CPOV

I watched the car explode from my position high up on the cliff. A perfect fireball that lit up the night's sky. It wasn't uncommon for a car to go over here, in fact this road is pretty renowned for its accidents, especially when drivers see an empty road and like to speed. Add to that, the lack of light now and the outcome is inevitable.

No one is getting out of the wreckage below us but we watch anyway, taking enjoyment in what we see. A hand on my shoulder from my eldest son, made me finally smile as all our hard work was finally done.

I have, had a team observing the Judges house for close to two weeks, seen who came and went. He was a prominent figure in the area or he was before he turned into a recluse I'm told. Our plan had to be perfect, down to every detail otherwise something could've ruined it before we even started. We had heard his housekeeper gossiping in the pharmacy about her boss's constant moods swings when she picked up bags of his medication. His paranoia had only added to our fun by the time we removed him from his house. A suicide note was left behind in his handwriting in case anyone checked and lots of his medication that had littered the house, we had taken with us.

He wasn't alone in his death today, his good friend Ramirez's joined him in hell, although his arrival was much earlier.

Having something or someone fall into your lap in this business is rare but today someone must have been looking down on us.

"Everyone move out, back to base" I said through the radio as we headed back to the cars.

Driving back to Alan's place, one of my guys who lives out here, my mind went back over everything that had happened over the past few days

We had quietly observed the Judge's house, keeping out of sight. A car had pulled up to the side door not long ago and the occupant has quickly scurried into the house, not wanting to be seen.

This property we were on at the moment was having a lot of renovations being done to it, different teams of people coming and going all the time so no one paid any interest when an extra team came on site just as everyone was packing up for the day and didn't leave. The grounds of this house were extensive so there were plenty of places to hide.

For a simple judge he certainly had a lot of security cameras about, some that were offline at the moment in areas that were being blocked by us.

"Barney is just pulling in" Theo said over the radio.

"Ok, everyone wait for my signal."

We had knocked out the cameras in the front of the house, leaving the judge panicking and calling his security company. A call that thanks to Barney, we intercepted and gave us the perfect opportunity to gain access into his house.

I could hear talking inside the house through the concealed mic that barney wore. They were talking about the camera's and I could hear tapping on a keyboard.

"I going to have to do a complete reboot of your system. For some reason your equipment is no longer picking up some of the cameras."

"That will turn them all off" a man I presume is the Judge said, sounding panicked.

"For a few moments. If they don't come back online with all the others then I will have to look into individual connections. As it's now dark outside, that will have to wait until daylight."

"No no, I need this to be done now."

"Ok, let's do the reboot first. I have a light in my van if I need to go outside. Do you have a map of where all the cameras are located. There is a lot of trees out there so it could be something as simple as a fallen branch on the wire. I don't want to be fumbling about in the dark and damage more of them."

"Yes, here" I heard the rustling of paper before another voice came on the line to tell the Judge to let Barney work.

Ramirez. We know who the visitor is now.

While we waited for the signal, I filled everyone in on the new development.

"What are we doing Bro" Elliot asked me.

"Killing two birds with one stone if we're lucky."

"Boss, cameras are down and I have not found any bugs. Stay away from the large east window, they're in that room and light is filtering onto the grounds, there is a chance you will be seen."

"Ok" I said before giving orders "East side, spread out and move to other positions. You will be seen if you approach. Everyone else make sure you're covered and move in."

We moved closer towards the house, heading for the kitchen door. We were covered from head to toe in black so we wouldn't have been seen out here. Inside though, those east window drapes need to be closed so no one out here could see.

"In position" Ethan said as his team closed in, coming through the garage. "Judge's car is here."

"Good, we will take it later. We can use Ramirez's now it's here to move them. It will just look his guest has left. Whoever gets into that room first, those drapes need to be closed."

Opening the door, we were greeted with silence as the door alarms had been disabled too. Barney could've disabled the system from the road like the front cameras but we couldn't take the chance of there being more at the rear on a different system that our jammers couldn't reach. He needed to be inside to proceed.

As we moved through the house, we could hear the two men talking, completely unaware that they were surrounded and about to have their evening ruined.

