25. Los Angeles

STEFAN'S POV

It had been a couple of weeks since Alexandra and her entire family died, or at least that's what they say. I'm not so sure she's dead, it would be bad luck if she died trying to escape from me, it could happen, but I doubt it. She's smarter than that. 

Despite all my doubts, my trusted men told me it's true, so I was a little calmer, but only a little, because something tells me she isn't dead as she appears. 

At this moment I was in my office when Melisa entered the room. The truth is I didn't like her very much, let alone after she got into drugs, but she's the mother of my children and if I need to vent, she is always there, so I kept her by my side. 

"Did you really have to kill Derek?" She asked and I rolled my eyes, because it was obvious, I had to do it "Obviously I had to do it. After everything he did, there was no way I was going to let him live. He never understood family is everything." I said without paying attention to her "Just like you see yours, right?" 

"Just because my family and I have different points of view doesn't mean I'm going to kill them." I said, and it was true, I just wanted to kill my brother for stealing from me, nothing more "But you do it with your son." She said and I sighed, because I don't have to kill her, at least at this moment "Stop making yourself the mother of the year Melisa, because if we both know something, it's you didn't give a shit about your children." 

"As much as they mattered to you, after all, look what you did to Alexandra." I looked up to meet her eyes. I don't know what she had against Alexandra, in the end, she had mistreated her since she was little, she herself proposed we do everything we did to her; my only goal was to make her stronger, which I achieved "What I did to Alexandra it was to make her the woman she was at the end of her life. If I wanted her to ever run the mob, I needed her to be cold and strong." 

"In the end, what you got was only a weak woman with thousands of fears." She said and I denied, because I knew Alexandra better than anyone and I knew it wasn't because of fear she had left "Fears maybe she got into them, but she was not weak, I must say the complete opposite of you who, at first instead bad turn, you get into drugs." I said with a shrug, "I don't take drugs anymore, Stefan." 

"That doesn't matter exactly to me, you were into them." I said and focused back on the papers "You shouldn't have killed him." She said and I was starting to get annoyed. Nobody questions my decisions and even less a drug addict "I should have killed him a long time ago. That boy kept getting us into trouble and not solving any, and the worst thing is now the head of the Italian DEA doesn't call us to inform us of everything because of your pretty boy." 

"How did you expect him to do anything right if you always compared him to your bitch of a daughter?" I quickly got up from the chair and put my hand around her neck squeezing it until she called for oxygen. "Don't even think about talking about my daughter like that, because then you'll be the one following your pretty boy." 

ALEXANDRA'S POV

It had been a couple of weeks since we had arrived in Los Angeles, and the truth was, it was taking me a bit to get used to all the changes. To begin with, I missed Italy. It had been my home for the past few years and the place where Alison was born. Second, I was sick of watching the fucking video of what happened inside the interrogation room with Derek, luckily for me, that was one less person I had to kill because they already did. 

Another thing I hated at this very moment was everyone was all over me after seeing what had happened in there, especially Megan who went half crazy when she saw what had happened. 

At this moment I was in the study looking out the window. I had a headache. I was starting to get fed up with everything, I wanted to put an end to stupid Stefan and live my life in peace once and for all. I wanted to go back to Italy. 

I was looking at a couple of mafia papers the one who was occupying our place at the moment had sent me, since I know he's the only person I can trust in Italy, and if not, I have people following him every second of his day, in case he decided to take over our mob, he would end up dead. 

I also had the feeling someone is looking for us, and that someone is Stefan, I'm almost sure of it, and the only way to achieve the security is to maintain the security we had in Italy, well, not the security itself, but to kill Stefan. The last thing I had heard from him was he was armoured like a large part of the big drug traffickers were after we "died". They were afraid, and that was what was needed at this moment, because with fear and confusion, one can achieve their goals. 

Not long after I hear the door open and close almost instantly, but I don't even bother to look who it is because there are only two options of who it is, either Alison or Hugo. They are the only ones who dare to enter after it almost exploded that day. 

"Mommy, are you okay?" Alison asked and I turned to see Alison standing a couple of steps from the chair I was sitting in, and Hugo standing by the door looking at us. I clear my mind a bit and open my arms for her to come closer, which doesn't take long for her to do or for me to hug her. 

