• Tuscany, Italy •
"You like it?"
Théo smiled at the pretty brunette and gave a faint nod. He glanced around the new house, taking note of the young woman's sheer enthusiasm to survey every inch of the place.
As they stood near the doorway, Anastasia's hand clasped his forearm in anticipation. Then she tugged him towards the pristine front room, all the while he tried to suss out the interior décor of the two-storey house.
The plush L-shaped loveseats, the shiny coffee table, and the jet-black consoles all over the place looked like they were fresh from the furniture store.
His eyes liked the monochromatic colors in the living room and the immaculately staged dining set. He liked the spaciousness and the cleanliness of the place, but the furnishings were too modernistic for his taste. "It's nice
• Bakersville, NY •The week beforeIt was the last few days of the band's second tour break.Initially, she wanted to get back to touring sooner, but the strange mental fog she had been dealing with lately had her thinking she ought to take another long weekend break to recuperate. Get her energy back.Veronica stuffed her hands into her parka's pockets, keeping at her hasty gait after a chilly breeze wafted past the sidewalk. Then her tired eyes drifted over the stretch of planetrees and shrubbery ahead. She didn't feel like driving today, mostly since the nearest convenience store was only a fifteen-minute walk away.A little exercise would be good for her, given her house-get groceries-house routine lately. So she didn't bother commuting. She slackened her steps to glance skyward.More grayish clouds had crowded above
• Changi, Singapore •Her insides still hummed from their slap-up live show that ended just minutes ago. It lasted about an hour. The band had performed ten songs for the thousands of people who came out tonight to watch them play live.It felt much better than last night's performance, because the sound engineers really put in the work tonight. Veronica smiled to herself and fanned her sweat-drenched face. She rushed back to the dressing room while her clothes kept clinging to her warm skin.The late-night air just felt remarkably humid tonight. It was the second stop of their first ever Asian tour, and the band still had to travel to five more cities till they had to return to New York by the end of the month.Dan and Yanniz trailed behind while chat
• Tuscany, Italy • "You okay?" "Yeah." Théo put on a quick smile for his companion, just to seem glad to be her chaperone for the day. He stood near the entrance of the boutique, trying to keep calm as he watched Anastasia shop for new clothes for her fiancé. He was mostly keeping to himself. He didn't want to mention what just happened. Anastasia didn't need to know that he just got off the phone with his ex after a heated argument he did not quite expect. He was trying not to mind Veronica's threats earlier. The threats weren't exactly from her, though. He understood that she was just worried, and she was only warning him of what Raffaele might do because he broke his word and met up with Anastasia again. It wasn't what bothered him most. What upset him more was the fact that he was so far away from her, while she an
• Tuscany, Italy • Damn. So the girl could very well be pregnant with Leandro's first child. Sudden change of heart? As far as he knew, Leandro was rather enjoying his bachelor lifestyle. Was it an unplanned pregnancy? Théo thought of the possible reasons why Alodia was hiding from Leandro. He had done some research about Leandro some months ago when he was in Rome with Anastasia. Théo sat still opposite the guy's brother, who seemed well aware of the whole complicated love drama going on between his best friend and his older brother. Théo grinned to himself. He just didn't expect there'd be another layer to the whole Raffaele-Alodia-Leandro story. The plot just thickened, from what he could tell. He sat still while Enzo abstractedly stared at his sunglasses on the table, looking distracted by something.&nb
•"Via? This you?""Hi." She sat up and put on her headset, her heart skipping a beat at the sound of the guy's distinct voice.It was deep and manly like Théo's, quite intimidating, but Raffaele sounded friendly tonight. To some degree at least.Or perhaps it was just her feigned optimism making her think so. "Are you in Italy?""No. Why?" Raffaele yawned on the other line. "Are you guys in Asia now? Busy touring again?""Yeah." So he was still keeping tabs on her. Why? Veronica held her breath and glanced around. She wasn't alone.Dan and Yanniz sat in the dim backseat of the van with Jay, their manager. They were on their way to the airport after another successful show, but she'd informed her bandmates that she had to meet up with Théo in Italy."Just a little emergency," was her excus
• Tuscany, Italy •"See you soon?""Yeah.""I'm serious.""I know." Théo smiled at the pouting brunette standing in front of him. Anastasia already hugged him twice, but it seemed she wasn't done bidding him goodbye. Their dinner with Enzo had been private but rather fun, even though it didn't even take an hour. "I wish you and Via could drop by during the reception at least.""We'll see." Théo put on a quick grin. "I have work commitments that month, like I said. And her band's gonna be busy touring till next year, so..."Ana sighed. "Okay." Her lean shoulders drooped."I'll tell her you said hi.""Only if...she's in a really good mood." She made a face, seeming bothered by the thought. Her bodyguard stayed close to her and kept glancing around while holding the car door for her.Behind the guy stood Enzo, her brother's best friend and business partner.
•The overt warnings didn't scare him. It only worsened his curiosity, naturally, but it didn't make him piss his pants in utter fear. He wasn't scared of overprivileged assholes like Leandro Tomassini constantly parading their ill-gotten wealth and acting like they could buy off everyone and get whatever they wanted with little to no effort. Théo walked out of the parking lot, alone and restless, thinking of what to do next.The solitude and silence of the night gave him some privacy to deal with his convoluted thoughts.The more sensible side of his brain was telling him to cut and run before the scum could catch up and find him. But the vengeful idealist in him didn't want to cower out of this crime-infested country without putting up a fight.Like Enzo said, it would be in his best interest if he flew out of Italy the soonest possible, with no intention of ever coming back. Enzo didn'
•It didn't take another day for him to get a taste of the cruel mobster's wrath. A little after sunrise, Leandro Tomassini arrived at the scene with another bunch of gun-toting goons. No masks this time. Like they couldn't care less that it would make it way too easy for him to identify them in a police line-up. Stupid pricks.Wearing a tailored three-piece suit as dark as his soulless eyes, Leandro walked right in with a gun strapped to his hip, his jaw-length hair all damp and shiny, like he just finished his morning shower.With his pricey-looking leather shoes and immaculate outfit, the asshole looked seriously ready for a board meeting instead of a spur-of-the-moment drop-by in a well-disguised torture chamber. The place didn't quite resemble an old dungeon, though.Théo squinted at their surroundings. Damp and cold walls. Decrepit building. Rusty, old machinery and he