain his conversation with the Cruz's. Whatever went down in Templo with the Cruz's was between himself, Jin, Ailee, Michael and Taza. It wasn't much to tell, it was nothing the club had to be concerned over. Angel's girl was going to be safe and that was the main point of it all. "500k."

"They gave you 500,000 to use the tunnels?" Riz questioned. "That's a hefty amount."

"It's not government approved," Bishop shrugged. "Guess even Maquina has its secrets."

"What do they need to move?" Coco questioned.

"Not the time to discuss it." Bishop took another swig of his beer.

They focused on the poker game then, messing with Creeper who was obviously taking his sweet ass time to recover. Angel couldn't blame him, he wouldn't mind being in here and not dealing with all the webs they had entangled. He knew no secret could remain a secret for long, but man was he hoping that many things remained a secret.

There was a knock on the door that broke everyone from their reverie. They didn't expect anyone else to come unless Frankie was standing by his threat earlier. Riz went to the door, opening it and found Jin Cruz with Ailee trailing behind him. Angel immediately moved away from the woman that was standing beside him causing EZ, Gilly, and Coco to laugh at his failed attempt to look innocent in front of a woman who more than likely didn't even notice the other woman.

"Jin, what are you doing here?" Bishop questioned.

"We heard gunshots, thought it came from here." They all knew it was a lie, but it was good enough for Vicky and the girls to clear the room.

"Just roaming around the neighborhood?" Bishop quirked an eyebrow. He looked over at Ailee who was watching Jin's back.

"Scouting," Jin shrugged. "Do you know how far it is from here?"

"Maybe a few miles," Riz estimated. "You guys going hunting?"

"Something like that," Jin turned to Ailee who remained by the open doorway, he whispered a few words to her before turning back to the MC. "Vicky's neighbors, do they carry guns?" The MC could see Ailee take out her cell phone and step away from her uncle. Angel wanted to go after her, but he didn't want to bypass Jin.

"They're all about guns," Tranq replied. "You two going to need some help?"

"No, I have Lee," Jin turned back to Ailee who was still on the phone. "Figured you guys would be here, we were headed to Vicky's neighbors when we heard the shots."

"What business do you have with them?" Taza questioned.

Ailee stepped inside then. They noticed that she was wearing an all black get up, her gun drawn. "We heard about their patriotism, wanted to check it out." She smirked. "I'll leave you here, I'll go survey the area. Any tunnels nearby?"

"No," Bishop answered, giving Jin a questioning look. "You're sniffing in our backyard, I feel that we have the right to know what the hell is going on?"

"We have a colleague here, just want to make sure he's safe." Ailee replied for Jin. "You boys have a great night, remember to wrap it up." She winked at them before making her way out of the door again.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Angel followed after her then, not letting her uncle or any of his brothers eyes bother him.

"To do my job, Ignacio," he cringed at her choice of name, indicating she was not exactly happy with his outburst.

"The fuck you are," he caught up to her, grabbing her arm. He turned her towards him and placed his other hand on her other arm. "You can't go out there alone, it's dark, you hate the dark." It was idiotic reasoning he knew that, but it was what he came up with.

"Can't hate the dark when you've let it consume you." She shrugged off his grip then. "I know I asked you for help, but as it stands, I'm still a Maquina agent and I have to do my job." She took out some glasses from her jacket and put it on.

"At this time at night? Baby, you don't know what's out there."

"I've dealt with worst, I'm just scouting the area Angel, I'll be fine."

"I'll go with you."

"No."

"That wasn't a fucking choice."

"Angel," they both turned towards the house and found Bishop and Jin standing by the stairs. "Let her go, she needs to work."

"Prez, we can't let her go out there alone."

"She's one of my best Angel, it would be insulting if I didn't let her go by herself." Jin added.

Angel wasn't budging and Ailee knew there was no way she was leaving unless he was going with her.

"Can you just show him the feed so he can see I'm alive?" Ailee offered.