"I'm fine, don't worry." I told her trying to reassure her "Aunt Megan doesn't say that." I rolled my eyes, because it was obvious Megan would say something like "Aunt Megan says a lot of things and sometimes aren't true." 

"So, are you alright?" she asked with a twinkle in her eyes "Yes princess, I'm fine. Why don't you tell me why you came?" I asked her and she sat comfortably on my lap and took my hand "I came to see if you were okay." She said as if nothing "Just that?" I asked, "That and if you came to play with daddy, Aunt Megan and me." 

"I'm going in a bit. Better, why don't you go get your aunt and I'll go down now?" Alison nodded, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and ran out of the study, leaving me with Hugo, but it didn't take me long before I turned around to look out the window again and the thoughts began to accumulate in my mind again. After a few minutes, arms wrap around me, calming me down a bit at least. 

"Are you sure you are alright?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. "Honestly, I have not the slightest idea. My head hurts, yes." I said with a shrug, "Then you don't need to come play with us. Better go rest for a while." He said, but I denied it, I didn't want to rest, nor did I need it right now "If I listened to you, I would do anything but rest." 

"What is it that has you so worried?" he asked curiously "I'm sick of everything Hugo. I want to go back to Italy." I said and sighed. I don't like Los Angeles, at least it wasn't cold, and Alison was safer than in Italy, which was better, but I wasn't used to it "But we can't…everyone thinks we're dead." 

"I know, but in the last years of my life, which were moderately good, they were in Italy. My parents are Italian, and my daughter is Italian. I just want to go back there and be able to live my life calmly and without any more problems." I said closing my eyes for a few seconds. 

"I understand what you mean, but love, no matter how much you want to return at this moment, we can't. It must be a mess over there after the news and Derek. But I promise you, the moment this is all over, we will return to Italy without a second thought." He said giving me a kiss on the temple "Do you promise me?" I asked turning to the right slightly "I promise. Are we going to play with Alison?" 

"Ale, we have… Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were busy." Jenni said from the doorway "I'm not, but what did you want?" I asked "Nothing, tell you today we have therapy. Both Megan and Fabio are waiting for you." I sighed, because the last thing I wanted was therapy, it doesn't help me at all "I'm going now." I told her. Jennifer nodded, and left the office, closing the door behind her. 

I lean back a little further, half hiding in Hugo's chest, and he kisses me on the head, allowing me to notice he's smiling, which makes me look up at him and see that smile that made me fall more in love every day. "What is that smile for?" I asked curiously, "I'm glad you agreed to go to therapy." 

"Maybe, but I don't feel like it's helping me and I'm sick of her too." I said, "You may not realize it right now love, but I can assure you it's helping you, we can all see it." 

I turned completely in his direction without understanding what he was referring to. "In what?" I asked, "You haven't had nightmares in a couple of days, and I can almost assure you, you are sleeping better." He said, but that wasn't entirely true, the nightmares continued, I just didn't get out of bed so as not to wake him up and bother him "It's not like that, but it could be" I said, looking out the window again. 

"What do you mean it's not quite like that?" he asked, and I denied, because I didn't want to think about my nightmares, especially the new ones "Ale, you can tell me" He insisted, but I denied "It's nothing. Now if you let me, I'm off to my dose of daily torture" I said separating from him "Can you play with our little girl while I go?" 

Hugo nodded and kissed me "I'll do it with pleasure, and you know it. See you later?" he asked, and I nodded "I love you, Alexandra." He said giving me a little kiss "I love you too, Hugo." We both left the studio, but in different directions. Once in the garden, I could see Jennifer and Megan sitting, so I took off my shoes and sat between the two, after all, that's how I always sat. 

"Well, now we're all here, tell me how your day has been." Fabio began "I'm fine, I really don't have the slightest idea why I have to come to therapy." Jennifer protested, and it's true, of the three, she was the best in the best mental condition. "Well, to overcome your traumas in there Jennifer, we already talked about this more than once." Fabio said "But I feel better, besides, it hasn't happened to me as much as it has happened to them, as I told you, when I was in there, they treated us better. There were even girls who were there because they wanted to." 

That still wasn't hard for me to believe, because it hadn't been many years after we went in to get those girls out of there. I wasn't saying Jennifer was lying to us, because I know she wouldn't, but I guess after everything Megan and I went through in there, I find it hard to believe in the end, those assholes had a heart and didn't force anyone, and they will treat them better than they did us. 

