A/N: So it's Christmas time and my boyfriend's out of town, which is turn means that i have tons of time on my hands to update alot more frequently. Normally i wouldn't been faster, but i bought a macbook a couple of months ago and have been writing my chapters on that. only problem is that i can't update chapters on macbook, so i have to transfer them to my desktop computer, well, not really mine, which is why it takes me so long to update. so sorry for the delay, but until fanfiction can make this happen, expect a certain duration of time before another update.

okay so i know im kind of digging a deep hole with this whole mob situation. believe me, i wasn't planning on have it come back up again, but it makes for some good drama. so just read carefully and try to keep in mind everything because it'll be reoccuring in the story. i have everything kind of set in how i want it to go, so it's not going to be this ungodly long story like my previous one lol. i also have another sequel in mind, it's already in the making and it's looking to be pretty good. so depending on how long it takes me to get this story under, i expect the sequel to be up by the end of january or somewhere in february. Enjoy and review!!!

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Strike When the Iron's Hot.

It had been a solid week, and so far Manny had yet to show any signs of leaving. Ever since he showed up at his dorm room, Kyle had yet to discuss anything else that protained to the reason he was here. As far as he knew, nothing was going on, and nothing was going to happen, so Manny would have been more useful just going back to Boston and making sure that whoever's doing this was taken care of.

But no, Manny had shown his persistence by being at his dorm room everyday. It caused Lucas to lurk more at Nathan and Haley's, and it caused Kyle to sit there and hang out with his cousin. Brooke, on the other hand, had resorted to staying in her dorm room with Rachel, litsening to the red head go on and on about all these guys that were hitting on her, the usual stuff.

Kyle had explained to Brooke that the reason Manny was here was because he was just visiting, wanting to see how they were all doing, which wasn't completely a lie, since he was really here to see if they were doing alright, and not, well, dead or anything. Brooke understood, but it flamed her up a bit since Kyle was hanging out with Manny the whole time. But hey, Manny was family.

They talked about alot of stuff. Kyle talked about college, basketball, his classes. Manny talked about how every single person in the family was doing, what was going on in their lives. Kyle talked about Brooke and their relationship. Manny talked about the new cars and motorcycles her had purchased. But they didn't talk about that. It's not that they didn't want to. It was just easier to avoid than to get out of.

The two cousins were now sitting on Kyle's couch, playing NBA Live and drinking beer. Both faces reas concentration. Kyle was already ahead by only one point, and if Manny scored this lay up, then Kyle would lose, which was something he was never keen on.

"So how much longer are you supposed to be here?" Kyle asked casually, taking a swig of his beer.

"I know what you're doing. You're just trying to distract me," Manny said, his eyes focused on the television.

"No, even thogh that is a plus. It's just that you've been here for a week already, and so far nothing's been going on, so there's really no reason for you to stay," Kyle explained.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But I'm also doing business also, so not everything's about you."

"You're allowed to do business by yourself? I thought you were supposed to have the whole family there whenever you made a business transaction," Kyle asked.

Manny remained silent, eyes still firmly planted on the television set, his grip on the controller suddenly whiter than it had been before.

Kyle paused the game and looked at him, "Everyone does know you're down here, don't they?"

Manny sighed, "Well, not exactly everyone, if you know what I mean."

Kyle laughed sarcastically, "That's great, Manny. Now I'm not really one to know that much about this business, but don't you think they're worried about where you are right now?"

"I know, and I've already thought about it. Miguel knows where I am, he knows that I'm fine. He's been trying to steer everyone to believing that I'm doing business, and so far they've remained calm about it. Not exactly lethal, but calm."

Kyle nodded, "Miguel always had been a pretty good liar."

Manny smirked, "That's exactly why I told him. If everyone was getting a little out of hand, he would've called me, then I would've called my dad and letim know that I'm alright. I wouldn't tell them where I am though."

"Why not?"

He sighed, "For alot of reasons. One, being that I don't think it's wise to have everyone know what I'm doing. Another being that i don't think anyone should know about the dreams you've been having because ti's more likely to have someone dismiss them, say they're not big deal when I think they are."

"Do you really think it's that big of a deal?"

Manny shrugged, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it was important. I know you hear about stuff like this, but I think it's really happening, like your dreams protain to things that have to do with us. Or even happen to us."

