"This is ridiculous," I shook my head in disbelief. Maybe his friend was just exaggerating. "Who's this friend of yours anyway? How would he know who these men are?"

Elliot clenched his jaw. "His name's Fallon. He has access to the Identity History database."

I scoffed. "The history of what? What does that even mean?" It sounded awfully sketchy.

"Never mind my sources, Nora. Just trust that they're accurate." He paced around the porch some more, hands fisted by his sides. "We need to leave, now."

"We can't just get up and leave! They'll obviously know something is wrong." I whispered as the back of my neck began heating up due to the uneasiness I felt.

"Well we can't stay either!" Elliot whisper-yelled. "Bella's already packing up in our room. We'll just say she has a family emergency and we need to cut our trip short."

My hand unconsciously raised to my hair, my fingers running through them as I tried to think of a better way to leave. We needed a stronger argument. If those men are who Elliot claims they are, then they're smart; they'll know something is wrong and we can't risk them knowing that.

"We need to think of something better." I bit the inside of my cheek.

"We don't have time!" Elliot yelled, now completely frustrated. "You need to go get Ariel and take her to your room. Tell her everything when you're positive they're as far away from hearing distance as possible. I'll take care of Noah and Seth."

I nodded my head, straightening my hair by brushing my fingers through them quickly and taking a deep breath.

"Act natural." Elliot mumbled.

My eyes shot up to his, "like the way you were back in there?"

He rolled his eyes. "I was freaking out, alright? It's not everyday we get ourselves involved with one of the biggest mobs in our country."

"We'll be okay." I reassured him. He stared at me for the longest five seconds, before hesitantly nodding his head, as if trying to convince the both of us that we will - somehow - be.

I turned on my heels and headed back to the kitchen, taking a deep breath. When I was close enough, Seth's deep laughs could be heard and my stomach dropped. I pushed past the doorway and made my way to my stool - that was now between Ariel and Xavier - and I tried my hardest to avoid eye contact, glaring holes into my plate.

"Are you alright?" Xavier leaned close to whisper his question to me. I nodded my head, giving him a quick glance and smiling for impact.

"Ariel?" I turned to my best friend, interrupting her conversation with Vincent. She looked at me with bright, gleaming eyes, and my heart tore a little imagining how hurt she

would be by leaving a guy she had finally started to genuinely like. "Can you give me a hand with something?"

"Sure thing," she smiled brightly.

I hopped off my stool and as I was about to leave Xavier gave me a weird look. "Everything okay?" He repeated, unconvinced by my earlier answer.

I tried to control the erratic beating of my heart and my shallow breaths. I was on the verge of a breakdown as I was engulfed by the fear of the unknown, and acting natural in such a case was a task much more challenging than I imagined.

"Everything is good." I forced a tight smile.

He was not convinced, but he decided to let it go. His suspicious gaze left me on edge and I was worried he'd find out what's really going on. I grabbed Ariel's hand and rushed past the kitchen doorway, dragging her towards the stairs.

"Woah, calm down. What's going on?" Ariel asked. I bit the inside of my cheek, glancing behind her shoulder to see Elliot slowly walking towards the kitchen, his back straight and chin held high. He gave me a quick look and nodded once, encouraging me to continue on with our agreement.

Ariel glanced between us and raised a brow, chuckling slightly. "Okay, I am officially creeped out."

I dragged her to our floor, then to our rented room. I fumbled with the key, my fingers too sweaty to be able to insert it into the keyhole on first try. "Elliot just found out something huge, and we need to leave now."

"Huh? Why?!" She exclaimed in disappointment, and I resisted the urge to cringe when her voice echoed in the small space.

I shoved her into our room then closed the door, and locked it again. You can never be too safe.

"What the hell is going on, Nora?" Ariel demanded, her frown deepening.

"Elliot had his doubts about Vincent, so he called in a friend last night. And those men aren't who we think they are. They're very dangerous and we need to leave now." I crouched on the floor and unzipped my bag, grabbing at my belongings and shoving them inside.

"Who are they?" Ariel's voice was low and I could sense the fear in it. My lips parted so I could answer her question, but I hesitated, not wanting to scare her too much. "Nora? Who is Vincent?"