"Okay, I'll let you go, but if at any time you notice something isn't right, you come with me, understood?" Fabio said seriously and Jennifer nodded "Yes, don't worry, I'll be fine." She said getting up "Of course you will be, neither Alexandra nor I will let something happen to you, after all, we are sisters, right?" 

The smile that appeared on her face made it clear to me she liked the idea of having us as sisters "I know, I love you girls. I'm going to play with Alison and Hugo." With that she ran off, but not before giving each of us a kiss on the cheek and I just stared at nothing, because honestly, every time she said things changed once we left, I hardly believe. 

"Alexandra, I notice you're too dull today, how was your day?" said Fabio, making Megan focus all her attention on me "Well, I'm fed up." I said, "Could you explain a bit so we can understand you?" 

"I'm sick of being here, of running away. I want to go back to Italy, and I know it's not possible right now, but I'm really fed up with everything, I just want to go home." Megan gave me a small smile and a nod, making it more than clear the same thing was happening to her, but she was taking it better than I was "You're home now." Fabio said, trying to reassure me, but I would never feel at home in the United States. 

"Don't get me wrong Fabio, but the United States stopped being my home a long time ago. Here they kidnapped me, here they took me to that hell. My home is Italy. My parents are from there, my father is buried there. My daughter and my boyfriend were born there, I just want to go back home." I said trying to make him understand "Ale, I promise you as soon we end all this, we will go back to Italy" Megan assured, taking my hand and giving it a little squeeze. "I know, and we have to do something to get Stefan out of all his safety." 

"How? Because I can't think of anything, Ale" Megan said trying to figure out where I was thinking "Maybe we should start fucking up his merchandise. We both know much of his dope is Latin. If we screw that up, he'll end up, coming" I said "It could be a good idea, but Ale, that would be taking too much of a risk" 

I knew that was true, but I didn't know any other way to get him out of all that security, and even though it would be risky to do so, at the same time it was the safest thing for Alison to do. "Alexandra, what you're talking about is a very serious thing. Here we are closer to the DEA than ever. They can catch you." 

I rolled my eyes, because I didn't care about the DEA and I wasn't going to do much to get myself arrested, but I wanted to go home, to Alison's safety, and to my peace of mind. That was something he wouldn't understand, no matter how much he was a psychologist. "Are you sure what you want to do, Ale?" 

"Yeah. It's the only way to get him out of the house, to keep Alison safe, and to ensure our peace of mind," I said, turning in her direction. "Then I support you." She said with a small smile on her face "What? Are you seriously going to support her?" asked Fabio surprised "Of course I'm going to do it Fabio because one, she's my sister, and two I'm with her. The only way to kill them is by taking him out of hiding. Better, tell me what is in that head of yours Ale." 

"We both know what Stefan's soft spot is." I said and she nodded "Money." She said and I nodded "If he suddenly starts to lose cargo and money, he will show up" Megan thought for a moment trying to follow my line of thought, but I wasn't so sure anyone could see it, nor could I see it clearly myself "And how do you intend to do that?" she asked "I don't know. To start, I'll ask Diego to find the best bodyguards and before they enter the house, I'll have Luke investigate them. I want the house to be a fortress. Then we can find people who can help us with Stefan. Surely there are many people who do not appreciate him... if we give them enough incentive..." 

"If we give them a slight incentive and the hatred towards Stefan, we will have loyal people by our side" I agreed, because that was the best we could do "This is crazy, girls. You will put the whole family at risk" said Fabio trying to convince us not to do it, but I denied it and got up from the ground, I wasn't going to continue listening to what he was going to say to convince us and I had more important things to do than focus on mentally recovering. I know as soon as I'm done with Stefan, that will pass. "I don't care about that. I plan to do it, period, end of story." 

I headed home. I could hear Megan telling him it was time to end therapy for today. I entered the house, and everyone stared at me, but I decided it was better to ignore all those looks, and I went to the study, which it doesn't take long for Hugo to enter with a worried face. 

"Love, are you okay? What happened in therapy to make you upset?" he asked coming closer to me "I am, but not because of the therapy." I said with a shrug, "Why are you then?" 

"Do you think I could sit you down? We have to talk about something important." I said and I could see how his face changed from one of concern to one of sadness, I don't know what was going through his head, but it must not be a good thing. 

