I was planting more flowers in the front yard when Alvaro splashed my head with a water balloon. I shrieked at the icy cold water and laughed my heart out.

It had been a week since Dexter lost all his supporters and investors, and he even tried to reach out to me to "apologize" so he could get money. I blocked all of his access. He was dead to me.

A new slate begins now.

Things had been relatively quiet around here. Izan told me to take a week off from my job, and I didn't object. I was too mentally exhausted to argue with him. I needed a break.

"Oh, you're so going to get it!" I smiled at Alvaro and saw the balloons in a bucket near Vivian's chair. She was laughing and videotaping us. I didn't mind. I was happy. I felt like a child with no worries again. Like my life was finally falling into place.

Alvaro jumped when he saw me running toward him, determined to win this fight.

We played for an hour until we were both panting on the floor, wet and filled with mud. I had never felt more liberated.

"You both need a shower," Vivian commented. We stared at her and shared a knowing look. She paled, understanding our intentions, and started walking back toward the house. But we beat her to it and threw balloons at her clothes.

"All of us need to shower now," I corrected her, and she joined in. We played war games for another half an hour.

Our game was cut short when a black Cadillac parked in the driveway. We didn't recognize it, and the windows were tinted, so we didn't see who was inside.

Something is off.

"Alvaro, come here," Vivian firmly said as she hid her son behind her. I quickly grabbed the shovel I was using for my flowers and held it defensively.

Izan was at one of the offices, working on mafia business with the rest. Vivian and I were on our own to fend for ourselves and Alvaro. I was stronger than before, but I didn't know if I could beat a full-grown man yet.

After a few minutes of complete silence and sweating our butts off, waiting for an attack, a very buffy man got out of the car.

He was huge.

Yep, we're dead.

So motivational, Verena.

"Stop right there," I demanded loud and clear. The man stopped walking and stared at us for a moment. "Who are you?" I asked, urging him to identify himself instead of standing like a dumb statue. I was ready to die for them, but I wouldn't go without a fight.

"Vivian, take Alvaro and enter the house. Go call Izan," I whispered, and her eyes widened. She wanted to object, but I glared at her and pointed to the man's gun. She knew Alvaro was our main priority now. I ushered her to enter, and she did.

I focused back on the man who was narrowing his eyes. "Is this Izan Guerrero's house?" His voice was gruff and deep, making me think of the homeless man I met a few days ago who was smoking crack.

Great, another crackhead.

And he's ugly.

Not his face.

He has a normal face, but his aura and vibes are sickening.

Focus Verena.

I tightened my grip on the shovel. "Who's asking?"

"A messenger. I have an envelope for Mr. Guerrero, and he needs to read it as soon as possible. My boss doesn't like to wait." His accent was familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

He wanted to come closer, but I stepped forward. "If you take another step, I will shove this shovel right up your butt, and you won't be able to sleep for a year," I threatened, not showing any fear. I needed to protect Vivian and Alvaro.

The man raised his hands in the air with the envelope. He sighed. "Fine, I'll place it on the ground here. You can take it after I leave." He did as he said and walked back to his car.

"Who's your boss?" I asked, and he looked back at me with a grin.

"You will know soon enough. Goodbye for now," he replied and drove away like he was never here. I stared at the envelope for a minute until I snapped out of my trance.

I dropped the shovel, grabbed the glove I used for gardening, and held the ominous delivery.

I watched way too many Criminal Minds episodes to just grab a foreign item with my bare hands.

It could be poisoned.

Even the big man was wearing black gloves.

"Verena," Vivian called, and I walked in, dirtying the floors along the way. Izan would have to clean it later. It was his turn since we agreed not to hire a cleaner when we could do it ourselves. "What's that?" she asked, drying Alvaro's hair.

"I don't know, but he said it's for Izan. Did you call him?"

She nodded. "He's almost here-" On cue, the door burst open, and Izan and Marco rushed in. Both were shocked at the sight of us. We were filled with mud and wet, but that was the least of our concerns.

"Are you okay?" Izan asked us as he cupped my cheeks. He looked at Vivian and Alvaro, and we nodded.

He was worried, but I smiled to lessen his worry.

"We are. The man was just a messenger, and this was left for you." I held the envelope. "Just wear a glove. We don't know if it's poisoned or not," I told him as I took off my glove and handed it to him.

Marco kissed Vivian on the head and ruffled Alvaro's hair. He helped him take off his shirt since it was way too heavy with water.

