The next morning I woke up really late, the busy afternoon I had spent with my friends yesterday had really drained the energy out of me. I got out of my bed and went into the restroom to do my morning routine, while I washed my teeth I looked over to see my two best friends still dead asleep in my bed. I looked around for any sign that my mother had been here because she had promised she would sleep in my room with us for a few days but there was nothing hinting that she had slept in here with us. Maybe she's already awake and cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

I walked out of the room and down the hall. None of the guys were anywhere in sight, I went to both of my brothers rooms and their beds were already neatly made. I went to my dads room and was about to open the door but I figured since no one was upstairs, he probably was already awake and with the rest of the guys. I turned away and just as I was about seven steps away from the door I heard it creak open, I watched my mom get out of the room wearing fresh clothing and her hair slightly wet.

"Ma?"

My mom let out a small scream and turned to glare at me.

"Don't scare me like that!" she put a hand over her heart.

I crossed my arms over my chest and gave her a knowing look. "What are you doing sneaking out of dad's bedroom?"

"I took a shower in there"

"You could have gone to my bathroom" I pointed out. "Or to any other one in this big mansion."

"I didn't want to wake you girls" she continued her little charade.

"Cut the crap mom" I narrowed my eyes at her. "Tell me the truth!"

"Don't talk so loud!" she reached up to massage her temples and walked over to link her arm with mine. "I'll explain to you while we have some breakfast."

She has a headache, which means she had a little too much alcohol last night.

We walked downstairs and into the kitchen where the staff was busy cooking and cleaning around. Rita, the house maid who is in charge of everything made her way over to us with a smile.

"Would you like for us to serve you breakfast, Mrs. Victoria?

My mother nodded. "That would be wonderful. We'll be in the dining room, thank you Rita."

When we walked into the dining room I was surprised to find it empty, I thought the guys were already awake and having breakfast. "Where's everybody?"

"They're in the meeting room" My mom informed me as we took a seat across from each other. "Santiago called in all the guys for an important meeting."

He's going to tell them about Hector and the Italian Mafia.I can already tell there will be big commotion around the mansion. The Italians are a big deal, at least from what I've heard. I remember hearing my father when I was younger, he would come home complaining about the Italians and how there was this big competition going on between the Sinaloa Cartel and the most powerful Italian cartel, Cosa Nostra belongs to one of the most powerful capo's of all. Don Ernesto's nemesis, Cecilio Moretti. There were rumors back in the day that Don Ernesto tried to form an alliance with Cecilio but the Moretti family refused to share any money with the Bustamante's. The Italias have the oldest mafia of all time, older than the Mexican Mafia.

"Dad is in there too?"

Mom looked a bit uncomfortable when I mentioned my father but she still nodded stiffly. "Yes. He was called in earlier this morning"

Mhmmmm. Speaking of my father...

"So are you going to tell me what you were doing in his room?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"I'm curious..."

"Fine" said my mom as she leaned back against her chair, looking a bit annoyed. " Ernesto and your father took me to visit some old friends, I got to see Estela and spent the whole night talking to her while your dad and Ernesto were inside-"

"I don't want to hear the whole story!" I said. "Tell me why you were in his room."

She blushed a little before responding, "We both drank a little too much and slept together."

"Slept together?" I raised an eyebrow. "You mean slept in the same bed or sex?"

"Gabriela!" she yelled, her face turning red like a tomato.

I laughed. "Mom!"

The thing about my parents is that they still see me as their little girl, maybe its because I'm their youngest and only girl. They haven't grasped the fact that I'm a mature young lady...well kind of.

"But you're my daughter" she protested. "I shouldn't be talking to you about my sex life, that's too weird for me."

"MOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

"Okay I did!" she rubbed her forehead with both of her hands, trying to avoid making direct eye contact with me. "I had sex with your father last night. We both were a little too drunk and one thing lead to another..."

Yeah, yeah. That's what they all say 'One thing lead to another' blah blah blah, complete and total bullshit. Truth is they both did it because they wanted to do it, nobody put a gun to their heads forcing them to sleep with each other.

"Do you regret it?" I asked.

"Regret it?" she shook her head. "Never! Your father means a lot to me, he's the father of my kids, the man I've spent most of my life with."

"And you love him"

She frowned. "I don't know about that."

