Tony sat on his bed, his AirPods plugged in and Lily sleeping peacefully on his lap. He had been making plans on how to bring Mehdi to justice with the help of Louis when his phone beeped, telling him that Louis was on the move. He initially ignored it as Louis was always on the move but when he saw where his location was, he took out his AirPods and listened in on their conversation.
At first, he thought it was a part of Louis’s plan to help him out and probably get something on Mehdi but, as he listened in, he realized that he was wrong.
Louis was betraying him a few hours after their conversation.
Not that he didn’t expect it. Men like Louis weren’t to be trusted and he knew that. The only reason he was too bothered initially was because he knew he had Louis’s phone tapped so if he tried to deceive him, he would already be aware.
“Well, that was quicker than expected.” He whispered and chuckled lightly before carefully taking Lily’s head to a pillow and leaving the room.
“Rachael!” He called out, walking towards the kitchen where he guessed she’d be as the aroma of her signature apple pie hit his note.
“Down here!” She yelled back and Tony fastened his footsteps.
“Is everything okay?” She asked, taking the pies out of the oven with her gloved hands.
“Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to get your opinion on something.” He said, walking closer to Pies with a wide smile.
“Don’t touch them, Tony. They are still burning hot.” She said with her back towards him.
Tony gasped and placed a hand on his chest dramatically. “I wasn’t even touching them. How could you accuse me like this? You aren’t even looking at me, how could you say that?” He faked a pained expression, one that had Rachael rolling her eyes.
“I don’t need to look at you to know that you are stealing those pies. I’ve lived with you for almost three decades, young man!” She said and turned only to see Tony reaching out to one of the pies.
“See…” She held her hands out with an ‘I told you so’ look on her face.
Tony hurriedly moved away from the pies and held his hands up. “Fine. I’ll let them be…for now.” He added with a wink.
Shaking her head with a loud sigh, Rachael asked. “You said you wanted my opinion on something. What is it?”
“Right.” Tony nodded. “I don’t think Paris is safe for us anymore.” He started, leaning on the kitchen cabinet.
“I have been thinking and, even if Mehdi does get arrested, he’s the type of person who would still succeed in killing a person despite being in jail. So, I do not know if keeping you, Daisy and Lily here is the best option. I know Mehdi will do anything just to get back at me and the last thing I want is to put any of you in danger.” He added with no sign of hesitation.
Rachel’s expression shifted from worry to sadness. “I love France, Tony. I might have not lived here for so long but I had only started getting used to the city and also making friends since we had to leave New York ten years ago. Now, you’re saying we have to leave now? What happens to everything we have built here?” She asked tiredly, tears welling in her eyes.
“And Daisy? She’ll have to leave her friends and you know how hard it was for her to make friends. Oh, Tony. Do we really have to leave?” She looked at him sadly and he felt a knot in his chest.
He understood Rachael. He was the reason they had to leave New York ten years ago, making her start afresh in a new country and now, he wanted them to move again. Anyone would be annoyed.
But, he needed her to understand that it was a matter of life and death. They were now involved with the most dangerous gang in the country and even worse, the leader wanted to kill him. Staying in the country could put anyone close to him at risk.
As soon as he heard Mehdi and Louis talk about killing him and taking Lily, he didn’t think about any other thing but going far away.
“Rachael.” He reached out to her and touched her arm. “I understand you, I really do. As a matter of fact, you have every right to be angry, sad, frustrated, or annoyed. You shouldn’t have to deal with all of this just because you are my sister but, you must understand that I am doing this because I love you. If I leave without you and he does anything to you, I will never forgive myself. So, I want you to please, understand me, okay?” He said calmly and Rachael let her tears drop before looking away.
“The hospital. What’s going to happen to it?” She asked in a cracked voice, her face still turned to the side.
“I’ll let Aurelie handle it while I join the branch in New York.” He replied and Rachael’s eyes widened, her head turning with a speed that almost sprained her neck.
“New York?! Is that where we’re going?” She asked but Tony couldn’t figure out if she was angry, happy, or just shocked.
“Yeah. We have Harriet and the twins over there and, Evelyn has been handled by the police so, we can live there without being worried about a psycho.” He said, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“Well…” Rachael cleared her throat and grinned. “I am happy we get to return to New York. You know how much I loved that city.”
“I do.” Tony laughed and moved closer to her. “Come here.” He pulled her to himself and wrapped his arms around her.
“I love you, Rachael. I want you to always know this.” He whispered.
“Woah, young man. Don’t scare me.” She chuckled uneasily. “When you say things like that, it makes me think you’re going to a war or something.” She joked.
Deep down, Tony knew he would be putting his life in danger soon just so that he could protect his family including Lily.
As long as he was concerned, she was his family now and he was going to do anything to protect his family.