long chapter, be prepared



Every year this ball has ball has to happen. It's been happening long before I was even born. There's a special guest list and a special city where it is held and they only get to know where. During the ball, trade talk is mostly happens but we also hold an auction. This money usually gets donated to the top voted charity. It's just a way to get all my alliances in one spot to talk basically.

I look at myself in the mirror, making sure the waves are in place and everything looks good. Kylo had a great choice when he picked out my suit. It's a nice red, not too bright, but the button up is a sleek black colour along with the tie.

Speaking of Kylo, he barges into my room. "Nah, we look so fly right now," he grins, adjusting his blazer with a big smile on his face.

I stop myself from slapping my hand into my face. "Kylo, never say that ever again," I sigh with disappointment.

"But-" he starts but I immediately cut him off. "No, Kylo. Just, no." Fly? Seriously?

"Just tryna compliment my for lifer but okay," he sighs dramatically, shaking his head like I just gave him the worst news possible.

"Also stop with the for lifer thing," I add. "You're in the mafia, working all the time. How do you have time for social media to learn these stuff?"

"Oh, bud," he places a hand on my shoulder. "That's basic stuff that my great grandma would know... you're just that behind I'm afraid."

"First," I slap his hand away from me, "Second, never call me bud ever again." Why do I keep him as company?

"Whatever you say b-" before he could finish his sentence, his eyes meet my glare and he immediately stops. "Yep, never mind. Just come downstairs in five, we're about to leave. Oh and... I may or may not have matched you with a special somebody," he says and quickly leaves my room just in time for me to process what he just said.

You've got to be kidding me. He matched my outfit with Ivory's? Gosh, maybe he didn't really have a great choice when picking my suit.

Well... I guess it won't be that bad. People will assume she's mine and leave her alone.

What the fuck? Never mind, I can't believe I just thought that. Never in my life did I think I would say those words to myself.

Fuck.

How does she have me all confused? She really is something.

Letting out a deep breath, I quickly spray my favourite cologne, Stronger With You, before looking at myself one last time then leaving.

As I walk down the stairs, I notice that Elio, Isiah, Kylo, Riley, and Bell are all ready but Ivory. She does seem like the type to always be late.

Kylo starts blasting wedding trumpets on the speakers and I shoot him a glare. He's a kid. An eight year old kid. "Just some jokes," he forces out a laugh, turning his stupid choice of music off.

"Cleaned yourself up well," Elio remarks. "That's what you should say," I look at Kylo. "Okay what? That was boring," he scoffs.

"Wait, what did Kylo say?" Bella interrupts. "I would like to know this too," Riley joins in. Oh, here we go.

"I just said that we are looking fly," he mutters under his breath quietly but just loud enough for us to hear, scratching the back of his neck. Not a second after, Isiah bursts out laughing. He's never going to forget this.

"What?" Kylo groans out of annoyance. "Literally what's wrong with that?" Someone's got to teach this poor kid. And he has a girlfriend... damn.

He looks at Bella for help but she covers her mouth to hide her giggles. "It's quite funny, darling. I'm sorry." In response, he rolls his eyes. "It'll catch on," he mumbles. Sure, Kylo...

"I'm not gonna lie," Isiah utters, trying to hide smile, "you are looking fly, De Luca." He could barely get the words out of his mouth before bursting into laughter again.

I don't waste anytime on thinking of a reply, and just as I was about to say it, a voice beats me to it. A sweet, familiar voice. "Cmon, guys. I know I'm late but did I really miss out on all the fun?"

My eyes look up to see Ivory looking beautiful as ever. Woah. My heart almost skips a beat as I analyse her, from head to toe. Her black hair was curled, her makeup was perfect bringing out the green in her eyes beautifully and that dress fit her perfectly. A red dress, off the shoulder with a slit starting at her thigh. Was it made for her? Because it seems like it.

I've never thought of Ivory like how I am right now. Did she really just make me speechless?

"Mami!" Bella yells out, followed by Riley whistling.

"Oh, so they can do all that but me saying fly is wrong," Kylo scoffs. Isiah pats his shoulder, obviously about to make a funny joke but Kylo stops it. "Not today," he sighs dramatically. He still bursts out laughing again, earning him a glare from emo Kylo.

When Ivory reaches the end of the stairs, she has a quick exchange of words with Elio. Probably some cute sibling shit.

But after that, everyone starts to head outside, leaving Ivory and I behind. "You look..." I start.

"Hot?" she smiles, looking down at the dress. Well. "I was going to say stunning, but whatever you say, love."

Her face seems confused, her brows furrow, but then her smile reappears. "Like that would ever come out of your mouth, De Luca," she scoffs. "You probably meant I look like a fish, then you would push me into the nearest pool you find."

"I thought we moved past that," I reply in a fake sad tone. I knew she was never going to forget about it.

"No, not until I get my pack back," she rolls her eyes. Oh, she's serious. "Didn't I save you from drowning? Cmon, darling. That lets me off doesn't it?" I counter.

