By the time 9 pm rolled around, I was dressed in the bodysuit and in my favorite pair of knee-high black boots. Slipping my black leather jacket on, I reapplied the red lipstick Mom gave me for my birthday and headed towards the study, reminding myself with each step that I could handle whatever was about to be thrown my way. Uncle Leo was sitting at his desk just like earlier; this time, he was peering over a local map with Dad and Alpo, marking certain areas with circles and X's.

"Is this a weapons kind of party?" I asked as I eyed the coffee table to the left of the room, its contents glistening under the low yellow lights.

"Sort of," Alpo nodded to the table. "These are only meant to scare, not to seriously harm. No guns allowed tonight; there are kids involved."

"That's fine with me." I shrugged as I picked up a wooden baseball bat and weighed it in my hands.

"How did I know she was going to go for the bat?" Aidan joked, walking through the door with Milo right behind him.

"They didn't nickname me 'Harley Quinn' in high school for nothing." I grinned at my brother.

"Good point."

"Everyone here?" Uncle Leo looked around the room.

"Everyone else is waiting outside in the vehicles," Aidan answered him.

"Good. Let's go."

Uncle Leo's driver, Romeo, stood outside a black vehicle parked in the driveway, bowing slightly as he opened the door for us. The vehicle reminded me of an SUV and a limo combined as it was large enough to seat all of us like an SUV could, but elegant enough to pass as a limo.

"At your service, Mr. Carmichael." Romeo spoke, his European accent slightly emphasized with each word. "Everything is taken care of, just as you asked."

"Thank you, Romeo. Paul will sit in the front, he's going to go over the map with you." Uncle Leo waved Dad forward, who immediately outstretched his hand to Romeo for a firm handshake. "Everyone else, get in the back."

"Ladies first," Aidan motioned for me to go ahead, grasping my hand as he helped me into the vehicle.

Once everyone was settled in, Uncle Leo gave a sharp knock on the window separating us from the front seat. The engine roared to life angrily and soon the wheels were turning as Romeo headed towards our destination.

The neighborhood was dark and silent, except for a few street lamps casting an eerie yellow-orange glow onto the pavement. Abandoned cars lined the streets and the alley near the old boxing gym that Uncle Leo had turned into a center for the local teen programs to use at their disposal; the building itself had fainted paint and a crumbling exterior set for a makeover in the upcoming summer months.

A chill rolled down my spine at the gloominess as I climbed out of the vehicle, my eyes scanning the surrounding area for any sign of movement. Glass shattering echoed through the alley, and Uncle Leo motioned the team forward, around the gym to a lot in the back.

"Hey, you there!" Uncle Leo called out as we spotted the smaller gang hanging out in the lot, sitting on old milk crates around a metal garbage can that had a fire going.

"Who are you?" One of the men closest to the alley's entrance stood up, a menacing scowl spreading across his face. The rest of the men stood up, scattering in a semi-circle around us.

"You know exactly who we are." Uncle Leo replied calmly, inspecting each man individually. "We are the reason your 'gang' even exists; without us, you'd be nothing."

"Yo, that's the Carmichael family." One of the teens whispered loudly to his friends, their eyes widening in awe. The other kids broke out into murmurs, quickly filling the once-quiet air.

"All kids have exactly thirty seconds to get home right now or else we're taking you to the juvenile detention center where your parents will be called to pick you up." Alpo called out, resting one hand on his hip as he glanced at his watch. "Thirty... twenty-nine..."

The teens took off into the night, some of them grabbing a younger kid before running while Alpo continued to count down from thirty. The gang members shifted uneasily, most of them glaring at us while a few shared looks with one another as if to say: what is going on?

"You just made a terrible mistake, my friend."

In the middle of the group, a tall man stood up from the crate he was still sitting on, spitting onto the pavement beside him. Turning to face us, his green eyes shimmered with displeasure as he shook his head slowly, tsking in disapproval.

"Felix?" Dad took a small step in front of me, his protective instincts kicking in as he recognized the man. "I thought you were out of state."

"I was, for a few years. Had to go take care of my mother while she divorced my piece of shit father." Felix shrugged, as if that was a normal answer. "I moved back about five years ago when she left for Paris."

Felix's gaze landed on me just past Dad's shoulder and I could see him mentally doing the math; his smirk slipped into a toothy grin the second the lightbulb went off in his head.

"Well, well, well... if it isn't little princess Ava. All grown up, and just as beautiful as your mother was at your age. How is Jade, by the way?" Felix's eyes trailed over me before flickering to Dad, his smug grin subtly menacing.

"Don't talk about my mother, you creep." I grimaced, tightening my grip on the bat in an attempt to stop the shudder threatening to break across my skin.

"And stay the hell away from my daughter." Dad growled, raising the crowbar in his hand just enough for Felix to acknowledge it.

"I have an idea... Why don't you go on your merry little way and leave us in peace? Hm?" Felix bantered back.

"I don't think so," Uncle Leo interrupted, holding a hand up to stop Dad from saying anything else. "You and your goons are going to leave these kids alone and you're going to leave town. Tonight."

"And if we don't listen to the all-mighty Leo Carmichael?" Felix raised an eyebrow, stalking closer toward us.

"Well, then. I have no other choice..." Uncle Leo waved two fingers forward.

"Oh, he's mine." I sneered, lifting the bat over my shoulder as I stepped forward, narrowing my eyes. "Batter up!"

Swinging the bat as hard as I could, I connected with the back of Felix's leg; he dropped to one knee instantly, crying out in pain as I roundhouse kicked him. Five other men charged at us, each one swiftly knocked to the cement within seconds. As they laid in a heap groaning in agony, Uncle Leo towered over them as he calmly addressed the remaining men standing a few feet away.

"What a shame... The next time we see any of you drug dealing within city limits, we won't hesitate to kill you on sight. Now, leave and never come back."

Uncle Leo spun around and headed back for the vehicle, Dad and Alpo cautiously watching the small gang stagger to their feet as they followed suit. Just as I started to go after them, my gaze landed on a man watching me from the dark a few feet away from the men on the ground. The shadow of his hoodie covered his face, but somehow I knew his eyes were dark brown, even from across the lot. A sense of familiarity washed over me as his body froze when he saw me, almost as if he knew me too. Tilting my head to the side puzzlingly, I stared at his retreating back as he slunk off into the night, vanishing from sight.

Shoving the feeling to the back burner of my mind, I hurried to the vehicle and climbed into the middle seat next to Aidan, who gave me a puzzled look but otherwise didn't say anything. I was grateful for that; it was bad enough that I felt like I was going crazy just thinking I knew the stranger. I didn't need the rest of my family to think that I was too.

Tilting my head back to lean against the seat, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander as Romeo made his way back through the city to Centofanti Manor.

Less than five minutes later, my eyes shot open as my body went rigid; I mentally slapped myself for not coming to the realization sooner. That wave of familiarity grew into nausea, sending my heart into an overdrive panic. I was about ninety-nine percent sure the stranger from the alley was Eli, which caused the nauseous feeling to morph into dismay. The crushing weight of knowing Mom was right about Eli in the first place quickly followed suit, guilt and anguish hitting me like a runaway freight train crashing into a mountain.