They led me out of the precinct.

On our way, I made sure to give everyone who wronged me the finger.

Surprisingly, no one retaliated. Maybe it had something to do with the glares my brothers sent towards everyone who even glanced at my direction.

Great, I scored myself some bodyguards.

When we stepped outside, I squinted my eyes and hissed. The sun was up, burning my eyes and my entire body.

"You good?" Amadeo placed a hand on my shoulder, slightly cocking his head.

I blinked a few more times before nodding. "I feel like a fucking vampire."

He just smiled, looking at me weirdly.

"What?"

"Nothing." he quickly shook his head and looked at me for a few more moments. "It's insane." he said. "Having you here, I mean."

I swallowed, looking everywhere but him.

"Are you guys coming?" Alessandro yelled from a few feet away, and this time I was actually thankful for his presence.

No offense, yeah?

I glanced carefully at Amadeo before walking away.

It's so hard to distance myself when they're acting like they actually want me to be around.

When I reached him, I noticed three black cars ahead of us.

"Everyone gets their own car?" I joked, but was actually confused.

I could see that two of the cars were full, men and women were sitting in black behind the dark windows. The car in the middle had only a driver, and he was already waiting for us by the door.

"It's mainly for security." Alessandro smiled down at me, and I did a double take.

"Shit, i forgot. Can't get kidnapped twice, right?" I chuckled, but stopped when I heard no laughs from them. Too soon, I guess.

"Let's get in, shall we?" Alessandro asked, quick to change the subject. The driver immediately opened the passenger door for him, and then the back one for us.

I mumbled a thank you before entering, Amadeo following behind.

°°°

As it turned out, we were not driving to their house.

No, we were driving to the airport.

Sure, their house is a few hours drive away from here, but a plane? Now that's rich people's shit.

But there was still one thing they failed to mention.

"A private jet?" I gaped, staring at the huge plane that stood in front of me. "Why, on earth, do you have a private jet?"

They simply smiled down at me. "It's ours as much as it yours, bambina." Alessandro said, amused. Amadeo was already walking towards the plane, and we followed him.

I wanted to make another joke, but then I realized what I was doing.

I was getting comfortable with them. God, I can't. I need to keep this casual, or else I'll get attached. And we all know that once you get attached, it's impossible to not get hurt.

So instead, I followed them silently up the stairs.

Am I a horrible person for doing so? I can clearly see that they want me here, but then again, I still don't know them. I don't trust them, and quite honestly? I don't want to.

I don't want them to know anything about me, because we're not a real family. Only on paper.

For God's sake, I just found out about them.

So when I see them both going towards the seats in the front, I go to the back.

Choosing a seat with the back towards them, I closed my eyes and finally let myself relax.

How did I end up here? Private jet? Escort to the fucking airport? That's not me.

Why didn't I try to run? I could've just told Ares and Theo to meet me at our usual spot.

So why didn't I?

I can blame it on the heavy security these guys have, but that's not it. Running away is my specialty. You can send the fucking army on me and I'd still manage.

A small cough brought me back to reality. Looking up, I saw a young woman. An air hostess. "Good afternoon, miss. I'll have to ask you to wear the seat belt, we are preparing for take off." She smiled kindly.

I watched movies, so she didn't have to tell me twice. I immediately fastened my seat belt.

"Great." She was about to leave, but I hurriedly called after herself. "Wait!"

She turned around, surprised.

"Do you have food? It doesn't really matter what." I smiled sheepishly, too food-deprived to get picky.

She laughed, and quickly took something off a cart in the corner.

"Of course, all you have to do is choose." She gently placed a menu in my hands.

I stared, shocked. I really thought I'll just eat some peanuts.

Fifteen minutes later, I had two burgers, giant fries and a cup of coke in front of me.

I think I drooled for a couple of minutes before snapping out of it, and taking a massive bite out of the burger.

Holy shit.

That was the best thing I've ever had. Ever. I could eat millions of these things. In the past three days, I survived on bread and mashed potatoes.

Finishing didn't take long, and before we left the plane, I made sure to tell the woman to pass my compliments to the chef.

My brothers didn't say anything about my choice to seat far away from them, and I was grateful for that. We drove in silent with two other cars ahead of us.

Looking outside the window, I felt the need to roll my eyes. Everything in this part of New York screamed rich. The streets were clean, everyone drove a nice car, and no one was getting murdered.

Simply sad.

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, we entered a new neighborhood.

There weren't any houses here, nor buildings.

"This is where you live?" I muttered, not taking my eyes off the window.

Amadeo chuckled. "Yes, princess."

This neighborhood is full of fucking mansions.

We kept driving until we stopped by a huge black gate.

Alessandro opened his window and signaled for someone to let us pass. I couldn't really see what's going on, but when we started driving again, I opened my mouth in shock.

Turning around in my seat, I looked back at the guards we just passed. They were too many to count, and each looked scarier than the other.

And they all had guns in their hands.

"What is your family buissnes, again?" I gulp, trying not to freak out.

I'm entering a maximum security mansion, how am I supposed to sneak out?

"We own a lot of properties, like hotels and clubs. You don't need to worry, these guards are only here to keep everyone safe." Alessandro answered, turning his head half way to look at me reassuringly.

I wanted to ask more about the buissnes, but we suddenly stopped moving.

I guess we're here.

Chapter 9! If you enjoy this book, please make sure to vote. It motivates me a lot. Special thank you for everyone who votes :)