This is a collaboration between me and Eskarina.


"I can't tell you where I am, but I promise I'll send you some money if you tell me what happened," Jolyne said, trying not to sound desperate.

"Well, now that you mention the money, I'm not going to complain, although a guy already paid me in advance for this," Gwess said on the other end of the line. "But feel free to pay me more, I've got no complaints. By the way, you never told me that your daddy was so sexy."

When Jolyne didn't reply, she continued. "Yeah, Mr. Kujo, he looks a bit like you, but very edgy in the sexy sense." Gwess was alone in laughing at her own comment. "He told me that if we got in touch, I had to inform you that your mom is with him and your friends are well. Also, I'm supposed to call him about this, and he'll pay me more... "

Without saying another word, Abbacchio took the phone from her, opened the device, and took out the SIM, splitting it in half.

"Well, little monkey rat, you now know your parents are fine, so stop crying and let's go home before Trish decides, God forbid, to go into a sex shop."

Although she was a bit disappointed that she wasn't able to broach about Father Pucci's death, Jolyne was in a better mood after hearing the information about her parents and friends. Seeing Abbacchio's utterly terrified face, she didn't complain at all.

The return home had no incidents except for a small fight between Abbacchio and Narancia when he asked for the latter's cell phone to warn Bucciarati that they were coming back. Obviously, Abbacchio informed Bucciarati of the incident on the phone and he in turn informed Giorno. Most of the purchases had arrived before them, so Jolyne was going to be entertained with a few maids setting things up.

"Ciao, did you have a good time? When the bill came to me, knowing that Trish was in charge, I wondered if you had a problem and couldn't finish shopping." Giorno greeted them from the entrance, pretending as if he was passing by and not that he had been waiting.

"Pff, she wouldn't let me buy her anything. I had a hard time convincing her to buy even one perfume when I wanted to choose at least four for her, and she didn't even want to hear about things like ball gowns or ski suits or jewelry," Trish said. "My Sorellina is too modest, but I will spoil her. "

"Of course, I'm sure you'll be able to." He turned to Jolyne. "They're taking things to your room. I'm sure you'll want to supervise them."

Jolyne wasn't an idiot; she knew he was trying to be polite but wanted her to get out of the way so he could talk to them alone. Hence, she left with dignity, hugging her huge dolphin plushie. The maids were friendly and although most were not fluent in English, they did their best to communicate with her.

She didn't really have to do much, so after taking a shower while the efficient maids put her new things in, she lay down on the bed to read Twilight. She'd seen the movies but hadn't read the books. It seemed appropriate to start now while being on the run from a scent-obsessed psycho vampire who was like James.

Meanwhile, three people accompanied the Don in his office, none of whom seemed too happy to be there.

"Before you start, the decision to give her the phone was only mine. They have absolutely nothing to do with this," said Abbacchio firmly. "So if you're going to yell at someone, leave them out of it."

Giorno pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling another headache emerge with force. This headache had not left him since he took the flight to Florida a week ago. The last thing he wanted was to scold his closest ones, but they didn't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. They did not understand at all what Donatello was capable of or the force with which he desired the girl no matter who he killed along the way. And if he somehow managed to kidnap her, just imagining what that monster intended to do to her made him nauseous.

"You can't imagine how much danger she's in. And I'm not doing this because I want to. If it were up to me, I would use her as bait..."

"Yeah, put her in a safe cage and fill it with luxuries. Do you know what you'll have? A scared girl who doesn't even know if her parents are alive," Abbacchio said, looking him straight in the eye without looking away; there were few people who were capable of that. "She's a person. Perhaps for you the issue of blood does not allow you to see her in another way, but she is a 19-year-old girl who's in a country she's unfamiliar with, where the spoken language is just gibberish to her, and she's forced to live with the criminals who kidnapped her."

"I was scared to death back then when they left me in your hands," Trish added. "My Sorellina, I mean, Jolyne, did not even attain her Stand until a month ago. Before then, she was a normal girl. She has been betrayed, seen her father almost killed, been sent to jail... At her age, she should have enough on her plate already, overcoming the breaking up with her boyfriend and feeling heartbroken. Not this shit-show."

Trish put her hands on her hips and began to gain volume and confidence in her voice. "She may have to be stuck here whether she likes it or not, but she deserves at least an explanation from you about everything and to know that her family is fine. Locking her up without information is... just imprisoning her all over again, no better than when she was behind bars!"

