I sat between Antonio and the man who I had met at the mansion who I know is named Julian Ramirez; he is Antonio's and Ricardo's father.

We were on the way to where Lorenzo was supposed to be along with my little jellybean, Nico. It was around 10:30 PM right now and since the place was far away, we would reach there by at least 12:00 AM.

"So you're Xia, huh?" Mr. Ramirez asked, giving me a slight smile.

"I am. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ramirez." I greeted.

"You can call me Julian." He smiled. "Mr. Ramirez makes me feel like an old man."

"Okay." I replied.

"You are an old man." Antonio muttered.

"What was that young man?" Julian asked his son, daring him to say it again.

"Nothing." He replied quickly, scared of his father.

"He said that you were old." Rico butted in.

"Are you kidding me? What have I ever done to you?" Antonio exclaimed.

I chuckled at his outburst. This is nice to watch; I don't have popcorn though...or even Nico to cuddle next to. Damn, I miss him so badly. I don't know how I got through so many hours knowing that he wasn't safe.

Those few hours felt like an eternity but all that got me through was hope. Hope that we would find him. Hope that he was safe. Hope.

"Hey, are you alright?" Antonio asked. Looking up, I was met with three pairs of eyes on me; Rico's, Antonio's and Julian's while Callum drove the car. When did their argument get over?

"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay." I smiled. "Just tired."

"Oh, you can sleep then. We'll wake you up just before we're there. Don't worry." Rico said, giving me a small smile.

"Okay." I nodded. Soon, I felt myself drift off to sleep with one thought in mind: We need to find Nico; I hope he's alright.

"Xia?" Someone shook my shoulder, trying to wake me up.

I hummed, but my eyes shot open when I realized why I was being woken up. We probably reached. I lifted my head up from where it had been resting on. Hold up, there isn't a seat next to me, then what was my head on?

I looked to my side and saw Julian looking at me. Oh my! I was sleeping on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Julian. I didn't mean to-" I quickly apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's fine." He smiled, interrupting me. I smiled sheepishly and muttered an apology under my breath.

He shook his head slightly, "We're almost there."

"Ah, okay." I replied, still feeling a little embarrassed.

"Good Morning, Sunshine!" Antonio teased.

"Morning, Nio." I mumbled, saying a nickname that I had just made up in my head.

My eyes drifted towards Rico and Callum in the front; Rico was dozing off, his head fell in front just a little before he moved it back up while Callum, on the other hand was driving calmly, not looking tired in the slightest way.

"Alright, we're here. San Cristobal Fort." Callum announced, making Rico alert.

I glanced out of the window and to the scenery in front of me. Okay, I didn't know that this place was an actual fortress. We got out of the car, and hid behind the small tree-like boundary that surrounded the fort. I didn't take any more than a second to take in the beauty of this place.

Since it was midnight, all the golden lights shone around the entire fort, showcasing the stunning architecture. Why the heck would they come here out of all the places?

"Okay, they're definitely here." Antonio whispered. I looked at him, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion. How was so sure that they were here? There weren't any cars nor any people around here. He noticed my confusion and pointed at a man near the entrance. "Balaclavas."

Oh, that makes sense.

"It's quite dark and we're not sure how many of them are in there so we'll have to split up. I didn't tell the other men to come in case this was a decoy." Callum spoke, adjusting his holster.

"Alright, yeah. Toni goes along with Dad and Xia with Callum and I." Rico commanded. Nobody defied his instructions, getting ready to hit. They'd been acting as if everything was fine and normal.

Well, maybe because it is normal to them, you butt-head. My conscience reminded me. Oh yeah. They've killed people before too. How silly of me!

I, for one, was scared as hell. I mean, I could literally be walking to my death but I had to do it. For my little jellybean. For Nico.

"Now!" Antonio commanded and before I could comprehend what was going on, I was being dragged, gently might I add, closer to the fort by my arm.

"Xia, you'll have to stay close to us, okay? It's not because we think that you can't handle yourself, because you can. It's so we don't want to take any chances." Rico reminded me.

"Alright." I agreed.

The three of us entered through one of the doors at the back and sneaked into a hallway, guns in hand. The hallway was surprisingly very empty; there wasn't even one person guarding this door. Huh, good for us.

Th inside was as stunning as the outside with golden-yellow walls around, age-old paintings and royally carpeted floors. I would hate to see these carpets get stained if there's any bloodshed that goes down here.

I heard voices speaking in a foreign language which I'm guessing is Italian. Callum took a few steps ahead and stood in front of a painting that was mounted on one of the walls and he motioned for us to walk ahead.

I followed Rico's steps while Callum did the same for mine. He peeked around the edge of the corridor and did some weird hand gestures that went above my head. Understanding his actions, Callum nodded and went ahead, leaving me behind.

In a few seconds, I heard soft thuds that sounded like...bodies dropping. I gasped, my voice hushed. Peeking between the two armed men in front of me, I was met with the sight of at least twelve suited men laying on the ground, blood seeping out of their bodies. I shuddered.

Suddenly, a loud voice spoke, "Sono venuti! "

Not a minute later, a man, who looked to be about twenty years old, stood in front of us. He wore an expensive suit, the black material shone in the light above us. His hair jet black, blue eyes penetrating through my soul.

"Well, well, well." He spoke, his voice deep and evident of the Italian accent. "You came."

Rico and Callum gave him an intense glare, which kinda scared me, if I'm not going to lie. 'Lorenzo' I head one of them mutter, their voice laced with venom. They pointed their firearms at him, ready to shoot but as soon as they did, twenty other men did the same, protecting their leader. Dang it, this man has a FREAKING army!

Just then, the movement from the back of these men caught my eye. I inwardly smiled, looking at the nut job, also known as Toni, and Julian. They stood with pride, blood covering a little of their clothes.

One by one, they shot at the men, their bodies falling to the ground one after the other and before Lorenzo's men could register what had been happening, it was too late. Lorenzo stood, looking around him as his minion fell at his feet.

Frantically, he searched his pockets, probably looking for a gun or a weapon of some sort but it was all in vain. I can't believe he thought that he was dumb enough to roam around without a weapon, thinking that he was safe.

I saw Julian smirk at his rival's struggle. Just as he was about to go closer, Lorenzo yelled, "Stay where you are. If you don't, I'll blow the brains of the little boy."

His sentence angered me. Infuriated me, even. This guy seriously needs help if he's threatening to kill a four year old. I was so close to strutting towards him myself and punching the life out of him but I didn't. Didn't do it due to the fact that he had already been shot. Right in the middle of his forehead.

My eyes widened in surprise and so did everyone's around me. All of them had lowered their guns now, clearly not guilty. If they didn't shoot him, and neither did I, then who the hell did?

My eyes followed the subtle red colored laser that lead to the outside of the fort, landing on a gun and then to the sniper.

And that's when I froze.

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