"We'll be landing in half an hour, Bella." Dario said, plopping back into the seat across from me, after a trip to the cockpit.

"Okay?" I nervously breathed.

"Okay, so you can stop clutching onto the seats for dear life. If the belts can't save you, your claws definitely won't."

Damn him. No matter how much I tried to conceal it, I was unsuccessful in hiding my fear of flying.

It wasn't a debilitating fear, just one that left me with a sheen of perspirations rolling down my face, an overwhelming need to hurl my guts out, and a resistance to let go of my seat after a little turbulence.

Not even the luxury of Dario's stunning private jet could falter my symptoms.

And it didn't help that Sonny and Luca spent the last few hours being, well... Sonny and Luca.

"I can't beat you, but stop playing. I'm the greatest shot out here, there's no way in hell my bullets would miss you." Luca's voice rose behind me.

"I'm like ninja, I stop bullets with bare hands. Si, is true." Sonny said

"I've killed six men with two bullets. I could get you with my eyes closed."

I turned to them playfully boxing, ducking and swerving each other's attempted punches. They gradually shifted into a tussle, pushing and shoving like irritated siblings.

This was the first time I've been able to fully see men in their natural habitat and it's been very eye opening. I could definitely use a break, even though they were occasionally entertaining.

Dario sat still with his hand on his temple, seemingly deep in thought. It was Anthony who decided he'd had enough.

"Both of you need to cut this shit out. We're landing soon and you need to get your heads straight. I'm not letting you fuck up the plans cause you want to play around." His voice carried enough power to cause them to pause.

They sat back down, quietly murmuring amongst each other.

"I'm glad you said it. I don't think they would have listened to me." I turned to Anthony, who was in the seat directly behind me.

He sighed, shaking his head "It's like I'm watching over toddlers sometimes."

"You are," Dario said. "That's why I put my faith and trust in you. God knows where I'd be without your help."

The compliment caused Anthony to sit up straighter in his seat, clearing his throat. "I just do my job," he simply said.

"And I appreciate it. I also appreciate you two bozos back there," Dario motioned towards Sonny and Luca. "You guys constantly put your life on the line for me and I don't tell you enough how grateful I am for it."

I was smiling at Dario before I knew it. I know showing appreciation for your employees should be a bare minimum thing, but I don't think it was something normally done in their line of business.

"Do you appreciate me?" I asked jokingly.

"For what?" He said.

"For brightening your dull life." Sarcasm filled my expression.

"You give me a headache."

"Psst," I hissed, leaning closer to him in a whisper. "Fuck you."

His laugh resonated through his chest. "Fuck you too," he whispered back.

We were smiling at each other before I averted my eyes, realizing I had completely forgotten about my fear of flying.

The jet landed smoothly, I'd like to think due in part to my vigorous praying. Dario mindlessly held his hand out to help me down the steps and when I tripped on the last one, he completely lifted me bridal style to the ground.

A black SUV sped up, stopping right in front of us. To my surprise, Layla hopped out of the driver's seat.

I felt severely under dressed, comparing my jeans and sweater to her pencil skirt and polka dot blouse, along with the men who all sported their usual suits.

"I wasn't aware I'd booked you as our driver, Ms. Yousef," Dario said.

"Jerry had a family emergency. Plus I need to discuss some quarterly reports with you, so I decided I might as well pick you up." She threw the keys at Dario, who didn't hesitate to catch it.

She acknowledged me with a wave and faint smile, which I happily returned.

Dario walked towards the car, with the rest of us following. "You don't want to drive?"

"absolutely not," Layla said. " That giant thing is terrifying on the road. I'll stick to my small sedan."

Anthony's chuckle caught her attention, causing her face to brighten, as her eyes caught his.

This was the first time I saw him laugh. He usually kept a serious composure that even beat Dario's.

It took them a second longer to get in the car. They didn't say a word to one another, instead, lingering a gaze that eventually broke off with Layla getting in the passenger seat and Anthony in the second row beside me.

Dario drove out of the airport onto the highway, following the signs to Newark. He and Layla were deep in conversation about the children's clothing stores he apparently owned, while Sonny and Luca chatted away in the third row, leaving Anthony and I in total silence.

It wasn't an awkward silence. I think both of us preferred staring out the window then attempting some pointless chit-chat.

We exited the highway, driving through some gritty looking streets. Trash littered the grounds and most of the businesses looked rundown and abandoned.

Dario's road rage came out when we stopped at a light that seemed to refuse to turn green. A curse escaped his mouth as he hit his wheel in exacerbation.

"Wait a minute," Anthony caught everyone's attention. "Look over there. Is that who I think it is?"

We all simultaneously moved our heads towards his side of the window. It was a gentlemen's club called The Purple Room, and in the parking lot stood a lone man leaning against his bumper, with a cigar hanging in his mouth.

"Son of a bitch. It is," seething rage laced Dario's words.

"Let me handle this, Dario." Luca cracked his knuckles with a new set of excitement.

The car behind us loudly beeped, obnoxiously honking on and off due to the light finally turning green.

Dario steered the car in a U-turn in such an aggressive manner that the tires loudly screeched and my body swerved to the side.

"Who's that again?" Sonny asked the question I've been wondering but didn't have the guts to ask.

"Silvio Santini, the rat who got the feds on my back." Dario turned into the parking lot of the building next to The Purple room.

"Listen, I got this," Luca further insisted.

"You better," Dario said. "Sonny, go with him and handle business."

It took all of two seconds for Anthony to jump out after Dario's approval, holding his seat down for Sonny and Luca to exit out after him.

Everything seemed to escalate so quickly. They surely weren't going to kill the guy or anything, I mean, it was broad daylight and we were in public. No way would they actually do anything risky.

Silvio continued to exhale the smoke from his cigar, taking no knowledge of our presence. He was a middle aged balding man who sported a mustard suit, and had a mustache that seemed to completely cover his upper lip.

Luca and Sonny ran across the building. They moved so quickly that Silvio barely had a chance to jump back, before being ambushed.

Luca's fist immediately rose, connecting with Silvio's jaw in such a forceful manner that he swiftly fell to the ground.

He pulled Silvio's body off the pavement just to brutally swing at his face again. Blood pooled the man's face, splattering as Luca continued his assault.

I was stunned and found myself unable to look away. Dario didn't care if someone witnessed this and called the cops. With the confidence they carried, I wouldn't be surprised if it was because people would be too scared to report them. Snitching was a death sentence in the streets after all.

Silvio fell back to the ground after Luca let go of his grip. Luca then proceeded to kick him in the guts repeatedly.

When Luca appeared to be satisfied, Sonny took off his tie, tying Silvio's arms behind his back and securing his wrists.

Sonny picked up his head, while Luca held his legs. The trunk opened up as they hurried towards us.

I could see the man was unconscious. They placed him in the trunk, and hopped back into the car with such calmness that one would think they just came back from a trip to the grocery store and not from beating up and kidnapping a man.

Layla's hand covered her face and she was reluctant to bring it down even after Dario started the car and headed back on the road.

"You can just drop me off at the salon," She requested.

I didn't really know how to react. I could say I was traumatized, but I really wasn't. I'd seen people get beaten up, I'd seen people get shot and killed. Once you've seen one, the rest become less and less shocking.

Whatever my expression was, it appeared to cause Dario to comment.

"We alright, Bella?"

"We're alright," I said, even though I knew it was far from the truth.

This trip was going to be something else. I shouldn't be surprised, nothing involving the mafia was a simple affair.