Chapter 24 quote:

"I need you, I need you, I need you right now. I need you right now.
So don't let me, don't let me, don't let down."
~ Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers ft. Daya

HARLOW

I love you, and I'll see you soon, princess - Unknown

God, what the hell is going on? I'd been getting these creepy ass texts all week. All by Unknown. But I knew good and damn well who it was.

Francisco.

I haven't showed anyone, not even Cristiano these texts. I got about three texts a day, one in the mornings, one just to check on me in the afternoon, and one at night, before I went to bed. All the texts ended with 'I'll see you soon, princess'.

He's coming for me.

I know I'm not as scared as I used to be of him, and I have the whole Italian Mafia to protect me, but I just have the feeling something's gonna happen right under our noses, and I'll be taken. Gone.

And now, I really am scared of what he's gonna do to me when he does take me. When I was still with the Russians, Francisco would punish me by anything that inflicts pain on my body for doing anything he didn't like. Whether it was whips or just flat out beating me. I got these punishments at least twice a week.

I decided to stay as close to anyone as possible when I go out. Never leave their side until I find someone else to cling to.

I ran downstairs and into the kitchen. Cristiano was cooking God knows something heavenly, Zach had just walked out and Eli followed him. I made a mental note to talk to him later.

I leaned against the doorway smiling at the adorable sight in front of me.

Cristiano was standing in front of the stove, flour on his grey Adidas sweatpants, his abs, his hair and the tip of his nose. He had his hands on his hips, with a grimace that turned into a cute little pout. In a flash, he opened a small bottle of seasoning and sprinkled it in a red sauce, and by the rolled out circle of dough on a counter, I'm guessing he's making pizza.

Zach probably requested it because Zach can't eat anything but pizza. He eats it all the time.

I went over to my master chef and stood beside him, to see how long it takes him to notice me.

After approximately 3.5 seconds, he holds a spoon up to my lips. "Taste."

I glance at him and he has a hopeful look on his stubbled face. I gladly taste the sauce and almost collapse from the taste.

"Holy shït balls." I licked the spoon again. "Why the hell do you have a personal chef when you can cook tenfold better?" I groaned.

"Because I'm too lazy to cook." He simply answered, and put a lid on the pot, turning the heat to low. "You liked it?"

"Like', is not the right word." I thought for a descriptive fancy word. "It was positively delectable."

He laughed and pecked my lips, putting his hands on my hips to bring me closer and we both smiled. "Grazie, bellezza."

Hearing this a thousand times, I knew what grazie meant. "You're welcome." I got on the tips of my toes to kiss him again.

He lifted me up and set me on the counter, not breaking the kiss, his hands resting on my thighs. Swirling his tongue to search every crevice of my mouth, he deepened the passionate kiss.

He pulled away to go for my neck, but I stopped him, grasping his shoulders. "First of all, get your sauce. Second, save it for tonight." I smirked and he groaned, turning around to prepare the pizza.

"Cheese, it's behind you, beautiful." He mumbled with his hand out behind him. I looked behind me handed him the bowl of mozzarella shredded cheese.

He turned around and gave me the sauce spoon. "If you like the sauce so much, you can lick the spoon, angel." What's up with the little pet names and the cuteness?

I happily took the spoon and licked it clean before he could even turn around. I handed it back to him and he threw it in the sink.

He returned to his pizza preparation, mumbling incoherently about the amount of pepperoni needing to be an even number and symmetrical on both sides. He has serious OCD sometimes.

Finally, after five minutes, he puts it in the fancy pizza oven and immediately turns around, his lips crashing into mine. I quickly responded, my hands on his chest.

I could taste the sauce on his lips and I smiled, triggering a smile from him. "Damn it, stop smiling." He mumbled, still smiling.

"Well in my defense you're smiling too." We were still so close, our lips brushed together as we talked.

"But it's your fault, you make me smile. My angel." His words made a million fireworks shoot throughout my body, and my heart melted. I could feel my cheeks grow hot

"Well jeez. I feel bad for not having a nickname for you." I said, and he laughed.

"I don't want a nickname from you, angel. The way your beautiful voice utters my name, is already perfect." Okay, something definitely is going on.

"Wow, someone's full of charm today. Is there something you need to tell me?" I wrapped my arms around his neck and he unexpectedly lifted me up by the waist and carried me to the living room.

He sat down with me on his lap and I looked at his suddenly serious face. "Okay, you're scaring me. W-what's going on?" I stuttered in nervous confusion.

