25. FUSION
TWENTY-FIVE
fusion
Pippa
The warehouse is quiet in the way I like it—humming softly with power, alive only with machines that do exactly what they’re told.
Unlike the idiots in Washington I’m surrounded by all day.
I’m alone in my lab, hair twisted up, sleeves pushed to my elbows as I measure compounds into a vial.
The smell is sharp, chemical. Familiar. Comforting, even, in its own way. Control lives here.
I think about last night more than I mean to—how sleeping between Enzo and Hudson didn’t feel strange or dangerous or complicated. We didn’t do anything; we didn’t need to. We just slept.
I remember waking slowly, disoriented for half a minute, then realizing exactly where I was. Tangled and warm, Hudson solid at my back, Enzo’s arm heavy across my waist like it had always belonged there. Safe. Content.
A new feeling for me.
They took care of me. Last night, this morning. Food, coffee, warm caresses. It was easy. No questions. No pressure. Just presence. Then, they drove me home like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I’ve had a smile on my face all day. And that’s just unnatural.
I think my colleagues were concerned. It was easier at the senator’s office today.
The gala was the main focus, as it’s only three days away.
I wasn’t sure whether my anxiety would spiral again, and it wasn’t completely gone, but some of the weight has lifted.
I know that whatever happens in the next few days, I’m not alone. I’ve always had my sisters, but expanding the circle feels much better than I imagined.
A heavy knock at the warehouse door interrupts the low hum of the space and my thoughts. I glance up, already smiling. I check the cameras and buzz them in.
Enzo and Hudson step inside like they’ve always belonged here, too—jackets off, sleeves rolled, eyes on me. Something loosens in my chest at the sight of them.
“You’re early,” I say, grinning.
“We missed you,” Hudson says easily, eyes sparkling.
Enzo smirks. “I wanted to see you at work.”
I laugh and cross the lab. They don’t crowd me, don’t rush.
Hudson leans in to kiss my temple.
Enzo’s hand settles at my lower back, warm and grounding, before kissing my cheek.
I step back and gesture to the bench. “Come on, I’ll show you where I’m at.”
“I didn’t know I had a sexy scientist fantasy, but, fuck, baby, I do now,” Hudson teases.
I wink at him and then walk them through the setup. The vials labeled in my shorthand, testing strips, a small array of devices all laid out with deliberate spacing.
“I’ll be wearing this,” I explain, lifting a slim ring from its case. “Custom housing. Hollow band. Pressure-release mechanism.”
I twist the solitaire gem slightly. A fine needle slides out of the band, barely visible.
“He won’t feel the needle prick him?” Enzo asks, seeming impressed.
“It won’t entirely penetrate his skin. It only has to make contact. The absorption rate is fast. It doesn’t take much.”
“Really? That’s… Wow, shit, okay,” Hudson laughs. “That’s impressive, babe.”
“We didn’t really get into this last night, but can someone else deliver this deadly handshake?” Enzo asks. “Does it have to be you? I mean Hudson, Jules, and—”
I raise my hand. “It has to be me. Logistically, I’ve already worked out the introduction. I need to do this—I need to put this behind me and move on.”
They both accept my answer. I can tell they don’t like it, but they aren’t pushing back.
I place the ring back in its case.
“So,” I say lightly, “what’s the plan tonight?” I eye the bag in Hudson’s hand.
He sets the paper bag onto the counter. “Dinner. Hope you like sushi.”
“Who doesn’t like sushi?” I respond in mock horror.
“Good, because Enzo ordered the whole damned menu,” he jokes.
Enzo’s cheeks flush as he sets the food out. “I didn’t know what you liked.”
“Thank you. This looks great.”
We move over to the lounge area to eat. Sitting on the couches, sharing bites, stealing smiles. Easy, flirty, and familiar in a way that feels new and exciting.
“You’ll never believe where Luna and I went on FBI business today,” Hudson says after a few bites. “Redline Solutions.”
“Uh oh,” I say, “now Jules is on the FBI’s radar?”
“She’s certainly on Jax Novak’s radar,” he says with a sly smile.
I let out a small laugh, more relief than anything. “I’ve never met Jax. What’s he like?”
“Pretty dreamy,” Hudson answers.
Enzo clears his throat. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t worry, hot stuff, he only has eyes for Jules.”
Enzo rolls his eyes.
“Really?” I ask. “So, you think he’s still interested in her?”
“Oh yeah.” Hudson takes a bite and wiggles his eyebrows.
“Huh. Interesting.” I file that away. “I should check in with Jules later.”
“You should,” Hudson agrees. “She seemed less than pleased the FBI and her ex-lover showed up unannounced to her office.”
“Also…either of you know what’s going on with Eva and Luna?” I ask.