"What feed?" Angel turned to her.

Ailee pointed at her eye. "I'm wearing a camera, it's connected to my uncle's phone. You can watch me while I survey the area. I'm sure the cops are already at the area where the shooting happened, I just need to see if an acquaintance of ours is around as well."

"And who is that acquaintance?"

"None of your fucking business."

Before Angel could utter another word, they heard a car approaching. Ailee looked behind her and cuss under her breath. She knew who was coming, she just didn't think he would come here so quickly. The car stopped right behind them, the headlights remaining on. Angel had to look away since the headlights were quite blinding. The driver stepped out, leaving the car on.

"John, I didn't expect to see you till tomorrow night." Jin walked down the stairs knowing Ailee's mission was basically thrown out the window now.

"Had to see my baby sister," John looked over at Angel. "Well, the devil still lives."

Angel laughed, giving John a hug, smacking him upside the head. "Don't make me beat your ass."

John chuckled at that, turning to his sister. "We need to talk, now." His demeanor changed to the playful tone he had with Angel.

"In your car?" Ailee put her fun away, clicking the safety lock.

"No, we can talk at Vicky's." John made his way towards the house.

"Aren't you going to turn off your car asshole?" Angel called out.

"Ugh, you just had to ask," Ailee rolled her eyes following after her brother.

Angel watched as John took out his phone and the car turned off. "Thanks Angel."

"The fuck?" Angel looked at the car before following everyone back in the house. Once inside, he found Ailee occupying his previous seat while John occupied Creeper's.

"Do they have to be here for your scolding?" Ailee looked around, not exactly feeling comfortable to let Maquina matters be out in the open.

"I'm not scolding you," John sighed. "Why must you be such a pain in the ass?"

"I wouldn't be a younger sister if I wasn't."

"Glad you can finally had time to speak to your brother." Ailee rarely called John. The only times she ever called him when it was non work related was when it was his birthday or a holiday. Otherwise, she was very professional with her brother.

She smirked and shrugged. "I feel that I talk to you as often as I can."

"Not often enough," he looked around knowing that he had to change his language to ask his next question. "When should I issue my condolences to his family?" John asked in German.

"Brother," Ailee mockingly gasped, but she caught on and replied in German as well. "I am appalled that you would even suggest that I did something that horrific." She laughed. "Not yet, maybe soon, but I have to get to the bottom of things."

"Which is?" John looked around at the confused faces of the Santo Padre charter. As much as he would like to share this fact with them so they could put a stop to his sister stupidity, he couldn't risk the possibility that they might kill her.

"Someone put another contract on him, I want to know who crossed the line."

John rolled his eyes. "You know, for a brief moment, I thought that some ounce of your humanity has returned since you haven't done your job. But evidently, I am wrong."

"That you are dear brother," Ailee softly slammed her hand on the table, switching back to English. "But you know, we can all hope for a miracle." This was the Ailee that Evangelina was talking about. Ailee was never this way with her siblings, she was the younger sister who never questioned her siblings or gave them sass in such a serious matter. Angel wasn't even sure of what they were speaking of, but he saw the change then.

"This is not a game," John hissed quietly. "You're unpredictability is starting to worry some higher ups and there's just so much me and Uncle Jin can do." He looked around before he continued, his eyes landing on Jin who was sitting at the head of the table. "Your insubordinate ways is going to have consequences."

"I follow orders, I get the job done, isn't that the most important thing?" She snapped, not appreciating the scolding in front of the whole charter.

"Ailee, the government doesn't like out of control employees, unpredictability leads to unnecessary casualties. Your attitude towards your job, the way you're killing with no qualms, it's starting to catch attention." John explained. This was the most terrible time to scold Ailee, however, he felt that if they had an audience, it would sink in quicker. "Even though we take out the supposed bad people, we still have to think of the diplomatic relations our government has with these countries."

"I thought we were the loophole to diplomacy."