"You're going to break up with me, aren't you?" he asked and for a moment I stared at him stupefied. Did he think he could break up with him? But if he doesn't want a relationship with me after forming a mafia, I would understand it "I don't want to do it; I love you enough to do it." I said, "Then why are you breaking up with me?" he asked, and I denied. I don't understand how he got that idea into his head, but thinking about it, it could be what Megan and I were going to do would separate us "I'm not going to leave you, at least not me. The relationship is based on trust, and what I'm going to do might make you leave me." 

"I wouldn't leave you for nothing in the world love, I love you too much to do it." He assured me, "Even if I tell you I'm thinking of luring Stefan out of hiding by giving him the goods coming out of Latin America? And I will have a mafia here?" I asked practically in a whisper "What?" 

"I know this is crazy, believe me, but if I want to go home, keep Alison as safe as possible, and get me and Megan peace of mind, I must kill him as soon as possible. I don't want to put anyone in the family at risk and that's why I'm going to redouble the security at home and for everyone when I leave home. I want to get this over with before anything happens. I have the feeling they are looking for us... and I'm sure... that it's Stefan... I can't let it reach our daughter or you..." I said, noticing how tears began to run down my face and Hugo quickly got up to come running in my direction, hugging me. 

"Hey, hey… don't worry… I understand why you're going to do it and I know it's the only way to get what you want, but I don't want you to get in trouble for it. I don't want anything to happen to you." He said and I denied, because nothing was going to happen to me "Nothing is going to happen to me... I promise." 

"Of course, nothing will happen to you because I plan to go with you." He assured me and I denied it, because I didn't want anything to happen to him "I'm not going to let you get involved in something like that, Hugo. You are one of the good ones." I said trying to convince him "Just like you. We're doing this to defend our daughter… our family." 

"Seriously, you don't need to get into this." I said, but he denied "But I'm going to do it. Through thick and thin Alexandra, I will never leave you." 

"Sometimes I think there's no happiness for me." I sighed. From a few months to now, everything had gotten complicated, and I don't like it. "Yes, there is, and it won't take long to get it, I promise." He said giving me a kiss on the temple "I'm beginning to doubt that." 

"So don't do it. Come with me." He stretched out his hand in my direction and waited for me to take it. I had no idea what he wanted to show me and was confused right now "Where are we going?" 

"You will see." He said with a big smile "But Alison..." I started, but he put a finger on my lips to stop me from talking "Don't worry about her, I talked to her and she has no problem taking you on a date, it's more, she was giving me ideas and I must say they are good; I will have to do them all." 

"I don't know why it gives me the feeling they aren't few." I said trying not to be alarmed by the word surprise "Because they're not." He assured starting to walk towards the door of the office "Are we going to take a long time?" I asked "As long as you want. Do we have a specific time to return?" 

"Before dinner I would like. I want to put Alison to bed and then I have to go somewhere." I said and he nodded "Where to?" he asked. "We found a woman who has information about what happened in Italy with Derek. Apparently, she will accept anything to be safe, both her and her family. She says they are looking for her so as not to leave evidence." 

"I'm going with you." He said and I denied, because I don't think the woman would trust someone, and I didn't want to overwhelm her with a lot of people "I don't know if she will trust." I said, "I don't have to go with you when you go with the woman, but I'm not going to let you go alone." 

"I wasn't going alone. Megan was coming." I said with a shrug, "Well, I'm going too." He assured "Is there no way to change your mind?" he denied, and I agreed, there was going to be no other choice "Okay, we'll meet her at half past twelve. Now yes, I want to ask you a favour before we leave." 

"What?" he asked "Don't tell my mother Megan and I have in mind; I don't want her to be worried all the time about what might happen to us." I said, "I won't tell her, but for that matter, how do you intend to do it without being recognized?" he asked with curiosity present in his voice "Because even though we're going, we have to find a lot of people who hate Stefan" I said "I don't think it's that complicated" I nodded, because I don't think it was complicated. 

When we were in there, there were many girls from other mafias weren't as powerful as ours or the Russian one, I know these people wanted revenge and with our money and their contribution for revenge, we would have a plan in our hands. 

