It was nice to have my brother around again because it felt like I had someone to talk to. It had been a week since my brother had taken me out to lunch and we'd quickly grown into a comfortable routine. We'd have breakfast together in the morning, he'd leave for work and I'd read a book, and he would come home and we'd go out to dinner. I'd learned pretty quickly that my brother wasn't a very good cook.

"I've decided to look for a job." I told him over breakfast a week into living with him.

He looked up from his eggs, the only thing he really knew how to cook. "What for?"

I shrugged. "I can't stay here all day while you work. This way, I'll be able to afford groceries and I could cook dinner instead of us going out every night."

"Yeah, Okay. That sounds like a good idea." Daniel agreed. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Well, I was going to check out a small coffee shop about a mile away. It said online that they were hiring."

We finished breakfast and, while Daniel left for work, I got ready for the day. Pulling on some sandals and a sun dress, I tackled the summer heat by foot. The GPS on my phone led me to a livelier part of New York City. There, I walked into the small cafe that displayed its pastries in the front windows.

By the time I got to the coffee shop, my forehead was damp and my face was red from the summer heat. I was relieved to enter the air conditioned building. "Hi, welcome to Georgia's Coffee Shop, how can I help you?" The woman behind the register asked kindly, when I stepped up to the register.

"Hey, my name's Alaya. I saw your ad online and was wondering if you still had a job opening?" I inquired with a confident smile

"Let me just get you an application and then I can run in the back and grab my manager. Would you like to have anything to eat or drink while you're waiting?"

"Uh, Can I have a small latte and a croissant please?"

"Sure thing!" The barista chirped.

Once my order was ready, I took a seat in the corner of the small cafe. I nibbled on my croissant as I gazed at the people around me. New York City was so different from what I remembered and everything in Ohio.

A man in one corner of the cafe had a Yankees baseball hat on his head and he was arguing with a woman across from him about whatever he was eating. A woman sitting by herself had a shall over her head and she was scowling angrily at everyone who walked by as she sipped her coffee. A boisterous group of teenagers were laughing where they had pushed some tables together to fit their whole group.

I couldn't help but feel alone in that moment. Besides Daniel, I didn't know anyone in New York and all my friends were busy taking on life and enjoying themselves. I didn't have anyone to confide in and my aunt and uncle were probably angry I left. Not because they would miss me, but because they wouldn't have anyone to clean the house and cook anymore.

"Here's the application, my manager will be right out."

I thanked the barista with a smile and filled out the application. A few minutes later, the manager walked out. She was a very friendly lady and gave me an interview on the spot. After talking for a half hour, the manager, who's name I learned was Brenda, gave me the job.

I walked home with a skip in my step, excited to tell Daniel about my new job. The people seemed really nice and working in a cafe wasn't the worst thing in the world. I slowed down when I realized he wouldn't be home for a few more hours. I could stop by the store and grab some groceries to make dinner.

A half hour later, I walked up the stairs of the apartment building. I balanced the grocery bag on my hip so I could search through my purse for my keys. They always seemed to disappear in the damn thing. I stop in front of the door still looking for the keys when I heard something.

Confused, I leaned forward, and listened. Someone was definitely in the apartment, but Daniel didn't usually come home until later. Whoever was in there was talking to someone. A little scared, I pressed my ear against the front door.

"...already gave you plenty of time." A man was saying.

What the hell? I kept listening curiously.

"Please, I just need a few more weeks." I recognized that voice as my brother's and my eyes widened. Who was he talking to and why?

"Have the money by next week. This is the last chance the boss is giving you." The man said.

I quickly fished my keys out of my purse and unlocked the front door. Two pairs of eyes turned towards me, my brother's brown ones and the stranger's green ones. The stranger was tall and intimidating with dark hair and an angry expression. He was dressed unusually formal in a suit and I noticed his hand move to his hip.

"Alaya, what are you doing home?" My brother asked, sounding a little panicked.

I glanced at my brother before looking back at the stranger, who was looking at me like I was something to eat. I'd never felt so naked and uncomfortable, even in my jeans and blouse. I didn't like the way he was looking at me and the man looked like bad news.

"I got groceries." I muttered, glancing back to the man's hand on his hip. The bulge there let me know that he was most likely carrying a gun.

