I turned to my side when I felt a body next to me.

I shot up immediately and looked to my right, but relaxed when I saw it was Claude.

I slapped his chest.

"Get up, stupid." I said stretching.

He groaned in response.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was already 12:37, and I was still in my clothes from last night.

I lifted the cover off of my body and began walking down the stairs.

From a distance I could hear the chatter coming from the kitchen.

"There's our girl." Marco smiles.

"Still in yesterday's clothes. Sis really outdid her self."Sophia laughs.

I playfully roll my eyes.

"I was really tired last night okay."

"Yeah. That was evident. Sit down, have some breakfast."Tomas says.

He didn't have to tell me twice.

I sat down on a chair at the island and almost drooled when I saw the plate in front of me.

"I just wanted to let you guys know that there will be a meeting in Seattle. We will all be going, the jet leaves tomorrow so I need you all to be ready by then."Xander says.

"Seems like there's always something in Seattle." I point out.

The three oldest share a look.

Xander sighs.

"There's been some foul play in the business that traces back to Seattle, New York and Florida. So far New York and Florida have been dead ends. Seattle is always where we seem to get unlucky."

"Foul play? Like what? I ask.

"Missing artillery, substances..."

He takes a long pause.

"Here and there we find our men brutally murdered all in the same way. All with markings on them."

"Are the markings the same? Maybe theres a hint or something."

"Whoever did this never marked two people the same. The only pattern we identified was that they carved the number of times the person was stabbed onto their backs with a knife."

A chill runs down my spine.

"This doesn't sound like a coincidence guys." Sophia Alice speaks up.

I nod my head in agreement.

"So this meeting does what exactly? I ask.

"It's to inform all of our men what's happening. This person isn't coming after us directly but more of what we have. They're good at what they do."Felix says.

"There's something off about what they're doing. They're ruthless, careful, but they also slack. I'd say which ever group or person that's doing this is new but extremely dangerous."Dylan says.

I look up at him.

If there's anyone's guess that will probably be right, it's Dylan's.

They all look at him as if they're thinking the same thing I am.

Xander nods his head slowly, and the three oldest all make eye contact again.

I wonder if they have some kind of telepathy.

"Alright well, we're going to be in the office. You can guys can spend your time getting whatever you need for the trip." Xander says, then excuses himself from the room.

"Do you want to go to the mall? The weather is going to be colder, and I need a coat." I ask Sophia.

"Yeah I could use one." She nods.

"Yay, let me get dressed and then we can go." I smile.

I don't wait for her reaction before basically sprinting upstairs.

When I get back to my room, Claude is still sleeping.

I smile as an idea comes to my mind,

I start to quietly walk over to the bed.

"Don't even think about it." Claude's voice says.

I throw my hands in the air.

"What the hell, how did you even hear me." I ask in amusement.

"Since the first grade Frankie. You do that shit at every sleepover we have." His tired voice says.

•This book belongs to missmersae. If you see this message on any account besides missmersae's please report and let her know immediately. Thank you!

"Whatever. If you're gonna sleep go to the guest room, I have to take a shower and get ready."

____________✍

"Okay what do you think about this coat? Sophia Alice asks for the 30th time today.

I roll my eyes and sigh.

"You've literally been going back and fourth between the same 4 coats. They're all the same but a different shade of red! I sigh.

"Exactly. Which shade of red, though." She asks.

"Crimson red is definitely your color! Leo says from behind me.

"Thank you, Leo for YOUR helpful advice." Sophia Alice says.

"Yeah yeah whatever." I smile.

"Aren't you going to get a coat? I ask Leo.

"You think I'm a grown man who doesn't own a coat? He asks.

"Fair." I shrug.

"I can't believe you're two don't own coats." He chuckles.

"We live in California. Why would we ever need a coat? I ask.

"Jeez Frankie you really lack basic knowledge in fashion. You need one of everything." He explains.

"Yeah okay. I'm pretty sure my fashion sense is better than yours." I say.

"Please do it again." He says.

I raise my eyebrow in confusion.

"Do what again? I ask.

"Lie. Please lie again." He says.

I roll my eyes.

"Gosh I wish my brothers hired someone else." I sigh.

"Too bad Frankie. You're stuck with me."

"Unfortunately."

"Oh come on you love me."

I gagged dramatically.

"Don't ever say that again." I warn.

"It's okay to be in denial. If I were stuck with a solid 10 all the time, I too, would be in love." He smiles to himself.

"I think it's the other way around."

"Oh if I were stuck with a whiny brat 24/7, I'd probably want to kill myself. Oh wait, I already do." He says.

I scoff.

"Yeah whatever."

I pick up a coat that caught my eye and put it against my body and turn to Sophia Alice.

"What do you think? I ask.

She only looks at me with a smile on her face.

"You two are adorable."

I sigh loudly.

"Lets go pay for the coats. I'm tired of being in this store. Don't you dare follow me." I warn Leo.

"That sounds like a challenge." He smirks.

We began walking to the checkout, with Leo of course, right behind us.

"Do you know how long we're staying in Seattle? Sophia asks Leo once we've already paid for our things and we're all munching on pretzels.

"3 days." He answers.

"That's not bad. We'll have some time to ourselves. We can-"

I stop mid sentence to smack Leo's head as he takes a bite out of my pretzel.

"Hey! You have your own!"

"I know, but I wanted to try yours." He smiles innocently.

"What if I got attacked and kidnapped from behind while you were eating my food? Some bodyguard you'd be."

"At this point I'd let them take you. One less thing I have to worry about." He smiles.

"Thing?" I question.

"Excuse me. One less annoying ass thing I'd have to worry about." He corrects himself.

"Walked right into that." Sophia Alice comments.

I smirk to myself.

Despite my usual (fake) anger towards Leo, I actually enjoyed having him around.

_______✍

"We're back! I yell as we enter the house.

"Please speak up I don't think the neighbors heard you." Felix says.

"Yeah yeah. Do you want to see what I got from the mall?

"I honestly don't care." Felix answers lot once taking his eyes off the video game.

"Where's Claude? I ask.

"He went back to his apartment to pack for Seattle." Felix says.

"Thank god he's coming along." I sigh.

"Where's this excitement with me?

"You're always around. It's not fun." I answer.

"And to think I was your favorite brother." He faked wiping a tear.

"Who said that? I asked in astonishment.

Who's going to tell him that he isn't my favorite?

"Oh please, we all know I'm Frankie's favorite brother." Marco says coming from the kitchen.

"Sorry boys but I don't play favorites." I shrug.

"She's just trying to spear you feelings." Felix whispers to Marco.

I shake my head and laugh.

Little do they know.

I go upstairs and take out the new coat that I brought and try it on.

It looked so good on me.

I put my hands in the pockets, and angle my body to see how the coat will look, when I feel something in the pockets.

I pull out a small piece of white paper that has writing on it.

Curious, I open it.

Looking back, I wish I didn't.

See you soon. The note read.

My body ran cold and my heart rate sped up.

This was no longer a coincidence.