Arya's POV -

I shift under the soft blankets and lazily open my eyes. It's bright out so It's obviously morning.

Groaning, I turn a few times under the duvet and then sit up, rubbing my eyes to clear the sleepiness out of them.

Once I adjust to my surroundings, I turn my head and I'm a little shocked to see that Rome isn't here anymore. Normally he stays with me the whole time I'm asleep.

Grabbing my phone off the table, my eyes widen when I see the date.

November 12th.

It's my birthday.

I'm 18 years old.

I don't feel any different.

Standing up I stretch my arms out while listening for any movement outside the door, however It's super quiet.

A little too quiet.

Normally I was super excited for my birthday but there's many other things to worry about.

Izzy for one.

Peeking inside Rome's drawers, I quickly grab one of his black hoodies and slide it over my head. His clothes are so comfortable.

Snuggling closer to the warmth it provides, I make my way out of his room and glance down the hall. It's still quiet.

Padding down the stairs, a smell I automatically recognize comes to.

Crepes.

Well I know James is down here.

With my mouth watering I follow the scent, the aura getting stronger by every passing second.

James turns with a big plate of Crepes in hand right as I enter and a gasp escapes his mouth.

"The princess awakens! How does it feel to be 18?"

I giggle and before I can reply I'm lifted into the air. A surprised squeal leaves me but I'm silenced when a pair of lips smash against mine.

Already knowing who it is, my arms wrap around him as Rome keeps me lifted in the air.

His ringed hands trail down my thighs before grabbing them and guiding them around his torso.

A small groan escapes him when his tongue slides into my mouth to dance with mine and my whole body shivers.

"Please keep it PG! Some people want to eat here!" James interrupts with his loud voice and we pull away from each other.

Smiling brightly at him, his hands tighten around my thighs before he presses a kiss to my nose.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart."

I blush under his strong gaze and a murmur a quiet 'thank you.'

Rome carries me to one of the chairs and sets me down, then sits next to me.

"I've cooked extra since this is a very special day." James winks, placing down the plate of crepes and then walking back towards the stove.

"Right Elijah?" James says, almost tauntingly and that's when I notice the other figure in the kitchen.

I swear I never know when Elijah is in the room, he's like a shadow.

"Right," He says blankly, sipping a cup of what I can only assume is coffee.

But his silver eyes then make their way over to me, lingering for a moment.

"Happy birthday, Arya." He says and the fingers I was nervously playing with under the island table freeze.

My heart becomes warm.

"Thank you, Elijah." I say softly and he flits his eyes back to observing James.

James returns with another plate filled with bacon and eggs, yum.

"Of course the birthday girl gets to pick what she wants first." He smiles, gesturing to the plates and I lick my lips.

Rome stands to grab two plates, handing one over to me and keeping the other for himself.

With a big grin on my face, I cover my plate with two crepes and a whole lot of bacon. I'm not sure if I'll finish it but my stomach is practically growling at me.

Picking up the fork and knife already on the table, I begin to cut the crepe. Well, try to at least.

Clearly my struggling is evident because Rome chuckles beside me and gently takes the utensils out of my hand, cutting the food for me.

This happened last time and I can only watch with slight embarrassment.

Once I begin to dig in, the 3 other men in the room fill their own plates before following my actions.

Although I don't want to break the comfortable silence, I want to know what's going to happen today.

"Rome, where do you think we should take Izzy to talk?" I ask the question that I know will make the tension thick.

And I was correct.

His jaw ticks and he places down his own fork. Grasping my hand in his, he runs his thumb over my knuckles.

Shyly looking at James and Elijah, I see that both of their eyes are on me.

"Where do you wanna go, darling?" Rome asks and I ponder over his question for a few moments.

"How about the park? The one where the waterfall is?"

Tilting his head slightly, he nods and straightens his shoulders. "That'll work, we should go as soon as possible though."

"Okay, I'm going to go change and then I want to see Izzy."

"I'll come with you then." He says, standing up and grabbing both our plates to place them in the sink.

He turns to James, "Pulisci questo."

(Clean this up.)

James gapes at him. "I'm not your servant."

Rome doesn't say anything but his eyes harden at the blonde man, making him shrink under his gaze.

"Dannazione, odio quando fa quello sguardo. Bene, bene lo farò."

(Damnit, I hate when he does that look. Fine, fine I will.)

Rome rolls his eyes and turns to me, helping me out of the chair and guiding me back to the stairs.

"Thank you for the food, James!" I yell and I get a 'you're welcome, princess!' in response making me giggle and Rome sigh in annoyance.

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My body won't move.

My body won't move another step.

My body won't move another inch.

I'm standing in front of the door Izzy is behind. My palms are sweating.

The men Rome assigned to watch her door are now no where is sight. He had told them to leave once we came up.

Rome is behind me with a comfortable hand on my back, slightly rubbing up and down as he waits for me to make the first move to enter.

But for some reason I can't.

Just the idea of what she's done makes me feel lightheaded.

I know she must have gotten threatened or something, but just the fact that Ivan has been to her house. This whole time she knew who he was.

"Are you sure you want to see her, baby?" Rome questions quietly behind me and I bite my lip.

Turning to him I crane my neck upwards since he's so tall.

"Yes, she's been my best friend for years, she couldn't have done this by choice. She said she had no choice." I tell him and he glares at the door ahead of him.

