"Alright, guys. Enough moping."

The twins and Lucy haven't spoken much since leaving the museum. We set up our towels and umbrella's at the beach, but the mood is gloomy. No one's eaten the food we bought before we got to the beach, either.

 "I'm sorry you were mistreated. But I don't want you to dwell on it anymore." I tell them. "I'm really proud of each of you, though."

"You're proud we got kicked out and banned?" Kai's eyebrows scrunch up, in confusion.

"No, not that." I laugh, moving to sit in front of them. "I'm proud that you stood up and defended each other."

"The reality is, those are not going to be the last narrow minded jerks, you'll come across. People are always going to judge or discriminate based on looks, beliefs, your choices and even your mistakes. But no matter what happens or what people say, you need to believe in yourselves. All three of you are amazing and insanely talented, in different areas."

They don't respond, keeping their eyes focused on the ground. "Come on, I want to hear each of you say Miles' favorite movie quote."

I nudge Kai with my foot. "You first." 

He inhales deeply and starts to say the quote. I look at Lucy, she repeats it, smiling. And finally Miles, who gives me a lopsided grin as he says it, in the same manner the little girl in the movie says it, making me smile.

"You is kiiiinnd, you is smmaaart, you is important." He finishes laughing.

"Damn right, and don't you forget it, each of you." I pick up a water bottle and squirt water on all three of them. They jump up, screaming and yelling, while I run away, laughing. They all catch up to me and we end up trying to get each other, into the ocean.

Afterwards, we are all drying off. I'm reading a book as Miles is playing his Ukulele. Lucy and Kai are building a sand castle with the cooler that is now empty of our drinks.

"Come on, Stella, tell us what you told those punks." Miles says, as he checks out a few girls passing by, who smile at him.

"Whatever you said, scared the shit out of them, that's for sure." Kai says laughing. 

"I just told them to quit messing with Lucy and if they don't, I know a few hit men that can make their deaths look like accidents. And I'll know if they blab to their parents and it will be the end of them."

Miles howls in laughter. "The best part is they probably thought you were frontin' but it's the truth!" 

Lucy gives me a soft smile when I wink at her. I know she was worried about going in to work on Monday, at the smoothie place she works at. Not long after, we gather up our stuff and head back home.

"Hey mo—Stella..." Miles calls out from the backseat. He looks at me through the rearview mirror, "how about we do something together?" 

"What do you think we've been doing all day, dummy?" Lucy responds for me. I chuckle along with her.

"No, I mean something to remember."

"Pretty sure we made memories, brah." Kai chimes in.

Miles groans in frustration, "you guys are so annoying!"

I laugh, "why don't you just tell us what you want to do, Miles?"

"Let's go get a tattoo together." He says and I know he's being genuine. It's a rarity to see him so serious.

"I think that's a great idea." Lucy says, surprising me. "But you'd have to sign something for me, since I'm not 16 yet and Florida requires written consent, from a parent or legal guardian."

"Okay, but it'll have to be small, we don't have a lot of time." I tell them.

*********

"It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would." Lucy says as we walk in the apartment. We each got the word, Ohana in cursive tattooed on us. Lucy decided to get it behind her right shoulder. 

Mine is on the inside of my left wrist. Kai had his placed over his heart while Miles put it on his left shoulder. They both also have a chest and a tribal sleeve, done on their birthday.

We made it back in time for Miles and Kai get cleaned up before they leave for work and still have time to eat dinner. Lucy and I get cleaned up too, so we can head to the fabric store like she wanted, later on.

The rice cooker alerts us, the rice is done. Kai is finishing up a macaroni salad he made as a side, while Miles grabs the sauce and drinks from the fridge and Lucy sets the table. 

We look all at each other, when a knock comes at the door but then I remember who it is. I check the peephole to make sure and smile when I see him, he leans in so all I see is his large eyeball.

I open the door, hugging him. "Tej! I'm glad you found us, ok."

He returns my hug. "You look amazing, darling! Miami agrees with you." He pulls away, looking over at the table. "My timing is perfect, I'm starving." He laughs, "It smells delicious!"

I heated up some chicken, I prep for my lunches ahead of time, for the week  for him, because he doesn't eat pork. He turns his attention on the kids.

"Tej, you remember Lucy, and this is Miles and Kai." Tej winks at Lucy as she waves at him excitedly and he smiles at the twins.

They greet him with their standard "Aloha" but eye each other because it came out in unison. 

Lucy grabs another plate and silverware for Tej. The boys take turns passing the rice and macaroni dishes, on the table to Tej so he can serve himself a plate. I grab him a drink and the chicken when the timer goes off on the microwave.

