I was sitting at the kitchen bar, pouring myself a bowl of cereal when the doorbell rang. Tank immediately left his bed and came to my side; without thinking, I took hold of his tail. Enzo put down the coffee pot and opened the door after looking at the screen to his security camera.

"Morning kid!" Fiero waved at me happily. "Hey boss." He added, significantly less enthusiastically. My Enzo glared at him. He plopped down in the barstool next to mine and stole a handful of my dry cereal right out of my bowl. I giggled and swatted his hand away. Tank relaxed after deciding I wasn't in danger and returned to his bed.

"So, what brings you here so early?" Enzo asked somewhat grumpily with his arms folded across his broad chest.

"I just wanted to come by and tell you some things I've heard at the office." Fiero's joking tone was gone now. He brushed the cereal crumbs off of his hands and leaned forward on the counter.

"What things?" Enzo's voice was low. I felt like I was intruding on a private conversation. I kept my head low and focused my attention on separating the marshmallows from my cereal.

"There is some...concern about the Russians." Fiero's voice was tentative.

"They think I'm going soft." It wasn't a question. "They're questioning how I'm running things?" His temper grew as his sentences progressed.

"I don't know how you got that from what I just said but yes. Yes, they are." Fiero rushed. "Look, I just think you should call a meeting, come down to the office and address the troops, that's all."

"Look, I'll go in next week. I don't want to leave her here on her own. It's only been a couple days since the attack." Enzo gave me a once over, just like he did a thousand times a day to make sure I was okay.

I wrung my hands in my lap. You're always getting in the way Nora. "If you need to go to work, I'll be okay here with Tank. You don't have to worry about me." I tried to be convincing. I tried not to show how desperately I feared being away from him.

"Just bring her with us." Fiero offered offhandedly. Enzo sighed.

"Do you want to come with us sweetheart?" he sounded exasperated. I fidgeted in my seat, not meeting his eyes. It didn't seem like he wanted me to go.

"Whatever is easiest for you both. I don't want to get in the way." I felt a bit of anxiety at the thought of going to an unknown place full of unknown people, but I knew I would prefer it over being away from my Enzo.

"Why don't you eat your breakfast and then go upstairs and get dressed." He kissed my forehead and went upstairs to get dressed I assumed.

I picked at my cereal quietly, but I didn't have much of an appetite anymore. "What's going on kiddo?"

I peeked up at Fiero nervously. "Fiero, what should I wear?" I felt ridiculous fretting over this, but I didn't want to embarrass either of them at their office. He laughed and I felt even more ridiculous.

"Just wear anything. Trust me, no one is going to care." He finally said when he got done laughing at me.

Well that was unhelpful.

I looked in my closet and decided to go safe. I put on a pencil skirt with a simple white blouse and ballet flats. I debated wearing high heels, but I wanted to be able to run away if the need arose again. I didn't want to be useless if another incident occurred. I put my hair in a low ponytail to try and look somewhat presentable.

We ended up driving for nearly an hour, right into the heart of the city. Enzo pulled into a parking garage of a huge skyscraper.

"Your office seems a little conspicuous for the mafia." I commented. They both just chuckled in response.

"What are you talking about kid? We're just a humble shipping company." Fiero grinned.

"We ship products for manufacturers all over the world, and we may or may not slip in our own products into the shipping crates. It's how we get our goods to our buyers. Besides, we only work in four floors of this building, so seems more impressive than it is." Enzo explained. I briefly wondered what kind of things they shipped illegally, but I didn't ask. It wasn't any of my business.

We took an elevator from the parking garage up to the lobby. It was bustling with people and I took a step closer to Enzo. My hand itched to grab hold of the back of his suit jacket, but I didn't want to seem like a baby. Behind the front reception desk sat a beautiful blonde. She stood and greeted the two men by name. Her eyes lingered slightly on Enzo. She was dressed in a tailored suit and had stilettos that made her legs look like they went on forever. Her hair was styled well and her lipstick made her lips look like rose petals. I glanced down at my own conservative shoes and fidgeted. Maybe I should have worn those heels Rosie had gifted me. That was the kind of woman that Enzo should be with. I kept my eyes trained on the black marble floor and followed the men to the elevators. It was like being at the restaurant all over again. There women had a way of making me feel two inches tall.