"In my dream, someone had Brooke. So you mean that because I had a dream that Brooke was hurt, that someone's going to come after her?"

"I wish I could tell, but I don't know. There's a possibility it could, a possibility that it could not. I know it's frustrating for you, but there's no answers to this sort of thing. All we acn do if figure out who's behind all this, and take it from there," Manny said.

Kyle shook his head, "I don't want to think about this. I mean, this wasn't even supposed to happen anymore. Things weren't supposed to be this way. You told me that after that night, it would all be over."

"Yeah, I know I promised you that, and I meant it all at the time, but things happen. you're right, this wasn't supposed to happen. This isn't even something you should be dealing with, and when I leave, you won't have to."

But for some odd reason, Kyle didn't know who Manny was trying to convince.

-

The two girls had settled into a long comfortable silence, Rachel painting her toe nails a glittery pink on her bed, Brooke nested on her own bed, reading the newest issue of Seventeen magazine. MTV's the Real World playing quietly on the television set, with Parisa getting into one of the many arguments with Trisha.

It had been this way all week, and so far it didn't look like anything was going to change. Brooke didn't want to talk about it, and for the first time, Rachel wasn't going to push it.

For the past week, college let up for Brooke. She was liking her classes a little bit more, and she wasn't so moaning and groaning about the whole thing. Cheerleading try outs had been the week before, and she had made it, of course, under the jurisdicition of a senior girl. Her name was Ana Brown, and frankly Brooke wanted to rip her face off. But hey, she was the one being directed, and if she had to get in good graces with the captain, she would do it.

Since Kyle was so busy hanging out with his cousin, Brooke resorted to hanging out with just about everybody but him. In the mornings she went over to Nathan and Haley's apartment, hing out there until classes, after school she's go to hang out with Peyton, Jake, and Jenny, then when she got home for the night, she was with Rachel. The only times she ever saw Kyle was during the classes she had with him, and the last period of the day, just so he could say good bye until the next day.

At first she had been okay with it. Manny was Kyle's cousin, and they hadn't seen each other in awhile, so she wanted them to have time to hang out before Manny went back to Boston. But this was just ridiculous. What did thye even do besides sit around and play NBA Live? And to think they were just getting back on track too. Now it seemed like their unification wouldn't happen for awhile.

Rachel blew on her toe nails, "Okay, so I know I'm not supposed to ask, but what the hell are you doing here on a Friday night?"

Brooke didn't look up from her magazine, "I could ask you the same question."

"Remember, I'm learning to expand my horizons away from the likes of alcohol and boys," Rachel explained.

Brooke raised her eyebrows, "Okay, so what happened about all those boys who asked for your number on the first day?"

She rolled her eyes, "Please Brooke. Sure, I gave out my number, but who says I'm even going to hang out with them? I'm not like that anymore. But we weren't supposed to be talking about me."

"I was hoping the attention stirred towards you would draw the attention away from me. But I realize you're not like that anymore."

"Haha, so are you going to answer my question? Or am I just going to have to force it out of you?"

Brooke set her magazine down, "There's nothing to say. Kyle's been spending alot of time with Manny, which leaves me to doing absolutely nothing on a Friday night. There, you happy?"

"Not really," Rachel replied. "When's the last time you actually hung out with Kyle?"

"I don't know. Like, last week before Manny showed up at Kyle's dorm room."

"So you haven't hung out with Kyle for a whole week? What the hell are him and his cousin doing?"

Brooke shrugged, "I don't know. They just hang out. It's not lik ethey hang out all the time though, Kyle has class and basketball practice and Manny's doing business in town I think."

"And you're okay with that?" Rachel asked.

"Dude, of course not. But I just want to give him space to hang out with his cousin. What's so wrong about that?"

"Umm, everything. You haven't seen him in a week---"

"Not a week, I said I haven't hung out with him in a week," Brooke emphasized. "But I've seen him a couple of times everyday since Manny came to town."

"Whatever you need to believe, Brooke. But this isn't right, and you know it."

"What am I supposed to do? Tell him that he can't hang out with Manny?" Brooke asked.

"Not necessarily, but basically yeah," Rachel smirked.

Brooke shook her head, "You are no help what so ever."

"It wasn't my intention to help you. But if it guides you in some way, then you're welcome."

Brooke closed her magazine and threw it onto her desk, "I can't listen to you anymore. I'm going out to get a snack."

