It's been almost a week. Niccolò has just been MIA. Always at the Italian mafia base with Pietro.

Even Stefan and Gia came the other day wondering where he was since he was supposed to be at some business meeting. That definitely got cancelled.

He's just been so busy and it has to be about the Russians and their involvement with the kidnapping of his sister because he tells everyone not to bother him.

So I've just been stuck here. Not gathering any evidence thanks to the cameras and guards everywhere.

I've been eating, training, hanging out with Elena, more training than sleeping. On repeat.

This guy takes me to Italy to not do anything.

I'm literally in Italy. One of the most beautiful countries ever. I wish I could go out and see what it's really like. But I gotta focus on Niccolò who I haven't seen in like a week.

I just finished taking a relaxing shower and now I'm bored as hell. I might as well go make cookies with Anna. I want a sweet treat.

As I walk down the hallway to my room I notice guy that was almost reported missing.

And he has blood all over his shirt.

"What in the world..." I trail off as I look at him up and down. Yeah, he's definitely having fun torturing those Russians.

"Hello to you too, Azaría," he mutters under his breath as he enters his room. Okay, I haven't seen this guy in so long of course I have to annoy him a little bit.

I follow behind him. "Where have you been?" I ask. "Your face was almost going to be plastered on milk cartons."

"Funny," he scoffs, taking off his blazer. I know I am. "Now can you leave? I have stuff to do."

"Like what?" I ask and he narrows his eyes at me.

"Business meeting," he replies bluntly.

I stifle a laugh," Ohh because you didn't go to the last one."

He didn't find my words very amusing since he scoffs. Well, it's true.

"Can I come? I've been stuck in this house and all I have been doing is training," I huff, crossing my arms.

"You wanna come?" he repeats in an almost shocked tone. I'm pretty sure that's what I said?

"Not attend your boring meeting, just you know walk around the building or something," I shrug. And hopefully gather some incriminating evidence.

"Fine," he shrugs carelessly. "But don't complain about how bored you are, because trust me, you will."

"You know I will," I smile teasingly at him before I leave his room.

I head to my room which is just a few doors down from his. I go into my closet and scan the area which is practically empty since I didn't pack much.

I might take him up on that shopping offer now.

I pick out a black off the shoulder jumper I brought just in case. I've never been to Italy so I don't know what the weather is like during October but it seems pretty windy outside and I love a good Autumn outfit.

I pair it with sheer black tights, a black skirt, and you guessed it, long black boots. For some reason, most of my clothes are black if not all of them.

Once I've gotten changed, I take a good look at myself in the mirror. Yep, I look sexy. If I wasn't an undercover agent, I would be posting myself on social media.

I wave myself bye in the mirror before I walk down the hallway and head down the stairs. He's got blood all over him so I'm pretty sure he's going to shower. Knowing he's going to take a while, I plop myself down onto the chair in the living room to wait for him.

"There's the assassin I was looking for," I hear a familiar voice say from behind me.

Before I can turn around, two guys walk in front of me and sit themselves onto the couch. Pietro and Stefan.

"And why are you looking for me?" I ask, tilting my head in curiosity as I watch Pietro take a bite out of his burger. Is he always eating?

"Wondering if you've seen Niccolo," Stefan speaks up, crossing his arms.

"Yep," I reply and their eyes widen in surprise. "Matter of fact, he just came back with blood all over him."

Stefan lets out a scoff and shakes his head while Pietro covers his mouth to stifle his laughter. "C'mon, no one is shocked," he chuckles.

"So where's the better Amante?" I ask Stefan, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, Stef," Pietro joins in, "where's Gia?"

Stefan immediately shoots a glare at Pietro. "You know I'm this close to killing you," he spits out, putting his pointer finger close to his thumb, "this close, Pietro."

He puts up his hands in surrender with an innocent look on his face that isn't fooling anyone.

Him and Gia though? I can tell that Stefan would for sure kill him and that's an understatement.

"She's at the Allure headquarters," he finally answers my questions.

"Oh, for the meeting, right?" I ask and he nods his head in conformation.

"The meeting Niccolo needs to attend," he adds. Seems important.

"He will be," I confirm. "He got into the shower a bit ago so just a few minutes and he'll be ready I think."

As soon as they hear my words, their brows furrow. "No, not like that," I huff. "He told me because I'm coming with."

"It won't be long now," Pietro mumbles under his breath. He's not the best whisperer.

"Pietro," I warn and he looks at me with a small smirk. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, Niccolo and Azaría sitting in a tree..." he trails off, leaving me weirded out and Stefan chuckling.

He cannot be serious. "That won't be happening, thank you very much," I grumble.

"Listen," he speaks up, leaning forward and pressing his elbows against his knees, "Niccolo only speaks to three women: Elena- his little sister, Gia -who's like his little sister-, and Anna -who's fifty something-."

