I sat on a furiously pink carpet in Mona's room, playing with its long hair. I was waiting for my friend to refresh her makeup so we could leave the house. It was a Thursday afternoon and I ended up at her place after school. Our excuse was that we needed to study together. Mona was the most distracted person I knew, so I'd rather jump off the bridge than choose to prepare for the test in her company, but it was the best lie we could think of for her parents and Will to agree for our meeting during the week.

Its real reason was Leo's plan, which seemed so harmless that, after thinking about it, I agreed to take part in it. The boy literally begged me to just appear in the right place at the right time. That I could do. I was just supposed to see something that then I would innocently direct Vincent's attention to and then forget it. Leo didn't ask much.

Mrs. Hardy's bakery was robbed regularly on Thursdays, usually around late afternoon. Apparently even gangsters followed a schedule. Leo told me all this with a blank expression on his face, though there was fiery anger clearly sounding in his voice.

Mona was quite an important point in the whole plan, or rather her apartment, which was located about fifteen minutes on foot from the bakery. Mrs. Hardy even knew her mother, who would visit her every Sunday to buy creampuffs and eclairs. She also ordered a few cakes from her once or twice, and privately they liked each other a lot. Sometimes Mrs. Britt stopped at the doorstep, Leo's mom leaned against the counter and they had endless conversations.

When my friend finally stood in front of me, ready to go, I also got up and deliberately plugged my phone to the charger. My tracker was to stay at home. I didn't want to make a secret of going out for a walk, but it's better for Vince and my security guard (if there even was any here with me today) to find out about it afterward.

Anyway, I thought that my potential bodyguard would see how I get out of the building, but Mona cleverly took me to the roof, which was converted into a shared, communal terrace that was connecting several blocks together. As a result, we could use a completely different exit. I was so curious if the bodyguard had found out our little trick. I tried not to look back too much, but it was a very strange feeling, knowing that someone could follow me. I didn't even know if he was here, but it seemed to me that since the events with Jerry, my brothers had become even more cautious about my safety.

Mona led us through her neighborhood and told me about different places there, pointing her finger in various directions as she spoke. Years ago, she used to play with her sister in that playground, there used to be her hiding place in those bushes, she often goes roller-skating on that road, and there is the shop she'd told me about some time ago, where they sometimes sell alcohol to minors. I grew up in a similar kind of place myself and now it hit me how much I lacked such freedom. Living with my brothers far away from any civilization within a few miles limited me a lot. I couldn't get out of my house without first asking for a ride.

We walked and talked about things all the time, trying to behave normally, although we both felt growing excitement. Finally, the Hardy's Cake bakery, blended in a number of other low-rise buildings, has emerged. Its name was painted in white letters on a wooden gray board, hanging above the front door. Next to it there were small, colorful cakes and cupcakes on the display, to encourage passers-by.

Leo stood in front of it. He leaned against the wall and stared at his phone, raising his head every now and then to look right and left. Finally, he saw us, and then he put the phone in his pocket and smiled slightly. I saw some tension in his face and movements. Some nervousness.

While Mona and I were still wearing school uniforms, Leo had already changed into jeans and a plain white T-shirt. He shook hands with my friend, introducing himself politely. He associated Mona thanks to her mom's visits to the bakery, but they never met. She needed a long moment to understand which Leo I was talking about when I introduced her to our plan.

"Thank you," he whispered to me and for a moment it seemed to me that he wanted to hug me, but he changed his mind, which I accepted with relief and before entering the bakery, I looked suspiciously at the street for the last time. It seemed empty.

The room wasn't very big. The walls were lilac, the floor was tiled with black and white tiles, in the center there was a white counter. Behind the glass, there were remains of various cakes. Shelves hung on the wall behind the counter, mostly empty at this time of day, though there were still a few donuts with icing and probably some blueberry buns. Next to it, there was a small fridge with a little chocolate cake and a piece of cream and jelly cake with strawberries visible behind the glass. Due to the fact that there was not much space here, it was possible to fit only three chairs and one small round table on which an artificial red rose stood in an elongated crystal vase.