Rachel smirked, "I would second guess that Brookeie. We don't want you all chunky for cheerleading practice."

"Oh fuck you," Brooke snapped, shutting the door behind her.

Rachel shook her head smiling and continued to blow on her toes.

-

Wandering from house to house for the last week hadn't been very exciting for Lucas, but it was better than his dorm room. His Ipod in his pocket and his backpack on his shoulders, Lucas was going back to his dorm and going to sleep, with no intention of styaing up and hanging out with Kyle and his cousin.

Ever since classes started, Lucas had resulted to being in classroom to classroom, hanging out in the courtyard with his laptop, and going over to Haley and Nathan's after school, only going abck to his dorm when he was wiped out. It wasn't that he never had a conversation with Kyle, beacause they did, but Lucas didn't want to hang out and try to be friends, and all because of one girl.

He wasn't sure about his feelings for Brooke. It could've been a lot of things, but whenver he thought about Kyle and Brooke together, it made him sick to his stomach. When they had broken up, Lucas had done it gracefully, with all intentions of wanting her to be happy. But as time wore on, he found it harder and harder to just let go of their relationship and start anew. Mainly because he didn't want to let her go, she just didn't know that.

Whenever Brooke was over Nathan and Haley's house, Lucas found it weird being in the same room with her, although he would never know it. To him, it felt like the first time he had met her in the backseat of his car. She made him nervous, made him wonder what else she was capable of.

It comforted him a little to know that Brooke was hanging out with Nathan and Haley, and not Kyle. He wouldn't want to wish her heartache, or anything like that, but he was going crazy, trying to make sense of his feelings. he wasn't sure if he loved her, but he sure as hell felt something.

Walking through the hal lway he passed Brooke and Rachel's room, their voices heard dimly as he passed it completely, the scent of everything girly leaving his nostrils. He stopped in front of his own dorm, hearing the television only. Maybe Manny had gone back to his hotel room?

When he opened the door, Kyle was standing in front of the TV, holding a thiry five pound dumbell in each hand. He face read concentration and problematic subjects. Lucas closed the door behind him and removed the head phones from his ears.

"Hey," Lucas said casually, throwing his backpack on the couch and going to the kitchen.

"Hey, what's up? You just get back from Nathan and Haley's?" Kyle asked, glanving back at him before returning his focused to the television.

"Yeah, Nathan challenged me to a game of NBA Live, and I couldn't say no," Lucas replied.

"I know what you mean, I was playing Manny for like two hours straight a little while ago."

"How long is your cousin supposed to be here anyways?" Lucas asked, opening a Coke.

Kyle shrugged, "I'm not sure. He's here to visit and to also do some business around town. So who knows really."

Lucas nodded, watching the basketball game that was on TV. He didn't really know much about Kyle's family, and he didn't think anybody really did.

Kyle glanced over at Lucas, who was staring intently at the basketball game that was going on. He didn't know what to make of Lucas anymore, but something told him that he needed to keep an eye on the brooding blonde. He set his dumbells on the floor.

"Hey, I'm going to head down to lobby and get some chips or something. You want anything?" Kyle asked, opening the door.

Lucas shook his head, "No, I'm good. I'm just going to turn in for the night and go to bed."

"Alright. See you in the morning, man," Kyle said as he shut the door behind him. He rolled his eyes at Lucas's behavior. It wasn't like he was being an ass towards him either. He was being perfectly nice opposed to how he could've acted.

Walking down the hall, he passed Brooke and Rachel's room. He considered maybe popping in and hanging out for a little bit, but he had pracitce at five in the morning, and Brooke and Rachel were probably asleep, seeing as it was 11:30.

There was so much going through his mind, it was hard to process it all. His most biggest fear had become a reality, and Kyle didn't know what to do. This wasn't suppoesd to be happening, but it did. Now the question was, what could he do about it?

He stopped abruptly, seeing his very own girlfriend, dressed in a white tank top and pink silky pajama pants. She was staring seriously at the machine. He bet she was deciding between a Snickers or a Reeses, which was a hard choice for her. Kyle cocked his head and continued to stare contently at her. he couldn't wait until this whole ordeal was over, it seemed like they could never get a break.

Tip toeing as quietly as he could, he slowly came up behind her. She seemed to be in a big predicament since she didn't notice a single noise. It amazed him sometimes how completely immersed she got into something. He drew back his arms and put them softly around her, feeling her tense up but then let it go, knowing at was him.