I snorted and took a hold of her hand. "You can't fool me. I know you still love him! I know the only reason you left him was because you were trying to protect me, you were only doing what you thought was best for your kids. I'm all grown up now, mom. I have my own life and its okay if you want to get back with him. There's nothing you holding you back anymore" I let go of her and poured myself a glass of juice from the jar sitting in the middle of the table. "I want you and daddy to be happy."

"But what if he doesn't want me anymore? He probably hates me for leaving him." she mumbled

My mother can be clueless sometimes.

I chuckled. "I seriously doubt that"

Rita and the other maids walked in and placed a plate of fresh fruit in front of us. They put a plate in front of the other empty chairs and I was about to ask them why they were doing that if all the men were still in the meeting room but the loud voices walking into the dining room interrupted me from doing so.

"Buenos dias" Don Ernesto greeted us

"Where's Vanessa and Sofia?" Leo glanced at the two empty spots next to me.

"They're still sleeping" I informed him.

My father sat in his seat grinning like a love struck fool, stealing a few glances at my mom who was completely avoiding doing any eye contact with him. Everyone else had no idea what was happening between them so I decided to help out my mother a little. She was going to have to talk to him sooner or later.

I cleared my throat. "Daddy, I didn't get to say goodnight to you last night. I was goanna go into your room last night but the door was locked and I didn't want to wake you up"

I felt someone kick me under the table and looked up to see my mom staring at me with wide eyes. The panic in her eyes showed what she wanted to tell me: Shut up!

"We got home very late mija" my father said smiling apologetically. "I was very tired and probably didn't notice that I locked the room."

I waved a hand. "It's fine. I'll just make sure to say goodnight before I go to sleep today."

"Actually" he spoke a bit hesitantly. "I won't be home tonight either. I was-um-thinking about asking your mother out to dinner." He said turning to look at my mom.

"Me?"

"Yes, I want to discuss a few things with you privately."

Martin and Alejandro turned to each other, I could tell they were both happy about what was going on between our parents. Especially Martin he was the one who suffered the most when our parents divorced, he was the one who had to watch my parents argue and yell at each other. Our oldest brother always tried to keep Alejandro and I from seeing our parents fight.

Mom gave a quick nod. "Alright, I'll go out with you tonight."

"I don't mean to interrupt anything" Santiago spoke up, standing up from his place at the head of the table. "But I've got an important matter that I want to discuss with everyone before Vanessa and Sofia come down for breakfast."

"Why can't Nessa and Sofi listen to what you're about to say?" Leo asked defensively.

"I'm going to tell them about the problem we spoke about in our meeting" Santi spoke calmly to his cousin. "There's no reason to put the other girls in danger, the less they don't the better."

"Why is Gabby allowed to know?" Joel said angrily. "We have to protect her too."

"I know that, brother" Santi said looking slightly annoyed. He turned his gaze on me and gave me a smile. " But I think Gabby should know what's going on, a few things are going to change around here and she should know the reasons for it."

"It's too dangerous! What if Hector tries getting answers out of her?" Joel turned to his father outraged. "Dad, do something about this!"

Don Ernesto gave his youngest son a disapproving look. "Yo no puedo hacer nada Joel. Tu hermano sabe lo que hace." (I can't do anything Joel. Your brother knows what he's doing.)

"Whatever"

Santiago ignored his sulking brother and turned back to what he was going to say. "Many of you already know this but I'm going to say it again for the ladies to hear the whole thing" he nodded at my mother and I. "We've received news that Hector is trying to get with the Italian Mafia and fight against us, even--"

Mom gasped out loud. "The Italian Mafia? That's crazy!"

"We don't know for sure yet but we still have to take precautions." He informed her. "There will be a lot more guards outside the mansion. No one is allowed to go out alone, if you want to go out somewhere you have to take someone with you."

"What if Hector is trying to scare us? He doesn't have the guts to ask Cecilio for help, and you know that Ernesto" mom spoke to Sinaloa's original Don. "He would never go near the Italians."

"We've thought about that " Don Ernesto said. "And we've already sent out people to get more information, I have no say in any of this. Santiago is the one in charge now and he just wants to make sure that you women are safe."

"If you think that's what's best then I am fine with the extra security" My mother agreed.

I took a deep breath. "I second that"

He nodded. "I've already given orders to get more people. I'm glad to see you two are okay with what I've decided."

"And what will we do if the rumors are true?" Joel asked, giving a taunting look at his older brother. "What if the Italians decide to take Hector's side?"

"Fight back" Santiago grinned. "I won't let them take over Tamaulipas, Mexico. That territory belongs to the Romano's and it will stay that way."