"Hmm," she hums, looking up at the sky as she pretends to think, "I'll think about it and come back to you when I decide, okay Dory?" she pats my shoulder playfully.

I fight back my smile as I open the doors to my BMW M5 for her. "Ladies first," I mutter, looking into her green eyes. "You still doing this?" she asks, surprised but still gets in.

"For you," I whisper, closing the car door. Kylo would be shocked if he saw this but they already left. I wouldn't hear the end of it.

I get into the drivers side and as soon as I turn on the car, loud revs and pops can be heard from a mile away. Music to my ears.

"How many BMW M5's do you have?" she laughs, her fingers feeling the touch of the carbon fiber interior. "Never can have too many," I shrug.

I pull out of the driveway, and start heading towards to place the ball is being held. It's not too far, just a five minute drive.

"So, how was your lil sleep on the couch?" I ask. "Well, you wouldn't know since you left," she scoffs. What is she implying? "Oh? So you wanted me to stay?" I muse.

"No, that's not what I meant," she crosses her arms, not maintaining eye contact with me. "You know you should really keep your eyes on the road, even though there are only a few cars on this island I prefer my safety." Changing the subject.

I change the gears, speeding up on the empty road with my eyes glued onto her. "Don't think I can drive?"

"I just don't want to die today, so let's play it safe," she replies, putting on her seatbelt. "Ouch," I wince. That one hurt.

She meets my eyes as I speed up, once again changing the gears. It's almost as if she asked for this challenge. Our eyes stay locked though, both of us not daring to look away.

"There's a car up ahead," she mumbles. I don't say anything but press on the brakes hard and we manage to stop right before hitting the car in front of us. "Still can't drive, love?" I ask, raising my brows.

"We have to race first before I can determine that," she replies. Easy win. "Okay, once we're back in Italy but don't feel embarrassed when I win by over ten seconds," I chuckle, driving around the massive fountain.

"Oh, yeah?" she laughs at my response. "We'll see about that, mister De Luca." A scoff leaves her mouth as she opens the car door at leave. Well, I was going to open it for her but okay.

I leave the car, throwing the keys to the valet. "Scratch it and you're dead." He nods his head quickly, the fear evident in his face. No one's hurting my precious M5.

I quickly catch up to Ivory, interlocking my arm with hers. "Kylo did a great job at making us look like a couple," she mumbles under her breath as the guards open the doors for us.

"Well, at least people will assume you're mine and leave you alone."

While smiling and waving at the guests, she hides her laugh. "Yours? Sure, Kylian." Sure, Rory.

She finds Riley and Bella and leaves for them, while I go to Elio. "You told the guards to keep on eye on her, correct?" Don't want her getting more hurt than she already is.

"Yes, don't worry," he nods his head swiftly. "Hopefully things go as planned, I just need a day off," he adds. A chuckle leaves my lips, "I agree."

I head towards the bar area, my eyes following where that red dress goes. Her older brother is right next to me, am I stupid?

I nod at the waiter and he pours me a glass of whiskey but I don't even get to drink it before one of the leaders to the Columbian Cartel pops up out of no where to talk business. That's what this stupid ball is for anyway.

***

After business talks and business talks, I told Elio to shoot me. Of course he didn't, I'd haunt him, but this is honestly so boring.

I finally get to take a sip of my drink in peace before a blonde lady walks up towards me. "Hey, Kylian," she smiles, waving her fingers at me. The American Drug Lords daughter. She never could take a hint, that's for sure.

"You know, a slow dance just started playing," she smirks, her arm reaching for my bicep. "Do you want to-" Dance, is what I think she would have said before Ivory came out of nowhere and interrupted. Thank you.

"Oh my, Mr De Luca," she gasped dramatically. "Your guards are looking for you and they say it's urgent!" Quickly, she pulls me away from that woman and onto the dance floor. Oh?

"I didn't take you for the jealous type," I say in a whisper, place my hands around her waist and pulling her closing to me. Her hands shake around the back of my neck and she plays with the small curls at the bottom of my hair. "You know I saved you from her, don't even. She's been eyeing you this whole time," she replies, not sounding amused.

And she's been watching me. I small laugh leaves my lips as I lean down closer to her ear. "How would you know that, bellissima."

I hear her let out a breath and it fans against my neck. "It was just obvious, Kylian. I'm an assassin, I notice that type of stuff. That's what I was trained for, dummy."

A smile plays on my lips to her words. "Seems like you're trying to convince yourself more than me, darling."

"Whatever, Kylian," she rolls her eyes at me before I suddenly spin her around, pressing her back against me.

"You really do look beautiful, Rory," I whisper, my hand slowly going from her waist to her hip. "Thank you," she mumbles.

I spin her around again so that she's facing me. "You're doing something to me, Ivory," I mutter next to her ear, tucking a strand of her hair behind the other. "Don't you feel it?"