"Stay where you are" I called out to the two men who seemed to be enjoying a glass of whiskey.

The drapes were quickly closed, blocking out the houses around. As I pulled the mask off my face, they knew who had brought about their downfall.

"Youu, you" The judge splutter, pointing to me as Theo had Ramirez quickly disarmed and groaning at his feet. "What do you want."

"Simply, you. He's a bonus that will meet the same fate as you but ultimately it's you who we came for. You ordered a file opened, one that never should've been. You caused my wife pain and that is one thing you never do."

He was practically quaking as he sat, looking to Ramirez for help.

"File, I don't know what you're talking" my hand smacking across his face, quietened his words.

"Don't insult my intelligence, you know exactly what I'm talking about. And they say I'm a criminal" I laughed. "You're worse. How much was my wife's childhood worth to you?"

"Nothing, she's worth nothing" Ramirez said quieting for a second time after he received a blow to the head from Luca. It was Matteo's hit that rendered him unconscious on the floor.

"Gag him and tie him up" I told Jason, pointing to Ramirez before I turned to the Judge.

"Now I will ask you again, how much did he pay you so you would open my wife's file."

"One million dollars" he said still shaking.

"Why would a respectable judge take a bribe and not turn him in to the police."

"I needed the money."

"Really" I laughed, "Don't make enough being a judge."

"It's gone, all of it. I have debts that needed to be paid quickly and he offered me a way to pay it. He told me our tracks would be covered and no one would know."

"Tracks will always be uncovered, especially when it comes to my family. You have met my computer expert after all. There is nothing he cannot do when it comes to computers and anything that is attached to them. Why do you think you're having problems with your cameras now" I said, smiling to Barney who was stood in a corner with a smug look on his face.

"I don't get this; how would a known criminal know that a judge was in debt" Elliot asked.

"Unless it was the criminal who the judge owed the debt to. Is that right." I said gripping his hair so he had to look at me.

"Yes, I owed it him. I lost a lot in a game but he kept wanting more and more to pay it off, doing this was the final payment."

"No, it wouldn't have been. People like that don't let you go, unless you're no use to them any more."

"I'm a judge, I can't just disappear.

"You were a Judge, not any more. Now I have something for you to do."

He complained, shouted in pain but his note was done. Looking towards Theo, I told him to gag the crying man. I don't want him shouting, making a scene when we leave. Moving Ramirez will be easy because he has not woken up.

"Ok, Barney stay here, do your magic and make sure the house is clean before you leave. Tommy, take the Judge's car when Barney gives the signal. Everyone else move out."

We headed back through the property next door to our cars. Matteo was driving Ramirez's and caught up to us on the freeway. It wouldn't be long until we reached our destination.

The judge sung like a canary telling us all about what he had done to gain Ana's file, doing anything he could to change the outcome of the evening. Ramirez was unusually quiet, until he was forced to speak.

"Maria Ramirez's or is that Garcia" I said, wanting a reaction out of him and I got it. "What's up, your little girl, not yours."

"What about your daughter is she yours" he spat back.

"No question about it" I smiled, proud of how my baby girl has handled all this crap recently. "Now what I want to know is what you were planning to do with the information that you took from my wife's file."

"Make her suffer" he laughed. "Pretty vivid pictures in there, I wonder how your daughter would like to see her mother like that."

My fist to his head stopped his laughter as he spat blood on the ground.

"My daughter is a lot stronger than you will ever know. She knows all about her mother's childhood, all our children do so there is nothing new there. A few pictures are not going to change anything, now where is she."

He shook his head, closing his mouth as if that would stop his answers. His pain got worse as he protected his daughter.

"You're going to have to kill me, because I won't give her up" he groaned in pain. "She will get her dream. Just because I'm not here, nothing will change that."

"And what is that dream" I asked as he looked to me through swollen eyes.

"To be the Boss, take over your business."

"Keep wishing" I laughed. "How is she planning on getting rid of me."

"She's not. She doesn't need to."

