******

Harley walked down the silent hallway, her pace fast, throat dry, sweat dripping down her neck.

"I've been looking for you all over the school", she shouted in aggravation, stepping inside the private training room and closing the door behind her.

Her words were ignored, causing her temper to spike.

"Cian?! Are you listening to me?",she raised her voice, staring at the boy before her who was ignoring her in favour of the punching bag.

"Mind your tone", he finally snapped.

Harley scowled at the ground the way she wouldn't dare at him.

"What is going to happen to the boys?", she asked him after a few minutes, her voice betraying none of the fear that she was currently feeling.

"Whatever they deserve", Cian answered back nonchalantly.

"B-but didn't you see what happened out there? Your cousin and the other elites made Niall and his friends eat chilies until they were crying and begging to be forgiven", she told him.

Cian spared her a single amused glance at her response.

"Since when do you care about Niall and his friends?", he sneered.

"I don't care about any of them",she spat at once. "Those fuc-"

"Control yourself", Cian interjected coldly, before he resumed his practice. "We've spoken about this before."

Harley's mouth snapped shut at the rebuke.

"He took them away",she continued quietly. "Valerio Valentini took the boys away with him. I don't know where. I saw Caden and a few other elites leaving with him as well."

"He's here."

It wasn't a question and yet Harley nodded her head vigorously.

"Y-yes", she stuttered.

Harley had never much cared to listen to any of the rumours and whispers about the mafia families. She was not a part of them and she didn't concern herself with what happened in their world.

But even she could not always close her ears as whispers floated around the school amongst the future generation of mobsters. She had heard his name.

Valerio Valentini was the heir of the mighty Valentini Crime Empire. The Devil's incarnate, some called him. A mystery, both unknown and feared.

Rumours of his ferocity and intelligence were both a point of worry and of begrudging respect amongst all.

Whispers had broken out at the Valentini heir's arrival in the amphitheatre. A buzz of anticipation charging up the atmosphere with every step that he descended.

And Harley.....she had felt breathless just by witnessing the power that he seemed to command. There was something caged animal about him as he had walked down. His eyes were piercing and dark, they were the eyes of an animal, an agitated and deadly beast about to pounce.

Even as the German students had stood up from their seats, bowing before him, he didn't care to acknowledged them. His eyes never strayed away from the four boys who were being punished. He looked at them like he was some predatory thing and they less than scum to be crunched under his feet.

Harley shivered at the recollection of it.

Valerio Valentini was someone whom she never wanted to cross. And for some reason he had taken the incident with chilies very personal. Harley would have been blind to not see it.

"Do you know what he's going to do with them?",she dared to ask Cian.

Cian shrugged. He walked over the side bench and picked up a towel, wiping his face clean.

Harley's eyes narrowed when she saw his bruised knuckles.

"How did you bruise yourself?",she asked him, concerned.

Cian's eyes glinted with dark amusement as he answered her, "I had some living targets to practice on. I forgot to invite you. I'm sure you would have enjoyed it."

The roughed up image of Niall and his three friends in the amphitheatre flashed before her eyes.

Harley's mouth ran before she could control herself. "You beat them up? For what? Just because you could? It's not such a big deal Cian", she told him exasperatedly. "It was just a harmless prank. It's not like any of those girls died or something."

The moment the words left her mouth, Harley knew that she had committed a grave mistake.

Cian's head snapped towards her at once, all previous dark humor disappearing in a flash, his lips curling back menacingly.

"I-I ..."

Her words were stuck in her throat as she stared at him.

Cian stalked towards her slowly, cornering Harley against the wall, his arms on either side of her as he stared down at her, his jaw tensed and eyes dark.

Harley gulped once. The fear and anxiety she was feeling was more that she had ever felt.

"You've dared to say it today Harley", he murmured darkly, "Never again."

A warning as clear as day.

She knew that Cian didn't like being questioned or called out on his actions by anyone he didn't consider his equal. And Harley had been reminded numerous times that she wasn't his equal. Not yet.

"Do. you. understand?"

Harley gave a short nod, as his eyes roamed over her face before he stepped back, letting her go. He didn't give her another chance to speak as he walked towards the boxing ring again and Harley cringed internally as his punches rained on the punching sack with more force.

She turned around and slipped out of the room quickly.

"What's wrong with him today?", she thought worriedly as she walked as far away from Cian as she could. "He's never behaved like this with me before. And now-"

"Oomph"

Harley furiously rubbed her temple. She had collided with someone yet again. "Watch where you walk you fre-"

"Harley! It's me"

She turned her head glancing at the boy.

"Tyler!", she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Tyler shook his head. "Can't tell you. I....Is Cian in there? I have to speak to him."

Harley's eyes narrowed slightly. "You can tell me anything that you will tell him. He's my boyfriend and even if he was not I wouldn't really tell you where he is."

"This is not the ideal time Harley", Tyler told her in disapproval.