"Do you have any idea how much I've missed you this past week? he murmured in her ear, taking in her scent.

She sighed, holding onto his arms, "I think I have some sort of idea."

"I'm sorry that I havne't been around, it's just that Manny's here and all, and I don't want to just leave him hanging. I don't know when's the next time I'm going to see him," Kyle explained.

Brooke nodded, "Yeah I know. I guess I"m just used to having you all to myself or something," she siad, trying not to sound like a posessive girlfriend.

"Problem is, I have no idea when he's going back," he said, staring off into the candy machine.

She turned and looked at him, "It's not, it's not bad or anything, is it?" The question itself striked another set of questions, and then another. Was there more to this then Kyle was letting on? An even bigger question was, would he tell her?

Kyle grimaced, "Not exactly. Manny tells me everything's going to be fine, he's just here as an extra shield, if you will."

"So there is something going on," Brooke declared. She turned around, her brain wondering as to what it could be.

Kyle was caught, and there was no other way he could turn now. But in a way, all he felt was calm, and a whole lot of relief from the whole ordeal. There was no other way he could've went through and not have told her. he could already tell she was angry, but there was nothing else he could do but try to explain, which, in his experience, turned out to be a disaster.

He sighed, "Brooke, I don't want to lie to you..."

"Then don't!" She exclaimed.

"But I don't want to scare you either," Kyle began. "Listen, I told you from the very beginning that I would always be here to protect you, and I don't think telling you what's going on is going to help anything at all."

Brooke shook her head fiercely, "No, don't you dare try to get out of this. You can't just not tell me what's going on, especially if it has something to do with you. I don't care if it scares me or not, I want to know, and if you have ANY ounce of respect for me at all, you'll do it."

Kyle groaned inwardly, she just had to go there. "Alright fine. But I don't really feel comfortable telling you this, out here," he said, motioning to the candy machines.

She sighed, "Meet me out in the courtyard in five minutes, I'm going to go back to my room to grab a sweatshirt."

Kyle nodded, "Okay, see you in five." He turned around and walked as fast and as calmly as he could back to his dorm, hearing her soft footsteps behind him.

He let his door close before fishing out his cell phone and dialing Manny's phone number. Kyle didn't know why he was calling Manny, there was nothing he could possibly do at this point to help him.

"Kyle? Do you have any idea what time it is?" a groggy voice said from the other line.

"I don't really care what time it is. I just thought I'd let you know that I'm telling Brooke the truth, tonight. In like, four minutes to be exact," Kyle whispered, walking into his closet and taking out a hoodie from Holllister, a Christmas present from Brooke a couple of years ago.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Kyle? I mean, didn't you say she was most likely to freak out?" Manny asked, his voice suddenly more awake than before.

"No shit she's going to freak out. But she knows something's up, and I have to tell her," Kyle said, closing the door quietly behind him.

Manny sighed, "It's your call, man. I just thought calling Brooke was something you didn't want to do."

"Believe me, if there was some way I thought I could get out of this, I would've done it already. But I can't do that to Brooke. I'm not in a position right now to hide any more things from her," Kyle explained, walking towards the courtyard.

"Okay, do your thing. I'm going back to bed, but I'll stop by tomorrow and you can tell me how it goes," Manny said.

"Alright, bye," Kyle said, hanging up just as he was approaching the view of the picnic tables. Brooke was already there, sitting down at one of the tables, her hands in her pockets and her knees bouncing up and down from the cold. Usually she was always five or ten minutes late, but her being there before he was said that she was out on a mission, and that was to find out everything.

He didn't dread it, but he didn't welcome it either. The thought of telling Brooke that she was potentially in danger for her life wasn't something he wanted to explain to her. But on the lesser cloudy side, he was telling her the truth, and that had to count for something, right?

"You're thirty seconds late," she said as soon as he sat down across from her.

"Sorry, but it's usually you who's late," he said, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"Yeah, well this is different," she stated.

He sighed before looking up at her. She was staring at him, already expecting him to explain. "Yeah, so I'm guessing you want me to tell you now.."

She chuckled, "Well that would be the purpose of us being out here."

"Yeah, right. Well, you know hwo there was that whole, mob thing a couple of months ago?"