I bit the inside of my cheek and stood tall, turning around to face Ariel's wide blue eyes. "They're members of the mob." I whispered. The words sounded so foreign leaving my mouth that I had to resist the urge to smile at how ridiculous the whole situation felt.

Ariel stared at me for a long time, processing my words. "What?" She suddenly chuckled, which didn't really surprise me. But my features remained serious, and her laugh subdued. "You're joking, right?"

I gulped and slowly shook my head. "This is serious, Ariel." I reached out for her shivering hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Elliot won't allow anything bad to happen to us. But we need to leave ASAP."

Ariel's eyes remained wide in shock as she forced her head to nod in understanding. I pushed her towards her bag and she began packing up, shoving her clothes that were scattered all around into her bag.

"This is insane. What the hell was Seth thinking bringing us here?!" She exclaimed, and I shushed her, afraid someone would hear us behind our door.

"Seth doesn't know. Of course he wouldn't put us in such danger." I scolded.

I zipped my bag and rushed to the bathroom to change into a pair of jeans and a more fitting top. I grabbed my sandals and quickly put them on. Glancing into the room, I saw Ariel pulling her hair into a messy ponytail, already changed into a pair of white shorts and a loose top.

"Ready?" I asked. She nodded and grabbed our bags.

"What are we gonna tell them?" She asked me once I unlocked the door.

"That Bella's having a family emergency."

We stepped out of our rooms and a second later, the door to our left also unlocked. Seth stepped outside, his hair disheveled and in a complete mess, with Noah following behind. Noah's jaws were clenched tightly and there was a deep scowl on his face. When their eyes met us they softened a bit, and they came rushing towards us. Seth placed his hands on Ariel's shoulders and gave them a tight squeeze. "You're ready?" He asked and she frantically nodded her head.

He reached down to grab the bags from her hands and hurried towards the stairs, Ariel following behind. Noah's arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me towards him, his green eyes peering into mine. "I've got you." He promised, and I gulped down the lump growing in my throat.

"I know, Noah. I'm fine." I pushed against his chest but his hand tightened on my hip, and he shook his head.

"Stay by my side." He commanded, and I hesitantly nodded.

"Guys, come on." Seth called out and we rushed towards the stairs.

When we arrived at the lobby, Elliot and Bella were already speaking to Mrs. Patterson behind the desk, handing her over the keys and mentioning Bella's younger sister. We started heading towards them when we were suddenly stopped by a loud door slam.

Our heads snapped to the kitchen doorway to see Xavier stepping out, his frown deepening at the sight of our luggage. "Leaving so soon?"

A second later Vincent and Levi stepped out. Their features turning from playful to confused within seconds. "Where are ya'll headed to?" Vincent asked.

Elliot took a step forward, his jaw ticking. "Had to cut our trip short. Family emergency."

"Whose?" Xavier's voice boomed through the lobby. My gaze remained on the shiny tiles, but the back of my neck was heating up as I could feel his intense gaze settled on my face, demanding that I look up.

But I couldn't. He would find all the answers behind my eyes.

"My girl's." Elliot answered shortly.

Vincent's voice then rang, "why do you all have to leave for it?" He asked, the suspicion evident behind his voice.

"Because we're family. We support one another in difficult times. I'm sure you understand how important that is." Noah replied.

I glanced through my lashes to see Vincent nod, "certainly."

"Very well then," Elliot began. "Gentlemen, it was a pleasure." He rested his hand on Bella's lower back and guided her away towards the doors. He looked at Noah and motioned towards the car.

Noah's hand trailed down my arm towards my own that was clutching Ariel and I's room key. I opened my palm and gave him the key which he took towards Mrs. Patterson, who wasn't entirely oblivious towards the tension growing in the room.

"Thank you for your hospitality," he offered her a warm smile and turned back to us, grabbing some of our bags and motioning for me to walk ahead of him.

"Nora?" My heart dropped to my stomach as Xavier's warm velvety voice echoed to my ears. I turned to glance at him, his hard silver eyes holding a promise behind them. "I hope to see you again."

Noah opened his mouth to reply but I beat him to it. "Goodbye, Xavier." I turned around and followed Ariel towards the cars.