This whole week I've been planning this mission. Gathering information from those Russian cunts in the basement on Arseni's whereabouts. Now all that will be worth it today.

We're going to get him when he's going to least expect it. At a masquerade event. It's perfect. The masks will cover our faces and I've got someone to put us on the guest list with fake names.

To be honest, I'm shocked he's still in Italy for that matter. If he had even one smart bone in his body he would have fled to Russia. But this event isn't being held by him but by one of his important business partners so he has to attend.

This morning I briefed everyone about the mission. Around a dozen will be outside the building, just in case something happens. A few will also sneak inside along with Azaría, Pietro, Gia, and I. Stefan will be in one of the getaway cars, looking at the cameras to warn us of trouble.

I look in the mirror as I fix the blazer of my suit. I'm matching with Azaría because for some fucking reason she's my date. Pietro's is Gia. The guy who put our fake names on the guest list made us married couples.

I put on the mask before finally deciding I'm ready to leave. I head down the hall to Azaría's room, wanting to check if she's ready or not.

I knock on the door three times and wait for her response. "Come in!" she yells and I open the door, walking in.

My eyes fall onto her immediately as she fixes the mask to sit nicely on her face in front of the mirror. I roam her body taking in everything from her red and black corset dress to her perfectly curled hair that's clipped in a half up, half down.

"You ready?" she asks me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I hum in response and watch as she tries to attach a necklace to her neck and fails miserably.

I let out a low chuckle as I walk towards her, "Let me."

Without saying anything, she hands me the necklace before turning around to face the mirror again. Slowly, I put all of her to one side, my fingers brushing against her skin as I do so. I gently wrap the necklace around her neck and attach it with ease. "There," I whisper, taking a step back.

She clears her throat and turns to face me. "Let's go," she says and I nod my head in response.

We're matching. This seems awfully weird.

"You sure you're up for this?" I ask her, understanding if she wasn't. I mean who the fuck would want to seduce Arseni anyways?

"Of course I am," she shrugs her shoulders, throwing me a quick wink as we walk down the stairs.

I watch as she walks down the steps perfectly in those high heels. Then I realise what I'm doing and quickly catch up with her.

"You fucking hear me?" I hear a familiar voice yell and my brows immediately furrow. Azaría looks back at me with a confused look too.

The guards open the front doors and once we step out, I see Stefan yelling at Pietro who's smirking while Gia is laughing. Oh.

"I'm not going to do anything," Pietro chuckles, putting his hands up in surrender.

"I can see through the fucking cameras so you better not," he warns before walking away, getting into his car and slamming the door after him.

What a scene. "Talk about some drama," Azaría whistles, making Gia laugh even more.

"You're riding with us so you're going to hear more of that," she tells Pietro whose face drops. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," he mutters.

No way in hell are any of them riding with me. Except Azaría. But she has to since she's my date for the event.

"Let's go before things get messy," she whispers to me and I let out a faint chuckle. She doesn't know how bad the fighting gets between them yet.

I open up the passenger doors to my BMW for Azaría and gesture for her to get in. She narrows her eyes at me skeptically before taking a seat. What?

I walk around the car and get into the driver's seat. I roll down my window, resting one arm on the door and the other controls the steering wheel. I have to do this every time I drive. It makes the ride better.

I drive around the fountain and take a look outside to see Stefan and Pietro still arguing. Damn. I glance at Azaría to see her stifling her laughter.

"They're so entertaining," she mutters to herself. They really are. But having them always like this? It's annoying, to say the least.

"It's been like this for years," I tell her. "Pietro always flirts with Gia and Stefan hates it. I think he'd explode if they ever kissed or something of the sort."

"You know, I think they're cute," she admits. "Pietro and Gia. I can see it."

We all can. But it's just something that could never happen, you know?

"Niccolò Alvera," she sighs and I glance at her. What? "I'm connecting my playlist so you can finally have a taste of real music."

"Oh, yeah?" I chuckle, raising my brows at her comments, and in response, she nods her head with a smug hum. "Go for it then, princess."



Here we are. In front of the large mansion, my hand is placed on her lower back as we take a step in as the supposed Russo married couple with Pietro and Gia behind us.

"Woah," she mumbles under her breath as she scans the large ballroom full of guests with her face hidden behind the masquerade masks.

"Are you ready?" I ask and she looks up at me with furrowed brows. The noise of chatter blends in with the soft music playing in the background making it hard for her to hear me. I lower my head so that my lips are merely touching her ear. "I said are you ready, Ria?"

She bites her bottom lip -something I've noticed she does regularly- as she nods her head at me with a quiet hum. "Ready."

"There he is," I say, nodding my head toward the end of the stairs where Arseni is talking to a couple of men.