She nodded, "Yeah, the one that almost got me and you killed?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, looking around. "Okay, well after that all happened, Manny and everyone else told me that this was it. That I wouldn't be involved, and they would never need anything else from me. Until last week, when Manny came. He walked into his office last week and saw a threatening message across the wall in red paint. It concerned him a bit, so he came here to watch out for us."

"Does he think that whoever wrote that threat is going to come after you?"

He shrugged, "That's the thing. He doesn't know. It's a possibility, which is why he's here. People in the circuit know about me, and they knwo that I was involved that night a couple of months ago. The way Manny said it, they might try to strike where no one expects. Of course, me."

Brooke wrapped her arms around herself, staring off into the night, her heart hurting at the thought of Kyle ever getting hurt ever again. It was unbearable the last time she had to see him in a hospital bed.

"Why didn't you tell me this?" she asked, her voice already shaky.

"I didn't want to hurt you, or scare you, or make you mad..." he trailed. "I just didn't want you to have to worry about tihs. And it wasn't supposed to be this way. I was supposed to be done with this, and not have to watch my back anymore.

"Well it's not like you can do anything about that now."

He nodded, "I know. I hope you believe me when I tell you that I didn't want to scare you or hurt you. I know what it was like for you the last time you got your heart broken. i didn't want to be another guy to do that to you."

Brooke shook her head, "It's not even about that Kyle. I know you would never do anything to hurt me. But this, whatever it is, scared the shit out of me because I don't want to lost you!"

"You're not going to lose me. I wouldn't be stupid enough to get back involved in that anyway. I thought it was the right tihng, but it wasn't. It wasn't where I wanted to be. This," he said, walking towards her, "is where I want to be. With you, and everybody else."

Brooke stared at him, but she wasn't convinced, "But there's still that part of you that wants all of those other things."

Kyle looked away, he didn't know what to say. "I don't know, I mena, I guess. But it's because they're my family, and I want to help them because I know that's what my mother wouldn't wanted. Helping and protecting my family. So I guess in a way you're right, I want to be there and help to keep everyone safe. But when it all comes down to it, I want to be here with you."

"Just, promise me that you're going to let me know that's going on with this? Because I don't think I could take something happening again."

Kyle wrapped his arms around her, "I promise. I'm not going anywhere."

Believe, or not to believe? Brooke knew deep down in her heart that Kyle would never do anything to hurt her, and that he would much rather be at school, with her. But then there was that other part he just couldn't seem to want to acknowledge. the danger, the brutality, but most of all, the power. She knew that Kyle wanted to know what that felt like, to actually overpower something or someone. Just the thoght of it was enough to have someone's skin tingle with excitement. But Brooke also knew that he would never admit that.

-

"He knows something. I'm telling you," Raymond hissed to Tony.

They were walking towards Miguel's family's wing, on a mission, and that was to get something out of their cousin. It hadn't occurred to Raymond until now, that his usually loud, sarcastic, smartass of a cousin had resorted to being very reserved, and less opinionated about the whole matter. And that could be only one thing: Miguel knew exactly where Manny was.

"Of course he does. He didn't exactly be discreet about it," Tony replied as they walked in the dark, the moonlight pouring through the open windows, bullet proof to be exact. It was late at night, but the two cousins had to get answers. This was no longer a game, far from it.

There had been another message. This time it was located in the family room, where just about everybody hung out at. No one, no one, could figure out how they had gotten in here, let alone have enough time to even paint a message across the walls. Not only could the paint cans not be traced, but no one knew anything about this. No one, not even other families. The creeps who were doing this was gunning for the Giovanni's and the Giovanni's only.

"God man, we better get this figured out or I think I'm going to have to shoot someone," Raymond said harshly, and something told Tony that he wasn't kidding. Raymond always was the more brutal of them all.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this right now," Tony replied. "If we can't get a trace to that fucking paint can, maybe we can get some answers as to where the hell Manny's been for the past week and a half."

They walked straight into Miguel's bedroom, where he was already asleep. Different laptops lined his desk, and next to his bed was a cabinet, one that every male in the family had: the gun stash. Miguel was fast asleep, holding onto his pillow for dear life.

Raymond didn't even waste any time before he smacked Miguel upside the head, causing his head to swing off the bed, his eyes squinting in the moonlight, the signature Giovanni honey hazel tiger eyes peering up at his two cousins. Raymond and Tony just stood there, arms crossed, with their suits still on, their jackets disposed and their shirt sleeves rolled up. Miguel didn't even need to ask to know that he had blew his cover. Manny's going to kill my ass for this.