Dad reached out to squeeze his shoulder gratefully. "I appreciate what you're doing for us Santiago, it means a lot that you're risking yourself for my family."

"I'm only doing what I think my father would do."

Don Ernesto smiled proudly at his son. "That's my boy."

"We'll have to make a plan against the Italians" Daniel interrupted. "Just in case it comes down to a fight."

"Uncle" Leo spoke to Don Ernesto. "You've know Cecilio for years, what do you think would be a good attack against him?"

Holy Shit. One thing is them informing me about the security changes but another is talking about full out Mafia attacks right in front of me. My mother seemed unfazed by the change of topic but the difference between her and I is that she was married to a powerful Capo for years, she's already used to this kind of stuff.

Don Ernesto let out a booming laugh that made Alejandro, Leo, Daniel, mom and I to look at him like he was crazy. He shook with laughter while all of us looked at each other confused, the only ones who seemed to understand what was going on were Santiago, Martin, Joel, Dad, Don Rafael (Leo and Daniel's father); the ones considered royalty in the Mexican Mafia.

Which could only mean one thing: they all know something only bosses of the mafia are allowed to know.

"Son" Don Ernesto chuckled, looking straight at Leo who seemed a bit annoyed. "It isn't Cecilio we are going up against."

"What do you mean?"

Joel rolled his eyes. "Cecilio isn't the Don of the Cosa Nostra cartel"

"Who is it then?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Luca Moretti"'Santi spoke out loud with no emotion. "Cecilio's one and only son."

Luca Moretti? I had no idea Cecilio had a son, but then again its been years since I've heard about the Italian Mafia. The Italians have never even bothered with the Mexicans, they've always kept their distance and run their business on Italy. Cosa Nostra is what you would consider the Italian version of the Sinaloa Cartel, they're at the top of the food chain.

"So what is so funny about this Luca guy?" I asked.

"Let's just say we're going to have a tough time coming up with a good plan against them" Martin spoke through gritted teeth. "We'll have to be smart and calculate everything so that it comes out perfectly."

These guys are really getting on my nerves. Do they always have to leave us hanging? They never get to the point! Why is Luca such a big deal?

Daniel seemed to be thinking the same thing as me so he asked the question that must have been on everyone who had no clue of who this Luca guy is. "What's so special about this fool?"

"The son of a bitch is the sneakiest person you'll ever meet" Santi growled impatiently. "He'll do anything to get what he wants, whatever gets in his way he'll destroy it. If you think Hector is a dirty fighter, then you haven't seen what Luca Moretti is capable of."

Well that's just great! This will be a dangerous war in the world of drug cartels and my two best friends and I are right in the middle of it. By the tone of Santi's voice I can tell this fight against Los Zetas and Cosa Nostra will be very serious, Hector and this Luca guy are going to give it all they've got.

And the scary thing is, so is Santiago and Martin.

It's their duty as the new bosses of El Cartel de Sinaloa and El Cartel del Golfo.

*******************************

I was resting in a small bean-bag chair in the middle of the game room with Sofia next to me, Nessa was sitting on the red couch in front of us---not sitting actually, she was upside down with her feet resting on the top and her head hanging down almost touching the floor.

"Chicagooooooooooooooooo.....Chicagooooooooo. CHI-TOWNNNN"

Sofi and I glared at her for the hundredth time. Being the childish person she is, Nessa stuck her tongue at us and carried on with her bickering.

"CHICAGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

"Vanessa shut up!" Sofi yelled at her sister

"I'm sorry" Nessa pouted, she swung her hair from side to side. "I'm just sick of being stuck in this mansion, I want to go out somewhere!

"How long have we been here already?" I asked aloud.

I hadn't really kept track of the days, there's been a lot on my mind lately and the time seems to be passing me by faster then I thought. Everything around me is complete chaos: finding out the truth about the guys, reuniting with my dad and brothers. Santi's and I friends with benefits deal, parents hooking up and now the Italian problem.

I need a break.

"We've been here almost a week" Sofi piped up. "School in Chicago started up again, I bet everyone at the University is wondering where we are."

Nessa shrugged. "They probably thing we haven't gotten back from our Spring Break vacation"

"Which is true" I pointed out. "But we're not here because we want to, we're being forced to stay here."

"Are you calling us kidnappers?" Leo's voice called out from the doorway.

He stood there leaning against it, looking quite amused by Vanessa's weird position on the couch. She attempted to put herself down gently which only resulted in her falling flat on her side onto the red carpet.

