TROUBLE

thirty three

4 days earlier:

Cecilia's POV

I need to find Rocco.

I arrived at their warehouse 20 minutes ago, and I can't fucking find Rocco anywhere. When I don't want him, he is everywhere. But when I do need him, he is no where to be found.

I have looked in his office.

I have looked in the conference rooms.

I have checked the training facilities.

My last hope is the interrogation chambers.

I make my way towards the basement and I hear the screams of suspecting victims.

I bang on the first metal door, it was swung open by an angry looking Domenico, he looks ready to kill me, until his eyes reach my own and then he smiles so brightly that his change in mood terrifies me.

"Hey little devil what are you doing here?"

"Where's that asshole of a brother of mine?"

I head pokes out from behind Dom, he looks down at me confused, he must have sensed it was something serious if I didn't just call him or speak to him at home. He nods before wiping his hands on a towel and leaving.

"Dom finish this, I won't be back for the rest of the day." he commands in his 'Capo' tone. Dom rolls his eyes at his best friend before sarcastically saying "sir, yes sir." With a salute. Rocco pushes him back inside the room.

Rocco and I make our way towers his office, we never discussed it but it seemed like the most obvious place because it's private and sound proof.

He walks over to his desk and sits down, he looks at me waiting for me to talk.

"Alright I'm about to tell you something so crazy that you can't tell anyone." I reason, pointing at him. He nods slowly, still unsure of what is happening.

I sigh. "You and I need to leave. We need to get as far away as possible from New York, from Italy. We just need to leave." I say quickly, hoping he understood everything I was saying. Rocco looked at me dumbfounded as he sits there in silence.

I start to feel nervous, so I walk around his office moving books and ornamental pieces in an attempt to find any listening devices.

"Cesca what the hell are you-" I put my finger over my lips in a plea for him to stay silent because seriously, we have so many issues right now and him questioning why I just smashed a couple whiskey glasses is the least of them.

I find a small circular device on the spine of an Italian edition of Pride and Prejudice, I pick it off and show it to Rocco, he curses quietly in his mother tongue. I throw it on the floor and step on it.

There's only one other person beside Rocco who has access to his office and we were just talking to him.

Once the device is taken care of I turn to Rocco once again.

"That is the reason we need to leave. You have a rat inside, Myth told me yesterday that we have a rat at the Vault too."

"I'm starting to understand now, but why now. What else has happened?" He questions, running his hands through his hair.

"I have received countless threats over the past few weeks, it has been packages sent to Vault, being left in my office. They were all signed off by the same person. They were personal, almost as if they knew me personally."

"Who?"

"Marina."

He throws a paper weight over my head and I have to duck so it doesn't smack me in the forehead.

"Puttana. Have better aim." I shout at his useless ass, he chuckles sitting back down. (Bitch)

"Anyway, when Miles and I were attacked a few nights back, Niko choked me out, he wanted me to know something without anyone else hearing. He told me Marina is supposedly going to make a miraculous return to the family, or worm her way in our trust. Despite everything, we know papa will welcome her home. He never told me her excuses for returning but that doesn't bother me. All I know is that she is coming in to find our weaknesses-" I gesture between my brother and I- "once they discover it, she is going to kill us."

And you trust Niko?"

"Not in the fucking slightest, not until I spoke to Myth and Joker this morning. I know who the rat is in the Vault, Myth found messages between the rat and Marina giving her confidential information about us."

"Who?"

"Zeke."

One of my best friends for 4 years, betrayed me for a reason that remains unknown.

"Where are they now?"

"Half way across Europe."

He nods looking down. "We have no idea who the rat is in here, we are no closer to ending this."

"Thats why Caro fratello (dear brother), we are going to be playing manhunt."

"And how do you this will work?"

"I don't. But if we go through with this we might die, if we don't go through with this we might die. The odds are exactly the same brother. We have to go off the radar for a while. We find the rat, we find Zeke, we find Demetri and Timothy and we end this pathetic war."

He stays silent.

"How do you propose we go off the radar, with no one knowing?"

"It's simple. We either fake our deaths or we leave with Leo."

"Where is Leo going?"

"Undercover in one of King's missions. He is following his second in command around like a lost sheep." I shrug.

"Is that really our best option?"

"Do you really think faking our deaths, so soon after Giovanni is the right move fratello?" I question, with an accusing tone.

He mumbles a quiet 'you're right.'

Damn straight, I am.

"Fine, when shall we leave?" He stands, coming to stand in front of me.

"I want to say goodbye to Miles properly, so Sunday?"

He nods.

"You really love him don't you?" I blush slightly thinking of my bello.

"I know I do. It's crazy. I can't hide anything from him, just being around him makes me feel guilty if I even hide the smallest of things. Not telling him this will kill me. He makes me so happy Rocco, maybe I am too young to be finding the one, but Miles is it for me."

Rocco hugs me when I feel wetness on my cheeks.

I am so sorry Miles for what I am going to do for you.

"Are we telling anyone, so everyone isn't worried?"

I nod, "Only Leo will know. He will have some contact with the family over the course of the time he is gone. He will tell them that we are with him, but we had to ditch our phones."

He nods.

"We are really doing this, aren't we?"

"It's the only way Rocco. We can't afford to lose anyone else."

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Edited: As of 2022

--M <3