"I have to leave." He said, and I furrowed my eyebrows. "I have a mission, I guess you could say. I have to stop the Slovenians from escaping Italy with 500,000 dollars of our money. Since you are ex affiliated with the Russians, you cannot go, you are under protective watch since the Russians are working with the Slovenians and both mobs could be there."

My hot temper flared. "That's bullshit! I should be able to go! 'Protective watch' my ass! I am part of CAT, so I should be there and on the front lines."

He sighed. "Yes, baby, I know you should. But, we don't want anything happening to you, because you are a valuable asset to the Italian Mafia, therefore you can't go for now. But personally, I do think you should be able go, but I don't want you to either. I don't want anything happening to you on my watch, I'd die from a heart attack." He chuckled wryly. "Okay?"

"But I don't want anything happening to you either!"

"Hey, I'll be fine. I've been in this business for 8 years. I've been, shot, stabbed, electrocuted, beaten and tortured. I think a small shootout blood fight is fine for me." He wrapped an arm around me as I laid against him with my head on his shoulder.

I fiddled with the chain of his key necklace. "Do you promise not to die?"

He chuckled. "I'll try not to."

"No, promise." I held up my pinky finger in a hook. He locked his pinky with mine and I squeezed extra tight, as if it would seal the deal permanently. "I promise I won't die."

"Is Zach going too? And Eli?" I asked quietly.

"Yes. CAT and several extra men are going. That's Eli, Zach, me, and 95 other gunmen and assassins are going. Now, if you keep up this cute sad act, I'm gonna stay here out of guilt and I can't do that. So cheer up. Because I'm not leaving until tomorrow morning."

I kissed his jaw and buried my face into the crook of his neck and I mouthed 'I love you' so he couldn't hear me. "Are you sad?" He asked.

"No. I'm fine." I lied. "And hungry, I think the pizza is ready." I smoothly changed the subject.

****

CRISTIANO

She is not fine, I thought as I looked at her from across the dining table. We and my family were having the pizza I made. She took slow bites and chews, and you could see by her lip biting, which she knows she shouldn't do, that she's thinking hard about something.

I wish I could persuade my hardheaded father into letting her go with us but he will not budge, so there is nothing anyone can do about it. So I have to find a way to cheer her up and get her mind off of it for now.

Did you hear about the guy who ate twelve bowls of alphabet soup? - Me

She looked down and then up at me with a weird look.
Uh, no? - My Angel

Well, it didn't turn out well for him, he had a huge vowel movement. - Me

She blinked at her phone with a straight face before bursting into laughter, causing everyone to look at her.

You're so corny. - My Angel

But hey, you're smiling aren't you? If that's what it takes to see that gorgeous smile, then I'll do it. - Me

I saw her pale cheeks turn a light shade of red. We gazed at each other for a while until Zach whispered something to her to make her blush deepen and she hit his arm, calling him an idiot.

He shuffled and messed up her hair and she threw a piece of pepperoni at him. Then it turned into a mini food fight. Until my mother noticed.

"No fighting! You should know better, Zach!" She scolded and winked at Harlow. Zach scoffed with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, Zach." Harlow teased and he rolled his eyes. "Shut up, cupcake."

"Keep rolling your eyes and they'll fall out of your head." She retorted.

He guffawed. "Says you! The QUEEN of eye rolling! You roll you eyes more than I eat pizza, which is a lot."

"Yeah, it's a wonder you aren't fat." She snorted.

"Fight me!"

"Square up." And with that, they burst out laughing. We all just looked at them like they just turned into frogs.

"I'll never understand the way your friendship works." Eli rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You don't have to." They said simultaneously. She sighed. "Why didn't I meet you people sooner?"

"Blame Cristiano." My father said and I scoffed. "What? It is your fault. You took too long on finding her."

"What?! No! I didn't find her, we just 'met'. It's Eli's fault for not introducing us earlier. Like he could've when we first moved to America." I looked at Eli.

"How did I get caught in this? To be honest, she was too busy to visit anyways."

"How the hell did you not know your own sister was in the Shadows aka the Russian Mob?!" I questioned.

"She didn't tell me. Harlow has her secrets and doesn't have to tell me shit. Although I'd lose more stress if she did." We both looked at Harlow.

"Hey! I don't have secrets!"

Zach, Alexi and Lola all scoffed at the exact same time. "Puh-lease! Cupcake, you have tons of secrets! All of them are super tiny, they don't matter. But that huge one, though, wow! You are lying through your pretty little smile." Zach said and Harlow smacked the back of his head.

