MasukElena did, in fact, like Sloane's home. It wasn't quite as big as the Ferraro estate but it was much bigger than her childhood home. It looked like a beach house out of a some teen movie with its light blue body and golden rooftop and window trims.The inside was just as spacious as Elena expected i
Before Elena knew it, her mother was running over, taking her suitcase, and then hugging her tightly."Hello, Elena," she said warmly. "I'm so glad to see you again."Her mother's voice cracked on the word "again" as she was overcome by her emotions. Elena found herself smiling at the simple but wel
"To top it all off," Luca continued, "I have to watch my boss, my best friend, make decisions that are objectively bad for him. Because they're what's best for everyone. Do you understand that?"Massimo didn't know what to say. Luckily, it didn't seem like Luca was waiting for a response."I've know
It took about an hour for Luca to arrive at the airport and reconvene with Massimo. The mafia don had gone back to the general entrance area—mostly so that Luca wouldn't need to purchase a ticket to meet up with him. Massimo didn't normally mind airport security protocols, but considering the troubl
"Flight 123 to Los Angeles, California is now boarding all passengers," the agent at the gate announced over the loud speakers. "Again, Flight 123 to Los Angeles, California is now boarding all passengers at gate G12."Elena hurriedly grabbed her suitcase and headed to the gate. Her plane was boardi
Massimo moved to follow after Elena's retreating form, but he was immediately stopped by a security guard."Sir, you need to wait in line—""Not now," Massimo cut him off firmly. He tried to move around the guard, but the man just shifted his position, continuing to block Massimo's path."I need to
Elena was glad she and Massimo had spent weeks screening the referees. On paper, their jobs were simple and straight-forward—they would run each event and make sure all contestants followed the rules. In reality, their work was much more complicated.They needed to be crisis managers. They needed t
"What about the staffers?" Massimo asked, changing the subject. "Did they report any problems from the animals getting loose into the wrong zones?""No," Luca replied. "There were a few close calls, but nothing that happened in view of our guests. The worst injuries resulted from a few capos trying
Elena held her breath.A deer ran past in a hurry. It didn't belong in this close to the white zone, but it clearly wasn't causing problems. In a second, it was gone—running off to the yellow zone, in fact.Elena sighed as she lowered her gun. She really needed to relax and stop being so paranoid.A
"We should check out that cave now that they're gone," Elena said. "There has to be a reason why they were so riled-up—maybe someone left some pheromones or something to make them aggressive?""It's worth investigating," Massimo agreed.Elena marked back to the cave with Massimo close behind. He was







