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AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: It's almost Christmas my wonderful readers! Happy Holidays to everyone and anyone who celebrates anything around this time of year! Please enjoy another chaotic update. Don't forget to leave a review and I'll see you guys next week!

Chapter 462

After they finished their case Danny and Steve went to their restaurant. Uncle Vito had said he'd get a team in that day to start moving along the construction on the interior. They had wanted to see how it was going, and if things were turning out the way they wanted them to.

On the way there they had argued. About what they would have done in they had been in the killer's shoes.

The hunt to find out who had killed Headmaster Waller had led them to a contractor who had been laundering money for a cartel through the gym he had been building for the school. They had figured that out when they found the body dumped in recently poured cement at the gym's building site.

Arresting him had led to a shootout between Steve's team and the cartel when they took the killer's wife and daughter.

It wasn't until all the shooting was done and the family was safe that Steve had put it together. It wasn't the husband who had killed Waller, it was the wife. The husband was taking the fall. But Steve couldn't prove that.

The gun was registered to the husband, it had his prints on it, he had helped hide the body, and he had confessed.

Steve had no choice but to arrest him, and the husband had been okay with that. Danny, however, thought that was stupid. Steve not so much.

He knew if he had to, he'd take the fall for Rowan in a heartbeat.

They also found out that Wo was on the island. Rowan had pulled him in to help Con with the situation with Adam. He knew Adam had been grabbed, Rowan had told him that, but he didn't know that Rowan had basically let Adam get tortured. Steve felt horrible, but Wo had gotten Adam to the hospital and Adam was adamant that he was sticking with his investigation, even though Steve wanted to pull the plug.

Adam was also the one to inform him that Rowan had figured out what they were doing. In fact, she had known for a while. She apparently had the answers to all their questions, she just hadn't… told them.

Calling Wo confirmed that. Rowan had told both him and Con that she had known for weeks what they were up to and who was behind everything. She also knew that they had all colluded together to keep her out of the loop and if that had been what they wanted to do, well she was going to let them.

So they had been running around, trying their hardest to investigate and coming up against all these walls, and she had just been letting it happen.

He knew that he and Rowan would end up arguing about that whenever he got home, and until he walked into their restaurant that had been the worst thing he could possibly have to deal with that day.

He was wrong.

What they walked into was absolute fucking chaos. Firstly no one was there. Secondly there were holes everywhere, in the walls, the ceiling, the fucking floor. Tools had been left lying around, walls were partially painted, and not well, dust and debris littered the floor. There were no lights, it looked like a warzone. Like their restaurant had been bombed.

Danny had cried out. Steve had just wanted to fucking cry.

His only thought was call Wo. Wo had to know how to avenge him and his fallen restaurant.

Wo had picked up the second ring only to tell him that he had been on his way. Rowan was on her own, heading somewhere, and she wanted him and Con to go to him. Steve was surprised that Wo had let Rowan out of his sight, but he also figured the two of them were probably arguing about all the secrets she was keeping and needed space.

Sure enough Wo arrived moments later with Con and Jian in tow. Con ushering Jian towards the only sturdy part left in the restaurant which was the expo counter they had put in with the two bar stools they had ordered as samples. He helped Jian up into it while Wo looked over the damage.

"I didn't think it was this bad," he murmured to them.

"What the fuck happened?!" Danny cried, now that he realized that Wo definitely knew what was going on.

"Uh… Kamekona called me. Told me that uh… someone named Vito had asked him to sit on the place for an hour or two, and then never came back. I told him to lock up and leave."

Danny and Steve looked around. "Wo… did he… what the fuck happened in here?"

"Oh uh… Kamekona might have mentioned this, but again, I didn't think it was this bad."

"Wo!" Steve cried and the man turned his eyes away from the wires hanging above his head to Steve.

"What?" he asked. Steve gestured to all the damage and Wo finally got it. "This isn't my fault. It's that Vito guy."

"Vito," Steve said dryly turning a glare onto Danny.

"Yeah, Kamekona said Vito called him, asked him to source out some uh… cheap labour and uhm… here we are," he said as he went back to looking around. He whistled lowly. "Rowan's going to freak when she sees this."

"Why is she going to freak? She's got no money in this, it's us. Me and him. And we are very much freaking out!" Danny cried, but Wo ignored him, stepping over some discarded pipe to move towards Jian and Con.

"This is your Uncle's fault," Steve hissed to Danny. "I told you, didn't I tell you this would be a bad idea."

"Okay, calm yourself. I'm sure… I'm sure Vito has a plan, we just… we just need to find him," Danny said. "He could be anywhere. We should be worried about him…"

Steve shook his head. "I can't do this with you right now," he snapped moving away from Danny and approaching Wo and Con, who were standing on either side of Jian. "Hey. I got a hypothetical for you Wo. Your wife commits a murder, you taking the fall for her?"