They exchange a look.
“No,” Enzo admits. “I haven’t asked. Eva doesn’t share a lot with us about her dating life. I think she thinks we’re overprotective or something.”
I choke out a laugh. “Does she now? I can’t imagine why she thinks that.”
“No fucking clue,” Hudson says innocently.
They both shrug.
I smile faintly. “Last I heard, they were planning a date.”
They both seem surprised by that revelation.
Enzo’s eyebrows rise and his grin turns sharp. “Interesting.”
The conversation drifts into everyone’s activities for the day and our thoughts on the budding relationships around us.
While we tidy after our meal, Enzo asks quietly, “What happens after Troy?”
The question lands heavier than expected, but I know what I want to do. “I want to quit Cramden’s office,” I say without hesitation. “I need a break from all of it.”
“Good,” Hudson says immediately.
Enzo agrees.
“You do?” Their encouragement surprises me.
“With Troy and McCarter gone, DC is going to be a mess. We should all take a break,” Enzo says, which only surprises me more.
“The remaining marks from Maribel aren’t in DC, necessarily—there are celebrities, corporate types, foreign dignitaries—but I don’t think working for a senator will be necessary after Troy is gone.”
“I think you’re right,” Enzo says. “And if there are more politicians to take down, any one of us can gain access. You don’t have to keep burning the candle at both ends.”
Hudson exhales. “I want out of the Bureau.”
I blink. “Hudson—”
Enzo shifts toward him. “Really?”
“I hate the double life. I hate the people, the corruption. I know it helps you and Eva,” he says, looking at Enzo, “and I’ll stay—”
Enzo’s jaw tightens. “No. Neither of you should have to play these roles anymore. Fuck, I don’t even think I want to keep running the family business, either.
Not like this. I don’t want to launder money for these sick fucking men.
They are all even worse than I knew. I won’t be complacent in the trafficking and abuse of anyone. ”
A heavy silence settles between us. But maybe it’s hopeful, too?
“What would we do if we weren’t doing this?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood.
Enzo rubs his jaw. “Hm. Not sure I’ve ever given it enough thought, to be honest.”
“What if we weren’t surrounded by all this darkness? What if our lives weren’t mapped out for us before we were born? What do you think you would have done with it?” I ask.
He takes a moment to answer, but eventually says, “Art.”
I quirk a brow.
Enzo chuckles. “I don’t have a single artistic skill. I’ve never painted or anything like that, but as a kid, I loved to doodle the world around me. I would have liked to learn more about art.”
“Tall, dark, broody artist. I like it,” I say rubbing his arm, smiling at him.
“Yeah, that’s fucking hot,” Hudson adds.
“And what about you, pretty boy?” I ask.
“Oh, I wanted to be Lorenzo Luciano, Senior when I was a kid. I idolized him,” Hudson says with a big smile.
Enzo laughs. “You really did.”
“The power, the respect. I envied it while we were growing up.”
“Me too,” Enzo admits, almost regretfully.
“What was he like?” I ask.
They look at each other, smiles crossing their faces as memories flash behind their eyes.
Enzo answers. “He had a tall, imposing presence—always serious or stressed—but he wasn’t scary or mean.
Not to us. He was kind to his men, to his family.
Always fair, but also not caught up in stupid stuff.
He never made us feel like we couldn’t be kids.
He thought our rebellions as teens were funny and necessary for growing up and growing wiser. ”
“Remember when Gabriella found us drunk the first time we skipped school?” Hudson asks.
Enzo laughs loudly. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard him laugh like that before.
“Gabriella?” I ask.
“Enzo and Eva’s mom. His parents always insisted I call them by their first names, instead of the formal Mr. and Mrs. Luciano. So, we’re in high school and we decide to skip one day. It’s important to know, Enzo was kind of a dork—”
“A dork?” he protests.
“I mean, you were hot, don’t get me wrong, but yeah, you followed all the rules and made good grades and shit.”
“You had better grades than me.”
“I was smarter than you. Still am. But I wasn’t a dork.
” They both laugh. “Anyway, I talked him into skipping school and stealing some liquor from his dad’s stash.
After a day of wandering around, literally doing nothing, we found our way back to the mansion drunk.
Gabriella found us and she was so worried Lorenzo would be angry.
It was like the first time Enzo was really going to be in trouble, you see. He was such an obedient little boy.”
Enzo rolls his eyes.
“Anyway, when Lorenzo got home, he thought it was the funniest thing that we were drunk. He kind of interrogated us, to see if we had done anything to be concerned about, tried to freak us out a little, but overall, was entertained by our antics.”
“I guess when you see the real evils in this world, some teenage boys drinking on a school day isn’t a big deal.” Enzo has a look of admiration on his face as he speaks.