"The families of the girls who were in there" Hugo stared at me for a moment without understanding what I was referring to, or at least I think he was thinking I was referring to the street people, but it wasn't something in the truth would put them "In there were daughters of bosses of smaller mafias. They have the motivation to kill Stefan, almost like us" 

"Probably," he said, resuming his walk toward the stairs. I must say I was happy because Hugo hadn't left me even though what Megan and I had in mind was to put our family at risk. We were about to go down the stairs, when I hear Megan calling me, so I turn in her direction and she stares at me as if she wanted Hugo to leave, but he wasn't going to. 

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked looking at Hugo "Hugo wants to take me out of the house for a while, so yes, but let me tell you I have no idea where he is taking me." I said and she stared at me for a moment "And do you think we can talk for a moment about what we talked about in therapy?" she asked without saying anything else "From what exactly?" I asked confused, because I have no idea what exactly "From our plan" she said. 

"Hugo and I will go and start looking for people. Can you ask Diego to find new bodyguards and give the information to Luke so he can investigate them?" I asked "Are you telling me…" she began, surprised Hugo knows, I think "He knows, so don't worry, now if you excuse me, we'll go. Can you do me a favour and keep an eye on Alison?" 

"I will, but mom already told me she would take care of her, I don't know why I get the feeling she knew you were going out." My sister said looking at Hugo "I told her when we were out." Hugo confirmed "Well, then I can only tell you to have a good time, but not too much." She said with an evil smile "Megan!!!!" I protested, because I know where the shots were going "What? It's the truth." 

"Whatever, remember tonight we have to go see the girl." I reminded her since it was very likely she forgot "Don't worry, I didn't forget." She assured me and I nodded "I hope so, see you later Megan. I love you." 

"Me too, have a good time." She said and with that Hugo and I left the house and headed to the car. It seemed strange to me nobody came with me, but then I remembered we weren't in Italy and nobody here knew who we were, so I relaxed and during the way I looked out the window until I fell asleep. 

HUGO'S POV

Alexandra had fallen asleep halfway to the port. I know in the last couple of weeks she hadn't slept well, I knew she was uncomfortable, but I had no idea why until this afternoon. I'm sure if she were awake she would be wondering why I'm taking her to the port, I know she hates surprises, or at least she doesn't like them too much, but I had promised Alison, for a little girl, she could be as or more persuasive than her mother, and that was saying a lot. 

When we got to the port, I got out of the car and went to Alexandra's side, who certainly must not have slept too much if she hadn't woken up at the moment the car stopped. 

Once on Alexandra's side, I quietly opened the door, unbuckled her seatbelt, and moved her gently so she wouldn't freak out. It was not the first time she took out anything to defend herself the moment we woke her up. 

"Love, we're here." Slowly, she woke up and the moment she realized where we were, she turned in my direction with a face of not understanding anything. "What are we doing in the port?" she asked confused "I realized when you're on the boat you're calmer, it's as if this gives you more peace of mind, and right now it's what's best for you." 

"It relaxes me." She said with a shrug as if it were no big deal "Well that's why we're here." I said stretching out my hand in her direction "But I think you're wrong about something." 

"In what?" I said and now it was my turn to be confused "The boat isn't what calms me down, at least not too much." I started to think what could calm her down so much if it wasn't being on the boat until I fell into what could be "Then I must assume it's the sea." 

"It always calmed me down. From what my aunt told me, when I was little, they took me to the beach whenever I was restless and once there, I practically relaxed completely, as if nothing had happened. Then I went on to do the same with Alison, the same thing happened to her. Shortly after she was born, she used to cry practically for hours and I couldn't fall asleep because of my nightmares, so I went to the beach with her to calm her down. It worked" she said with a small smile at the memory "You two are the same." 

"She's much better than I am, I can assure you." I don't know why she insisted on thinking she wasn't good, because she was. Just thinking about what she wanted to do with the mob was admirable. "She's like you. You taught her everything she needed to keep her out of trouble. You're a good mother, even if you think otherwise. 

"Sometimes I feel like a shit of mother just because of the life I lead." She said and I stopped her, causing her to turn in my direction "But you're not, everything you're doing is for your safety and your family, so you shouldn't worry so much about it, because I can assure you, you are doing it." brilliant." 

"Like you. You're the father Alison never had and the one she always wanted." His smile appeared again causing mine to appear as well. "I'm delighted to be the father she wants, but I also hope to be the best boyfriend you can ever have." 