An ordinary bakery. Pretty adorable. I immediately liked the delicate scent of powdered sugar in the air.

Leo suggested that we sit at this one and only table and we made enough noise with our entrance for Mrs. Hardy to appear out of nowhere.

She wasn't really tall, rather thin and in her forties. She tied her black hair in a ponytail and pinched unruly strands with hair clips. She had a tattoo on her arm, and thick lines on her eyelids carefully made with eyeliner. She was dressed in a plain, black T-shirt with a white apron on it. Ring-shaped earrings hung from her ears. Her appearance surprised me. She looked more like a bar owner than a bakery one.

She gave me and Mona a quick glance, and then looked at Leo. She was clearly unhappy in response to his invitation. She seemed tense, and her response to our "Good afternoon" was almost inaudible.

"What are you doing? Who are these girls? Just sell them whatever they want and get rid of them," she whispered to his son when he appeared next to her behind the counter to pick our donuts for us. Either she thought we couldn't hear her or she didn't care.

"They are my friends from school. They want to eat here," Leo replied, sliding the disposable glove over his hand.

Mrs. Hardy sighed in frustration and turned to us.

"Girls, I'm sorry, but we're closing earlier today," she informed us, finally showing off how firm and decisive her voice can be.

"Mom, relax, they know," Leo said, already carrying us two donuts on little plastic trays. He purposely avoided her look.

"Excuse me?"

I exchanged nervous glances with Mona. None of us wanted to find ourselves in the heart of a family quarrel. Well, I was hoping Leo would plan it a little better.

He put the trays in front of us and only then he straightened up and turned to look back at Mrs. Hardy.

"This is Mona Britt," he introduced my friend, pointing at her with an open hand. Then he pointed at me. "And this is Hailie Monet."

Mrs. Hardy looked at Mona, processing the thought that there was her good friend's daughter sitting in front of her, but in a moment, at the sound of my name, her eyes widened. She immediately moved them at me and looked me up and down, stopping at my confused expression.

"What is she doing here?" she hissed to Leo and more wrinkles appeared on her forehead.

"She'll help us. She'll talk to Vincent Monet. I mean, she'll let me talk to him."

Mrs. Hardy shook her head in disbelief.

"You'll get us in even bigger trouble, damn it, Leo!"

"We have to do something!" Leo shouted and for the first time I heard this always kind boy raise his voice. However, he looked at his mother not with hostility or anger, but with desperation and worry. He slowly walked around the counter to be next to her and then added reassuringly, "Everything'll be all right."

Mrs. Hardy looked into her son's eyes with love and fear. Leo was taller than her. He patted her shoulder, and when a tear rolled down her cheeks, he whispered something into her ear, and she disappeared in the back room, not gracing us even with a gaze.

I was glad that my friend was here with me because we shared this awkwardness together. I didn't know exactly what was going on here, but I lowered my head and stared at the icing sweetness laid in front of me. For some reason, I felt the familiar burden of guilt.

We sat there for almost an hour. The bakery was visited by several individual customers and each time the door opened, our eyes were rising to that way and our hearts were beating faster. At one point Leo sat at our table and the three of us tried to calm ourselves with light conversations. We even got an understanding between each other and it could have been quite a nice meeting if not for the fact that it was a mission that with every minute was stressing us all more and more.

Leo's mom was hanging around behind the counter and didn't speak to us again. She only got to us once to clean empty trays, tossed napkins, and to wipe the table. It seemed to me that her hand tightened on the cloth was trembling.

The sun was setting slowly outside, and the longer we waited, the thicker the air was getting. I was smiling faintly at some joke Leo told us to relax. Mona chuckled nervously. I wanted to wait five more minutes and then tell him that unfortunately, we have to leave because I don't have my phone with me, and if I don't speak to my brothers soon, they will do it themselves. I was planning in my head how to do it so I wouldn't disappoint Leo until suddenly the door to the bakery opened again.