"Let's go take a shower, Alvaro." Vivian smiled, and Alvaro jumped from the counter and ran to one of the bathrooms upstairs. I told her to wear something from my closet, and she thanked me for the freaking bare minimum. Alvaro had spare clothes in Izan's closet since he visited us often.

"Open it!" I ushered, my curiosity killing me. Marco chuckled as I shivered, and my teeth were shattering on each other. It was mid-August, and it was way too hot outside, but the air conditioners were on full blast, and my wet clothes were icy cold.

Izan wrapped a clean towel around my shoulders and kissed my forehead since it was the cleanest part of my body. "Did you get a name?" he asked me, and I shook my head.

He opened the envelope, and it had a letter in it. His brows were clamped together as he was trying his best to read it. "I think this is in Swedish." He opened it for me to read.

Perks of having a multilingual in the house.

Make way for the greatest.

I got closer and scanned the letter. My eyes widened when I read every single word, and I felt sick to my stomach. "Yeah, it's in Swedish..."

So much for feeling liberated.

"What does it say?" Marco asked, and Izan waited for me to translate.

I cleared my throat and read my translation of it. "Mr. Guerrero, I admire your tactics to ruin Dexter Amaryllis, and I would have congratulated you if you did not harm me in the process. Because of your bravado, I lost hundreds of millions of dollars since Dexter was one of my partners." I took a breath and shook my head. He was still causing us trouble even after he lost everything. "Take this as a breach of contract, and we are no longer partners in the casino in Sweden. War is coming," I finished translating and sighed.

For God's sake, we can't take a break.

"That son of a bitch," Izan cursed, rubbing a hand on his face. Marco was not pleased either. I doubted breaking the partnership would make a dent in Izan's bank account, but the way this was being played was awful.

"Who is he exactly? What's his name?" I asked, ready to jump into another universe and disappear. I wanted to sleep and wake up on an isolated Island filled with flowers. Izan could come.

Izan let go of the letter and took the glove off. He washed his hands, and I did the same. I forgot to do so earlier because of everything that had happened. "Axel Berg, the Swedish Mafia boss. You know about our partnership. Remember, you even declined their offer to force people to have sex in the casino."

I shuddered in disgust. "Right! Repulsive fellas. What are we going to do?"

"We need the Italian Mafia's help. We can't face this alone. The Swedish Mafia wasn't as powerful as our Mafias, but they had more manpower. They outnumber us, but if we combine the two Mafias, we will beat wipe them out," Izan explained, and my eyes widened.

"Does that mean we're going to Italy?" I asked, excited to see Jolene and Dario again.

"We're going to Italy."

~~~

After I took a long shower and thought about our trip to Italy, I got dressed for bed and literally jumped on Izan. He was lying on his stomach, so he didn't see me coming, and I laughed when he groaned in pain.

"Fucking hell, you almost broke my spine!" He grumbled and flipped us over so he was on top of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"Don't be such a baby. You always tell me I barely weigh anything," I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled. He kissed my nose, as per usual, and I smiled.

"Te amo, amor," he said out of nowhere, and my smile widened.

"I love you, baby," I whispered in his left ear. I read an article about it. Confessing one's love in the left ear had a greater impact on the person receiving the confession. It was probably true because his cheeks were tinted red, and he buried his face in the crook of my neck.

Such an adorable Mafia boss.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm great," I replied as I played with his hair.

He looked back at me and shook his head. "I mean, how are you feeling after Heath's death and Dexter's demise? You never talk about it, and I want to hear your thoughts."

I never actually allowed myself to overthink it. I didn't want to.

I shoved my emotions at the back of my head, away from the world.

I didn't want to appear weak.

"Vera, talk to me. Amor, I'll listen," he kissed my lips gently and rubbed his hand on my waist. "I'm here, always."

I couldn't find the words as the gate to my emotions and thoughts opened.

I finally allowed myself to let go, and my tears were like rivers down my cheeks. "Let it all out," he whispered as he embraced me tightly. I wailed harder at his words.

Crying wasn't on my to-do list for the day.

But I couldn't pretend anymore.

It was too tiring.

And today's threat was just the cherry on top. I wanted to live peacefully and happily with my people, but that could never happen with the Mafia. I would have to learn to live with it someday, but for now, I just let myself be selfish and cried more.

"I promise to do my best to let you live as comfortably as possible, but I don't know if peace is an option. I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety and happiness, amor. I want you to lean on me from time to time. I'm here for you. I will always be here for you. Now, and until forever. I'm here."

I cried myself to sleep that night without saying anything, but I knew I was never going to be alone again.

After five months of staying here, I finally realized I was not alone.

~~~ 

21.02.2024 

I love Izan! 

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