A/N: Okay, so clearly Enzo and Stella's tango scene is nowhere near the caliber in the video but the dance is amazing and I love this song. It's a dream of mine to learn the Tango. Not to mention being handled around the dance floor by a handsome man. *sigh*

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The gala is in full swing when we arrive.

Women are dressed in gowns ranging from colors and styles, and the men in their tailored, custom suits. The masks also vary in colors and styles, and some are bedazzled with jewels and feathers.

My Uncle ensured that every one of his men had the same mask style, so they were easily identifiable in the mass crowd.

The spacious room is decorated beautifully, with cream and gold color accents. Thin, sheets hang, dipping throughout the ceiling, and the table centerpieces are kept simple but elegant with flower arrangements in short, square, clear glass vases.

The live band is playing mellow, Jazz music as the guests find their seats or exchange easy conversations with acquaintances, associates, and friends they come across.

As an honored guest, my Uncle gave a short speech and thanked everyone for attending, encouraging everyone to be generous in their donations.

I catch JP watching me a few times throughout the night, and a part of me wants to go to him, but I think some space will do us good. Our emotions are too high, and I don't want to say anything I'll regret.

Annalisa and I are ordering drinks at the bar after we spent some time on the dance floor when I feel someone come up behind me. For a moment, I think it's JP until I hear the voice.

"Would you care to dance, signorina?"

I turn around and see a dark-haired man with a mask over his face, and I stare into the familiar golden-hazel eyes.

I realize the mask he's wearing is the same as my Uncle's men. He holds his hand out for me, and I glance at Annalisa, who grins back at me. I take his hand, and he leads me to the dance floor.

"I hoped you wouldn't come tonight, Stella. But now that I see you in that dress, I have to tell you; you look stunning." He turns towards me, bringing me close as he moves his arm around me.

He places his warm hand against my bare back and brings my other arm out as we begin a slow dance. He moves fluidly and guides us across the dance floor easily, in a waltz.

"I told you, my Uncle is taking extra precautions. Speaking of which, where did you get the same mask that my Uncle's men are wearing?"

"Well, I hope it's enough. And...I may have borrowed it." He gives me a playful smirk.

I look up, studying his features as he looks down at me. His eyes through the mask are bright, and a small smile plays on his full lips. "You look like you're trying to figure out a hard math problem."

I laugh loudly and look back up at him. "I'm trying to figure you out. I think I know who you are, but I'm not sure..."

"You do know me, Stella." He breathes out my name. He brings our hands towards his chest while I move my other hand from his shoulder and lightly touch his face.

His eyes close at the contact my fingertips make with his skin. Being this close to him, with actual lighting, I can see a faint scar on the side of his face.

"Is it you, Enzo?" I ask quietly, and his eyes snap open at his name.

"You remembered."

"Of course, I remember. How can I forget? It's been a long time, yes, but your eyes, they are what I remember most about you, well that and the fact that I could kick your ass in a one-on-one basketball game." I tease, smiling.

He chuckles as I place my hand back on his shoulder. "Who's the guy throwing daggers at me? One of your Uncle's men, in the corner."

I look over to where he nods and see JP, definitely looking like he wants to murder someone. The mask only adds to the intensity of his furious glare at us. Even from where I am, I can see the tight grip he has on the glass he's holding and wouldn't be surprised if it shatters in his hands.

I sigh quietly, "JP."

"Friend or no?"

"More than a friend..." I quietly say as I watch JP throws back the drink in his hand, then slam the glass down on the counter as he keeps his dark eyes on me.

"Really? Then why have you only been with your girlfriend the whole night?" He asks me as he spins us around.

"It's complicated." 

Enzo spins me out from him and then pulls me back; he hums in response.

"I may have information on the mole that may be working for your Uncle. Does the name Cassian James Carminati sound familiar to you?"

I shake my head, not recognizing the name. "My Uncle has a lot of men who work for him, though, and I don't know all of them."

He doesn't elaborate further as another song starts; it sounds like a tango, and I begin to pull away from him, but he holds on to me. "One more, please?"

I shake my head chuckling. "Enzo, I don't know how to Tango, I'll mess up, and I don't want to look like an idiot in front of all these people."

"You won't, and that's the great thing about the Tango; you can't mess it up. You just...Tango on." He grins at me. "This isn't ballroom Tango, Stella."

