The Kostan mansion had been transformed into the St. John Family headquarters, mainly because of the fact that the Kostan mansion had a bit more room than the St. John penthouse.

Maps of California, the United States, and the world had been set up, each tracking different things. Tables of computers and other technological devises had been set up so Ryder and Logan could do their jobs and, of course, there was a room full of things that you could use to kill or paralyze a vampire. No one was surprised when Josef told them that the room full of weapons had already been there for years.

Josef had also set up a room for anyone who is not used to being in hand-to-hand combat, so they could train and learn some basic skills. The room looked like a mini-gym, only without bleachers and a basketball hoop.

Ana had been forced, to say the least, to make Mick her second in command. This meant that Mick would be able to have his eye on her 24/7. Not something that Ana really wanted but, if she wanted to remain head of the Family, she had to agree to that condition.

"Have we been able to find out anymore locations that Lance could have gone to?" Ana asked, as she walked up to Logan and Ryder "I have a strong feeling that he's not going to be in the same warehouse anymore"

"We're still trying to find out if there are any other abandoned warehouses in L.A." Ryder replied "But we can't seem to find anything"

"It doesn't have to be an abandoned warehouse" Ana said "It could be anything."

"It's too bad we don't have our contact in Lance's Family anymore" Logan said "That would have made this so much easier!"

Ana chuckled. "Just keep looking" she said, starting to walk away "Try to see if any of the vampires in L.A. have seen him"

"And what do we say when they ask why?" Ryder asked

Ana stopped and turned around. "Just tell them that he's a threat for Vampire Security or something"

"What are we?" Logan said "The FBI?"

"No" Ana replied "You're the vampire version of the FBI"

&&&&&

"Did I neglect to mention how painful this hand-to-hand combat thing is?" Nikki asked, as she walked out of the training room and met up with Ana "It freaking hurts!"

Ana chuckled. "You'll get used to it after a while" she said "Other than the pain, how has it been going?"

"Great!" Nikki replied, with a smile "I'm starting to get the hang of it. Josef said that I have very quick reflexes"

"That's a plus" Ana said "It would suck if you didn't have quick reflexes"

Ana and Nikki laughed as they continued walking towards the living room of Josef and Sarah's mansion. They stopped laughing when they saw the serious expressions on everyone's faces.

"Something wrong?" Ana asked, as she and Nikki walked into the living room

Everyone looked up, tears in their eyes.

"What's wrong?" Nikki demanded "What happened?"

"There's been another attack" Mick said, softly

"What?!" exclaimed Ana "What do you mean?"

"Lance's Family made another attack a few hours ago" Danielle replied, not hiding the rage in her voice "Two more people are dead"

"Who?" Ana asked "People we know?"

All eyes fell onto Nikki. No one said anything.

"No!" Nikki yelled, starting to pant heavily "Not my parents!"

No one responded. Everyone looked to the ground.

"No!" Nikki yelled, again, tears streaming down her face "There must be a mistake!"

"There's no mistake" Beth replied, with a shaky voice "The police have already found the bodies"

Nikki looked down at the ground, tears blurring her vision. Her head was spinning. She stumbled backward. Ana caught her before she fell to the ground, bringing her into a hug. Nikki cried into Ana's shirt.

"Ana…" Nikki cried "Why? Why my parents?"

Ana didn't answer. She couldn't answer because of the fact that she was crying too. Mr. and Mrs. Holden had been so nice to her. Out of all of Ana's friends' parents, they were the only ones who didn't think she was weird for not eating or not spending a lot of time in the sun. They didn't ask questions or tell Nikki not to be friends with her. They had invited her to everything – family barbeques, family parties, to the movies. They accepted her. They were two of the nicest people Ana had ever met.

"I don't know, Nikki" Ana replied, with a shaky voice. She turned and looked straight at Mick and Josef. "But I'm going to find out!"

&&&&&

"Is there anyone we should call?" Sarah asked, after Nikki had calmed down a bit. Now, Coraline, Eric, David, Logan, and Ryder were in the living room. After hearing the news, they stopped whatever they were doing in the Kostan mansion and headed to the living room, to hear what the others had to say.

Nikki shook her head. "No" she said "I have no aunts or uncles. My grandparents are all dead. I have no one"

"You have us" Beth said, taking a quick glance at all of the vampires standing in the room "We're your family now"

"You were my family before" Nikki replied, looking at Beth "You were the family I wished I had"

She paused for a moment. "Only I wish I didn't get it like this"

As the women tried to comfort Nikki, Mick and Josef turned to Ana, who had been staring out the window.