"Time to shine," she whispers to me with a wink before walking away in their direction. This can't go wrong. As in, he can't touch her in some disgusting way.

"I've connected to the cameras," Stefan informs us through the earpiece. "I have eyes on Azaría. And eyes on you Pietro so keep that in mind, you little fucker." Not this again.

"You know I would never hurt the love of my life," he says. What a stupid response? Is he trying to get himself killed?

"My sister is not the love of your life," Stefan grits out and I can sense his anger just by the sound of his voice.

"Shut up, Stef," Gia huffs before adding, "but he's right, I am not the love of your life, Pietro."

"You just don't realise it yet, love."

"Don't call my sister love," Stefan huffs. "What the fuck?"

I can't listen to this much longer. Sighing at their childish behaviors, I return my attention to Azaría who's now in front of Arseni.

"Hey," I hear her say, her voice sweet as strawberries. She doesn't need to say another word before Arseni sends the guys off, leaving just him and her to talk in private.

I watch as he opens his mouth and says something to her. My fist clenches at the sight, knowing it's probably something disgusting.

"How about we leave?" she mutters. "Just you and me, huh?"

He nods his head instantly, not bothering to hide his desperation. She then grabs his hand and guides him through the crowd. "You look very handsome."

There it was. The code that initiated step two which was her getting Arseni to the hallway and into a private room that had an exit.

I head towards them, pushing past people carelessly but stopping in my tracks when I hear Stefan's voice. "Wait," he says, the seriousness evident in his tone. "What the fuck?"

"What?" I ask, impatient and frustrated. The more time I'm wasting standing here, the longer she's with that creep.

"Leave. Abort the mission and leave right now. Government officials and police are outside, about to raid the house."

My eyes widen at his words. What the fuck? How? Why? This is just some business event, there's no reason for them to be here?

Not a second later, the doors fly open revealing the officers with guns in their hands, and the next thing I know the guests are screaming as they're being pushed to the ground. Shit.

"Is that not police brutality, the fuck?" I hear Pietro scoff. "Not the time, get yourself and my fucking sister out of there. Now," Stefan orders.

Not wasting any more time, I rush to the hallway where Azaría and Arseni would be. My eyes widen when I see that he has her pinned against the wall with a gun against the temple of her head.

Before I can even think about what I'm doing, my hands shoot up to shove him off of her. He stumbles backwards, dropping the gun in shock. "Didn't expect to see me, huh?" I taunt, kicking the gun away from his reach.

I take a step closer as he takes one back, his eyes widening with fear. "Niccolò?" he breathes out. That's right, bitch.

I don't reply, instead my fist shoots up hitting him straight in the jaw. I don't just stop there though, I hit him. Again. And again. And again.

He kidnapped my sister. What did the little fucker expect? A cookie?

"Nico!" Pietro yells, pulling me off the bloody guy on the floor. "We need to leave now."

Azaría. I quickly turn around, my eyes darting everywhere until I see an officer, his face covered with a black mask -only his eyes visible- trapping Azaría against the wall. He's saying something to her, that much I can tell, but I can't hear what since I'm too far away.

"Take him," I order and not waiting for his response, I head towards her. She tries to push him off of her but he grabs her wrists, pulling them to her side.

Her eyes dart everywhere, trying to find some way to escape and when she meets my gaze they visibly relax. But noticing that, the guy turns to my direction.

Not hesitating, he pulls out his gun but I pull out mine faster. A bullet fires and it goes straight into his shoulder, causing him to stumble backwards.

I quickly grab her hand gently and pull her towards me, running in the opposite direction to the room she was supposed to take Arseni in.

"Quick. There's a car waiting for you outside but the police are closing in," Stefan tells us.

Fuck. I turn to look at her just as we step into the room. "You good?" I ask and she nods her head but her eyes tell a different story. It's like she's in some type of shock.

"Azaría. Are you okay?" I ask again, my voice softening as I open the sliding doors, glancing back to her.

"Yeah," she breaths out, nodding her head. "I am."

I take her hand in mine again as I pull her outside with me. I scan the area until I notice the car Stefan was talking about and open the door. Once I make sure she's safely in, I get in too.

"Look who's here to save the day?" the most annoying voice speaks up. "Again, let me add."

"Pietro," Azaría grits out, "drive right the fuck now."

"Yes, ma'am," he mutters and immediately speeds off, doing as she said.

"How'd they know?" I find myself asking out loud. Azaría looks at me with a confused expression. "The feds. They shouldn't have known about this but they did."

"Shit," Pietro replies. "You're right."

"We might still have a fucking mole." That would explain it. Explain how they knew and came just in time. You're fucking joking.



🌚🌚🌚i really loved writing this chapter

word count | 2071