Jian turned wide eyes of surprise first to Steve and then up to Wo who was blinking his eyes at Steve. If he was thrown by the sudden question, he didn't really show it.

"Uh… not sure how to answer that. For clarification… why didn't I get rid of the body or the evidence?"

"You did. It got found."

Wo's eyes narrowed. "Huh… that seems… unlike me…" he said carefully. Then he sighed. "Right, well, if they found the evidence and the body and they were going to gun for Jian, I'd go down for it. Easy. Not even a question really."

Beside him Jian began to beam, she leant into him, her shoulder against her hip and he put an arm haphazardly around her.

"If it's any consolation, I would too," Con said. "I don't have a wife but… I would. If it were my wife. I'd go down for Ro though, and you too, Wo."

"Wow, really?"

"You wouldn't go down for me?"

Wo held the man's gaze. "I don't know. I know I'd definitely break you out of prison though."

Con half shrugged. "Yeah, I'll take that."

Steve however turned back to Danny. "See. See, good husbands take the fall for their wives."

Danny just shook his head. "The lot of you are stupid. I would never go down for my wife. Grace maybe, but not my wife."

"And that's why you're divorced," Steve snapped.

There came a sudden cry and when they turned the saw Rowan come in, both hands under her large baby bump, looking around at the mess her mouth open.

"Oh… oh my god!" she cried. "What… who… who did he hire. A fucking demolition crew?!"

Danny moved towards her. "We understand it looks bad, but we have a problem right now… Vito…"

"VITO!" she shouted on the top of her lungs and Steve moved forward putting hand to the baby bump. He kept telling her to not stress, but that never seemed to stop her.

However, when they turned around there was Vito, walking in through the plastic wrap they used as a door looking much like a child that had been scolded.

Danny went from worried to angry in a heartbeat. "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Jail!" Rowan shouted. "I just paid his bail." She then pointed to Wo who was just standing by his fiancée watching them interact. "Vito, meet my other brother, Wo Fat. Wo… cap him."

Everyone went quiet at that order. All eyes darted between Rowan who was frowning and Wo whose eyebrows had shot up his forehead. He glanced from Rowan to Vito and then shrugged.

"I mean… okay," he said. He moved towards a box and picked up a piece of wood. He turned it over in his hands before dropping it with a "Nope."

Great he was looking for a weapon.

Danny turned back to Rowan. "Nope. No. You, tell him to stop," he ordered but Rowan simply turned her head away from him as if that meant she couldn't hear him. So, he focused in on Vito. "Don't worry, he won't, I won't let him. You, are you okay?"

Behind him Wo picked up a pipe, he looked it over, turned it over in his hand, tested its weight before saying: "Maybe," and putting it back down.

Vito had not taken his eyes off of Wo. "That guy looks serious."

Danny turned to him, watching as Wo picked up a massive socket wrench, repeating the process he had used to test the pipe. His eyes seemed to light up at it.

"Ah, perfect."

Danny's eyes widened and he whirled around, a single finger pointed at Wo like that would deter him. "No. Stop it."

Wo frowned at him. "I don't take orders from you."

"But you'll take orders from Ro?"

"Course. She wouldn't ask me to break someone's kneecaps for no reason. Without that person deserving it," he said. While Rowan whispered is that what capping means? Great. She hadn't even known what it meant!? "And besides. She's terrifying."

"Okay but you're not doing it, so back off."

Wo's eyes turned to Rowan who seemed to be rethinking her order. Then her eyes scanned the destroyed restaurant and shrugged. "Fuck it, have fun Wo."

At that Wo moved forward and Vito scrambled back telling Wo to stay away from him. Like that ever worked on the man.

Danny turned to Rowan. "God damn it. Call him off."

Rowan gestured to the restaurant, and he sighed at her.

"Yes, I get it. it's bad. But we can fix it."

"With what money, Danny?" she cried. "All you got left is my money!"

"We'll figure it out," he cried. He glanced back to his Uncle to see the man tossing pieces of plywood at Wo, who was knocking them out of the air with his socket wrench.

"Okay, come on. You've had your fun, call him off," he said and Rowan shook her head. "Oh my god. Just… come on… please? What… what else could you… the bail? Are you mad cause you had to post his bail."

"Yeah, that's pretty annoying too."

"Why was he even in jail? Huh? Why was he in jail? Something stupid I bet…"

"Bribing a government official," she said. Fuck really? "Liquor license people turned him in."

At that she turned her glare between the two of them. "And which one of you idiots thought waiting until last month to apply for your liquor license was a smart thing to do?"

