With a heavy sigh, he reaches to his nightstand and does the first thing he has every morning ever since sneaking his number into Dawn’s new purse on the plane ride back from Japan. Checks to see if she’s text messaged him.
But no new messages. At least not from Dawn. Just the usual late-night one from Han. A simple checkmark emoji to indicate that he was okay. It was part of their deal to let him stay down there in enemy territory after the second falling out with Kuang.
Han insisted that he could take care of himself with just the handful of men Victor had sent over to protect him. But in exchange, Victor told him that he would need to check in every day.
Han seemed to be taking that edict somewhat literally. Ever since that conversation, he and Phantom had awoken to a simple checkmark on the group text. An emoji assurance that he’d gotten through another day without an attack from Kuang or his snakehead son.
Kuang…
Yet another reason Victor needs Dawn to come back to him. She’s safe with the Ferraros. He'll give her that. But he won't be able to rest easy until she’s under his roof. The need to protect her has been burning inside of him even hotter since their first August date for reasons he cannot explain.
But will she come back to him?
Today that question will finally be answered. It’s Friday. One more date. One more chance to convince her that he is her only path forward.
She hasn’t been in contact about Yinz Entertainment. But she also hasn’t demanded that he sell it to some other party and leave her out of it altogether. So that’s something.
He has a good feeling about how today will go. He’ll not only be on his best behavior, but he’ll also figure out a way to show her what a good life he can provide. She'll come back to him. Now that he knows she didn’t betray him, they can reset fully restored. And it will be even better than it was during their short peace in the spring.
Yes, it might take a while for her to trust in him as completely as she did in Japan. Also, he’ll need to disappear that burner of hers and get her back on a phone he can monitor. He’ll also need to revisit the deal with Luca Ferraro and make sure Amber oversees it so that there will be a conflict of interest in place should Dawn ever try to seek refuge with them again.
But eventually, she’ll fall back into line, and it would be as if the last ten years never happened.
With that in mind, Victor dresses in a T-shirt, jeans, and a blazer. It’s the best he can do, considering that he has no idea what today's date will entail.
“What time are we leaving?” Victor asks as soon as he comes downstairs to the main dining room.
Phantom pauses in the middle of eating his usual American lumberjack breakfast. “I texted that mean lawyer last night to get the deets, and she just texted back that she didn't have any details to send as far as she knew.”
“What does that mean?” Victor demands, alarm bells going off. He assumed Phantom had been in contact just like the other two weeks.
Phantom shrugs. “No idea. I thought maybe you knew. Did your woman text you about any plans or whatever?”
A terrible feeling courses through Victor as he admits, “No.”
And Phantom seems to be speaking Victor’s fear out loud when he says, “You sure this date is actually happening? Like, you told her she could pick. Maybe she decided the third date should be no date at all.”
All Victor’s earlier optimism disappears in a blink. If she had opted out of the date, she would be in violation of their agreement, he decides right then and there.
“Text Amber back,” Victor signs to his cousin. “Tell her we'll be there at noon. And we expect for Dawn to join us.”
Phantom hauls out his phone. “Have I mentioned how glad I am this shit is going to be over this weekend one way or the other?”
Victor doesn’t answer, just fumes at the prospect of Dawn really thinking she could so easily get out of their last date.
But then, one of the men from their ground patrol comes into the kitchen. “Hey, Boss. A woman just got dropped off at the gate. She says she’s here for some kind of date with you or something?”
Instead of answering, Victor rushes past the messenger and out the front door.
Then he breaks into a run when he gets outside and sees the lone figure on the other side of the front gate.
It’s Dawn. This time she’s come to him, just like in Japan. And she waves happily when she sees him, just as she would have back then.