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"You didn't kiss?"

"No"

"Why not?!"

"Because stupid Joel had to show up right when we were about to!"

"I really hate that kid" Nessa grumbled, huffing angrily while we all got ready to go downstairs for breakfast.

Don Ernesto had sent one of the house maids to let us know that breakfast was ready downstairs, and that everyone would be eating together in the main dining room. Since the girls already kind of knew their way around the mansion, we had no problem getting there on time.

We arrived to find all the guys sitting down in the large table, and when I say all the guys I really mean every single one of them. It was a bit intimidating to be one of the only three girls in the house.

A new face I hadn't seen before was sitting to the right side of the Don who was at the head of the table. He noticed me staring at him and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Gabby this is Rafael Bustamante, he's the underboss of the cartel...well he's retired, now the position belongs to Joel. He's Daniel and Leo's father".

I felt both Vanessa and Sofia tense up at the mention of their lovers.

Rafael stood up and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you Gabriela"

"The pleasure is all mine" I smiled at him. "I would like to introduce you to my friends Vanessa and Sofia" I pointed at the girls standing next to me.

"Ladies" he did a small bow. "I've heard a lot about you two from both of my sons." he said with a hint of amusement.

"Hopefully good things." Nessa smiled turning to glare slightly at Leo who was sitting at the end of the table.

"Oh, of course!"

"I hope you girls slept well last night, is there anything you want me to do to make your stay more comfortable?" Don Ernesto asked us, watching with curious eyes as we took a seat on the three chairs they had left for us.

"We're all good, thank you."

Everyone began to eat, making small talk here and there. I avoided eye contact with Santiago and Joel, there's no way I can look at them in the face after the little scene last night.

Stupid Joel, I barely know the kid and I already hate him.

"Your mother will be arriving today sometime this afternoon" Dad said to me. "One of our guards will be bringing her to the mansion, you'll have a few hours with her since all of us will be gone to take care of some business."

I was tempted to ask where they would be going but after thinking about it a little longer I decided not to ask. It's all Mafia business.

"You're leaving us here all by ourselves?" Sofia asked a hint of panic in her voice.

"There's no need to worry Sofia" Don Ernesto raised his hand. "We'll leave some of our best guards to take care of you girls. You'll always be protected."

"How long will you be gone?" I questioned.

"Why don't you just ask what you really want to know?" a satisfied smile crossed Martin's face.

"What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes before turning to look at me. "You want to know what we're up to, don't you? All you have to do is ask little sis."

"Martin..." my father said in a warning tone.

"Oh yeah?" I snorted. "And what makes you think that?"

He shrugged. "It's pretty obvious."

This is why sometimes I'm glad I don't see my brothers often. I remember when we were younger it was always them against me, they would tease me, make fun of me and even boss me around.

Family. Can't stand them but you can't help loving them.

"I really don't give a flying fuck about your stupid little drug business" I muttered looking down at my food. "That's the reason why mom and I left."

Damn. There I go with my stupid blabber mouth.

I looked up to see the joking smile on Martin's face had slipped off and he was now looking at my father who had a pained look in his eyes.

"Way to go Gabby" Alex shook his head.

"I'm sorry dad, I shouldn't'--"

"It's fine Gabriela" dad raised his hand to stop me. "You're just stating the truth , there's no need to apologize."

"I'm not that hungry anymore" I pushed the plate away from me.

"No, no" Santiago stood up glancing down at his watch. "We have to get going so you might as well stay here with your friends and eat."

The rest of the men stood up and filed out of the dining room, my father stopped right next to my chair and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"Take care mi princessa" he whispered. "Your mother will be here in a few hours."

Before he could walk away with the rest of the guys I pulled his arm back and reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"I didn't mean to upset you" I murmured feeling guilty after my little slip up. I had made breakfast a very awkward for everyone else.

He shook his head. "I know that, honey"

"And don't worry about me old man" I added. " You're the one that has to be careful."

"Always am"

"I love you daddy"

That made him break out into a smile. "I love you too princess"

*~*~*~

We decided to watch a movie in one of the five TV rooms they have in the mansion, Sofi and Nessa were really into the film unlike me who had no idea what was going on because I kept glancing at the clock, waiting for the guys to return but most importantly for my mother to arrive.

I felt something soft hit my face and I looked down to see two pieces of popcorn had landed on my lap. Nessa glared at me from her sitting spot in front of the couch and shook her head at me.

"You're not even watching the movie with us!"

"I'm just so anxious" I admitted sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Ness"

This whole Mafia situation has really made a change in my attitude, I feel like I'm always looking out for something or worrying about someone.

Hopefully we don't stay here for long because pretty soon I'll probably drive everyone crazy with my change in moods.

She shook her head but at least she wasn't glaring at me anymore. "I know you're worried about them and your mom, but you need to calm down and chill for a little."

Sofi laughed. "When Gabby is worried about something there's no way of getting it out of her head" her eyes held amusement as she said this to her sister. "Trust me, I've tried."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, bring the 'best friend' card and rub it in my face you evil little sister."