"Suit yourself",she shrugged, turning around to march away from him.

"It wasn't them. Those boys didn't spike the drinks with chilies",he shouted after her.

Harley froze in her spot.

"Don't be stupid", she spat, whirling around and facing him. "Of course it was them. They confessed doing it."

"No", Tyler shouted aggravated. "Yes, I mean they did spike the drinks but it wasn't...."

He quietened down as two guards passed down the corridor.

Harley stared after them until they had completely dissappeared before she dragged Tyler in an unused classroom, closing the door behind them tight shut.

"Do you even hear yourself?",she hissed angrily. "You don't even know what you're saying Tyler."

"I'm speaking the truth", he replied defensively. "Everything is not what it appears to be. I saw them, alright?! I saw them spiking the drinks.''

"Which proves that it was them",

Harley interjected at once.

"Yes! But I threw the drinks down the drain. I made sure that not even a single glass contained any of the stuff they had mixed", he tried to make her understand.

"That....it's rubbish",she told him softly. "Why would they take the blame if it wasn't their fault?"

"Because even they don't know", Tyler shouted at her. "The top two floors have been designed as the comman room for the boys and girls. But they share a common cafeteria which is present on the boys floor. I saw his friends sneaking in the staff area as Niall distracted the kitchen staff who were on duty at that time. I followed after them as they dodged the guards and entered the restricted part of the cafeteria."

Harley felt like she had been doused in ice water as she heard Tyler speak.

She had heard Niall and his friends discuss their plan before she had nicked the chili packets from them.

"-As soon as the three of them left, I threw away the drinks down the drain and escaped."

"A-are you certain?"

"Yes I am", he told her at once. "They believe that the staff delivered the wrong tray of glasses to the girls. But that's not what happened. The culprit is someone else."

"Keep your voice down", she admonished, looking around the dark classroom fearfully. "Are you going to tell someone about this?"

"I don't know how", he confessed, ignoring the apprehensive way she had asked her question. "But I will have to. The entire staff has been dismissed already. The guards and kitchen staff on duty have it worse for letting it happen under their noses."

"What's been happening with you and the Sullivan boys?", Harley asked him, hoping for distraction.

She had seen the hostile looks that Tyler was being subjected to by Caden and Cian.

Tyler's cheeks coloured. "N-nothing", he mumbled. "We had an argument, that's all. Caden won't believe me. He won't even listen to me. I am forbidden to speak about anything related to her."

"Who?",she asked in confusion. Her own fears momentarily forgotten.

"Her",he emphasised, looking around the classroom discreetly as if afraid, before lowering his tone, "Amara."

Harley gritted her teeth. That girl again.

She had never known that Cian had a sister. He never spoke about her, ever. In the one month that she had started knowing him, Harley had never heard even a whisper about her from Cian. She didn't even know if he cared about the girl enough to let herself get punished if the truth about what she had done came out.

But Harley was not going to take any chances. She couldn't risk getting exposed and losing the Sullivan protection over her. Cian's opinion on the girl didn't matter right now because one thing was very clear to Harley.

Caden Sullivan loved his sister. There was no doubt about it in Harley's mind.

Harley had always been an opportunist, she would never risk the power she had earned. And for that she would have to take a gamble. No one would ever know that it was her who had spiked the drinks.

A plan immediately began to form in her head. She turned towards the nervous boy.

"Tyler",she began, "I will help you."

****

"Please Sir, what happened was a poor mistake on my son's part. We are loyal to the Sullivan family."

Patrick raised his hand, silencing the man before him.

"Your son, along with his three other friends were found responsible for an offense. Do you deny it?", he asked the man sharply.

"No", the man shook his head.

"You know the rules, any crime-"

"They are children, Mr Sullivan", James Avdonin interjected on his colleague's behalf. "Children play pranks. My nephew Niall has grown up around the Sullivan children, he would not dare dishonor our years of alliance."

"And yet, he did",Patrick replied back calmly, glaring at his family's long time ally.

"Valerio Valentini, Allister Romero and the Selvaggio heir along with the rest other Italian's went against the treaty",he replied defensively, "Will they be punished too?"

Patrick glanced at him condescendingly. "If they had really broken the treaty then we wouldn't have been having this conversation."

"My nephew and his friends are in the hospital because Master Caden threw them in a chamber of chili-pepper spray and they were brought out only after they all lost consciousness."

Patrick turned to stare at his son curiously, but Caden's face was undecipherable as he stared hard at the high ranking member of the Avdonin mafia family.

"He doesn't even deny it",James said, glancing at the Sullivan heir standing in the corner. "This violates the contract that each one of us signed about the safety of all the children involved", he continued triumphantly. "Both the parties are even now."

"Actually, it was my nephew who did it Mr. Avdonin. What can I say... Valerio is quite unpleasant to those who offend him"

All the heads turned towards the new arrival as Lorenzo Valentini stepped inside the conference room, followed by Valerio, who walked towards Caden at the far end of the room.