Riddles, that was all I was getting from him and I had had enough. He refused to speak any more, his silence turning to screams as he protected her. Screams seem to be in abundance today before I ended Ramirez life with a bullet to the head. Screams that I know had continued as the Judge's car left the road. I would've liked to have put Ramirez's in with him but if someone found the link between them, then it could lead back to us. As it is, Ramirez body will never be found and the judge would look like his problems had taken over him and he took the easy way out. Either way, two birds with one stone.

"Dad you ok" Theo asked me, bringing me from my thoughts.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm looking forward to going back home" and I was.

APOV

I kissed Christian's sleeping lips, before going to use the bathroom. He had been home close to a week now and if he isn't by my side, or at the club, he's with our children.

I was due to have lunch with Theo today, wanting to check he was ok. An envelope had come addressed to Lucy, containing photos of the wounds I received as a child. I hope to god I meet this woman one day as I will show her what it's like to play real games. Trying to upset my children, my fifteen-year-old daughter in fact shows what a coward she is. She cannot come at us straight on, she has to try and start something with a child. It makes me question her mental stability. Lucy never saw them, they were intercepted during checks that all our mail goes through and the unopened envelope was delivered straight to Christian.

Naturally he was angry, more so because Theo was in the room at the time and Christian had been so busy that he had just opened it. He said he knew something like this would appear and he was kicking himself that he didn't wait.

Theo said he was ok but I'm a mum and I need to see for myself. The fact that he hasn't slept here since then has had me worried.

"Ana, come back to bed" he moaned, making me smile as I walked back into the bedroom. "It's Wednesday, our day."

"Christian that was two days ago and I'm supposed to be meeting our son in a bit."

"What time is it."

"Just after ten thirty. We're becoming like our daughter while she's off school."

If Lucy didn't have to get up to see to Rosie, I don't think she would get up until lunch time. Rosie that little pup makes me smile. Her bed, I don't think she has slept in it yet, she prefers the boys beds or on top of Gizmo. She no longer bites them or us, now Christian had been out and bought her every chew toy or soft animal he can find. I would say she has a different toy for every day of the week but it's more like every day of the month. Besides the little plush pig that Sprout took into his bed, that one he has claimed and will not let her have.

I look up to Hugo's rabbit that is still in my room. I love all our dogs, everyone that has come from my best friend but that rabbit will always be his and despite the dogs looking to it when they have been in my room, I could never part with it.

"Can I have breakfast in bed before we get up" Christian asked as I joined him again, loving the warmth of him being wrapped around me.

"It's nearly lunch time."

"Lunch then" he said before I was underneath him, cradling his face with my hands.

Christian's lunch consisted of him moving down the bed and feasting on my clit before we made love.

Moments like these are what we always need. If either of us have a bad day, week or a lot on our minds, we always bring it back to just us two, making the other forget for just a little while.

…

"What are the plans for lunch" David asked me as we pulled into the underground garage of Escala.

"We're going to Palermo, well that is the plan unless Theo wants to go some place else."

It's funny that Theo has this place now, the apartment that Christian had when we first met. I chuckled to myself as we rode the elevator up, thinking of the time we had brought Hugo here. He liked to be free and peeing on the balcony was not ideal especially if the wind caught it and you were walking underneath.

Getting off the elevator, the place was quiet. Usually there is music playing but today nothing. David made his way to what was a security office where he will wait until I'm ready to leave.

"Theo" I called out. "Theo are you there."

"Shit, it's my mother" I heard my sons voice and it was then that I realised he wasn't alone.

"Mum" I heard behind me as I put my purse down onto the kitchen counter.

He looked as if he had just gotten out of bed and he probably had.

"Did you forget" I asked as his palm went to his forehead.

"Shit, mum I'm sorry."

We both turned then, when a bang came from in the direction of the bedroom. I could see the worry immediately come onto Theo's face as if his guest was hurt.

"Hi Ava" I called out, smiling at Theo and just hoped it wasn't some random woman in my son's bedroom.

"Mum" he said, making me laugh at the sheepish look on his face.

"Hi Ana" Ava said coming from the bedroom and was soon wrapped in Theo's arms.

"Are you ok" he asked her.

"Yes just fell over one of your shoes."