"The best." We shook hands, got on the boat and went to the helm where I left her to untie the boat from the port. Alexandra tried to help me, but I stopped her because as I told her before leaving the house, it was so she could rest her mind for a while and relax. 

Once I finished, I went up next to Alexandra and began to take the boat out of the port. I could feel Alexandra's gaze always fixed on me, which made my smile never disappear. "You know, I always liked the idea of running a boat." She said and I smiled "Then why don't we start right now?" 

Alexandra's eyes increased by two their normal size "Are you crazy or what?" she asked moving away from me a little "I'm not, I'll teach you, you shouldn't worry." I said "Hugo, I don't trust myself to do it." 

"Don't worry, nothing will happen to us. I will be behind you at all times." I turned around keeping one hand on the tiller and grabbed her hand to pull her up. At first it took her a bit to get up, but she ended up getting up. I stepped to the side, so she was in front of the helm and once there, I got behind her. 

"Alright. First, this button is the one that turns on the boat. This screen here is the navigation radar, on which we can locate ourselves at sea. The stick on the right is basically like the gear stick on the car and right off the bat, I think that's what you should know." 

"That's too much, don't you think?" she asked without believing it "It's not that much, I know you had many more things on your mind at some point and I know you'll be able to handle everything. Besides, I'll be here, and I know you won't do anything, so don't worry." 

"Okay, but if I do something that destroys the ship, I'll put the blame on you alone." She said trying to keep it serious, but I could see the smile starting to form on her face "I will take all the responsibilities for what happens to this ship and, moreover, I will fix it myself in case something happens to it." 

"You better Caprio, because I'm too fond of this boat." She said, and I know it was true, but she gave me a smile anyway, "So now I'm a Caprio?" I asked and she nodded "You always were." 

"You usually use the last names when you say something serious to your sister, Alison or Diego." It was something I had realized since I practically met her, and it had always called attention "Because this is serious too." 

"Nothing will happen to the ship, I assure you." I assured her and she nodded, being a little more convinced "Come on, stop being annoying and let's go." I said without thinking "So now I'm annoying?" At that moment I realized I screwed up, and I was going to apologize except the moment she turned to face me I saw the smile on her face, which makes me relax a little, but not too much because If I've learned anything in these months living with her, it's she's pretty good at hiding her anger. 

"Are you going to explain to me how annoying I am?" she asked with her arms crossed over her chest and I had no idea what was going through her head. It was few times I saw her as serious as at this moment "Love, I didn't want to…" I started trying to think "Didn't you want to say it? If you said it, it's because you think so." 

"It's not that... It's just... No..." I had no idea how to calm Alexandra down and reassure her I wasn't saying it badly, and after a few seconds a big smile appeared on her face, leaving me more than confused " Did you know you are very cute when you are confused and have no idea what to say? For having been a DEA agent, you aren't good at looking for good excuses." 

"I'm good at it, I just don't know how to explain what's on my mind to my beautiful girlfriend, or should I say wife?" I said relaxing completely "Tessa has a husband which is Jacob, Alexandra doesn't." She said and I stared at her for a couple of seconds trying to understand what she meant by that, but I couldn't think what "Wouldn't you like to get married? I'm not saying it has to be with me, but someday." 

"I've never really thought about it." She said thinking about it "What would happen if one day I decide to ask you to marry me?" I asked curiously "I would have to think about it before committing something stupid." I couldn't hide the surprise on my face. Did she think it was stupid to marry me? 

"Do you think marrying me is stupid?" I asked "It's not what I said. What I mean is I must think about what I think about getting married in general. I love you Hugo, and you are the person with whom I see my future, not with any other man." She assured, placing her hand on my cheek, "I've been thinking for a long time, and I must say I don't regret been annoying with the fact I loved you, what's more, I will continue to do so for the rest of my life." I said, giving her a kiss on the temple and hugging her, "I'm glad you didn't stop insisting." 

The rest of the time we spent laughing and playing around the ship. I don't think in all this time I hadn't seen Alexandra so relaxed, what's more, I could understand where Alison had gotten all her energy and imagination to invent a game out of nothing. I think it's the first time I've seen her so unconcerned about everything that's on her mind. It was as if in this moment she was being the little girl she could never be. 

After a couple of hours, we decided it was best to go home, and of course she hadn't let me take the ship to port this time. For her first time taking a boat and sailing, she was pretty good at it. 