Clearing his throat, he tilts his head to the door and I let out a shaky breath before turning back to it.

With my right hand slightly shaking, I raise it and knock a few times.

"Izzy? Are you in there?" I call. Yes I know she's in there but I got nervous and that was the only thing I could think of saying.

"Arya?" I barely heard her but she called my name. My chest tightens.

"Yeah It's me. Can you open the door?"

There's shuffling on the other side before the handle turns and the door opens. My eyes water when I finally see her.

Izzy already has tears streaming down her face when she looks at me and then quickly at the man behind me.

But then she throws herself at me, hugging me so tightly that I thought I couldn't breathe for a second.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" She chants over and over again, her arms tightening.

My own tears begin to escape my eyelids and I slowly wrap my arms around her.

"I'm sorry-" Izzy continues to say and I close my eyes.

Pulling away from her, I watch as she wipes at her cheeks to try and get rid of the tears.

"Let's go out somewhere to talk, okay?" I say and she nods.

"Yeah, I think that's best."

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So that's how we ended up sitting at one of the tables at the park. My main goal was to not have any huge arguments happening.

The ride here was the most awkward situation I've ever been in. Not one word was said while Rome and I sat in the front and Izzy in the back

However Rome did keep his hand on my thigh the whole time which was all the reassurance I needed.

Now the three of us sit in even more silence although there is chatter and laughter around us since we're at a park.

Grant and a few more of Rome's men had followed behind us and were somewhere here as well. They're really good at hiding.

I watch as parents play with their kids, running around in the grass and getting pushed on the swings.

Shaking my head I look back at Rome only to see his eyes cold, staring down at Izzy while she looks nervous.

Nudging him a bit with my elbow he huffs and his face softens a bit.

"So, how about you tell us what happened? How did you get involved with Ivan?" I start off and she sniffles.

"Somehow Trevor and Ivan know each other." Izzy says I see Rome tense.

"Quindi Trevor è ancora in giro? Lo ucciderò." He mutters.

(So Trevor is still around? I'm going to kill him.)

Ignoring him I speak, "And what did Trevor say to you? Were those texts real?"

Her eyes water and she shakes her head slowly, "No, they weren't. It was a setup."

"What was the point in it, then?" Rome asks and tightens his fists.

"All the texts said was that I was dangerous. There was nothing new there and Ivan had already told Arya about the mafia before all of this shit."

"I don't know!" Izzy cries, "I just had to do whatever Ivan said. It all comes back to him!"

"What kind of threats did he make, again?" I ask and her lip wobbles.

"Threats to kill me, kill you, and kill my family."

"Ivan is sick in the head and he'd most likely do that anyways Izzy, you can't trust him." Rome replies and now Izzy's eyes harden.

"It's not about trust! It's about the threats! I wasn't going to take any chances and risk my family's lives."

"Yet you let him stay at your house like a fottuto idiota."

(Fucking idiot.)

"What the hell does that mean?" Izzy asks and Rome rolls his eyes.

"Don't worry about it."

"Arguing will get us nowhere." I cut off their banter and they both look at me.

"Izzy, do you know where Ivan could possibly be now?"

"No, he never told me what he was doing. I don't know where he goes when It's not at my house."

"Ivan was planning to attack today. Our house." Rome says and my eyes widen like saucers.

"Huh?" Izzy and I both say at the same time and he nods.

"We're going to stay out for the day and hopefully we can catch him before he takes his plan into action."

"He was planning to attack? How do you know?" I ask carefully and his eyes soften down at me.

"Oliver."

"Oliver? The Oliver that was at-"

"Yes," I cut Izzy off and she breaths out heavily.

"This is too much. I can't take it."

"How did you get involved with Ivan? How did he contact you? Was it through Trevor?" Izzy looks at Rome and mutters a 'no.'

"Ivan literally showed up to my house one night when I was home alone and started all those threats if I didn't do what he said. I had to act like everything was okay at school and whenever he wasn't around. I wanted to tell you so badly Arya, trust me." Her eyes were on me again and she looks at me pleadingly.

"Well I guess the only thing we can do now is wait, right?" I question nervously and glance at Rome.

"I suppose so. The house should be clearing out right now so everyone should be safe. If we can just catch Ivan it will all be over. Perché senza un leader i russi cadranno."

(Because without a leader the Russians will fall.)

As if on cue Rome gets a phone call. Taking it out of his pocket he reads the name then accepts the call.

"Che cosa?"

(What?)

Rome listens intently on the other line while Izzy and I watch curiously.

But then he abruptly stands, his fingers dig into the table so hard that I thought it might crack.

"Non entrare in quella casa. Sto arrivando."

(Do not go into that house. I'm on my way.)

Rome ends the calls and dials a new number frantically.

"Vieni qui e guardali Grant, Ivan è stato individuato."

(Get over here and watch them Grant, Ivan's been spotted.)

He ends that call and then before I can blink cups my face in his hands and presses his lips against mine.

Shock fills my body because he pulls away just as fast.

"Listen to me, Ivan has been seen so I want you and Izzy to stay here with Grant. Do not go anywhere, got it?"

Horror fills my insides but I can only nod. He presses a hard kiss to my head before finally pulling away.

"I'll finish this once and for all baby, I promise."