I don't usually keep alcohol in the house but since I knew he was coming, I made sure to have some beer on hand.

He catches us up on what he's been up to since we last saw him. Mostly traveling, depending on the work he's doing and just recently got back from Turkey. He laughs hysterically, when I recount the story of how we met the twins.

"Do you mind if I use your shower and get cleaned up?" Tej asks as we finish cleaning up dinner.

"Make yourself at home. Lucy and I gotta run some errands and will be back in about an hour or so." I tell him.

"We're off." Kai tells me as he grabs the keys to the car, but then turns. "Do you want the car, instead?"

"Naw, we'll take the bike, be careful."

"See ya, moms!" Miles says, bounding down the stairs.

"MILES!"

He laughs as he runs out the door, behind his brother.

"Moms?" Tej repeats, smiling.

"He just says it to bug me, clearly it works." I say dryly.

Tej laughs as he grabs some things from his bag. "Lucy looks all grown up. They all seem like good kids."

"They are, but they're teenagers and have their moments." I close the the fridge after storing away the left overs.

"Ready?" Lucy walks out from the hallway. I nod at her, "See ya in a bit." I smile at Tej, and he heads towards the hall bathroom.

The fabric store is a short ten minute drive from where we live, in a strip mall that we frequent because of frozen yogurt place the kids like to go to. There's also a spa and nail salon I visit, regularly.

"Hey, how about we get a mani and pedi after?" I ask Lucy, when we walk into the fabric store.

"Can we get some frozen yogurt, too?" She asks me, eagerly.

"Sure," I laugh.

Several types of fabric and accessories later, we walk over to the nail salon. A couple of the workers acknowledge me when I walk in. Luckily, it's a slow night and they are able to fit us in.

Lucy loves picking which colors I should wear whenever she comes with me. After she choses our colors, we take our seats on the massage chairs as the technicians start on our feet.

"The twins are gonna be mad we came without them," Lucy grins over at me. I laugh remembering the first time I brought them in and they were absolutely against it but then realized how nice it is.

"Well, let's not say anything, they probably won't even notice." I whisper secretively. She giggles and agrees.

Later, as we are finishing our yogurt, I send Tej a text, letting him know we'll be home soon. I look up, catching a boy smiling at Lucy. She smiles back at him shyly.

Her smile falls though, when a pretty girl walks up to the boy and wraps her arm around his waist. He leans down and kisses her before going through and picking out what they are getting.

"What's on your mind?" I ask her.

"Nothing."

"Luce, you know you can talk to me about anything." I remind her. "I can see something is bothering you."

She leans back sighing, "It's just...how old were you when you had your first kiss?"

I finish the last bit of my yogurt, then clear my throat. "Um, I was 14." 

"Who was it with?"

"My best friend."

"You kissed your friend?" She asks with a disgusted look on her face. Which makes me laugh. Her eyebrows crease in confusion as she keeps watching me.

"Wait, so...who did you kiss Enzo, JP, Joey or Topo?" She asks, remembering me telling her about them.

"It was JP. We grew up together, remember? We were curious on what a kiss felt like, so we decided to try it." I smile, remembering the day, perfectly.

"What was it like?"

"Well...it was...weird but nice, too." Recalling how JP and I didn't know what we were doing and kept our eyes open and then burst out laughing.

"Is he the same age as you?"

I shake my head, "No, he was a year and half older than me."

"What's going on Lucy?" I ask, wondering what's really bothering her.

She glances over at the young couple before she whispers. "I don't think anyone will ever want to kiss me...it's like...boys always like the same type of girl and I look nothing like that."

"You don't need to look like anyone other than yourself and you're beautiful, Lucy." I reach across, grabbing her hand. "You know, I felt the exact same way as you, when I was your age."

"What? But you're like super beautiful." She tells me. I snort in response.

"Okay, maybe not when you do that." She teases, smiling. Which makes me laugh harder and she joins in.

"No but seriously, people notice you when you walk in a room, Stella. Me, people don't notice me until they bump into me." She says.

"That's a bit dramatic."

"Which part?"

"Both." I tell her, smiling. "People didn't always notice me, believe me. But in the end, the ones who did, were the ones that mattered. One day, you'll meet someone who will only have eyes for you. But for now, just enjoy being young, and get to know all kinds of people and find out what you like in another person."

I've already had the talk with Lucy, too. But unlike the twins, she was not ready for it and even covered her ears, mortified. So, I focused more on her learning about herself and her body. Remembering questions I had at her age but didn't feel comfortable talking to anyone about it with.

