The Four Brothers ~ Completed

Capítulo Trinta: Planejamento

Gemma's POV: 

You would think that learning that the guy I thought was my dad but was actually my kidnapper was dead would be the least of the surprises that happened when we got home. In all actuality, it was only the first of many.

"Não Vamos trazê-la." (We're not bringing her.) Tobias snapped. He sounded angry. I wondered what they were talking about. They were speaking in the language I should've probably started Google Translating.

"Ela é a única que pode nos dizer se reconhece alguém de seu passado." (She's the only one who can tell us if she recognizes someone from her past.) Sinclair responded, sounding much calmer than Tobias.

I knocked on the office door then let myself in. 

"Gemma, what're you doing awake?" Tobias asked, sounding weary. He had dark bags staining the skin beneath his eyes, only proving that my hypothesis that he hadn't slept in several days.

"It's eight o'clock," I told him, arching an eyebrow. He arched his own perfect eyebrow right back at me. I plopped into the comfy couch in his office. 

"And?" He asked, sitting forward in his big office chair. I rolled my eyes, slouching even further into the leather couch.

"I'm twelve, not two," I told him pointedly. He raised his hands in surrender, making sure I knew he was giving up on this argument. 

"Okay, so was there something you needed?" Sinclair asked. I cocked my head at him. He seemed oddly defensive for some reason. 

Arms crossed across chest: Defensive measure for self-protection. 

Meant he thought he was going to be attacked, whether that be physically or verbally I wasn't sure. But I was confused. 

"Nope," I said. 

"Then why are you in here?" Sinclair asked, leaning back on the heels of his feet. I held up the thick card one of the butlers had given me when I entered the kitchen. It was white and black and gold and basically invited my entire family to a charity ball.

Totally a cover for something illegal. And the invitation said that attendance wasn't an option. Kinda ironic, right? An invitation, something friendly and you can say no to, saying that attendance wasn't an option, which wasn't friendly. 

"Anything you gents want to tell me?" I asked sweetly. It was the kind of sweet tone that people only used if they wanted others (emphasis on older brothers) to know that they were screwed. Tobias pursed his lips at me before Zion snatched the card from my hands.

Rude. 

"You're not going." That was all Tobias had to say. I breathed in deeply, not sure if they understood the whole situation. 

"You do realize that that card is addressed to me, correct? So, if they already know I exist, they're not going to let you get away with not bringing me." I informed them. Damian sighed, rubbing the skin between his eyebrows. 

"This won't end well." Zion groaned. I smirked victoriously. 

"Probably not. But, Gemma does raise a good point." Sinclair said, rubbing his chin with his pointer finger. I watched my brothers cautiously, trying to piece together what they were thinking. I wish I could do the whole 'reading their mind with only a look' thing that they did. 

I would understand a whole lot more about them. 

"Yes, I do," I added, making sure they still knew I was in the room. Tobias glanced at me, his eyes dark and threatening. I knew it wasn't at me, but at the idea of me being anywhere near those who'd hurt me in the past.

It was sweet that they were trying to protect me, but they couldn't protect me from something I'd already been through. 

"But no one knows who Zion is. His whole operation is based on the fact that literally no one but us knows who the boss is." Damian pointed out, shooting a glance in my direction. 

I knew Sinclair didn't really want me to go but knew I needed to. I also knew that Tobias hated the idea of me being within a ten-mile radius of the place. Damian was on the fence, knowing I had to go but he despised the thought. Zion didn't want me to go but knew I had to.

"So? Send Damian out to knock out a person going who looks most similar to Zion and we sneak him in." I told them, shrugging at their glares. They weren't going to convince me not to go by bringing up an easily solved problem. 

"When did I get brought into this?" Damian grumbled, pulling the yellow lollipop out of his mouth. I rolled my eyes at his mumbled curses. Didn't he realize I already thought through each of their roles?

"It does make sense," Zion muttered, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. I looked at the others, waiting for their approval, which I was totally getting. I mean, the plan would need a little more thinking on but it was obvious I was expected to attend this evil, mafia ball as well. 

Mafia's actually had charity balls.

Well, that should satisfy my fangirl side for a while. 

"Alright, it's agreed. Gemma goes with us, with Zion under the disguise of someone he is not. I'll have some men get on finding his identity immediately. Gemma, do you think you can do this?" Tobias asked, worried about my sanity. 

He didn't need to worry about me going insane. 

I went insane long before this stupid ball. 

"Oh, I'll be fine. So who runs this whole thing?" I asked. 

I knew this whole thing had to be done on neutral ground, so no one could, ya know, gank anyone while they were there in a power play. So, that meant that the person hosting had to either have a lot of fear or a lot of respect. Probably both, though. 

"Samael Covarde." Sinclair frowned, sharing an odd look with Damian. I didn't know what they look meant, but I could tell they were actually anxious about me being around this person. Which definitely should've freaked me out, but it only made me more curious. 

"What's this guy got on everyone to make them so complacent?" I asked, having never heard of this guy before. 

Guess that meant he didn't have a ton of power. Then again, I had no idea who Tobias was and he was the leader of a very powerful mafia. 

"He's got dirt on practically everyone," Zion told me. I nodded, rolling my lips into my mouth as I tried to think of a solution. 

"Even you guys?" I asked. I was concerned about going through with any type of plan if there was a chance that they could get in serious trouble. And, with the criminal underground, all trouble was serious trouble. 

"Nope. We're way too smart for that prick." Damian gave me a smile that reminded me of a shark. There was something feral hidden deep within my brother's eyes, something that made me think that maybe he wasn't in the best mental space to be attending this party with us. 

I kept my thoughts to myself, not willing to say anything that would infuriate everyone. A big fight was the last thing we needed before something like a freaking mafia ball.

"Good. Now, we just have to handle the actual planning, which shouldn't be too hard. Memorize the exits, plant guards, the usual. I'm thinking com-links for this year because, hello, people don't tend to like me. But other than that, we're almost ready." I mused aloud, trying to run over the checklist of other things that I needed to do before getting ready for bed.

"Almost?" Sinclair asked, narrowing his eyes at me like I had some nefarious plan planned. It wasn't too far of a stretch, but still, give me some credit.

"Um, yeah. The last part of the plan is the most important, and the most fun." I smiled secretively, leaving out the 'for me' part at the end. Tobias leaned closer to me, brows furrowed in confusion. 

"And what's that?" Damian asked, looking about as excited as a puppy playing with its favorite toy. 

I would've said I was sorry for crushing his hopes, but I really just wasn't. 

"Shopping."