My phone starts to ring, and I see a flash of 'Dad' across the screen.

What am I going to tell him? I'm sure he saw everything on the news.

I look at the phone as it continues to ring. Taking a deep breath, I answer it.

Me: Hey, Dad.

Dad: Are you okay?

Me: I'm fine. Why?

Dad: I just got off the phone with Cole, who told me you were inside when the shoot-out began.

I wish he had not told my parents that I was inside the building while everything went down.

Me: I was. One minute, everything was fine, and the next, things happened quickly. Somebody went after Kevin and stabbed him in the side.

Dad: Do you know how my brother is?

Me: No, somebody took me out of the visitor's room after it happened. A guard made me believe he was there to help, but he was there to hurt me.

Dad: I know you're not coming home tonight. Please be safe, and remember to call me whenever you want to talk.

Me: I will. Love you, Dad.

Dad: I love you too, Julia.

Dad hangs up the phone.

I walk into the house and see a beautiful blonde walk down the stairs with a baby in her arms.

She looked at me and said, "You must be Julia Harris. My husband Knox told me that you were going to stop by." She looked around the room. Where's Amalia?"

Shrugging, I say. "She left me while I was on the phone with my father."

She smiles. "It must be nice talking to your family."

"It is. When it doesn't have anything to do with you getting shot at and held hostage while visiting a Correctional Facility."

She continues to walk down the stairs. "I'm not supposed to know stuff like that. Knox prefers to keep his business away from home."

I laugh as I look around the house. "It's a bit hard to do that when you regularly have mafia members in the house."

"They're not allowed in this part of the house. Knox has a different access for the family, and it's not through those doors." She looks at them and then back at me. I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself to you. I'm Lauren Moretti, and this cutie in my arms is Ariel."

She's so cute.

Lauren's phone starts ringing, and she says. "Can you hold Ariel while I take this call?"

"Sure," she says, moving her daughter into my arms. I make sure my arm is under her head, supporting her. I gently rock the baby, and her eyes begin to droop. Walking over to the couch, I sit and wait for her to get off the phone.

A couple of minutes later, Lauren returns and looks at her sleeping daughter. "You have a way with kids. Maybe I should call you when she doesn't settle down. I swear she's making my life hell, and everything is easy for her father."

A smile spreads across my face. "I think Ariel's Daddy's little angel. Which is why she's well-behaved when it comes to him and Mommy's little terror when it comes to you."

Lauren laughs. "I'm looking forward to seeing you be a Mom. Things might not be easy for you." She takes her daughter from me and beads up to the bedroom.

While she's gone, I pull my phone out of my pocket and call Cole.

Cole: Is everything okay, Julia?

Me: No, I need to tell you about my brothers.

Cole: Can't this wait?

Me: Not, if you want to catch the people behind Midnight Express.

Cole: How do you know about that?

Me: That doesn't matter. Liam and Antwon are the ones pushing drugs through significant cities in the country.

Cole: Are you sure?

Me: Yes, Uncle Kevin told me.

Cole: Do you believe you're uncle?

Me: Kevin has never lied to me before, but I feel my brothers are puppets in some sick person's game. What if ruining my family is part of a bigger picture? Like making you suffer while watching people, you care about losing everything important to them?

Cole: I hope you're wrong about this, but what would someone get out of hurting me?

Me: The satisfaction you lost at a game you weren't supposed to play.

Cole: Have you told Knox what you know?

Me: No, I'm afraid he'll go after my brothers without a second thought. I need to make sure that the information I have is accurate before I turn my family into people who want to kill them. They're still my family.

Cole: I wish there were something that I could do for you.

Me: Keep what I told you between us until I have the proof we need.

Cole: I promise.

He hangs up the phone.

Looking up, I see Amalia walk into the room and look at me. "Can you stay out of trouble for a couple of hours? There's a job I need to do for my cousin."

"Sure." Looking at the phone, I see it's 4 p.m.

I still need to call Braelynn.

I walk outside and sit on the stairs as I call Braelynn.

She picks up after a couple of rings.

Braelynn: Hello, this is Braelynn.

Me: Hey, it's Julia. I'm calling about tomorrow.

Braelynn: I was hoping you wouldn't forget.

Me: I liked talking to you, so there's no way I would get out of catching up with you.

Braelynn: Can you meet me at Hudson's Oval at 10am?

Me: Sure.

I pull a pen out of my bag and write the name of the place Braelynn wants me up at.

Me: Bo's coming home tonight. He wanted me to tell you that.

Braelynn: I hope it didn't have anything to do with the shoot-out at the Correctional Facility.

Me: I don't know.

Lauren walks outside and stops next to me. "Knox, I want to see you."

Me: I have to go, Braelynn. I'll see you tomorrow.

Braelynn: Yes, you will. Bye.

I hang up the phone. "Couldn't Knox wait a little longer before seeing me?"

She shakes her head. "Knox always gets what he wants. That's one thing you need to learn about being part of a mafia family."

"I'm not part of one."

She laughs. "You're man, Cole. He's one of the biggest players in the mafia family. He's the direct descendant of the New York mafia family."

He never told me that.

A guy wearing a suit walks out of his office. He has sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He kisses the top of Lauren's head. "Baby, what have I said about sharing personal information with other people?"

"Not, too. Also, it's none of my business to interfere with other people's lives."

He holds the door open for me. "I'm Knox Moretti."

"Julia Harris, apparently the damsel in distress."

He laughs. "I don't see you looking in distress. It must have been hard being locked in the Correctional Facility when everything went down."

"I wasn't locked in. The guys tried to kidnap and threaten me because of some boss that doesn't want me to have anything to do with my uncle, who's behind bars."