We all fell silent and tensed immediately at the sight of three confident men who unceremoniously stepped inside. The one who walked ahead was not very tall, but quite beefy. His hair was red. He had actually strange, faded, orange curls on his head. Some spooky tattoo covered the left side of his face, running from his temple through his ear to his neck. He also had a fairly large nose, and his eyes were light and unfriendly. The black T-shirt he was wearing had to be worn-out, which I deduced from the faded print of a band.

Behind him came a guy who was just as muscular, but also tall and had a long and thick, dark beard, which gave him the impression of a giant. The last of them was much thinner and seemed younger. He was wearing sunglasses and his lip was cut as if just before coming here he was in a fight.

Okay, I'd never want to get into the simplest interaction with men of their kind. They looked terrifying and it'd be honest to admit they scared me a lot.

The one with the glasses stopped at the entrance. He leaned nonchalantly against the door and folded his arms on his chest. The giant stood in the passage behind the counter, and the red hair guy, previously casting a glimpse at our table, headed to the cash desk, like a customer who wants to buy a cake. Except that in his case it was obvious that he wasn't going to buy anything.

"Hi, Gina, how are you?" he began kindly but he was also smirking in that unpleasant way. He leaned his big arm on the counter and added, "What do you have for us today?"

Mrs. Hardy, with a poker face and without a word, bent down and pulled out a large white envelope, slightly wrinkled and non-sealed. She threw it on the counter, straight into the redhead's hands.

"How rude," the man commented with amusement, but he moved and unrolled the paper to look inside and check its content.

A slam sounded and everyone's heads shot toward its source. It was this giant guy, he couldn't resist, and he took a piece of cake out of the fridge, dropping something while doing so. He shrugged and began to greedily wolf down the dessert, messing his beard with cream.

I saw Leo's hand clenching into a fist on our table. I wanted to calm him down and tell him not to move, sit quietly and relax, but I was too stiff.

"Gina ..." The redhead sighed, taking his eyes away from the envelope and looked at the woman with a pretended disappointment. "Why are you always trying to cheat us?"

Leo's mother didn't speak, but she stared at her interlocutor with pursed lips and silent hatred. He waved at the giant, who quickly wedge in behind the counter, wiped his sticky with cream palms on his pants, and stood next to the woman.

"There is as much as we've agreed on!" Mrs. Hardy protested with a panic clearly sounding in her voice.

"Interest rate goes up every week," the redhead shrugged.

"Since when?!"

"Since I fucking say that."

Mrs. Hardy was trembling with anger and powerlessness, and the giant standing over her pointed at the cash register.

"Open it," he growled.

"In the envelope, there is an amount we agreed on. I don't have more money."

The giant wiped his palms again, this time on his T-shirt, and then reached back, by the waist of his pants, and pulled out a gun, at which sight I swallowed. I saw Mona's eyes widen.

He didn't even aim at Mrs. Hardy, but he made sure she saw what he was holding. I could see the woman clenching her teeth furiously, and I was sure she was struggling with herself not to cry out of helplessness. She was tough.

Mrs. Hardy tapped on the cash register keys. It obediently opened with a click. The giant looked over her shoulder and sniffed.

"There's no much," he said, but reached inside and pulled out a few green banknotes.

The redhead tilted his head.

"Are you hiding money from us?"

Mrs. Hardy was almost red on her face in rage.

"I'm not hiding anything, fuck off. I don't even have enough to pay the rent!" she called out and slammed the cash drawer back with one strong push before the giant could sneak anything else out of it.

Now the redhead raised his eyebrows and laughed, amused at her explosion, and the giant tucked the banknotes into his pocket carelessly so he could raise his weapon at her, apparently irritated by her sudden movements.

At that moment Leo jumped to his feet.

"Don't you dare aim it at her!" he roared, taking a step forward.

The giant and the redhead exchanged mocking glances.

"Well, Gina, at least one of your sons has balls, hm?" the redhead asked, keeping the boy's gaze.

"Sit down right now!" Mrs. Hardy ordered sharply to her son.

"Lower it," Leo snapped, pointing at the gun. "You can't be doing this all. I want to talk to Vincent."

I shivered at the sound of my brother's name.