What am I supposed to do with this information? "Okay..?" I trail off, the confusion dripping off my tone.

"He isn't a manwhore, this guy will not entertain any woman ever," he adds. "It makes me think he's gay sometimes but all he says is that it would be a distraction and he's too busy."

"But you," Stefan joins in, "you're now another woman in his life who isn't a sister to him or fifty-something. Two plus two..?"

Right now, two plus two is five. They're reaching. Never mind, reaching is an understatement.

"Hmm," I hum, leaning back onto the chair, "so what about Pietro and Gia then?" If they wanna play that game, then...

"That would never happen," Stefan quickly dismisses the idea.

"Only in my dreams," Pietro sighs dramatically. In response, stefan pushes him off the couch.

My laughter immediately escapes me and I quickly cover my mouth with my hand to try hide it. Well, that's definitely a sensitive topic to say the least.

Pietro quickly gets up from the floor and brushes off his suit before fixing his blazer. "Stronzo," he huffs at Stefan.

"What are you guys doing here?" I hear Niccolo's voice say as he enters the room.

I choose not to turn around but I can feel his hands grip onto the chair as he leans forward on it. He's right behind me.

"Making sure you attend the meeting," Stefan tells him and in response, Niccolo scoffs which is his typical response so it isn't really surprising.

"Well, I'm ready," he replies, "so you guys can leave, Azaría and I will be on our way soon."

"Got it," Stefan says as he stands up. He leaves the room and Pietro follows shortly behind. He glances between Niccolo and I before winking at me.

I know exactly what he's thinking and now I'd really like to push him off something too.

Finally, I get up and turn around to look at him. His hair is still damp and it's combed backwards, leaving a couple curly strands on his forehead. He's wearing a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled him, showing off his veins.

I watch as his eyes scan my body up and down before finally meeting my gaze. "Ready?" he asks bluntly, no emotion in his voice.

I hum in reply, pursing my lips. In response, he turns around and starts walking towards the front doors and I quickly follow behind.

Taking one look at Niccolò, the guards open the doors for him. As we walk out, I see the car that Pietro and Stefan are in drifting around the fountain before leaving through the gates. I miss my car.

We head down the large stairs until we stop in front of a Mercedes AMG CLE Coupe. Oh my- this used to be my dream car.

He has it in all black, even the rims, and definitely illegal tinted windows just like all his other cars.

I'm about to reach for the door handle but to my surprise, Niccolo reaches over first and opens the passenger door for me.

"Col being a gentleman," I smile teasingly as I get onto the seat. I watch as he jokingly rolls his eyes and walks around the front of the car to get into the drivers seat.

As soon as he's in and starts the car, he rolls down his window, resting one arm on the door and one hand on the steering wheel.

"How long till we get there?" I ask as he drives through the gate, entering the long empty road with perfectly cut hedges and trees surrounding each side.

"The car ride has barely even started and you're already asking me that?" he utters, the confusion evident in his tone.

"Yes." Unless I'm driving with my playlist, I don't like car rides.

"Just over twenty minutes," he replies. "Wait, do you get carsick?"

"No..?" I reply sceptically. "Why?"

His eyes are now on me rather than on the road in front of him. "Because you can't be throwing up in my car."

I can't help but let out a chuckle. "You have like fifty, I think you're good, Alvera."

I look at him to see a small smile playing on his lips before he makes a turn using his palm on the steering wheel.

I love when men do that. Not him though. Of course.

"We have a mission on Sunday," he informs me. We do? "Kidnapping the Russian's leader right hand."

Arseni. He was the Russian guy I met on my first mission with Niccolò. Ew, he tried to get with me. He's like twice my age. And his name sounds like Arsenal, I hate that team.

"Hmm, okay," I reply. Today is Friday so the mission is in two days. That means double the training for the next two days.



The ride there was practically in silence. The whole time I was just looking outside, taking in what Italy looks like. It's way prettier than England to say the least.

We step into the building, which is huge by the way, and skip all the security measures that visitors and workers have to do.

I scan the area and my jaw almost drops at how beautiful this place is. The ceilings are high with gold chandeliers dangling from them. Not just that, but there's even a mini waterfall. This place is a perfect mix of modern, nature, and Italian culture.

"You like it?" I hear Niccolò ask me. I turn to him to see that his eyes are already on me.

"Perhaps," I shrug, not wanting to boost his ego that I'm sure is very high.

He hums sceptically in response before heading the reception. "Ciao Mr. Alvera," the girl smiles at him, "we haven't seen you in a while."

In response, he just nods his head at her words. "Notify the members that the meeting is about to start," he tells her.

"Of course, sir," she says with a small chuckle as he plays with a strand of her blonde hair. Even an idiot would be able to tell that she has a work crush on him. Her boss.