"Is that how JP was with you, before he died?"

Lucy brings me back to the conversation, abruptly. It still brings a wave of sadness to think of him being gone. "Yeah, but I didn't know he liked me until we were much older."

"Was he your first love?"

I nod, remembering my dad's-Dominic's words. "Yes, my one and only."

"Maybe you'll have another love." She says thoughtfully.

Dominic's words play back to me when he said he couldn't move on after my mom-Serena was killed because she was his one and only. That's how I feel about JP. I'll always compare someone else to him...and that wouldn't be fair.

I focus back on Lucy. "Listen, don't feel pressured to do anything with anyone, even if it's just a kiss, until you're ready."

She walks over and leans down to hug me. "Thanks mom, you're the best." She says into my neck.

I don't bother telling her to not call me mom, even though it always draws attention in public. The ladies sitting next to us give me disapproving looks. I smile and flip them off before Lucy pulls away and we head out the door.

"I thought you guys ditched me for the night," Tej says, when we walk through the door.

"We lost track of time." I tell him, setting down my helmet and keys.

Lucy bids Tej a goodnight, then hugs me before heading back to her room.

"Do you have a sec? I wanted to go over some information you wanted me to look into, regarding Gio."

He starts typing away on his Mac book and several screens pop up in a matter of seconds.

"Whoa, what are we looking at?"

"You asked me to look into Gio's and Jimmy's financial records." He points at a few different windows, "Well, these here...are all of the off shore accounts, I've been able to trace for Gio and Jimmy." He clicks a few keys and then the screen changes.

"And these...are accounts for Gio's businesses and these are all owned by Gio's current associates. Which reminds me, did you know he sold After Dark?" He asks, referring to the club.

"Yes, I just found out yesterday, though." My eyes widen, looking at the screen. "How did you get these?"

"I'm the best at what I do, Stella." He responds cheekily then takes a sip of his beer.

"This is better than I expected, you're amazing, Tej." He blows on his nails and polishes them on his shirt, making me laugh.

"I think I already know the answer to this, but how difficult would it be to move cash, from these accounts?" I ask him.

"Damn Stella, you want to drain his accounts?" He asks surprised, "Thats ruthless but I'm down."

I laugh loudly, shaking my head. "No, no. I don't want his money. I want to give him money."

Tej looks back at me confused. "You want to make him richer?"

"Not exactly. I mean, it will appear as if he is, but only temporarily. I want it to look like he bled out his own partners and associates. I don't want it to be obvious though, at least not at first." I bite my lip, thinking this through. "Can you do that?" I look over at him.

  He gives me a feigned, offended look. "Are you serious?"

"My apologies." I tell him, chuckling.

"When do you want me to start?"

"Give me a couple of weeks. Will that work?"

He nods. "Yes, I'm in town for another project so it's perfect."

"Have you been able to find anything on my friends?" I notice a change in his demeanor. "What is it, Tej?"

"Well, you asked me to keep tabs on any messages going out in the dark web, that could be tied to the hit that Gio put out on you three years ago, remember?" I nod, an unnerving feeling, coming over me.

"It...it looks like they may have gotten your friend...the one from the Irish organization."

My stomach drops.

"I found these last week circulating and I wasn't sure if it was him or not. But maybe you can identify him."

He moves the laptop over to me and I hold my breath, scanning over the pictures. The first picture is of a man tied to a chair. His shirt bloodied and ripped open. He's pant-less and there's black sack over his head hiding his face. The room he's in, is dark and I can barely make out the tattoos on his chest and stomach.

The next picture makes my heart race. I tell myself to calm down, it might not be him. The neck tattoo of a spiderweb looks just like his, though.

But the final picture, is the one that shatters the little hope I had, as I look at Sean's lifeless eyes. His face is bruised and cut up, with a bullet lodged into his forehead.

They got him.

I'm overcome with panic, guilt, pain and fear all at once. The sheer force of it, leaves me breathless.

"Stella, Stella!" I vaguely hear Tej calling for me but I'm covering my ears, to block out the other sounds and voices of everyone I've lost and it just won't stop.

"Stella, just breath, breath. Come on, breath with me." Lucy's soft voice, breaks through. She taking deep breaths and I find myself mimicking her.

"Good, that's it." She rubs my hand, softly. Tears fill her eyes but she blinks them away as she looks at me. She pulls me up, gently as Tej helps her, guiding me to my room.

I'm laid down on my bed and a blanket covers me. Lucy faces me as she holds my hand and strokes my face, gently. "You're okay, Stella. You're safe." She whispers as she wipes the tears from my face.