"Like I haven't done that a thousand times before" I told her as we both laughed.

"Mum, I'm sorry about today. With everything going on, it slipped my mind."

"It's ok, I just wanted to check you're alright."

He let go of Ava and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'll go and get changed" Ava said, leaving Theo and I alone.

"I'm ok mum, I am. Seeing those things brought me back to the day I found out about your scar. I have to realise that I can't change it no matter how much I want to. I'm in awe of how strong you are."

"I can be strong because I know I have an amazing family surrounding me and I know they will always be there for me."

"Unless they forget about lunch" he said.

"I will let you off this time. Sunday though, I expect you both for lunch."

"I'll speak to Ava. As long as she doesn't already have plans with her family then we will be there."

"Tell her we don't bite" I smiled.

"I know" he laughed. "Bringing her into the family though, puts her in the limelight."

"She will be protected son."

"I know" he said, looking to the bedroom before back to me. "I Love her Mum."

"I'm so happy for you Theo" I said starting to get choked up as he pulled me into his arms again.

"Stop the tears and don't go buying any hats yet."

"I wont, not yet" I smiled up to my beautiful son. "I Love you Theo"

"Love you mum" he said as we walked back to the elevators, meeting David there.

As the elevator doors opened, Ava joined us again.

"I will see you both soon" I told them as I stepped inside the elevator once my son had kissed my cheek. I didn't miss the smile between them both.

"We will see you soon" Ava told me before the doors closed, whisking us back down to the garage again.

"Change of plans" David asked me.

"Just a little. Can you take me to Palermo and then to the club. I may as well enjoy lunch with my husband."

…

"Dr Grey" Ciro greeted me as I opened the door.

"Hi Ciro, I'm coming to gatecrash the party."

"I will be happy to hear the thunder of feet then as they all try to escape" he laughed as I made my way up the stairs.

There was a woman on the stage dancing when I reached the club, gaining an audience who suddenly went quiet and started looking anywhere else when they realised I was there.

I just rolled my eyes, leaving them to it as I spotted my boys at the bar. From the look of it, they were deep in conversation, neither paying any attention to the stage but I would have some fun anyway.

"I can do that" I said, standing behind their stools.

"Mum" Luca said, spinning around quickly on his stool. "Do what."

I nodded towards the woman on the pole as Matteo choked on his drink.

"Mum please, I don't need that image in my head thank you" he said as I patted his back.

"What, you think I'm a nun or something" I said, leaving my shocked boys behind as I made my way towards Christian's office.

I knocked on the door, opening it to see Christian in a meeting with Jason, John and Luke.

"Am I disturbing you" I asked.

"No of course not, what's so funny" he asked, getting up from his seat.

"Just nice to know I can still shock my boys" I laughed. "I brought lunch. Sorry guys, I only have enough for two, unless Christian is going to share."

"Yeah right, we will get our own lunch Ana" Jason said as they all got up to leave the room.

"Sorry did I interrupt your meeting."

"It's fine, we've just finished speaking to Lorenzo. They are releasing the identity of the body in the car this afternoon."

"Do they think the accident was suspicious."

"No, not with all the evidence we left behind that points to a man who has problems. Suicide note, missing pills and the housekeepers statement of his paranoia and depression. It's being put down to him taking the corner too fast and being under the influence of the drugs he had taken. There is no evidence at the house of us being there, we covered our tracks and with Barney sorting the cameras and doing clean up, there is nothing there."

"Wouldn't someone see his vehicle there."

"As we took them away, while Barney did his work, we didn't move the Judges car until later in the evening. Barney even though he wasn't on the premises was able to control the cameras from across the street, making it look like the only person left on the premises was the Judge until he left in the car when Tommy brought it to us."

"You have all the details worked out."

"We have to, always one step ahead. It helps having cops on the books as well so we always get a heads start if they come snooping."

"Unless they come from another state" I told him.

"Yes, those we can't plan for" he complained.

"Hey, we can't stop everything, we just have to be prepared when they do call."

"We will Ana, I don't want you going through that again. Now, I thought you were having lunch with Theo."

"I was but he's busy."

"I don't have him doing anything today."