"Okay, but I'm pretty sure this is the wrong dress for that."

Enzo shakes his head at me. "The high slit is perfect for the movement of the dance." I'm still hesitant, but then he lifts my chin with his hand. "Do you trust me?" He looks at me intently, waiting for me to respond, and I nod my head. "Don't think, just move to the music. I'll guide you and tell you what you need to do, if necessary."

I'm nervous as hell, and my heart is pounding against my ribs. He moves slowly and shifts his weight, flicking his feet here and there, expertly.

He moves his hand down and pulls my leg up. "Hook your leg around me."

I gulp as I wrap my leg around him, and he leans over deeply, then pulls us back up. He keeps his head close to mine and moves me around. "I want you to kick your legs out behind you." He grips my hips lifting me out and to the side, and I kick my legs out.

Then he uses his lead leg to pull my front leg where he wants it. He does a few more lifts and easily twirls me around the ballroom. I mirror some of his leg movements, and soon I find myself moving to the music.

Most of the dance floor has cleared for us by now, and everyone is watching us. At one point, he spins me out and away from him, and I look up, and I'm face to face with JP. But I'm immediately pulled back, flushed against Enzo's body, and he moves his hands down my arms.

I'm still facing away from him as JP takes a step towards us, his jaw clenched, but Tony stops him, holding him back by the arm.

By the time the song is over, everyone is clapping around us. Enzo pulls me back up from dipping me low and places a soft kiss on my hand. "Thank you for the dance, Stella. Let's do it again, soon." He smiles at me before walking away.

I'm still catching my breath when my Uncle walks up to me. "Quite the dancer you are, Charmaine. If the pictures on the damn website did a better job of showing the back of that dress or the high slit, I wouldn't have ordered it for you."

A slow smile spreads across my face, knowing he can't get upset at me since he ordered the dress himself. He puts his arm around me and starts to move me across the floor. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that was Furia; you were just dancing with."

"Enzo, Uncle. His name is Enzo, and yes, that was him. I told you he would be here, and he wouldn't hurt me."

"How did he come to wear the same mask as the men?" He looks down at me. Oh boy. But I don't have to answer for him to know, and he talks into this sleeve. "Tobias, run a check on all the men, make sure everyone is accounted for."

I bite my lip, looking at him. "I did say he wouldn't hurt me." He glares down at me.

As the song ends, he walks me back towards Annalisa. I smile as we make our way through the crowd, several people smiling back at me, telling me I'm a wonderful dancer.

Tobias meets up with us, telling my Uncle that one of the men was found knocked out in a supply closet without his mask. My Uncle narrows his eyes at me, and I pull my lips in, raising my eyebrows and turn back towards Annalisa.

"Holy shit, girl! I didn't know you could dance like that!" Annalisa exclaims as I sit next to her.

"Neither did I!" I laugh. She hands me some water, and I take it gratefully. "I'm pretty sure JP wants to murder that handsome stranger, who had his way with you on the dance floor."

"I noticed. Speaking of which, where is JP?" I ask, looking around but don't see him.

"I don't know. He and his dad were arguing, and he stormed out of here afterward. So, tell me, who was he? The guy you were dancing with." Annalisa asks me.

"It's a long story, but someone that I used to know." She watches me thoughtfully before she groans. I turn to see what she was looking at and see Joey making his way over to us.

He leans in close to her. "I may not be a genie, but I can make your dreams come true tonight, beautiful."

Annalisa snorts, looking over at me before turning back to him. "You wouldn't come close, Salvatore."

"So, you're saying there's a chance," Joey responds playfully.

He pulls Annalisa onto the dance floor with him. Eventually, she seems to relax and enjoy herself. I smile as I watch them dance, glad that whatever went on during the recent trip appears to be behind them, for now.

I scan the room, and I'm surprised; I still don't see JP.

A few of my Uncle's men sit or stand around me. Maybe Tony assigned him to a different area of the event.

Overall, the event seemed like it was a success. The Emcee stated the donations surpassed the goal by over $900,000 more than last year.

Annalisa and I are waiting outside, and most of our group is spread out as other guests are waiting for their cars to be brought up front.

Annalisa's parents left the event an hour ago, but she stayed, wanting to stay with me.