"Kylian," she breaths out. I don't respond but kiss her cheek and then her jawline. "Sei davvero stupenda," I whisper between kisses. Her hand grips onto the back of my neck, tighter than before. {You truly are gorgeous}

I pull away, meeting her pretty eyes. She looks up at me, but doesn't say anything. Did I get her speechless?

"Kylian, there you are," a familiar, annoying ass voice just happens to spawn out of nowhere. "Let's talk business before the auction starts." Can't his bitch ass see I'm in the middle of something?

Fighting my thoughts about shooting him on the spot, I point towards Riley and Bella, showing Ivory where they are. "I'll be with soon, don't worry love," I whisper to her before she gives me a quick nod and walks away.

"Yes, let's talk business," I say with fake enthusiasm, turning to the annoying man who surprisingly isn't dead. All that wrinkles, he looks like he just rose from his death but he's still alive?

***

The auction finally starts, the last part of this whole ball. I go to sit front row, next to Elio, Isiah, Riley and Kylo. Kylo gives a quick thumbs up to Bella who's on stage to present and talk about the auction process and objects, just like last year.

She starts but her voice quickly fades away as I realise Ivory isn't with me. I scan the room and she's not even sitting down anywhere. Fuck.

"Ask the guards where Ivory is. I told them to keep an eye on her and they can't do the easiest job ever," I scoff to Elio who gives me a quick nod before standing up and walking towards one of the guards.

I then lean to Isiah. "Go to the bathroom, pull out your laptop and check every camera until you find Ivory," I order him. He looks at me with concern and confusion, but doesn't say anything and just gets up. Maybe she's just taking a long time to freshen up in the bathroom like usual. Maybe I'm just overreacting.

Elio indicated for me to come over so I get up and do so. "Sir, we've been keeping an eye on her but," his eyes wander away from mine, too scared to keep eye contact, "we lost her. We don't know where she is."

"So you haven't been keeping an eye on her then?" I almost yell, but luckily none of the guests notice. Oh my days. If they weren't here, I'd shoot this man in the head for not doing the simplest job ever. Just keep her safe, dammit.

"Kylian, she's my sister. I want to know where she is to but let's not cause a scene," Elio mutters quietly to me, pulling me away from those idiot guards. I would love to talk back but he is her brother after all.

"Fuck, Elio!" I huff, "The guest list was precise and specific, who could have done this?" I might not know now but when I find out, they're gonna wish they never did this.

Isiah peaks out of the bathroom and ushers us in. "Take a look at this," he sighs, pressing play on his computer. I cross my arms and watch as a guy I've never seen before pulls Ivory into a hallway and covers her mouth with a rag. I'm guessing, that was laced with shit that made her pass out on the spot.

"Mierda, mierda, mierda," Elio cusses under his breath. My eyes squint as Isiah presses play to another clip, trying to analyse everything. He drags her to an exit and that's it. There's no more footage of her.

"Let's go," I immediately say, pulling out my gun and clocking it as I leave the bathroom. If I don't put a bullet through someone by the end of this, something went wrong.

We head towards that very same exit and as we step outside, two of the guards are dead on the floor with bullet wounds to their heads. Silencers. That's how we didn't hear.

I hear the sound of struggling, like two people fighting. We all notice it actually and we rush towards the noise to see a speed boat. Two guys on the boat with a passed out Ivory, and the guy who took her is arguing with them. Found you.

As soon as they see us, the guys on the boat pull out their gun and immediately start firing it at the guy who kidnapped Rory. I'm assuming so he doesn't snitch. But they manages to dodge every one and hide behind a bush. He's going to wish that they didn't miss.

The boat speeds off, heading towards a ship I can see in the distance. Not any ship, it has a helicopter on it. Shit.

I look at Isiah and without me having to say anything, he rushes to the dock to get a bait and catch them. As soon as she gets on that plane, it's over.

Who knows what they'll do to her?

And I brought her here. I'm the one who asked for this alliances. If she gets hurt it's on me. But I'm going to find her, I won't stop until I do.

I walk towards the man -not a man, a pathetic boy- and pull out my gun, aiming it right between his eyes. "You can shoot me right now because I'm not speaking," he says, trying to hide his fear but I could practically smell it on him.

"Yeah?" I muse, raising my brows at his joke. "We'll see about that." Moving my gun to his knee, I pull the trigger which earns me a scream of pain. What did you expect, stronzo.

"Kylian," Elio says sternly. I give him that look, a look that tells him to shut up. He knows that won't kill him, just injure.

"Take him to the base in Italy, figure out a way," I mutter as I walk away, waving the gun in dismissal. If I stay a second longer, I might kill him.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Everything goes through my mind and I actually process what's happening. Ivory's gone and the Russians of all people have her.



UMMM...... cmon guys nothing good happens at mafia balls you shoulda expected this don't get mad at me 🤷‍♀️

ITS GONNA BE OKAY.... JS WAIT FR

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