"I'm not very smart!" Narancia practically shouted, trying to intervene. "But man, she was crying. Abba and I may be zombies, but we have hearts."

"We can't trust the Speedwagon Foundation, you know..." Giorno sighed wearily. "But I suppose no harm could come out of letting her know whether Dr. Kujo is safe."

Fugo went home that night, as did Trish, who didn't live there either. It was also feeding day for Bucciarati, Abbacchio, and Narancia, which meant that soon he would have to go to Nápoles to feed the locked up zombies. He had been letting time pass, undecided on what to do; they had now been in the dungeon of an old palace for close to five years.

Usually, the date coincided with that of his companions, but he didn't want to leave Jolyne without a Stand user at the palazzo. Unfortunately, Mista was still in Russia. But it's not like Giorno could completely trust leaving her alone with him either. No matter how much he trusted Mista and his abilities, the gunman wouldn't be able to do anything if Donatello attacked.

He thought for a moment before calling for a maid. "Go to our guest and ask her if she would like to dine on one of the balconies."

The maid nodded and left to deliver the message. Some minutes later, she returned with Jolyne's reply.

"Sir, the madam guest said she's fine dining alone in her room. She also mentioned that she's absorbed in her new book."

He was no fool. He knew that what she was really doing was rejecting being alone with him. It wasn't any real wonder; all their previous encounters alone were tense. Perhaps it was a childish desire, but beyond the impulses due to his blood, he also wanted to befriend her.

Checking in before going for a night walk was a normal courtesy. He knocked on Jolyne's door patiently but heard no response. Maybe she was sleeping. Her scent was coming from the room, so she had to be there. That is, unless she had just been abducted, with the room still smelling like her, while Donatello had already calmly stolen her away. Giorno knew it was an outlandish thought, but that didn't reassure him. He called again a little louder, knowing that his volume should wake her up if she was sleeping.

She might have remembered to lock her door that night, but it was nothing Gold Experience couldn't handle. After breaking it, he entered without delay. What he saw made him freeze in his tracks.

Jolyne had changed into more comfortable clothes and was wearing headphones, her face buried into the giant stuffed dolphin she was hugging. Her cries, muffled against the plushie, came in soft spasms. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether to go comfort her or turn around and leave. She looked up and saw him just when he had decided on the latter.

"What the hell...?" She jumped up into a sitting position on the bed, taking off her headphones.

"I knocked on the door several times, but you did not answer. I was worried."

"You thought I tried to escape again, didn't you?" Jolyne said, wiping her tears angrily. "Well no, I just didn't hear you. Happy?"

Giorno sighed, partly to empty his lungs of the air filled with the woman's perfume. He knew he was on the verge of pissing her off again, so he tried to calm down before speaking.

"I wish I didn't have to force you to stay. I... I owe you an explanation. Tell you what, it's a wondrous night; I know you saw the garden last night, but would you like to take a walk?"

Jolyne sized him up, eyes scanning his outfit. Despite having been in his office most of the day, he was dressed formally in a red suit so dark it looked black. Underneath, he wore a red shirt with the first buttons undone. She didn't have to look at herself to know that she was a mess in comfortable but expensive clothes, with red eyes and disheveled hair.

"I should change my clothes," she murmured to herself.

"We're only going to the garden. That won't be necessary."

"That's coming from a man who walks in his home dressed in... I don't know what brand that suit is from, but it's gotta be expensive."

"It's not that expensive, just a Prada... Ok, yes, it's expensive." He looked at her for a few seconds before taking off his jacket, rolling up his sleeves, and taking off his shirttails. "Better?"

"Yeah sure, let me wash my face and put on some shoes first." She went to the bathroom, thinking that he had gone from a runway model to a perfume ad model after removing those articles of clothing, but it didn't seem like he had many different levels.

She didn't want to make him wait too long, not that she even had any reason to take much time, so she just washed her face and untied her braids, leaving only the two buns. She surveyed herself in the mirror for a second. It's not like she had to mind being pretty, but that was better.

When she came out of the bathroom, Giorno was waiting for her. She knew he had the powers of a vampire, that deep down he was a bit like Donatello, and to top it off, he was a mobster, the kind she never thought would exist outside of the movies, with various zombies under his command. She knew that objectively, he was terrifying. And yet he didn't strike the slightest bit of fear in her.


(In the car)

Narancia: I may be a zombie, but I have a heart!

Abbacchio: Good. Just like that, but put more feeling into it. Giorno has to fall for it, or we'll be screwed.