Danny pointed to Steve just as he hesitantly put up his hand. Disappointment painted Rowan's features, as she took in her husband's guilty face.

"Babe. Really? Okay… okay… the year long wait time… not common knowledge."

Vito scrambled over to them, grabbing Rowan by the shoulders and shielding himself from Wo with her body. The problem was the second he grabbed Rowan, Wo dropped the wrench and pulled his gun. Behind him Con had pulled his own gun, while Steve had yelped, a hand dropping to his own gun.

Danny was the only one who didn't react outside of: "Oh no, don't do that."

Vito's eyes widened taking in the men in front of him, all seemingly ready to shoot him. "Holy shit."

"Just let me go," she said like this was the most normal situation to be in. She then turned to Wo, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Wo… who do you know on the liquor board… and in the zoning office and… I think we're going to need building permits."

"What? Ro I don't have contacts anymore. That's how we got in this mess…"

"Not criminal contacts, business contacts. You still have those don't you?"

Wo's head cocked to the side. "Oh… uh… yeah, I probably still have some of those."

"Well, I need people in those offices that can help us. Preferably people with dirt."

"He has to let you go first," Wo said, pointing to Vito with his gun.

"Seconded," came out of Steve in such a dark growl that Danny was a little surprised he hadn't punched Vito yet.

Vito's hands came off of Rowan's shoulders, and Steve pushed his wife towards Wo, his angry glare staying on Vito.

Behind them Wo put one hand in his pocket, and another hand out to Rowan, ushering her towards the other barstool.

"I'll check my contacts, see what I can dig up," he whispered.

Steve and Danny, however, had turned onto Vito.

"Geeze… what kind of in-laws do you have?" he asked Steve who looked far from impressed.

"The kind you don't fuck around with," Steve snapped.

Vito took in both of their glares and frowned. Finally realizing how mad everyone was at him.

"Look, I messed up. I know. But I can't be expected to carry all the blame. I mean what the hell are you guys thinking anyway? Opening up a restaurant? That's a terrible idea. And then add to the fact that you two know less than nothing about the business cause if you did, you'd know that it's a full-time back-breaking grind just to squeeze out a few bucks profit. Not something you do on the side, you know like some kind of hobby because you know a thing or two about good food. You know any schmuck who watches the food network, he thinks he's an expert. But you're not special," he said to Steve and then turning to Danny. "And you're not even average…"

"Why are you yelling at my husband?" Ro asked appearing beside Steve.

"Seconded," Wo said from the only counter that had been installed. All three men turned to find that Both Con and Wo had their guns out again but were lounging against that counter, guns just casually in their grips. "We don't like your tone."

"Yeah, only we can talk to Steve like that," Con seconded.

"Jesus…" he started and then Rowan was snapping her fingers in her face.

"No… look at me. Eye contact. I need to understand what's happening here now. You, you're working for me now. You owe me now and I am so much worse. That brother," she said pointing at Wo. "Ex-crime boss working for the FBI, and that brother," she said pointing at Con who waved. "An assassin. Not ex-assassin, still working. Both have no problem with violence or death. I can make things happen to you that no one will ever be able to prove aren't accidents. So… I will come up with a number, you will pay me that number and then together we will fix this. And we will do it the way I want it done, not your way. My way. Comprende?"

He glanced first to the brothers, then to Danny and then to Steve.

"I'd agree," Danny whispered. "It's always better to agree when she's like this."

"Sure, yeah, your way. Got it."

"Good. Now be a good boy and tell Danny about that guy and the bathroom remodel you never got a call back for cause you're the reason Danny got shot."

"Wait… what?" Both Danny and Vito said at the first time.

"The guy. Hospital guy. He's from Jersey," Rowan said. "You really don't remember him?"

"No?"

"You sure? The abusive husband. You had an emotional affair with his wife. Helped her escape him, let him beat you up and he went to jail for assaulting a cop?"

"Fuck… Rowan…"

"What?" she cried. "I had been dreaming about Danny being shot for weeks. Neither of you asked for details. I'm done chasing you guys down."

Steve and Danny exchanged glances because she was right. Rowan had been dreaming about Danny getting shot and yet neither of them thought to ask her about it after he had recovered. Why hadn't they thought to ask her?

"Right, now, if you could please give me the number you have for your budget so I can see if I can get a contractor to fix all of this. Hopefully I can get it close to that number."

Danny nodded, quickly writing down the number and then handing her the paper. Rowan walked back and towards Wo, Con and Jian who were all seemingly on the phone already. Look at Rowan, getting shit done.

Danny turned back to Vito, ready for the answer to whatever question he had about the man who had shot him.

All he could think at that moment was thank god for the Ice Queen.