"Why doesn't Nora wait in your office until the meeting is over?" Fiero suggested once we got the fifth floor.

"We had a rat and I don't know how many more there could be. She stays with us." Enzo replied curtly.

"I'll wait in your office. I don't want to be in the way." I said quietly tugging on the back of his jacket.

He knelt down to meet my eye level. "You are never in the way baby girl. Your place is always going to be right next to me. Do you understand?"

My heart fluttered at his words. I only nodded in response, not trusting myself to be able to string together a sentence.

The conference room we entered was already full of men. They were all dressed immaculately and looked to be in good shape. Enzo sat at the head of the table while Fiero pulled me to sit next to him in the row of chairs along the side wall. I could feel their eyes following me, but what made it even more uncomfortable was the fact that everyone was completely silent. No one was talking. No one was tapping their foot. Nothing.

"Now, we all know about the incident that happened three days ago at one of our restaurants." Enzo's voice boomed through the room. "We are the most successful mafia group in this region because of how tight our family bonds are. Recently, our family has been infiltrated. I know that doesn't settle well with any of you."

This Enzo was different than the Enzo he was in our home. This man was here to talk business and nothing else. His demeanor was cold and confident and the way he was speaking, I knew everyone was absorbing every word that came out of his mouth.

Looking around the room, one face stood out to me in particular. A man sat towards the back of the room had his eyes locked onto me. He was glaring at me. I looked away to avoid his stare. Fiero shot me a questioning look but I just gave him a small smile, reassuring him.

Enzo was still talking but I wasn't listening anymore. I could only think about the man trying to burn me alive with his stare. My knee was bouncing nervously but I just sat silently, trying to figure out what I possibly could have done to wrong this man. This man had that look in his eye that I was well familiar with. He wanted to hurt me. The only thing keeping me in this seat was the fact that Enzo would stop him before he could get to me and Fiero would be there to back him up. I smiled internally at that thought. I had grown to trust them so much in such little time.

"The Russian filth has threatened me and mine, which means they've threatened each of you. What are we going to do about it?" Enzo demanded, banging his fist on the table.

"We get rid of the girl!" the man who I had noticed shouted from the back of the room. Everyone's eyes were trained on me again and I suddenly became very interested in the hem of my skirt. "We all know the Russians were after her. She's making you weak Lorenzo and when you're weak, the family is weakened." Quiet murmurs filled the room.

You're a burden. You only cause problems. Enzo could never want you. You knew they were after you. You should have left a long time ago. You're not important to him or anyone. You're nothing.

"You're nothing but a pain in my ass!" Uncle screamed. "No one could ever love you. Your parents died just to be rid of you!"

I was nothing. The voice in my head was right. It would be better if I just disappeared.

Suddenly, a knife lodged itself in the wall next to the man's head causing him to cry out. I looked over to Enzo who was putting his arm down. Where had he even pulled that knife from? I was sure he had missed on purpose as well.

When Enzo spoke, his voice was low. "Nora is one of us now. She is my girl and she will be treated with the same respect you would treat me with. She will be protected just as you would protect your women, your children, and your brothers sat next to you. We protect our own." His words were met this more murmurs and nods of agreement.

Though it sounded like he, and everyone else in the room, believed his words, I knew better. This was all too good to last. Soon I'd have to wake up from this dream. I wouldn't be able to live in the small mansion in the woods. I wouldn't be able to go shooting on the range. I would have to endure missing Tank terribly and sleeping alone again. My thoughts were running wild and I was becoming more and more anxious imagining what I would be missing when I inevitably had to leave this life.

"Hey." Fiero pulled me out of my dark thoughts. "I know what you're thinking but knock it off. You belong by his side, just like he said."

Fiero sounded sure in his words, but I still had doubts.