When we got to port, I tied the ropes to the dock and tried to help her down, but she jumped off on her own and started walking out of the port. It didn't take me too long to reach it, and after a couple of minutes walking I don't know what happened she went into a place where I'm practically sure we couldn't be. 

Out of nowhere, she moves away, hides us, and at the moment a man passes near us, she pulls out her gun from I don't know where and puts it to the back of his head. "One more step and I swear I'll blow your brains out… Drop the weapon…" Alexandra said coldly "I don't have…" he said, raising his hands in the air "And now you think I'm stupid. Either you throw it away or I'll blow your brains out, isn't it clear what I just told you?" 

At that moment the man pulls out the gun and throws it on the ground. I didn't know what was happening at this moment or why Alexandra was aiming at that man's head. With just a gesture with her eyes, I knew she wanted me to take the weapon, so I take it and stare to see what was going to happen. 

"Now tell me why the fuck were you following us." She asked without lowering the gun at any time. How had she realized that we were being followed? "I've been looking for you, Alexandra." He said and I could see how Alexandra tensed up more "How the fuck do you know me?" 

"Because I used to go to the club a long time ago. I was trying to get you out of there, but they never let me see you." He said, "Who the fuck are you and why were you trying to get me out of there." Alexandra asked through her teeth, I know she was not happy "I'm Nikolai Skolov." 

"Skolov?" she asked, tightening the gun in his hands and I braced myself because I didn't trust people with that last name. "To make it clear, I'm not with Stefan and Dimitri. What's more, they are the only ones this ruthless." I could see how Alexandra was clenching the gun and her knuckles were white. I knew full well she was angry, but I have no idea what to do, because if I know anything, it's she hates those degenerates too much for everything they did to her, and for good reason. 

"And how do you expect me to believe you if that's the only thing they knew how to do? They had to get it from somewhere." She said, growing angrier "You'll have to trust me." Alexandra shook her head and snorted. "Trust a Skolov? That will never happen." 

"Ale, let's go, they'll be waiting for us." I said trying to get her away from that guy. She turned to look at me and I could see what she was thinking about what to do. I'm sure at this moment what she wanted to do was break his head or let him go and leave her alone, and I think she was choosing the first one more than the other. 

"Let's go before I do something I don't want." She turned around and started walking in my direction. I could see she was angry and holding back until we heard this guy laugh, causing Alexandra to turn in his direction. 

"Megan did trust me. I'm sure she still does." And with that, she goes in his direction and slams the butt of the gun into his head, knocking him unconscious on the ground. Alexandra stays for a couple of seconds looking at her until she picks up the phone and holds it to her ear, waiting for them to answer. 

"Diego, I need you to come to the port where the containers are... I need you to take a guy with you... Of course, we're not going to bring him home, I want him far away... Then look for a fucking warehouse!!!!... We'll wait for you here…" With that, she put the phone in her pocket, and I approached her to hug her. At that point she calmed down a bit and I took the gun from her. 

"I didn't want to do it... he just named who he shouldn't..." she started trying to find the words, but I denied, I didn't need her to explain it to me "I know, don't worry... Everything is fine... If he knew you, he would know he shouldn't talk those issues, especially if we consider he met your sister in there… What are you going to do with him?" 

"First of all, I want to get out of him why he was following us and for how long he has been doing it." She said beginning to put together a plan in her head "And we will tell Megan?" I asked, "I don't know, right now my head hurts enough to think." 

"You can go home, I'll wait for Diego, so you can rest before dinner." Alexandra denied, making it more than clear she wasn't going to leave "I'm not going to leave you here alone, I wouldn't be calm." She assured getting closer to me "Nothing is going to happen to me." I tried to assure her, but she denied "Okay." I said giving her a kiss on the temple. 

I tucked the gun into the waistband of my pants and hugged her. I started running my hand through her hair, because whenever I did, she would relax and most of the time she would fall asleep, so I did, and after half an hour, Diego showed up with a couple of other guys. Alexandra was already half asleep, so I took her in my arms, put her to the car, and once inside, headed for the house where I would have to invent something very good so they wouldn't worry the moment they saw to Alexandra, because I'm sure, at least from Megan, she will think something has happened to her, and I know very well that Alexandra doesn't want anyone to know anything about what has happened in the last couple of hours, for which would keep the secret until she decided to tell her sister.