James

My mother has been in her room for days now, ignoring everyone but me. When my brothers attempt kindness or anything, she would nod her head for the first couple of weeks but now, nothing.

I have a feeling Charlie would be acting the exact same way, missing us as much as we missed them. Sam's family seemed off too, but then again they were Mafia, they were meant to be off, not warm and cuddly. 

But I would of thought having a sister would soften them someway, maybe there was still time for that to happen yet I felt like this was only the beginning. All the drama, the kidnappings, the shootings, the fear. It was just the start.

I don't know if Sam or I could ever escape this life. I know that my mother doesn't want this life either, she would rather go back to being in our caravan which is probably stolen by now or gathered so much dust it no longer works. 

I needed to order this phone for Sam. There was a way they would be able to retrieve it, maybe when they were supposed to be in for school they can sneak out and grab a bus. 

Pretend they were going over to a friends house, go then. Or ask Charlie to get it? That would be a safe bet, I'm sure they have a lot more people watching Sam than they do Charlie. 

After all, she is the youngest girl. My eldest brother explained it to me for a brief second before rushing away to deal with business. All of them had been off doing different things, trying to contain the situation with Adam but they were always a few steps ahead. 

Warnings were being exchanged as gangs started to turn to their side, realising the only chance for survival was to just go along with what they wanted. The best way to increase their profits, by betraying my brothers. 

I had my own phone but they had blocked certain websites, social media, anything that let me see what was going on in the world. The T.V I watched was always monitored and I had to watch it in the many living rooms, all under the watchful eyes of bored guards. 

They had chefs too, maids, gardeners, plumbers, all rushing around trying to fix the state of the front of the house. It had mostly been cleaned up now with the white paint now drying. 

It was constant noise which was great for me as it let me sneak around without guards checking on any slight creak of a floor board. They had cameras too. Everywhere. 

Always watching. I didn't know if it was to keep the bad guys out and check if they had gotten into the house, or to keep us in. They seemed new too, as though they had been put up as soon as me and mum got here. I could tell as some of the cameras still had their screen covers yet to be peeled off. 

I sighed before strolling down stairs, trying to seem the least conspicuous as possible. I needed to get access to my amazon account, hooked up to my mums card details. Obviously I lied about my age and I seriously doubt my brothers would know I had this account. 

The thing is, I didn't know if her account was being monitored. The best bet was to try and get out of here, take some cash and find someone to help me. Explain the situation or just straight up lie. 

And this right now was my perfect opportunity. 

"Hey, Esposito", I said to my fourth eldest brother with smile as he raised his eyebrows at me. He was young compared to the older brothers. Twenty one, twenty two. The most immature out of them all too. 

"What kiddo?", He asked me, typing quickly on his laptop, looking up at me as he had memorised where all the keys were. He obviously spent a lot of time writing reports or messaging someone, I had no clue. 

"Can we go out somewhere, I'm bored", I said with a grin, trying to persuade him, see how gullible he was or if anything, see if he wanted to spend some time with me.

"I'm busy right now, go annoy a different brother", He said with a smirk, this time staring at his screen as he typed. I sighed dramatically and fell to the sofa next to him. I had to be convincing. Being annoying always worked too.

I started to hum slightly, singing a few words every now and again as his typing slowed down. I clicked my fingers and slapped my hands onto my thigh, making a rhythm with my feet before he slammed the top of his laptop down.

"Fine, get your shoes on, we will got to the shopping centre for some lunch. Be at the front door in ten minutes or I'm going without you", He said with a sigh though he seemed excited, getting up quickly and looking for his wallet. 

How expensive is a second hand phone? Three hundred quid? Maybe more?

I rushed upstairs on all fours and busted into my room, lifting my mattress up and grabbed the envelope balanced in the middle.

Five hundred pounds were my life savings, from birthdays to a few lawn mover jobs. Not to mention the countless times I took Sam's perfect answers and sold them to class mates. 

She even did some senior homework for me. She said it was for fun though it wasn't as hard as she thought it should be. What a show off. But she did make me a lot of money so I guess it's time to pay it forward.

I tucked it into the pocket on the inside of my coat to be safe. I didn't want it to get stolen or let Espo see it. I rushed downstairs with my shoes and coat on to see he was already there, throwing his keys up and down.

"I told the others where we were going, a few guards will be with us too but they will keep their distance, watch from afar. Let's go kid", He said to me with a smile, opening creaky front door and putting his hand out, motioning for me to go first.

"Ladies first of course", He said with a bow as I shook my head and stuck my tongue out at him.

"After you then", I snorted back as he shook his head at me, smiling again. As we got into the car, he put my seatbelt on for me and pulled onto it to check the safety.

"I can put my own seatbelt on you know?", I said with my arms crossed over my chest but he just nodded as he turned the engine on. It was a peaceful ride, he didn't have an over the top sports car or a car that was a bright colour. A nice black range rover with lots of room and bum warmers. 

I had never been in such a fancy car in my life and this was for sure the one I wanted when I got older.

"You like the car I'm guessing?", He asked me as I gave him an enthusiastic nod. He chuckled and turned the music up, singing along until we got to the shopping centre.

"Okay rules kid, stick by me, don't run off and if you do manage to get separated from us, stay hidden until we find you alright?", He said, turning serious as he unclipped my belt. I nodded once with a smile before he ruffled my hair, messing it all up.

I batted his hand away as we both got out the car, four other car doors opened on a black SUV behind us with guards stepping out. I could see hand guns strapped to their sides.

"Don't worry, they are for absolute emergency. No one will touch us here, this is our families and anyone that is unknown is given a quick background check", He said as he knelt down to my level, mistaking my nerves for fear. I nodded in silence as he got up and went to grab my hand.

"I'm not a child", I said harshly as he nodded at me with a smile.

"Fine, you're right, just stay close alright, you know the others would react if something were to happen to you", He said loudly as I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Would they care, really?", I asked him coldly as we walked inside, a few people looking at us as families and groups of teenagers didn't give us a second thought.

"Of course they would. I get we have all been a little busy and I know mum is not liking it at the house at all, but we have been trying to deal with this Adam nonsense for days now. We just want to keep you two safe. As soon as we know they are trustable, family bonding time with begin. Alright?", He said with a grin, a hand on my shoulder comforting me as I nodded.

"Okay, enough about that, let's shop. And maybe some ice-cream?", He asked me with a smile, giving a small dance before heading into a store filled with fancy clothes.

Okay, so there was no reason for me to not enjoy this and complete my mission at the same time. As long as I got the phone sorted, I could bond with Espo.