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The eerie silence as I leaned against the railing and took a long drag of my cigarette caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stick straight up. With the amount of children living in this area, it's usually never this quiet even this late during the day.

Taking a sharp breath, I tossed the last of the cig into the bucket next to my feet and made my way back into the house.

I could hear Alyssa giggling in the living room far before I walked in, causing a sting of sadness to pass through my chest like a dagger in my heart.

It's been a day since I've compelled her, but the despair of doing it has grown more intense every minute of every hour.

The guys have been trying to convince me that what I did was for the best, but nothing will convince me that compelling her was the only thing I could have done. I could have denied it, told her she was seeing things. I could have said I'm just a really fast runner, but instead I had to compel her and make her morality a weakness just to save my own ass. A person like that doesn't deserve such an innocent and pure child like her in their life.

Swallowing down my emotions, I shuffled into the room where everyone was sitting on the couches talking amongst themselves. Plopping down on the spot beside Demitri, I gave him a forced smile and glanced towards Nora sitting on the couch across from us. That's when I realized Petra and Aleksandra were here, too.

I could sense the tension between the two, they were acting like last time I had seen them but with a bit more irritation. Aleksandra was slouching into the leather with her arms crossed over her chest, and Petra was sitting straight up fiddling her thumbs around and noticeably clenching and unclenching her jaw.

I didn't hold back when I sighed and spoke up, "What the fuck is going on between you two?"

They both snapped their heads to me with wide eyes as if they were surprised I had actually said something.

Aleksandra was first to speak, "Nothing, why?" But I could hear the hesitation in her voice.

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "Your not very good at lying, you know that right?"

But she just bit at her bottom lip, unable to say anything more.

That's when Petra perked up a bit, "We just hit a snag in our friendship is all."

I was about to reply, when the front door swung open in an instant, causing all six of us to spring to our feet, and Demitri to stand in front of Alyssa in defense.

But my heartbeat automatically slowed down when Marcel's figure became visible under the dim lighting from the chandelier hanging above the doorway. As he made his way towards us, a large group of men followed close behind until the living room was almost completely filled with large men in suits and earpieces.

Shoving Demitri aside so I could look Marcel in the eyes, I gave him a confused look. "What's going on?"

Marcel took a deep breath, "We have been told that we have to leave Amiens as soon as possible."

"Why?" Pinching the bridge of my nose, I shook my head in disbelief.

"The Sicilian Mafia has informed us that they have been infiltrated by an American spy. He was sent to gain information on all organized crime families in the area, including The Bratva. He's in their custody and we are to go to Sicily to speak to The Godfather."

Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I glanced down at Alyssa still wrapped around Demitri's leg. Her eyes were wide and she wouldn't take her eyes off the many men surrounding us.

"All right, but why must you have so many guards?" I questioned him as I bent down and swooped Alyssa up in my arms.

"The Godfather has insisted we were as protected as possible. The fact that we are alleys and we're their biggest narcotics supplier, I can't imagine they'd want anything to happen to us."

A part of me was irritated he was speaking about this around Alyssa so freely, but on the other hand I understood.

Excusing myself from the group, I made my way up the large staircase to Alyssa's room. Setting her back on her feet, I began shoving clothes into suitcases as fast as I could.

"Who are those men?" Alyssa asked, the hint of fear in her tone broke my heart.

Grinning, I bent down to match her height and placed my hand on her cheek. "They are here to protect us from bad people baby girl, they're good guys. Promise."

Nodding, she grabbed her stuffed animal and blanket from her bed and clutched on to them like her life depended on it.

After I was finished packing mine and Alyssa's stuff, I dragged them outside to Demitri's truck and threw them in the back with the rest of the luggage.

"Come here Alyssa, we have to get you buckled up." Once I was able to get her into her seat and strapped it securely, I shut the car door so she couldn't hear what the group huddled in the yard was talking about.

"What am I supposed to do about Alyssa while we're there? I don't really feel comfortable having her around a dangerous mob family." I placed my hands on my hips and looked into Marcel's eyes.

He let out a low chuckle, "Have you forgotten that we're a pretty infamous mob family, and you happen to be the Dons wife?"

Rolling my eyes, I huffed in exasperation. "Technically I'm also the Don, but no. That's not really something I can forget easily."

A burst of laughter boomed around the group of men getting into vehicles, causing me to shoot glares their way. I almost chuckled at the way fear crossed their faces from my authority.

"The Godfathers underboss, Rolando Giovanelli, booked us rooms at a five star hotel by one of his warehouses to keep us at a close distance. It has a pool to keep Alyssa company, and Nora has agreed to stay with her during meetings."

"Thank you so much, Nora."

She nodded and gave me a sweet smile that deepened her dimples.

"And my step father? What if he returns?"

"We have plenty of men staying here to keep an eye on things and they have been informed about Scott." Alec surprisingly spoke up for the first time since Marcel showed up. "We'll also have a group staying at the house to make sure he doesn't come back. If he is spotted in the area, he won't get away."

Taking Alec's word for it, I turned to the truck and was about to open the door, when I turned back to Nora. "Are you riding with us?" My question almost sounded like a plea, making me grimace.

"Of course." She gave me an understanding expression.

I don't like not having Nora near when events like these happen around Alyssa. She knows how to explain things in a way that a child can understand, and in a way that won't reveal our true identities. I haven't yet gained that trait.

Climbing into the vehicle and shutting the door, I turned to check on Alyssa and a sad smile crept across my lips.

She was sound asleep with her head leaning against the window and her shabby blanket clutched in her small hands. My eyes landed on her teddy bear that fell on the floor, so I carefully picked it off the dirty surface and gingerly placed it back on her lap.

Exhaling through my nose, I turned back to the front to see Demitri making his way to the driver side with Nora and Alec close behind. I pressed my finger to my lips to let them know to be quiet as they got in.

The drive to the private airport was odd, having a bunch of blacked out SUV's at every side of us wasn't something I was used to. They refused to drive a few feet away from us, with one vehicle in front, two at each side and four behind Marcel.

The moment we parked in front of the jet, Alyssa woke up from the commotion and whined at the brightness of the car light.

"I know hun, but you can go back to sleep soon." Reaching my arms out, I allowed her to cling to my side as I made my way to the trunk and was about to open the hatch, when a large man in a neat suit did before I could.

"Budushcheye Queen Priestess Riah." He tilted his head as if he was bowing. "I'll be accompanying you the rest of the trip, and you must not carry luggage as if you were some sort of commoner." I tried to protest, but he swiftly pulled the suitcases out and disappeared towards the jet before I could.

I can carry my own bags, I'm a strong fucking vampire.

Rolling my eyes, I held Alyssa closer to my side and shuffled to Demitri speaking with Frank.