Vanessa Lazcano always being the drama queen. We have this small issue in our friendship, well at least they do... not me. The thing is Nessa is a year older then Sofi and me, when I moved from Mexico to Chicago and started middle school, Sofia was the first one to befriend me. Sofi introduced me to her sister Vanessa and soon enough we became like the three musketeers...inseparable.

But since Nessa is older she was always a year above us in school which made it difficult for us to hang-out all together, making me a lot closer with Sofia than Vanessa. We've never meant for Nessa to feel left out but sometimes the 'best friend' thing always comes to the surface. And Vanessa gets really annoyed... even though I've assured her many times that WE ARE ALL BEST FRIENDS, which I truly believe because I cannot imagine myself without both of them in my life.

Sofi groaned. "You always have to bring that up, I'm just saying what I know."

"Yeah sure..."

"You know we love you Nessa" I assured her, crawling off the couch to give her a hug.

She shrugged. "I know. I just like making you girls feel guilty every once in a while." And even though I didn't look at her face I could bet there was a smirk on her face.

"I should have known" Sofi exclaimed annoyed. "I shouldn't even bother explaining myself to you."

"Well now you know."

I heard the sound of footsteps coming in to the room and looked up to see Diego walk in with a walkie-talkie in hand. Nessa took the remote and muted the TV when she saw him motioning for her to lower the volume.

"Take two other men with you and make sure you have guns with you. We have to make sure she's well protected, bosses' orders." he said quickly into the black rectangular device.

"Sure thing. We're already on our way to meet up with the guards who picked her up in Chicago" the other voice replied back. "We'll be back at the mansion in about thirty-five minutes."

"See you soon" Chamuco finished the conversation and turned to look at me. "Your mom is on her way."

I couldn't help the silly grin from coming onto my face. My mommy was coming to be with us! I haven't seen her since the time Alex and I went to visit her, almost two weeks.

Some family drama is sure to go down once she gets here, I can feel it. It's been years since we've all been together as a family there's certainly going to be some emotional shit that will make me cry which I am so not looking forward to but I also can't help but feel a bit curious of what mom and dad will do while we're here. Will they get back together?

Oh my God this is all too weird.

Diego was about to leave again but I stopped him before he could go anywhere.

"Chamuco sit your ass down on the couch." I said in a serious tone and pointed down to the small couch across from where I was sitting.

He looked a bit freaked out by my tone of voice but followed my orders nonetheless. There was defiantly curiosity in his eyes as he sat down.

"Is there anything I can do for you Miss. Gabriela?" he said in a respectful tone.

WHAT THE HELL?! Miss. Gabriela?

I turned to look at my friends who looked just as shocked as I did, they were both gaping at Chamuco.

"Diego" I said carefully. "Is there something wrong with you?"

"Not at all Miss. Why do you ask?"

"Because of that!" I pointed at him.

"Excuse me?"

"You're doing it right now!"

"Doing what Miss?" he deadpanned.

"WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT! MY NAME IS GABBY NOT MISS!"

He shrugged. "Don Santiago and your father told the whole staff that we are supposed to show respect and call you Miss. Gabriela. They said we shall listen to anything you say and do whatever you want."

"This is priceless" Nessa broke into a fit of laughter.

"This is ridiculous" I grumbled angrily.

Santiago and my father ordered this?

"May I go now Miss. Gabriela?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"I'm sorry Miss."

"Ugh" I cried out in frustration and went to stand in front of him with a killer glare on my face. "Diego you better stop it now! I don't care what Santiago and my dad said, I want you to treat me the way you've always treated me. I'm your friend remember?"

He kept a blank face. "I don't know what you're talking about Miss."

"Oh my God I'm going to kill you!" I swung my hand out ready to smack him upside the head but he quickly dodged my hand and fell down on the couch doubled over in laughter.

Jerk!

"What's so funny?" I demanded in an angry voice.

"Your face!" he cried out. "Ha ha ha! You should have seen it. Ay dios"

Sofia and Ness were cracking up as well but Diego was the one who was nearly in tears as he dropped off the couch and started rolling around the floor like a crazy person.

"It's not funny! I glowered at him. "You were annoying the hell out of me. Was this all a joke?"

He nodded his head up and down while trying to calm down.

"I hate you."

"I can't believe you actually fell for that" Diego grinned at me.

Vanessa walked over to high-five him. "That was a good one my friend."

"Shut up Vanessa!" I grumbled throwing a hand full of popcorn at her. "You fell for it too."

"Okay, I'm sorry. What did you want to talk about?" he asked as soon as he had composed himself.

"Oh, now you want to know?" I snapped at him, trudging back to the comfy couch he has made me get out off.

"Gabby" a frown crossed his face. "I was only joking!"

"Fuck you"

Diego doesn't know how much he's affecting my mood and this is not necessarily a good thing. The kid is setting foot in some dangerous territory and if he keeps fooling around during bad times I will seriously go off on him.

"Gabriela chill" Sofi said, doing a weird 'breathe-in-breathe-out' motion with her hands to make me calm down.

"This is really not a good time for jokes" I informed him.

"I noticed." he gave me a weary look. "Now tell me what you called me back for."

