• Tuscany, Italy •   "You okay?" "Yeah." Théo put on a quick smile for his companion, just to seem glad to be her chaperone for the day.  He stood near the entrance of the boutique, trying to keep calm as he watched Anastasia shop for new clothes for her fiancé. He was mostly keeping to himself.  He didn't want to mention what just happened.  Anastasia didn't need to know that he just got off the phone with his ex after a heated argument he did not quite expect. He was trying not to mind Veronica's threats earlier.   The threats weren't exactly from her, though.  He understood that she was just worried, and she was only warning him of what Raffaele might do because he broke his word and met up with Anastasia again. It wasn't what bothered him most.  What upset him more was the fact that he was so far away from her, while she an

•  "Via? This you?""Hi." She sat up and put on her headset, her heart skipping a beat at the sound of the guy's distinct voice.It was deep and manly like Théo's, quite intimidating, but Raffaele sounded friendly tonight. To some degree at least. Or perhaps it was just her feigned optimism making her think so.  "Are you in Italy?""No. Why?" Raffaele yawned on the other line.  "Are you guys in Asia now? Busy touring again?""Yeah." So he was still keeping tabs on her. Why? Veronica held her breath and glanced around.  She wasn't alone. Dan and Yanniz sat in the dim backseat of the van with Jay, their manager.  They were on their way to the airport after another successful show, but she'd informed her bandmates that she had to meet up with Théo in Italy. "Just a little emergency," was her excus

•  The overt warnings didn't scare him.  It only worsened his curiosity, naturally, but it didn't make him piss his pants in utter fear.  He wasn't scared of overprivileged assholes like Leandro Tomassini constantly parading their ill-gotten wealth and acting like they could buy off everyone and get whatever they wanted with little to no effort. Théo walked out of the parking lot, alone and restless, thinking of what to do next. The solitude and silence of the night gave him some privacy to deal with his convoluted thoughts. The more sensible side of his brain was telling him to cut and run before the scum could catch up and find him. But the vengeful idealist in him didn't want to cower out of this crime-infested country without putting up a fight.Like Enzo said, it would be in his best interest if he flew out of Italy the soonest possible, with no intention of ever coming back.  Enzo didn'

• Italy •   When her long night turned into a new dawn full of impatience, hours of waiting and anxious thoughts, Veronica now felt like the odds were going against her.  The situation was getting more complicated by the hour, to her frustration.  Or it could just be her deteriorating peace of mind.  She reclined in the backseat, sulking in the darkness, the view outside the windows only consisting of wet pavement and some lights.  The airport didn't look so busy at this hour.  Commercial planes, shuttle buses, and private jets continued to come and go around them.  The heavily tinted windows and locked doors muted most of the noises outside, though. Knowing her current companion's family background, she would bet the private plane they used and even this vehicle were bulletproof all over.  Just perks of being the  firstborn from a wealthy

•   Stay out of Tuscany? No way.  No freakin' way.  They were so close.  Perhaps just miles away.  Théo could be stuck somewhere near, just patiently waiting for them to find him. Thank heavens for his mother.  Claudia was doing her best to find her son.  She must be feeling the same, convinced that Théo got into serious trouble again.   But leave Tuscany now and just hope for the best? Veronica couldn't help but frown while she stared at the text. "So? You want us to drop you off a hotel? Via."  "We can't just leave." She glanced at Raffaele. "He can't be that far. We gotta find him now." Veronica sighed, torn between the safe thing to do and what her heart dictated.  She wanted to take heed of Claudia's advice,  but she didn't want to leave and stay out of Italy, just waiting for news to surface.   They were already so close.  Anastasia had already