As we wait for our car, I tell her I don't want to continue avoiding JP, and I decide to call him after I still couldn't find him. I figure he needs to have my new number anyway. As I scroll through the contacts list, I accidentally hit my dad's name as it's right by JP's "drama queen" contact name.

I'm about to end the call quickly when the familiar ring of my dad's phone reaches my ears, over the chatter of the crowd.

I end the call soon, chalking it up to a mere coincidence.

But I can't let a nagging feeling go, and I decide to hit my dad's number again. My heart stops when I hear the familiar ring again, and I start walking towards the sound as my heart begins to race. I am shocked when I find the source.

I don't believe it; why would he have my dad's phone.

I watch as he converses with a couple of the men. The ringing finally seems to catch his attention as he turns away from the men, and I watch as he pulls a phone out of his pocket.

He looks at it, frowning, before turning and sees me standing there. He smiles at first but then sees my phone in my hand. His face registers my shocked face, and he silences the phone before putting it back in his pocket. I back up slowly as he walks towards me, and I watch him draw his gun out as he continues to advance on me.

With my focus only on Jimmy, I'm not aware as another man standing near the curb of the street pulls a gun out too, until it was too late.

I vaguely hear JP yell out for me, but then the bullets pierce through the night.

Something slams into me; and the air leaves my lungs as I fall on top of someone. Several more pops of bullets are heard, mixed in with screams of terror. My ears are ringing as I look down and see Enzo under me, his mask still on.

"Stella!" He breathes. "Are you okay, are you hit?" I finally register what he's saying and shake my head, and I look down to make sure I'm not. "Get to Timo; you need to leave right now." He moves me aside and helps me stand. I look around for Jimmy, but I don't see him.

"Jimmy...where is Jimmy?" I scan the crowd frantically.

"You mean, JP?" Enzo asks me.

"No, Jimmy. I was calling JP but hit my dad's number, and I heard his ring. Jimmy had my dad's phone on him, Enzo."

His eyebrows crease. "Are you sure, Stella?"

"It was my dad's phone, Enzo. So maybe he's the mole; he pulled his gun and started walking towards me, then the gunshots started, and you knocked me out of the way."

"What does he look like?" I give him a description of Jimmy. He looks at me again before disappearing into the crowd.

I see Annalisa sitting up, looking around, terrified, tears falling down her face. I run towards her, pulling her up and hug her. I make sure she's okay.

I see the gunman lying on the sidewalk, a bullet in his head and a few in his chest.

Annalisa screams and I look back at her. "Charmaine! JP, he's... he's..."

My eyes follow where Annalisa is pointing and see JP lying on the ground, not moving. I stumble in my shoes, running to get to him quickly.

Tears blur my vision.

No, no, no. Not JP. Please! I rip the suffocating mask off my face as I fall next to him.

"JP! Please, no! JP!" His eyes are closed, and I see blood pooling near his side. My hands shake as I reach for him, pulling his mask off. "JP, please open your eyes!" I see a bullet hole on his shirt, but when I touch him, I can feel the kevlar he's wearing underneath.

But where is the blood coming from?

"Help! Someone, please help me!" I scream out desperately. Annalisa comes to my other side.

I turn back to JP, and I start sobbing. "Please wake up, baby. Please, JP!" I cry out for him.

Tony runs up on the other side of JP, calling out for his son. He rips JP's shirt open and checks the vest. The bullet didn't go through, but he's wondering where all the blood is coming from as well.

Tony then tears at JP's jacket sleeve, then the shirt sleeve, which is soaked in his blood. Finally, as he rips it further up his arm, we see the wound.

"Thank god, it's just a graze." Tony sighs, bowing his head. "But he needs to be stitched up; it's pretty deep."

"Why isn't he waking up, Tony?" I ask, crying. I touch JP's face, pushing his hair back, wishing his beautiful brown eyes were looking back at me.

"He must have hit his head from the impact of the shots." He tells me. "We need to get him home, Charmaine. The Dr will check him out there."

"Doesn't he need a hospital?" Annalisa asks.

"No, Timo has a Dr. on call; he'll visit the house." I watch as he ties a portion of the sleeve around JP's arm, securing it tightly against the wound. Joey comes around the other side, helping Tony lift JP, carrying him into the waiting SUV.

I'm sobbing as I watch them put him in the back of the car and drive away. I feel an arm around me. "He'll be okay, Char. Let's go, so you can be there when he wakes up." Annalisa tells me. 