The redhead snorted and the giant grinned.

"Sit your ass down and stop barking, boy. Vincent doesn't have time for meetings with little shitheads like you," the first one hissed at him, lazily pushing himself off the counter so that he was standing straight and looking our way. Not only amusement but also a note of threat sounded in his voice.

Leo took another step forward and his mother hissed at him again to stay away. The redhead sighed wearily.

That's when I tried to stop him myself. I grabbed his wrist first but he quickly wrenched it off. I also whispered his name softly. Nothing. Without thinking much, I stood up and put my fingers on his shoulder, more firmly.

"Leo, stop," I warned him emphatically.

Leo said nothing, but his muscles were tight and he looked carefully at his mom.

Suddenly the redhead laughed hoarsely and winked.

"You don't listen to your mother, but the girlfriend is a whole different story, huh? You'd better do what she says so nothing will happen to anyone, and she may even reward you later."

At these words Leo clearly got furious because he attempted to walk towards the man again, but before he could get too close to him, I grabbed his arm tightly and pulled him back. Leo swayed a little and we made eye contact for a split second. His eyes gleamed with fury and determination. It's these feelings that usually obscure common sense. I was afraid that he would do something stupid, that he would enrage these men what would end up in one of them actually using the gun.

They worked for Vincent. Will they give up and leave if I tell them I'm his sister? Will Vince get angry with me if he finds out? I expected them to come here, take money, shout their "Greetings from the Monets" and leave. But this show right here? I absolutely had no nerves to watch it.

I didn't even know if they'd care that I was Vince's sister, but I decided to react. Although it looked as if this bearded giant was only threatening Mrs. Hardy without the intention to actually kill her, if somehow his gun fired and hurt her, I knew well that I'd have great remorse for not even trying to interfere.

I let go of Leo's arm and turned to the redhead, squinting, and doing my best to look serious, not like a frightened kid. They work for Vincent, they can't hurt you, you just have to tell them who you are. I told myself so.

I opened my mouth to reveal my identity, at the same time taking bold steps towards the guy when he reacted very quickly, far too quickly for my reflexes. At first, he raised his eyebrows at the sight of my courage, probably finding it more like stupidity. And then, when I crossed some boundary he had set and before I could utter a word, he raised his arm and hit me carelessly with the back of his strong hand, as if he were chasing away a fly.

Although his movement looked indifferent, this man had so much strength that without any effort he immediately sent my slim body to the floor. By the way, I hit my head against the wall, but not hard, because the right side of my body absorbed fall, so it hurt only a little. Or maybe just compared to my burning cheek, I downplayed the bump, which I felt that began to form straightaway.

For a moment I felt as if someone was burning my cheek with fire, so as soon as I shook myself of the daze, I began to rub this already reddened place. I looked up in horror at the perfect moment to see Leo release his brakes and throw himself at the redhead. I felt a hand on my back. It was Mona who squatted next to me, but I didn't even look at her, because I watched with terror as the boy's fists managed to hit the red man's face hard twice before that man put himself together and faced his teenage opponent. The redhead punched Leo one, two, three times, and each time was accompanied by a horrible, empty sound of a heavy fist hitting my friend's face.

"Get off him!" Mrs. Hardy yelled and rushed to go around the counter to be on our side so she could help her son. The giant, probably too surprised to do anything, has already lowered the weapon and didn't stop her, busy with staring at his companion beating the shit out of a teenager. The third man, the slim one with dark glasses, was still leaning casually against the door to the bakery with his arms folded, but finally, it was him who raised his voice in order to stop the redhead. This, surprisingly, was enough, and he obeyed him. During the struggle, he managed to pin Leo to the wall, so now when he released him, the boy slid to the floor. His face was very red and he was bleeding from the cut eyebrow.

The redhead was not smiling anymore. Leo also left a mark on his face and, although it was faint, it was apparently enough for the man to bring his mood down. Mrs. Hardy immediately fell to her knees next to her son and began to revive him. Fortunately, Leo was conscious and only sore. He looked wasted and I couldn't control my hateful eyes I fixed on our common torturer.