"No, he was learning about the birds and the bees with Ava when I turned up."

I saw his eyebrows raise before a smirk came onto his face.

"That's my boy."

"Behave" I laughed, smacking his arm. "Lunch."

"Please Princess."

My lunch date, might have changed but I still had an enjoyable meal with my husband. Seeing him laugh when I told him about what I said to the twins, seeing him smile as we shared our dessert, this was the relaxed Christian, few get to see. Angry Christian I would see next.

The office phone rang on his desk, so I picked it up.

"Hello" I said, trying to stop Christian's nibbling on my neck.

"Ana, hello is Boss man there" Ros asked.

"Yes, he is."

"Can you ask him if he knows a Hain Nucci."

"Hold on a sec… Christian do you know a Hain Nucci" I asked as he pulled away from my neck which he had been kissing.

"Yes" he said before I handed him the phone.

"Ros... yes I do…. What's he doing…. Ok, bring him up."

I hated one side conversations but I wouldn't interrupt him and it must be someone he knows or trusts to bring him up here.

"Princess come on" Christian said, taking my hand as he led me back into the club.

"Christian, who is he" I asked.

"An old school friend of mine" he said, sounding bewildered as to why he would turn up here.

We stood at the bar, Luca and Matteo around me now as we waited for our guest to arrive. As the door opened and Ros appeard followed by a man, everyone suddenly paid attention to the stranger who was now amongst us.

"Christian, long time no see" he smiled as Christian let go of me to greet his friend.

Seeing them hug made me think that they were close at one point but Christian had never mentioned him before. My boys as ever were on guard, watching the stranger carefully as Matteo's arm wrapped around my shoulder.

"Hain, where have you been" Christian asked, stepping back from him.

"Around, busy you know me" he looked around the bar. "Seems, you're doing well for yourself."

"I do well, how did you know I was here."

"I didn't. I knew you owned the club downstairs, didn't know about this place though. I would've come to your house but I didn't want to get shot" he laughed as if that was a joke.

"Why would you turning up to my home get you shot."

"Because I have been hired to kill a Princess" he said, looking directly at me.

Those words were all it took before this man had his back to the wall, my husband's gun pointing to his forehead. Me I had my back to the bar, Matteo in front of me, getting ready to shoot anyone who dared step an inch closer. Everyone in the club had their guns aimed at this man, waiting for the signal to shoot.

"YOU KNOW ME CHRISTIAN, YOU KNOW ME" he shouted in his face as if that would calm Christian down and for some reason it did, neither of them moved but his gun was no longer leaving an indentation mark in his forehead.

"Matteo" I said quietly, needing just a bit of space because I felt like I couldn't breathe.

He moved a few inches over but with Luca in front of me as well, I was still pretty much covered.

"Speak" was all Christian said to him.

"I was down in Mexico having just finished a job when I was approached by a couple. The guy was a friend of the one I had just worked for so they knew what I did. The man seemed with it but the woman seemed to have a screw loose. They wanted me to kill a female, said she was in their way and only with her gone could they get what they wanted."

"Who were they."

"Seb was his name, she refused to give me hers. I told them that I didn't touch women or children but they were insistent, desperate even. I asked for more details, wanting to know what this woman had done to them, making out that I needed the details before I would consider it. They gave me the name Grey, a list of locations of where I would find my targets and a photo. They told me to take my pick, either would do."

"What photo" Luca asked.

He carefully pulled a photo out of his pocket, placing it on the table. It showed Lucy and I at the mall a few months ago. We were laughing as I teased her about a boy we had run into, making her blush.

"So, you're going to kill me, kill my fifteen-year-old daughter" I said, pushing the boys out of the way to step forward. I could see this man visibly shudder at my words before he focused on my face.

I could hear Luca calling home to check his sister was ok and I know it wouldn't be long before Theo would be here also.

"No Ma'am. Like I said to them, I don't touch women and children. I told them I would do the job just to give me the time to get here and warn you about what these people are planning."

"You're an assassin" I asked as Christian stepped back, wrapping his arms around me.

"Yes I am."

I looked to Jason who passed Hain a file containing photos of Garcia and his crew.