"Should I set you two up?" I ask him teasingly as we head towards the elevators.

He glances at me with an almost scared look on his face. "God no," he mutters.

I stifle my laughter at his response. It seems like she has already tried.

Him and I step into the elevator and you've got to be kidding me. Even the elevator are fancy and smell like a light, clean perfume. I still can't believe he's the CEO. I knew of the business of course, everyone does, but I never even thought of who the owner could be.

"I'm going to take a look around," I say randomly and his brows furrow, indicating me to tell him more. "I've never been in Italy, I want to try one of their pastries at least."

His eyes narrow but then he hesitantly nods his head. "Okay," is all he says. I'll take that.

What am I going to do while he's in a meeting talking about jewellery, bags, and high heels? I might as well get a sweet treat.

The doors to the elevator open and we step out. As we walk to his office, I notice how all the workers nod their head respectfully at him and say goodmorning.

I wouldn't be able to deal with all this people sucking up to me to be honest.

We step into his office and I sit myself down on a chair in the corner. Woah. I swear I just melted into it like a cloud. I need to steal this.

"So where are you planning on going?" he asks, leaning back onto his desk, his hands gripping the edge of the wood.

I stand up, knowing that if I'm on that chair for another second I would never get up. "I don't know," I shrug. I've never been here. I'll just walk around until I see something that looks good I guess.

"There's a café down the road, is that close enough for you, princess?" he asks me, a smirk playing on his lips as if he thinks this is funny.

"Niccolo," I warn. He knows I hate the nickname yet he still chooses to say it daily.

The smirk changes to a small smile as he lets out a low chuckle and in response, I cross my arms. I really don't see why he enjoys this so much.

"Here," he speaks up and I watch as he pulls out his cars and holds it out in front of me.

Wait, what? "I have my own," I tell him, not taking the card. There's no way he just did that.

"I know you do," he replies bluntly, not putting the card away.

"So what's-" I start to say before he interrupts be by taking my hand and placing the card in it. "There you go," he says.

My brows furrow and I was just about to reply when he glances at the guard and with its seconds I was being walked out his office.

He cannot be serious.

I press for the elevator button and as I wait, I notice Gia heading in my direction. She's wearing a black dress pants and a blazer. I have to say it looks amazing on her. "Where's my favourite girl going?" she asks.

"Café," I tell her with a small smile and she glances at the card in my hand.

"With Niccolo's card?" she whisper yells, her jaw dropping slightly. I quickly send her a glare to stop those thoughts that I know are going through her head.

"Buy me an Ice White Mocha?" she asks with pleading eyes. I mean, it's Niccolo's card... I don't think he'd notice. To be fair, I could buy five brand new BMW and it wouldn't even make a dent in his bank account.

"Of course," I tell her and she grins at me before saying a quick goodbye and leaving so she makes it to the meeting.

The elevator doors open and it's empty, just how I like it. I step in but just as the doors start to close, a man quickly enters into the elevator. Oh, great.

"Ma'am," he nods his head at me. "Niccolo has ordered me to come with you."

He doesn't think I'm still the mole does he? Or does he just think I need protection? Because if it's the second one, that's just stupid. At least the first one is right.

"Okay," I purse my lips, not really knowing what else to reply with.

I pull on the sleeves of my fuzzy jumper as the ride down gets more and more awkward. Gosh, do elevators usually take this long?

After a few more seconds, the doors finally open and I almost let out a sigh of relief until I remembered that the poor guy is right next to me.

We step out of the elevator and walk outside. I suddenly stop. I don't even know where I'm going?

"This way, ma'am," he says, crossing the streets. You know what, he seems nice.

"What's your name?" I ask and he clears his throat, not even turning to look at me.

"Mr. Alvera ordered me not to have conversation with you," he says and my brows immediately furrow. What? "Only to stay with you and show you the way."

Now he definitely cannot be serious.

We make it to the café which was actually pretty fast since it's close to the building. "Wait out here, please," I tell him.

I'll be safe in the café. It's not like some enemies of the mafia are going to be there waiting to kidnap me. C'mon?

He reluctantly agrees and I quickly step into the café before he can change his mind. Thankfully, there's no line so I head to the cashier right away.

"Buon pomeriggio. Cosa vorresti oggi?" the girl questions. She's asking me what I'd like to get. This is the perfect time to practice my Italian.

"Ciao," I smile back at her. "I'll get one cannoli and two ice white mocha's please." Okay, I pussied out last minute.

I do know Italian but this girl is literally Italian. She knows how to speak it perfectly so I'd rather not embarrass myself.

"It will just be two minutes," she tells her, the Italian accent rolling off her tongue perfectly.

I nod my head with a smile before stepping out of the line. Okay, I'm going to go to the bathroom. Not to pee or anything, I just want to check how I look. It's a bad habit.