"I need to find my Uncle first."

Tobias runs over to us and takes us to the next SUV, and my Uncle gets in the front seat. I tell my Uncle about Jimmy and my dad's phone. He shares a look with Tobias. After that, my Uncle is on his phone, giving out orders in Italian, and stays on his phone the entire ride home.

When we drop Annalisa off at her house, I hug her and tell her I will call her tomorrow, updating her on JP. I watch as her father hugs her tightly, who was waiting for us. He nods at my Uncle before he guides her into their home. The tears have not stopped the whole way home, thinking of JP and how lifeless he looked.

When we get home, I follow my Uncle to JP's room. Joey is waiting outside the door and tells us the Dr. was able to get JP to wake up, and he's putting stitches in his arm from the bullet graze, but other than the large bruise on his side and concussion, he's fine.

I hug Joey, grateful to hear the good news. "He was asking about you the whole time; he thought you got hit," Joey tells me as he hugs me in return. "It took the Dr. threatening to sedate him for him to calm down finally." He chuckles, and I smile through my tears as well.

The door opens, and the Dr. steps out with Tony and reiterates everything Joey just told us. "I gave him some stronger medicine for the pain as he had to get stitches, and he may have a broken rib or two from the impact of the bullet on the vest; it's hard to say. But I'll do a more thorough exam tomorrow, to be sure."

"He needs to rest tonight. However, he does have a concussion, so I recommend someone wake him up every couple of hours. Also, keep an eye on his behavior, check for irritability. If his speech becomes slurred, that's something you'll want to take him in for right away, but I think he will be fine and make a full recovery in about a week or two, maybe less, depending on what I see with his ribs tomorrow."

My Uncle thanks the Dr. and walks him out, and I turn to Tony. "Can I please stay with him tonight, Tony? I'll make sure to wake him up every couple of hours."

Tony looks at me for a moment before telling me I can. "Can I go in and see him?" He nods again, and I take a deep breath as I reach for the handle and turn it.

His room is dark, except for the light coming from his bathroom. I step in further and close the door behind me. I walk over to his bed and see he's still in his dress pants but shirtless. His arm is bandaged and in a sling. I see his eyes are closed as I get nearer.

"JP?"

I start crying as he looks at me, confused for a moment. I can't stop myself as I throw myself at him, momentarily forgetting about his ribs, and I move back quickly when he hisses in pain. "I'm so sorry, JP! I forgot about the bruise or broken ribs you might have."

He groans. "It's okay, Char. Get over here. I need to hold you, please."

I make my way around on the other side of his bed, I climb in and sit next to him, and I lean in and kiss him.

"JP, I'm so sorry for being so mad. I shouldn't have pushed you away." I sob into his chest. He hushes me quietly as he rubs my head with his other hand.

"You had every right to be mad at me, Charmaine. I've been a complete ass to you lately. I'm sorry for how I treated you, and I'm sorry I broke your phone, too."

"JP, when I saw you were lying there, and the blood, I thought you were—"I sob, not able to say it. He holds me tight with his one arm. "You wouldn't open your eyes when I called out to you," I tell him.

"It's okay; I'm here, baby."

"I can't lose you too, JP." I look up at him and touch his face. He turns to kiss my hand. "I love you, John Paul. I love you so much."

"I love you, Char." He leans over and kisses me slowly, but I'm desperate for him to know how I feel about him and move my lips eagerly over his.

I continue to pepper him with kisses, "I told your dad that I'm staying with you tonight, to wake you up every 2 hours per the doctor's orders. I just want to change, is that okay?"

He nods in response, "Of course."

"Okay, I'll hurry." I slide off his bed.

"I'll be here." He smiles at me.

After rushing to my room, I get out of the dress and shoes. I wash my face clean of the smeared mascara and makeup, and I brush out my hair, pinning it up. I stare at my reflection in the mirror in my room, smiling, ready for this next step.

I look over the sheer, yellow lingerie I'm wearing and slip my robe over it as I make my way back to JP's room. More than ever, I want to be with him in every way possible tonight; my heart rate quickens at the thought of us making love for the first time.

I carry my heels, so they don't echo through the hallway and let out a breath as I reach his door, grateful I didn't run into anyone.

I slip the shoes on as I stand outside of his door and take a deep breath as I turn the handle and walk-in.

~~~~~

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