The man shifted his gaze to Daniel and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "If you don't have it by next week, we'll find other was to persuade you." The man looked at me as he said the last part and I felt the hairs on the back of my next stick up. With that, the man left, walking around me and closing the door behind him.

I put the groceries down on the counter and turned to face Daniel. "Who the hell was that?"

"You weren't supposed to see that. You weren't supposed to be home." He mumbled, still looking panicked. "Fuck, Alaya! Now they know about you!"

"Don't you dare put this on me! Who the fuck do you owe money? I thought you were done with all of this shit!" I hissed.

"I am, I swear!"

"Then why the fuck is there a man threatening you?"

"For a few months I was selling some drugs for them, I started taking some extra to make some extra money on the side. I didn't think they'd notice, but now they've been on my ass!" He confessed, avoiding eye contact.

"Daniel..." I whispered. We both stayed quiet for a moment before I asked the question I was afraid to ask. "How much?"

"Twenty grand."

I inhaled sharply. Daniel was stupid for getting involved with shady people again. "Okay." I said quietly. "We'll figure something out. How long do you have?"

"He said a week."

"What happens if you don't get the money in time?"

"I don't know. Alaya I'm really fucking scared, these aren't people you mess with. They know about you now, I'm afraid they'll use you against me." He admitted.

Fear bubbled up in my chest, but I pushed it back down. "I have some money saved up that might help. We'll figure it out, we'll be fine." I said, more for myself than for Daniel, but he didn't look convinced. "I got the job, so I stopped by the grocery store to get some stuff to make dinner. I thought maybe we could celebrate." I added.

After the threatening encounter and the bomb my brother dropped on me, dinner was quieter than usual. We both scraped our forks against the plates as we pushed our food around in silence. We didn't say much to each other the rest of the night either and Daniel went to bed early. I followed suite shortly after and went to my own room to get ready for bed.

I woke up the next morning at six in the morning to start my first day at the cafe. Brenda told me to just wear jeans and a white top until my blouses with the company logo came in. I dressed quickly, brushed my teeth and rushed out of the apartment. I had to be there at six thirty.

I walked through the doors of the cafe with a few minutes to spare and the barista from the day before smiled at me. "Hey, you got the job!"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm excited."

"Well I'm Lauren. Brenda asked me to train you." Lauren told me, handing me an apron to tie around my waist.

I shook her hand. "Alaya. Nice to meet you."

Since it was my first day, Lauren told me she'd just have me shadow her and, if I was comfortable with it, bring people their food and drinks. I quickly got the hang of what ingredients went it what drink just by watching Lauren. I even started bringing people their food later in the morning.

"Can you bring this order over to table twelve, please?" Lauren asked me in between taking orders for people and making drinks.

I grabbed the tray and made my way over to a table where a kind looking, middle aged woman was sitting. Her black hair had streaks of white in it and she had smile lines on her face, but she looked youthful. I took the plate and coffee from the tray and set it down in front of her.

"Thank you dear. Are you new here?" She asked me. "I don't think I've seen you around."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's my first day, actually."

"My name is Giulia, I come here every morning. So if you need a friend, here I am." The woman introduced herself with a smile. She had a thick Italian accent and her smile was warm and inviting.

"I'm Alaya. I'll probably be here every day too." I joked.

"Nice to meet you, Alaya."

Giulia and I spoke for a few minutes before I went back to see if Lauren needed any help. True to her word, Giulia was at the cafe the next day and the day after that. Since she was always a nice person to talk to, I started taking my breaks when Giulia came in and I'd have a croissant and chamomile tea while we talked. As we talked, I found myself liking the woman more and more. She was easy to confide in and the conversation wasn't forced.

As the days went by, I told the woman about the accident that killed my parents when I was eight years old and that I had been separated from Daniel and sent to live with my aunt and uncle. I told her about how they abused me and treated me like dirt, which ultimately made me run away to live with my brother. I told Giulia about my hopes and dreams for my future.

In turn, I learned that Giulia was born in Italy and was forced into an arranged marriage. She fell in love with the man and they moved to New York City for his job. I also learned that Giulia's husband was now retired and they lived on the outskirts of the city, but that Giulia loved to come into the city and visit her son. The cafe was a pit stop Giulia made on the way because she loved the atmosphere and eating the cafe's scones before going to her son.

