Chapter 12

Aurora

When Lorenzo and I get back home, the house feels entirely too empty. It's not very often that we're not all under the same roof over night. From the entryway, there is an archway to the left that leads to the office and bathroom, straight ahead are the stairs, and the archway to the right takes you to the living room. Lorenzo goes to the right, so I follow him, deep in thought.

Next year, we plan on knocking the wall down that separates the kitchen from the living room since we all clearly love open concepts. His phone rings and he steps into the kitchen to take the call while I make my way to the couch. It's been an extremely long, exhausting day. The only thing I want to do for the next few days is relax, but judging from Enzo's shouts in the kitchen, it doesn't seem like that's in the cards for any of us. His shouting stops abruptly as I look at the clock on the wall.

It's almost midnight, but the weight of everything that happened today is going to make it impossible for my brain to shut off.

A few moments later, Enzo storms upstairs. He didn't tell me to follow, so I grab one of the blankets off the back of the couch and pull it around me. Once I'm comfortable, my eyes immediately get heavy and start to drift shut.

A loud bang startles me awake. Looking at the clock again, I realize I've been asleep for almost forty five minutes. Luna comes to the couch, crawling in behind me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, sleepily. "I thought you were staying at the hotel with Mateo."

"Change of plans." She kisses the side of my face, brushing some of my hair back. "Something big must be happening in Italy, but Teo didn't want to discuss it until we're all together. Let's go see what it is."

She stands, offering me her hand. Grabbing it, I stand up, stretching my arms and legs out. Either that little nap must have really helped, or my adrenaline is picking up in anticipation of this conversation. Either way, I start toward the kitchen to talk to the guys. "I'll be there in two minutes." Luna announces. "I have to pee so bad my back teeth are floating." She heads in the opposite direction toward the bathroom.

When I reach the doorway to the kitchen, I can hear Mateo whispering something. He sounds worried, so I slowly inch closer, hoping they won't hear me coming. As soon as I'm close enough to hear what they're saying, my heart sinks.

"Bringing Leo to the states would put him right on Mathias' radar."

"What if he's already on the fucking radar, Zo?"

I take a few steps back and try to breathe, but it doesn't seem to be working. My throat feels tight and all of a sudden I'm nauseous. With shaking hands, I walk into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge, downing the entire thing while the guys watch me. "Hey, what's wrong?" Enzo places his hand on the small of my back, looking me over with his intense gaze.

"Nothing." I swallow the lump in my throat and reach for another water.

"Okay, let's talk about the problem." Luna demands, pulling out a stool at the island. "It better be fucking good too, I was on a mini vacation."

"You're going to want to sit down for this, Peach." Mateo declares, worry written all over his handsome face. His usually sharp features appear somewhat softened at the moment, which only adds to the worry building deep in my stomach.

Stepping away from Enzo, I sit on the stool right next to Luna.

"We're going to have to go to Italy for a bit." Teo states, looking between Luna and I.

"Hard pass." Luna rolls her eyes. "I'm not going back there."

"Why?" I question him. There has to be a damn good reason that he wants us to go back. The fact that he mentioned Leo still has my heart twisting, but I know I can't bring him up right now, especially in front of Luna.

"Mathias has started trafficking women." Teo sighs, putting his hands on the counter. "Two types of women, specifically," he continues. "Short brunettes, and wavy red heads."

"Where is he taking them from?" Luna seethes, her eyes narrowing on Mateo.

"States surrounding Pennsylvania." Enzo interjects. "It seems like he's taunting us. We just have to figure out why."

"He's not stupid, Mateo." I blurt out, my mind still running a hundred miles an hour. "He knows there's no way in hell that you'd go back to Italy and leave us here. So, I'm with Luna. I'm not going back."

"She has a good point, Teo." Enzo agrees. "He would never expect us to leave them here. It might be best if we hire extra security and leave them here while we figure out what game he is playing."

"If that's what the two of you want, I'll make the call and have more men here by morning. We need to head out right away though; this isn't something we can drag our feet about." Mateo comes around the island, kissing Luna, then me. "You two head upstairs while Enzo and I make some calls. I'll text Greg to make sure he's aware that there's going to be more guys when he gets here."

Luna and I say our ‘good nights' to the guys, kissing them both quickly before we go.

Opening my eyes in the morning is quite difficult. I glance around the room, shocked to be all alone in here. When I roll over and tap my phone, the screen lights up showing that it's eleven o'clock. Panicked that I slept this late, I toss the blankets back and jump from the bed. Rushing through the house, I spot Greg sitting at the island with a man I've never met before.

"Did they leave already?" I interrupt their conversation.

"Yeah," Greg nods, "they left around seven."

"Did Luna change her mind and go with them?"

"Gross." She says from behind me, making me jump. "They left us a little love note, the sappy fucks." She smiles as she hands me the paper. I really wish they would have said goodbye in person, not on a piece of paper, but I'll take what I can get.

Luna and Aurora,

We're really sorry that we had to leave so early in the morning, but we really hope that you can both understand the urgency. As usual, we're not sure how much we can communicate while we're gone. The new security guards have been given the run down on what's going on. I know that both of you are independent and capable of looking after yourselves, but for the love of all that is holy, don't leave the house without at least four guys. If you leave together, take eight. There will be no less than twenty men at the house at all times. We love you both and can't wait to be home and done with this shit.

Mateo and Lorenzo

I fold the note back up and place it on the island. This kitchen was one of the first things Luna and I fell in love with, on the inside anyways. We were happy as can be when Mateo told us he bought the house. It's large and modern, but still has an old school charm. It's one of those homes that normal people drive past and think ‘Damn. I would hate to be the one cleaning that place.'

The kitchen feels unusually large today, but I know it's just because I'm missing the guys already.

"Fuck yes, he's back!" Luna shouts as she runs from the kitchen.

"Who's back?" I call out to her, but she doesn't respond. A few moments later, she returns with a massive man whose arms are loaded with grocery bags.

"Aurora, this is Gordon." She proudly announces. "He doesn't talk much, but he says he's a wizard in the kitchen."

"Chef Gordon?" I raise a brow at her and chuckle. "Seriously?"

"Ironic, isn't it?" She laughs as she takes a seat at the island. "He's going to cook brunch for us while he's here."

"Why exactly is he here?" Sitting on the stool next to her, I give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Did they hire a random ass chef for us? Like we can't cook for ourselves?"

"I'm here for security." Gordon clears his throat before continuing. "When I retired from the army, I became a chef, but I still do odd security jobs from time to time."

"Oh." The math is mathing, because everything about this man SCREAMS military; from his buzzcut, to the shirt tucked into his khaki shorts.

"Do you want us to put all these things away?" Luna asks, pointing to the grocery bags spread along the counter.

"I can manage, I'm sure." His blue eyes shine when he looks at the two of us. "I'll get it done and start on lunch. I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Let's go see if we can get in touch with Nyx yet." I roll my eyes, amused. "They should be done fucking by now."