"Clearly, you don't understand the phrase 'shut up' when it's told to you, Zachariah!"

"Hold on, did I miss something? What's the 'big secret'?" I asked and they both stopped talking completely. "Okay, who all knows the secret?"

Zach, Alexi, Lola and my mother raised their hands. "Ma?!" I scoffed.

"What's the secret?" Eli asked and Lola whispered something in his ear to make his face drain of any color. "YOU WHAT?!" He glared at Harlow.

"Don't give me that angry shit, E! You would've known sooner if you'd pay more attention to me!"

He furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at me and I gave him a 'tell her and you're dead' look. He better not tell her about the cure mission. "Well I'm sorry, I've just been busy! I'll make it up to you, okay?" He said sincerely.

She calmed down and sighed with a nod. "We will talk about it later."

****

"What secret?" I pressed and she sighed.

"I'd rather not tell you yet." She mumbled distractedly as she braided her wet hair.

What the hell is the damn secret? What's so bad that she can't tell me. She said it herself she has complete trust in me. I sighed. "Fine. You don't have to tell me." I said exasperated, my left eye twitching.

As soon as the annoyed words came out of my mouth, she immediately looked at me with worry...and fear? "I-I'm sorry. It's just personal and I'm not ready to tell you." She looked down as she twiddled her thumbs.

Okay, that is not my girlfriend.

"Hey." I called and she looked up. "What's wrong?" I asked in a softer voice. She blinked  and thought for a minute.

I hate the word to come out of her mouth. "Nothing."

I huffed, my left eye twitching again. She noticed and got that scared and worried look on her face again. "Sorry." She looked down again. What the fuck?

Now I'm getting worried.

I got up and walked towards her and she took one glance at me before quickly looking down again.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Harlow? Where're the snarky retorts? Where's the little quirky girl that I know? What's wrong with you?" I cupped her face with my large hands, making her look me in the eyes.

"Stop apologizing so much. When I ask you what's wrong, you either roll your eyes, or respond. When I get annoyed with you, you do not apologize. You usually don't give a damn. So what is wrong, angel?"

She visibly gulped, before giving me her phone. I raised an eyebrow but she seemed scared.

I let go of her and took the phone, unlocking it with her password, which is my birthday backwards, and my left eye and jaw twitched with anger. "What the hell?"

Goodnight princess, I love you. Looking forward to killing your boyfriend tomorrow. I'll see you soon, princess. - Unknown

I scrolled through the texts, all from unknown, all of them starting with 'good morning', 'goodnight', or 'hey princess'. They all ended in 'I'll see you soon, princess'. And they all included 'I love you'. She had been apparently getting these texts for a week.

I was seething with rage. "Why didn't you tell me about this the first time you got one?!"

She flinched and I immediately gained back my composure a bit.

She gulped again. "I didn't want you to freak out or anything." She said quietly. I blinked at her and she continued. "I got scared after the third one. He's gonna take me. And I-I wasn't trying to make you mad, so that way I could stay with you at all times. That's why I was apologizing, because I didn't want to make you mad at me and everything would be fine if you didn't get angry and want space. I'm sorry." She was full on ranting and talking fast, but I understood every word.

I closed my eyes and sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. I cupped her face again. "Look. I would never be so mad at you that I'd want space when you are clearly in danger. I'd do anything to keep you safe and you know that. Don't ever think otherwise. I will always protect you and will always save you when you need it."

I pulled her into a hug, wrapping my arms around her and she gripped my shirt on my chest. At that moment, I felt really guilty for having to leave her for the next few days.

We got into bed and she stayed in my arms the entire night, never once moving. I could tell she wasn't sleeping, though. It was already 2:00 in the morning, and she hadn't slept a wink.

Although my eyes were closed, I could feel her fiddling with my key necklace. A smile tugged at my lips as I hugged her tighter and she let out a squeak. "You're crushing me..." She whispered.

"So?" I chuckled, opening my eyes. She tried to wiggle out of my hold but I kept her still. "Please, let go!" She whisper whined, but was giggling. I loosened my tight grip and she over-exaggeratedly let out a loud breath.

"Geez, were you trying to kill me?"

I laughed quietly. "No, I just wanted to see you smile." I grinned and she smiled, snuggling impossibly closer and kissing my jaw.

After a few minutes, she finally dozed off, I could hear her soft and quiet snores.

"Buona notte, bambina." I whispered, kissing the top of her head.

__________________________________________

I swear they are goals sometimes. Next few chapters are kinda intense. In a bad way.

Bye, loves!

- COA