The Ones Who Failed Us

Chapter 30

The plane had finally landed, and my brothers and I were walking to the front of the airport. A man dressed in a floral Hawaiian shirt and cargo pants approached us once we reached the exit. Shaking Alessandro's hand, he said, "Mr. Russo, I'm Keanu Kapule. I've been working with Lucas to arrange your trip. Please follow me. I have the car you requested ready for you outside."

Alessandro nodded his head, and we followed the two outside where we saw three black SUVs with six men standing in front of the cars. Keanu directed us to the van in the middle. "This is the one that you will be using. I've employed a few bodyguards," he said waving his hands towards the men, "to accompany you to your beach house. My men have also blocked all the roads leading to your place, so you shouldn't have any issues with people following you."

"Thank you. I believe I requested more men to guard us at the house, though. Six men is not enough for my family," Alessandro stated.

Keanu hummed in agreement. "That is correct. Johnathon, the head guard, is there right now with his men. There will be fifteen guards present at all times, and we have a few ready to be called in case a situation arises."

My eyes widened at Keanu's words, which did not go unnoticed by Leo. Pulling me to his side, my brother ran his fingers through my hair, trying to take my mind off of the danger my family was in. "It's just a safety measure, Aves. I wouldn't think too much of it," he whispered. Leo's words provided some comfort, but all I wanted to do was curl up on my bed with Teddy and sleep until this nightmare ended.

I looked down at my little brother who still seemed in shock from what Alessandro had told him, although he had taken it slightly better than me. There were plenty of tears, but at least he didn't have a panic attack.

My little brother hadn't spoken much, but I knew he was just processing everything. Taking his hand, I gently brought Teddy close to me and brushed his curls away from his face. Our brothers won't let us go, fratellino. They promised.

Once Keanu had handed the keys to Alessandro, we entered the van and started the drive to the beach house.

"Sandro?" Emilio called. "Where's the place we're renting?"

Alessandro looked back at us through the rearview mirror and said, "We're not renting actually. I bought the place, and it's about a thirty minute drive away."

"Hold up," Matteo interrupted. "We don't own a vacation house in Hawaii."

"Now we do," Alessandro chuckled. "I bought it thirty minutes before we left New York."

"Damn, fratello. You work fast," I said.

Eyeing me through the rearview mirror, he raised his eyebrow and asked, "I appreciate the complement, sorellina, but when did I decide that you could curse?"

I rolled my eyes at my brother's strict enforcement of the rules. "I think we have bigger issues than a few curse words."

"Fair enough," he replied, letting out an airy laugh.

Teddy and I stared out the window watching the scenery pass us as we drove through the empty roads in silence. It was impossible not to be in awe of the clear blue ocean on our right and the fields of wildflowers and tall trees on our left.

Our view of the ocean was soon obstructed as we entered a more residential area. "Bambinos," Alessandro said, "I don't want you to be alarmed when we reach the house, which is why I'm telling you this now. The bodyguards will be armed, and that too with more than just a handgun. I highly doubt they'll need to use it, especially since there's little reason Demetri would even know we left New York. We're just taking precautions. Okay?"