Leo rushed to her side trying to contain his laugher. "Are you okay?" he offered his hand out to her.

Nessa pushed his hand away and got up into a sitting position. "You wanted to laugh!"

He pursed his lips in a tight line. "No I didn't"

By now Sofi and I were full out laughing. Nessa had completely embarrassed herself in front of the guy she likes, this is the first time it's ever happened! Nessa is always good at being smooth and keeping her feelings in check. Leo Bustamante is bringing out a side of her we have never seen before, and I couldn't be anymore happy about it.

This is priceless.

She crossed her arms. "I'm not talking to you anymore!"

"Umm, you're talking to me right now" he laughed.

Vanessa looked at us and pretended he wasn't there. Leo tried calling out her name but she wouldn't respond, he turned to us for help but she kept interrupting him and asking us questions, preventing us from understanding a single word he was saying.

"C'mon Ness don't be like that" he put an arm around her but she flicked it off. "Fine! Then you're staying here while the rest of us go out, I came here to invite you but since you're ign--"

That seemed to snap her out of it. "You're taking us out!" she jumped up to hug him around the waist.

He nodded. "We want to show you girls around."

"Who else is going?" I asked. Curious about one person in particular.

"Alex, Martin, Daniel, Joel and Santiago."

I groaned. "Joel"

Leo scrunched up his nose. "He tags along for everything. Especially if he knows you're coming along too."

"Great" I replied sarcastically.

"So are you girls down or what?"

Nessa kissed him on the cheek. "I'm totally down babe"

"I'm down"

"Let's go!" Sofi grinned.

Everyone went separate ways to do our own thing and get ready to go out. Sofia locked herself up in the restroom from my bedroom while Nessa called dibs on my room, I couldn't exactly change in there because she had brought in Leo with her to 'wait for her while she gets ready' but only God knows what they're truly doing.

I was on my way to one of the restrooms in the hallway when I was roughly pulled into one of the many rooms in the mansion. I let out a yelp and was about to scream but the person put a hand over my mouth. The room seemed awfully small, I was pushed up against the wall as I struggled to free away from my captor's grasp.

"Shhh" the man whispered. "Its me!"

I felt his hand reach up to pull something and suddenly the room was filled with light and I looked up into Santiago's blue eyes.

I slapped his hand away angrily. "You scared me!"

He chuckled quietly. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to get a few minutes with you before we go out. I don't know if we'll be able to have some alone time since we have the whole gang with us."

With those words, my anger disappeared and I couldn't help smiling up at him.

"That's sweet"

He leaned down, his lips inches away from mine. "I think I deserve a kiss for that" he said, his lips moving against mine with each word.

I was about to reply with a funny remark of my own, but he covered my mouth with his lips, kissing me deeply. Minutes after, which only felt like a few seconds to me, he pulled away breathing heavily.

"I seriously need to stay away from you" he whispered, leaning his forehead against mine.

Ouch.

My stomach hurt just from the thought of not being with him. Does he really want to end this already?

"Why do you say that?" I asked unable to keep the panic out of my voice.

"I'm getting addicted to your kisses"

Oh thank God!

I laughed and reached out to give him a peck on the lips. "Well that's too bad, you'll have to live with this addiction" I joked. "There's no way I can help you."

"You can he--"

"Gabriela!!!!!"

We froze in spots and heard the sound of a person's footsteps pass right past the closet door we were in.

"Gabby, where are you?" Martin's voice called out again.

"I have to go!" I whispered in Santi's ear.

"I think he's already in your room. You get out first, I'll stay in here for a few more minutes just in case they catch you getting out of here."

I nodded giving him another quick kiss. "Let's try to sneak away from the group later on. I want you to show me around."

He sighed lightly. "I don't think that's going to be possible"

I gazed at him questionably, a frown appearing on my face. "Why not?"

"We're in Sinaloa, Mexico"

"So?"

A cocky expression appeared on his face. "Do you remember who I am?"

What is he talking about--Oh...Yeah

"Santiago Bustamante" I rolled my eyes at him. "Leader of the Sinaloa Cartel."

Damn it.

__________________________________________

I had to re-post this chapter because it somehow got messed up! I am so sorry for taking so long to update but my family is going through a really tough time because my grandmother passed away :( I am slowly getting back into my writing flow. Thank you all for being so patient<3

P.S. Leave a comment below saying anything you want! My question for you is: What team are you on? Team Mexicans or Team Italians?

Hugs&Besos,

wendy1122