I open the door and enter the bathroom, locking it behind me. It's surprising really clean and it's cute. I love when cafés and restaurants have nice bathrooms.

I quickly fix how my jumper is sitting and fluff out my hair a little bit before deciding that I'm done.

I unlock the door but as soon as I step out, a man in front of me pushes me back into the bathroom before I can even notice.

As I'm about to kick his dick, I suddenly realise that I recognise that perfect blonde hair.

James.

The door locks and a girl walks out from behind him. Aaliyah.

"It's just us, Azaría," he chuckles, trying to calm me down.

"What?" I mumble, taking a step back in shock. "Wait, what the fuck is going on?"

"I thought you'd be more excited to see us," Aaliyah teases, crossing her arms as she leans against the wall.

"Of course I'm happy, just confused and really surprised," I mutter, glancing between them.

"We couldn't let you be in Italy all alone with no backup?" James says and I smile in response.

"So how is it going so far?" Aaliyah asks. "Boss wants to know."

"Good," I reply. "I think he's really starting to trust me now."

"Have you learnt anything new?" James asks. Elena. But for some reason, I don't find myself telling them that Niccolò has a little sister.

"There's supposed to be a mission on Sunday. Something to do with the Russians because they broke their alliance with Niccolò," I say.

I had to tell them something. If I didn't it would be suspicious, I've been with him for almost three weeks. But it would also just prove that I'm a bad agent.

"Be safe, Azaría," James mutters, placing his hand onto my shoulder.

I haven't seen him in so long it's weird. Not just him but Aaliyah also. I used to see them everyday and now I can't. I don't know, it's just really different.

"You know I will, Jamesy boy," I tease and in response, he ruffles my hair, knowing I hate when people touch my hair. I seriously cannot stand it.

"James!" I huff, pushing him away from me. He lets out a chuckle at my reaction as if it's funny.

Out of nowhere, I get attacked by Aaliyah when she throws both arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug. "Ugh, I missed you."

Without realising, a grin forms on my face. "Me more," I whisper in her ear.

She's seriously like my sister. I don't care that we're not blood related, because she's the closest thing I've had to a sister ever. And she's the one person I know I can trust. Even if it was something so bad, she wouldn't tell a soul.

Of course I trust James. Just not as much as Aaliyah. Like if I killed somebody, Aaliyah would help me hide all the evidence; James on the other hand will try get me to turn myself in.

It's not a bad thing necessarily. He likes to do the right and good thing which is why he makes a perfect agent for England. He's the best that I've ever met.

She pulls away with a wide smile that I've missed seeing. "Here," she says and hands me an iPhone. "I've programmed it to be un-hackable, untraceable, everything. James, mine, and Mr. Arthur's numbers are all on here."

I brought a new phone when I came to Italy. Better safe than sorry since Niccolò still thought I was the mole back then. Because of that, I couldn't talk to any of them.

"The gossip calls are so back," I laugh as I take the phone from her. I need to find a good hiding place in my room to put it away though.

"Listen, I really have to go though," I tell them even though I'd love to say and talk but I can't. That guard out there might just turn the whole place upside if I take too long.

"I'll see you soon, love," Aaliyah smiles, pulling me back for a quick hug as a goodbye. "Be safe," I mutter to her.

I turn to James who wraps his arms around my waist. I always hug James. Just not like this. Not with his arms around my waist.

"I'll miss you," he whispers before places a light kiss of my cheek. My eyes immediately widen at the action and I quickly glance at Aaliyah who has the same confused expression of her face.

I quickly clear my throat as I awkwardly pull away. "Bye guys," I force a smile and wave before leaving the bathroom. I have no fucking idea what that was.

I grab the drinks and cannoli that was waiting for me and leave the café. My eyes fall onto the poor guy who's has a scared look on his face.

"Something wrong?" I ask and he lets out the biggest sigh of relief.

"Nothing," he says quickly. "You just took longer than I expected." I definitely stressed him out.

"Bathroom break, sorry," I reply apologetically and he nods his head nervously before showing me the way back to the building.



Oh my- Niccolò had a guard take me home. Apparently something happened at the mafia base and he had to go there immediately.

Which means he left the meeting half way through and Pietro had to continue it for him. I mean, at least it didn't get cancelled for the second time?

I don't even know but now I'm in my room. I'm looking everywhere trying to find a good hiding spot for the secret phone Aaliyah gave me.

I seriously have no idea where to put it. My eyes fall onto the mattress. It's a bad idea. But it's the only idea I have.

I pull up the mattress and place the phone under it. This hiding spot is only temporary. Till I find a better one.

Now I deserve some pink sauce pasta.



guys i wrote this while watching 'the virgin suicides' and oh my.

anyways james and aaliyah are back🌚🌚

alsooo i gave you guys a really long chapter so you're welcome cuties🧘‍♀️🙈

word count | 4187