Patrick stood up from his seat, shaking hands with his old friend and ally.

"I didn't know you were going to drop by", Patrick told him in a hard voice.

"I was in Chicago", he replied back meaningfully. "But circumstances led me here", he sighed, glancing at his nephew once before taking the vacant seat on Patrick's left side.

James Avdonin gulped once. "It matters not who did it. The treaty is null and void now. I have the right to ask for -"

"Don't presume to tell me what the treaty entails",Patrick snapped impatiently, "Have you forgotten the very reason for it's existence?"

At the side of the room Valerio and Caden exchanged amused glances, watching Patrick Sullivan tear James Avdonin into pieces.

"He's been bringing up the treaty every chance he gets", Caden murmured darkly. "It's their only saving grace and he knows it."

"He can't do anything about it",Valerio replied back coolly.

"I can't believe that he's using a treaty written by my ancestors against us ", Caden stated in a hard voice. "How foolish can he be?"

Valerio smirked slightly. He knew what treaty James Avdonin was grasping at.

During old times when the Irish and the Italians were put together in one room, blood was spilled very easily.

The feud between the Romero's and Sullivan's was always the ground for any fights to start between them or their respective allies.

Until one day when one of Caden's ancestor came up with the idea of the treaty.

The treaty was old, but renewed every time for the fests and competitions. It's sole purpose was to keep peace between the feuding mafia families within the school premises when children of rival families were forced to come together.

The Wolsford fest had commenced only after the head of each mafia family had signed the treaty.

It didn't have many restrictions. They were quite simple, in fact. The only important part of the treaty which had any importance was that no life should be taken during the duration of the event. Anything else that happened was free game. It was a loophole left on purpose.

"What you're speaking is irrelevant James", Valerio's attention snapped back towards the adults. "Your nephew is still alive, isn't he?"

James Avdonin bristled visibly.

"Was that a threat Mr. Sullivan?"

Patrick leaned back against his chair contently. "Does it bother you to hear someone threaten your son?", he asked darkly. "Your child tried to harm mine. How am I to deal with it?"

The threat was unmistakable as it lingered through the air. Although directed at James Avdonin, it was all-inclusive. No one was safe.

James opened his mouth to object when Lorenzo Valentini interrupted him.

"My nephew wanted your sons dead", he stated flatly to the four men seated before him. "A sentiment I'm sure that Don Sullivan and Don Romero will agree with if you don't stop your whinging."

Silence met Lorenzo's words as heads turned to look at the seventeen years old Valentini boy.

"We are amongst the oldest Sullivan' allies, Mr Lorenzo. This is the matter of the Irish organisation and you –", James started out bravely.

Patrick slammed his fist against the desk.

"This is your only warning, so pay close attention", he hissed, "If Don Sullivan and Don Romero do choose to deal with your offsprings, they will not only stop at mere bruises. If I were you, I would take steps to make sure they do not get involved." Patrick had an edge of coldness to his voice as he met the eyes of the four men seated before him.

"Here are your options, take this file and read it. I want an answer tomorrow morning."

Fife minutes later, the meeting was over and slowly the room started getting clearer.

As James Avdonin and his two colleagues were about to step out, Valerio intercepted their path.

"She is mine ",he told them quietly, his eyes flashing. "And you would do well to remember that. There will not be a next time."

Valerio Valentini was not a liar, and all knew the hell that would be paid if they dared to touch the amethyst eyed girl.

He received short nods in reply as the men vacated the room.

"A chili-Pepper spray chamber, nephew?", Lorenzo asked him in amusement.

Valerio shrugged in response. "They should experience the pain Amara went through",he answered resolutely.

Patrick nodded at his response, slight approval shining in his eyes.

"The Avdonin's would be on their toes now", Caden stated as he walked towards the desk. "Will they create any problems at the grand conference in Chicago next week?"

"They would be not only worried about the future of their sons, but also angry and angry people make stupid mistakes. Mistakes are how people lose their lives in our world", Valerio thought loud.

Patrick nodded at the two boys, proud at their quick assessment. "Regardless, we'll keep an eye on them."

*******

Valerio walked down the grand hallways of the Sullivan mansion, searching for his amethyst eyed girl.

He was worried about her health. He had seen her hours ago, and Amara had been in a drowsy state then. She had not been in any position to answer any worries he had.

Just as he was passing down the corridor, he was stopped short when he heard her sweet voice.

His head snapped towards the large open balcony, his view of Amara beyond was being obstructed by the long curtains

Valerio walked towards the open balcony, pushing the thin curtain aside and taking in the scene before him.

"sto bene Nonno, onestamente",she spoke, pacing the floor. "Mi sento molto meglio."

Valerio leaned against the entrance, a soft smile on his face as he watched her trying to convince Don Romero that she was indeed fine.

His chest tightened slightly as he watched her interact with the Don freely. The way she spoke with him..... It was sweet.