"Ana?" Mick said, slowly walking up to his daughter

"He's taken this too far" Ana replied, not hiding the sadness and rage in her voice "If he wants me, then he can come and get me. You don't just go around and kill people who did nothing to you!"

"What our next move?" Josef asked "After the services, I mean"

"Oh, no!" Ana said, turning to face her father and godfather "We move now!"

"What about the funeral?" Mick asked "Nikki needs you there"

"I'm not saying I'm going to go" Ana replied "I'm saying that we're calling in those reinforcements!"

Ana marched past Mick and Josef and headed to the phone, with Mick and Josef close behind.

"Ana, you already sent the Romano Family a message" Mick said "Aren't they here already?"

"That doesn't mean that they have their instructions yet" Ana replied, as she waited for someone to answer on the other end of the line "I only told them that they needed to come. I didn't tell them what they needed to do yet"

"What are you going to tell them to do?" Josef asked

"Signor Romano!" Ana said, into the phone "Yes, I need your help…He's killed two more people…They were the parents of my best friend…I agree…They are?...Good!...What I need you to do is have your men search all of L.A…After the funeral services, my Family will step in and search with you…I expect a report…Thank you…Talk to you soon…Bye"

Ana hung up the phone and turned to Mick and Josef. "Romano is going to send some men out to search the town for Lance" she explained "He will be reporting to us. After the funeral, we will step in and help with the search"

"Who is the 'they'?" Josef asked

"Oh!" Ana said, surprised that she almost forgot "They heard from the Mariano Family"

"What did they say?" Mick asked, eagerly

"They're coming to L.A. as soon as possible" Ana replied "When they heard that the message was from me, they just couldn't refuse"

Mick and Josef smiled small smiles. "At least we have them on our side" Mick said "That will be a big help"

"Ana!" they heard Eric say "Ana!"

Ana walked away from Mick and Josef and up to Eric. "What's going on?"

Eric handed her his cell phone, a mad expression on his face. "It's for you"

Confused, Ana took the phone and put it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"I'm sure that you've heard about the terrible accident" Lance said

"You damn bastard!" Ana exclaimed, causing everyone to turn and look at her "You had no reason to do that!"

"Of course I did" Lance replied "It got your attention, didn't it?"

"There are other ways to get my attention!" Ana replied "They didn't have anything to do with this. You want me, you come and get me!"

Mick's eyes widened at this statement. He never expected Ana to actually say that to the man who was clearly a psychopath.

"Don't bring any other innocent people into this!" Ana continued "You are going to pay dearly for the deaths of the Holden's"

Lance laughed. "And who's going to make me pay?" he asked, with a chuckle "You?"

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you" Ana said "I could kill you easily"

"I'm sure that you could" Lance replied "I have no doubt"

"Then why did you kill the Holden's?" Ana demanded "What needs my attention that badly?"

"You are entering dangerous waters, Anastasia" Lance replied "I felt the need to remind you that this isn't just a game"

The line went dead. Ana took the phone away from her ear and handed it back to Eric.

"What did he say?" Danielle asked

"He wanted to tell me that this isn't just a game" Ana replied "That I'm entering dangerous waters"

There was a pause.

"Logan, Ryder. Take Eric's phone" Ana said, not looking at her family "Trace the number. Find out where he made the call from and give that information to Romano"

Logan and Ryder nodded, though Ana couldn't see it, and took the phone from Eric. They silently walked away from the room.

"Ana" Nikki said, getting up and rushing over to her friend "Ana, please. Look at me"

Ana slowly turned to look at Nikki.

"I don't blame you for what happened" Nikki said, trying not to cry again "This isn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for this"

"How can I not?" Ana said, trying not to yell "The whole reason they're dead is because of me. The only reason they're dead is to tell me that 'this isn't just a game'!"

"Ana, please" Nikki pleaded "I don't blame you. No one here blames you. You had no control over this. This was out of your hands. No one was expecting this to happen"

Ana didn't respond. She didn't have a response.

"She's right, Ana" Josef said, taking a step towards his goddaughter "This isn't your fault"

"This is how Lance works" Coraline said "He does this for everyone he has bad dealings with"

"You have to realize that this isn't your fault" Eric added "Otherwise, Lance will win"

"I don't blame you, Ana" Nikki said, again "I know that this isn't your fault"

Ana paused for a moment and nodded. "Alright" she said, softly "Thanks, Nikki"

Nikki smiled a small smile and the two friends hugged.

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Here's a new chapter for you!!

I hope that you like it!!

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