"I just...I wanted to know how you're doing. I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you after the incident at the club."

"I'm good"

I watched him skeptically. "Really?

"Yeah I'm fine" he told me. "Other then the fact that I found out that the girl I like and the one who I warned to stay away from my Mafia bosses ended up being the daughter of a very powerful drug lord."

Wow, he's certainly not the type of guy to beat around the bushes. But he has a point, I wouldn't feel too comfortable if the person I like was the son of my boss. Awkward.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah, yeah" he sighed. "It was pretty pointless of me when I tried to warn you to stay away from the Bustamante's, you would have found out either way."

I frowned. "It wasn't pointless, you were being a good friend and looking out for me."

"But it wouldn't have made a difference"

"What do you mean? I questioned.

"You're Gabriela Romano" he said loudly, throwing his hands up in the air. "There's no way you can stay out of this, no matter what you do you'll always be dragged back into this mess."

I already knew this because I've tried to get away but when I heard it come out of his mouth I felt a pain in my chest at the truth of his words. It didn't sound so bad when I said it but whenever someone else did it made it even more real.

"This shit is a part of me no matter what, huh?"

He smiled sadly at me feeling guilty after he heard the tone of my statement.

"It's fucked up but it's true" he whispered.

Sofi gave him a flat out glare. "Thank you for making her feel even worse, Diego."

Suddenly a voice in the walkie-talkie went off. "Chamuco we're outside Mrs. Romano is with us and we're on our way in."

"I'm not Mrs. Romano anymore it's Mrs. Garza" I heard my mother yell angrily in the background.

My mom is here!

"We're not finished with this talk" I pointed a finger at him. "But right now I want to go see my mom. We'll talk later."

He nodded.

I got up from the couch and ran out of the room as fast as I could the cleaning staff who were all around the mansion stared at me as I sprinted past them down the large staircase. The front door opened and in walked one of the guards next to my mother who didn't seem affected at all by the size of the large house, or rather mansion.

"Mama!"

Her head snapped up at the sound of my voice, a relived expression on her face as she opened her arms for me to embrace her. "Gabriela no sabes que alivio es ver que estas bien." (Gabriela, you don't know what a relief it is to see that you're okay.)

"I missed you so much Ma'."

"I know sweetie, I missed you too. I was so worried about you!" she said in a thick voice. "Oh God where's Vanessa and Sofia? Are they okay? I'm going to have a serious talk with your father about this..."

"Mom calm down" I chuckled, pulling away from her.

"Vicky!" my two friends echoed as they ran down the stairs to join us and crushed my mom in a small little group hug.

"You have to tell me everything that happened and I do mean every single detail."

"We will" I said as we all walked with her into the main living room downstairs.

The guards went to put up my mother's luggage upstairs into one of the rooms and I noticed there was something unusual. There were a lot of suitcases being carried up, my mom would never bring this much stuff.

"How much did you bring Mama?" I asked with wide eyes as I watched the people walking in and out of the mansion.

"Oh, I brought some more clothes for you girls. I don't know how long we'll be here but I think we should be prepared."

"Did our parents ask you anything when you went to their house?" Sofi asked her worriedly.

"Not really. I told them Salvador invited you girls to stay a few more days in Mexico and that I was coming to join you all. They weren't suspicious at all."

The Lazcano family don't know anything about my family background, the only thing they know is that my mom and dad divorced and that my dad lives in Mexico but they have no idea what my father does for living.

"We only got to speak with them for a few minutes yesterday" Nessa frowned. "And we couldn't say a lot about our whereabouts since most of the phone calls made from the mansion are supervised by people."

"I hate it when they do that." mom shook her head angrily. "Where's your father?" she glanced around.

"He went to take care of some business"

She scoffed. "I should have known. That's all they care about..."

"Ma'..." I gave her a warning look. "You're going to have to keep that anger to yourself. Dad doesn't look so well and I don't want any stress to worsen his health."

That seemed to quiet her down. I knew she would be worried about him!

"I know" she whispered. "I'll try to stay calm. I don't want him to get worse either."

"I'm going to try to convince him to visit a doctor again while we are here." I rubbed a hand over my forehead and paced around the room.

"That stubborn man" she babbled angrily. "We'll have to drag him by the hair to get him to see a doctor. When we were married I felt like I was his mother instead of his wife... I always had to baby him because he was so stubborn."

Nessa and Sofi laughed and I smiled remembering the times when my parents were together. Back then I though it was hilarious to watch him act like such a little kid, but even through those small differences between them anyone could see the immense love they had for each other.

"It was pretty funny when he whined like a little kid every time you made him do something he didn't want to do" I laughed.

She huffed. "Funny? It felt like I had four kids rather than three!"

"Remembering the good old times, I see?" a deep familiar voice spoke loudly making all of us jump in surprise.

We turned around to see my father and Don Ernesto standing by the doorway with the rest of the guys behind them.

"Victoria" my father stepped forward, his eyes glued to my mom. "It's good to see you."

"Salvador" she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a small knowing smile. "Didn't I always tell you it's rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversations?"

"Old habits die hard" he shrugged smugly.

Here we go again...

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