"Come have lunch with me and my son tomorrow." Giulia offered with a smile at the end of my break. "We're going to an authentic Italian restaurant uptown and I think you'd love the food."

I smiled and shook her head. "I'd love to, but I can't. I'm picking up an afternoon shift and working a double tomorrow."

"Oh that's okay, we can do lunch another time." She said with a smile.

The next day, when I got off of work at six, I was surprised to find Giulia waiting for me outside. "What are you doing here?" I asked with a grin.

Giulia smiled back and hugged me. "I'm taking you to dinner. Dai, come." She lead me to the parking lot behind the cafe before I could protest.

"Okay." I said with a laugh. "I'm just going to let my brother know I'll be home later than I thought." As the week had passed, Daniel had become more and more paranoid, always wondering where I was. It scared me that he was so worried because it made me wonder who exactly he'd messed with to make him scared about my safety. When we reached the car, my jaw dropped. "You drive an Alfa Romeo?"

"It's my husband's car." She said as we climbed in.

I buckled up as Giulia pulled out of the parking lot and onto the streets. "Wow." I breathed. "What did your husband do for a living?"

Giulia laughed as if she was in on a joke that I wasn't. "Oh, he was born into money and he stepped up to run the family business."

"What's the family business?" I asked curiously.

"We own a chain of Italian restaurants around New York City and we do some free-lance stuff." She explained.

"Oh, that's cool." I said lamely, for lack of better words.

"I'm actually taking you to one of our restaurants. It's on me." Giulia offered as she pulled into a fancy looking restaurant's parking lot.

"Your husband named a chain of restaurants after you?" I asked in surprise as I stared up at the bold sign that read Giulia's.

"Yes, it may have been an arranged marriage, but we fell in love with each other." I admired the way Giulia spoke so fondly of her husband.

We walked inside and the hostess greeted Giulia warmly and asked her how she was doing. When we were seated, settled and looking through the menu, I spoke up again.

"You speak very highly of your husband, he must be a very good man." I watched as Giulia's smile slipped and felt a twinge of guilt for making her smile fade.

"For a long time, I wasn't sure he was a good man. He was always good to me, but it was complicated." She said vaguely.

I sensed that Giulia didn't want to talk about it, so I changed the subject. The dinner was amazing and when it came time to pay, the waiter just smiled and waved us off. By the time Giulia dropped me off at my apartment, my cheeks hurt from smiling and I was so full I felt as if I was going to explode.

"Thank you so much for everything, Giulia." I said as she hugged the woman.

"Oh, you don't have to thank me. You're the daughter I never had." Giulia said with a smile.

I smiled and waved again as she drove off. As I climbed up the stairs I checked my phone and frowned when I realized Daniel hadn't answered my text. I brushed it off and unlocked the apartment door. The second I closed the door behind me, I knew something was off. I felt goosebumps spread over my arms and my hair stood on end. There was a box of cereal on the floor and Cheerios covered the floor where a chair had been knocked over.

"Daniel?" I called out cautiously. The door to his bedroom was open and the light was on, illuminating the otherwise dark apartment. When I didn't get an answer, I tiptoed to his room.

"You must be Alaya." A man said when I poked my head in. I let out a scream and turned to run, but another man came out of nowhere and grabbed me, covering my mouth with his hand. I kicked out in panic, but the next words out of the man's mouth were enough to make me freeze. "Your brother owed me a lot of money. If you want to see him alive again, you're going to help me."

When I stopped struggling, the man holding me cautiously released me and u covered my mouth. I finally took a good look at the man my brother owed money to. His suit fit him perfectly and her wore a fedora on his inky black hair. His eyes were dark and he didn't look like he was any older than thirty five, but something about him truly terrified me.

"What did you do to my brother?"

"Your brother will be fine as long as you do what I say." He said calmly.

"Who are you?" I asked. I glanced back at the man behind me and recognized him as the one who's been in the apartment last week.

"My name is Francesco Bonano. I'm the leader of the Bonano crime family."

Things are just starting to get interesting... 

I was so excited to post this that I had to stop myself from posting it early because if I start doing that, I'm gonna mess up my schedule and run out of things to post. The first five chapters, as of today, are completely done.

Don't forget to vote if you liked this and please comment and let me know what you think!

-Emma🎶