"Guys, what the fuck? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Miguel whined, covering his head with his pillow.

Tony grabbed a handful of Miguel's hair, "Do you have any idea how much fucking trouble you're in?" If this was something even close to being stupid, Tony wouldn't have been so rough with his cousin. But in the end, Miguel was a dumbass, and in this case, Tony was completely entitled to do whatever he wanted with him.

Miguel chuckled nervously, "Okay, I guess you guys need to know something."

Tony threw Miguel's head back down, "You better start explaining before I shove your ass out of the window."

Miguel rubbed his head, "But you didn't have to grab my hair, man. I was going to tell you eventually, but--"

"But what?!?" Raymond hissed. "But you forgot?!?! But you didn't think it would be a big deal?!?!"

"No! I didn't say anything because Manny asked me not to say anything. God, how hard is it to understand secrecy?"

"It's hard when you're a dumbass in keeping a secret as important as this. Do you have any idea what could've happened if we all really thought Manny was dead?" Tony asked.

"I know, I know, and I told Manny that, but he just kept telling me to steer you guys to believe that he was fine," Miguel said.

"Alright, enough of that. Why wouldn't he tell us where he was in the first place?"

"Because he was somewhere wher you guys didn't want him going, and he thought he should be down in North Carolina watching over Kyle for a little bit," Miguel said quietly.

Raymond chuckled, "Well, that's rich. He's down there watching Kyle, who isn't even in any danger--"

"I would think twice about that---"

"Shut up! Did he say how long he was going to be gone?" Tony asked.

Miguel shrugged, "No. Probably until he knows that Kyle's going to be safe."

Raymond shook his head, "This is ridiculous. What was Manny thinking going there by himself none the less. He knows that he's supposed to let us know where he's at, what he's doing. That's kind of what we're supposed to do. We run the show, together."

"You guys aren't going to tell Uncle Leo, are you?" Miguel asked.

Tony looked at him, "Why shouldn't we? And while we're at it, why don't we let him in on the fact that you were the one who knew all along, and kept it to yourself."

"Guys come on, give me a fucking break. If I thought Manny was going to be in danger, then I wouldn't told you a long time ago. But he's just there as a precaution, nothing more, nothing less."

"Miguel I swear," Tony began. "If something bad come sout of this, your ass is mine."

Miguel nodded, "Yeah I know. Look, I'm not even supposed to be doing this, but if you really want to know how he is, and if it gets you guys off my ass, then you might as well just use my cell phone and call him. Most likely he'll answer."

"Well do that later, its a bit late for that, isn't it?" Raymond asked. "When's the last time you talked to him anyway?"

"I don't know, earlier today I think? he's been hanging out with Kyle, and hes' already filled him in on why he's there in the first place."

"And what would that be?" Tony cut in.

"I'm telling you way too much than I should," Miguel said. "I promised Manny I wouldn't, and I've already done a lot worse."

Raymond sighed, "In case you've forgotten, we're in this together. Now I don't know what Manny was thinking, going somewhere without telling us. But we have to know what's going on Miguel. If we don't, and our fathers find out, we might get the organization taken right out from under us. Gone. So I suggest you tell us what's been going on if you want to keep your position as the highest in power. This is our chance, Miguel. We can't blow it."

"So technically, you decide. We're going to be around the house for the next couple of days," Tony said, heading to the door.

Miguel raised his eyebrows, "Why?"

He stopped, "Because, someone sent us another message, this time in the family room. So now you can see how important it is that Manny's here."

Miguel fell back onto his bed. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He had already said way too much, basically every single detail, and now there was another threat, which meant that someone had once again managed to sneak back into the house. They were sneaking right in. Manny didn't know yet, but Miguel would sure as hell tell him so he could get back here. Kyle couldn't be in danger when the danger was located right in their very house.

The phone rang several times before he heard a clicking noise.

"I told you Kyle, tell me how it all goes tomorrow."

"Manny," Miguel said seriously.

"Miguel? Sorry, I thought it was Kyle again. What's up, and why are you calling me so early?"

"There's another threat located in the house, this time the family room. Raymond and Tony just came up to tell me. Not only that, but they kind of figure out that I knew something."