"If we're not seen we are, but you're starting to make noise." John was worried for his sister. There were some concerns from higher ups, but nothing that would lead to Ailee's discharge or death. They were just worried about the noise she was making, it was getting louder with every mission. She was starting to become a security issue. They could operate the way they do since the countries they infiltrate chose to turn a blind eye, as long as they don't make any noise. But Ailee was starting to veer away from that formula and it's becoming a concern for the council.

"Honestly surprised that our government is worried about unnecessary casualties when they do that on a daily basis for the supposable protection of our citizens." Ailee's lip quirked up. "But I understand, I'll try to be more obedient."

"It's not about obedience, it's about knowing how to cleanly do your job." John has never been out on the field, he never desired to do so. He knew Ailee's job was difficult, expecting for an assignment to always come out clean was impossible. But if she was purposefully making idiotic choices, it changes the concern.

"Would you like to do my job?"

"Damn it, I'm not trying to challenge you, I'm trying to look out for you." John sighed. Ailee has been difficult to say the least. She was his little sister, but her attitude and lack of respect was starting to irk him. He was trying to look out for her, but she made it such a difficult job. She was used to being independent, that's fine, but she didn't need to do that. He and Evangelina were there for her.

"You can stop, I'm fine."

"Why are you giving me such a hard time?"

Ailee looked around the room then. Everyone's eyes were on her as they waited for her answer to her brother. She hated that they had an audience, especially with Angel giving her such a look of concern mixed with confusion.

She looked over at her brother, seeing the clear distraught on his face. In some ways, she felt bad. She didn't want to be a pain in the ass. She really didn't want to be, but it's her default reaction nowadays. Family was something she never lacked of, but she kept them at bay for a reason. What happened with Vince, losing him, she can't handle that again. So instead of letting her siblings in, she kept them at arms length, reasoning that she won't be as devastated when something happened to them.

"I'm sorry."

"You're what?" John was surprised. Ailee rarely apologized for her unruly behavior nowadays. It was her way or the highway.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I see that you're trying to look out for me. It's just my default reaction to push people away."

"Why do you do that? We're here for you, you know that. We're blood, we won't turn our backs on you."

"That's not my issue with this whole situation."

"Then what is it? Stop pushing me away."

"I rather not talk about it right now. Can I just take a rain check on this emotional conversation?"

John laughed. "Fine, but you're going to talk about it."

"I will, just not today."

The two siblings looked at one another, an understanding forming between them for the first time in years.

And for once in several years, he saw a glimpse of the younger sister who used to pester him to no end. He saw the younger sister who used to play pranks on him with their brother. The younger sister who used to pick the lock of his room and curl up beside him when there was a thunderstorm because she knew how terrified he was of thunder. The younger sister who never gave up on him when he fell through the cracks and became an addict who pushed everyone away that didn't try and give him the money to feed his addiction.

Ailee was still there, they just had to get her out of this slump.

"I apologize that you all had to witness that conversation," John stood up, fixing his suit. "EZ," he turned to EZ, "prison looks good on you."

The mood lightened up then, EZ playfully smacking John as the two embraced. Angel moved closed to Ailee, squatting down beside her.

"Since when did you know how to speak German?" Angel knew that Ailee spoke English and Spanish, but he's never heard her utter a word of German before.

"Had to learn at least 6 languages as a recruit for Maquina." She shrugged.

"Sounded weird, I like it better when you speak in my language mi dulce,"

Ailee laughed. "I wonder how many girls you call mi dulce."

"The only one that matters is you."

Ailee looked eyes with Angel then, a smile forming on her face. This was going to be the most difficult and bittersweet assignment for her. As much as she wanted to stay away, she knew she couldn't. And she knew the longer she stayed, the more resistance she was going to get when it came time killing him. But this was her greatest challenge. Disposing of Angel would be her greatest feat. The person whom she love since she understood the concept of love. Getting rid of him will finally say goodbye to the final piece of Vince's memory for her.