"Yes, that's the woman, a complete fruit loop if I'm honest and that's the guy."

"What do you know about the guy" Christian asked him.

"Seems to step back as far as I noticed, let her take charge. Likes to blend into the background."

"Yes, the fact that he's supposed to have been killed twelve years ago means he probably likes the background. He also likes to try and kidnap young women" Luca told him angrily.

"Sometimes I wish we were in the background" I said quietly but Christian heard me, pulling me off to one side.

"Princess talk to me" I could see the pain in his eyes as If what is happening now was his fault.

"I love you and I love our life, don't ever think that I don't. I just mean being in the limelight, doing the jobs I do, put me out there. It makes the target easier to find. I mean they have a list of our locations Christian. Our enemies can hide in the shadows, sneak around because that is their lives. I can understand why all wives except me in this life, stay at home because they're out of the way, protected."

"You love your jobs Ana, I would never expect you to give them up. That is why they're crawling with guards so you can continue doing what you love."

"I know. The surgery, everyone is registered beforehand so I know their details, addresses and I don't see anyone who has not been with us for at least three months. The bakery though, anyone can walk in off the street. It would only take someone a second to pull a gun out there. It's also a place where our daughter spends a lot of time, when I work."

"What are you saying."

"I just think I should step back, until this woman is dealt with. Not put myself out there so much."

Christian wrapped me in his arms, hugging me tight as the whole room had gone quiet. I know he would think I was giving up on my dream but it will still be there when she's gone. It's too personal this time, every other fight this family has gone through has been met head on, this woman doesn't work that way though. She's trying to pick holes, find the tiny way through to our family and I know she hasn't targeted any of the men here yet. Lucy, Oriella and now me, who's next, Grandma, Claire, Grace or my sisters. Even Ava could become a target if people find out she's in a relationship with my son. There was an old mafia code between families that no women were hurt, she has obviously gone against that and is making her own rules as she goes.

"That's what he meant."

"Who" I asked, pulling back from Christian.

"Ramirez, he said she would be Boss, take over my business. When I asked how she would get rid of me, he said she's not, she doesn't need to."

"Getting rid of me instead."

"Would destroy me, destroy this family" he said before I was back in his arms again, holding me tighter that I think he ever has before.

…

Christian spoke to Hain before we left the club for home, his arms never letting me go. They would work together on this, just like the old days but I had no idea what that entailed.

"How do you know he isn't going to try and carry out his task Dad" Theo asked as he drove us home.

I wanted to know that, so did Luca and Matteo who were in the car also.

"Hain went to school with Jason, John and me, that's why I was comfortable leaving him in the club with them. The four of us were very tight until the night he lost everything. His parents were in the business, his sister was fifteen at the time, same as our little princess" he said quietly, taking a steadying breath. "We had been out, doing a job for my Dad when I dropped him back home. The house had been ransacked, his parents in the kitchen both had been shot and his sister… she was naked in her bedroom when we found her. They were close, Laney and Hain, so close. Seeing his sisters broken body destroyed him. He went crazy, on a rampage until my Dad grabbed hold of him. Promised him that they would get everyone who had ever laid a finger on Laney, tried to calm him down before he was arrested. I don't think he cared much at that point, he just wanted to make the people hurt who had taken away his life. He stayed with us until we had achieved our goal, then he disappeared for years. Last time I saw him was about five years before we met when he had heard someone had targeted my mother. He came out of hiding because he wouldn't stand by and watch a mother be hurt, especially one he had considered as his second mother growing up."

"Do you trust him" I asked Christian as he looked into my eyes.

"I do."

Arriving home, it was like nothing had happened. Dogs going crazy to see us, Rosie nearly getting trampled in the crush before Christian picked her up just for her to go crazy licking his face. I will be spending a lot more time here now until this has all died down. I didn't mind though. If there was one place I felt safe, it was in this house, these grounds but never more safe than being surrounded by this family.

Thank you for reading. I had hoped to put this out last week but having picked up a bug, I have pretty much slept for the past three days. I still feel lousy but I'm happy that I managed to get it finished.

Until next time, take care.

Caroline.