"Okay, so you mean to tell me that someone snuck back into the house again, and this time wrote something across the wall in the family room? And once again, no one was home?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I really think you should get back here," Miguel said.

"I know. I'll be there as soon as I can, and that's all I can do."

"What? Why? Nothing's happened to Kyle and you've already been ther for a week!"

"That's not the point Miguel. I thought you understood this but I guess I was wrong."

"It's not about that, it's about the fact that you're running around in North Carolina unprotected, and we're here with people sneaking into our houses long enough to write death threats. It's not a good time for any of us to be seperated from each other."

"I understand what you're saying, and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"It'll never be soon enough," Miguel snapped before hanging up. He stared at his phone, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now. He realized that there wasn't time to play games anymore. This was the first problem that they would ever have to encounter as part of the four, and it wouldn't be his last, that was for sure.

Standing up, he opened his closet and begun taking out his suit. If he knew one thing, it was that he was going to be busy as hell for the next couple of days. Which of course meant meetings, meetings, and meetings.

He had just finished dressing when Tony had emerged back into his room.

"Have you already talked to Manny?" Tony demanded.

"I just called him a little bit ago. I told him what was going on, he said he'd be here as soon as he can."

"But that's not good enough. Did you tell him how dangerous this is now? If someone could get into the house for a second time, no one's safe."

"I know, and I tried to explain that to him. But he won't leave right away."

"Once again, that's not enough. He needs to be here!" Tony exclaimed, banging his fist against Miguel's dresser.

Miguel stood up, "Don't you think I know that! Huh? But he won't come, what part of that don't you understand? I tried to get him to come, to be on his way, but in his head, there's something going on with Kyle. Like Kyle needs protection."

"It doesn't really help when he's there single handedly 'protecting Kyle,'" Tony said.

"I know, I know, but that's what Manny has in his head right now, and i don't know, for awhile I thought that if it was something he felt strongly about, then I should just let him be. But even I know that this isn't good when someone's broken in for the second time," Miguel said.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Tony said quietly.

"That seems to be on everyone's mind lately," Miguel answered back.

He shrugged, "The only thing we can do at this point is to try to figure this out, while protecting everybody. We can't lose anyone."

"I agree, and I'll do anything to help. So, what was written on the wall this time?" Miguel asked.

Tony jerked his head, "Come on, see for yourself."

Miguel followed him al lthe way out of the west wing, both not saying one word. Miguel looked around at the paintings and pictures that lined the walls. He didn't know if it was just him, but the whole atmosphere just got a whole lot more eerie.

They entered the vast open area, the antique couches and tables glistening in the moonlight. Above the fireplace were seperate portraits from different family functions and events.

"Right there," Tony pointed above the fireplace. He stared intently at it, trying to analyze eveyr curve, every slash, every crossed 't' and dotted 'i'.

'Time is runnig out. Your time is coming.'

"What the hell..." Miguel trailed, noticing the glitening red paint just starting to dry. "When did they get in here?"

"Well, you can kind of guess from the looks of it," Tony started. "Paint does take some time to dry, but only a couple of hours. Which means that we were still in the house when this turned up."

"How the hell could that happen?" Miguel asked.

"No idea, it blows my mind that this could turn up and none of us heard or saw anything. I was talking to Raymond, and we're thinking about moving everyone out somewhere else for the time being. We don't want someone walking in awhile our visitors leave another message."

"So you think they'll come back again?"

"Something tells me they will. If they came back for this one, they'll come back again."

"Does Uncle Leo know? Does anybody know right now?" Miguel asked.

"Not yet, we just found this not even two hours ago. Everyone's still sleeping, but we'll let them know in the morning. God, they're all going to go on a death rage when they see this," Tony grimaced, 'they're' meaning their uncles and fathers.

"I don't even want to know what they're going to do," Miguel said quietly.

"Me either, which means we're really going to have to step it up and get everyone together and take down whoever did this. It's the first problem we've had since taking over, we can't disappoint them," Tony said.

Miguel continued to stand there long after Tony had left to go see Raymond. Being the youngest didn't stop your responsibilites, not did it stop your importance. Miguel lost his innocence a long time ago, just like everybody else, and he had to help with this. Manny or not Manny, they couldn't let up. He couldn't let up.

Was it a game? Was it a joke? It wasn't to him, but it sure as hell was to whoever was doing this. They were being played.