Eduardo's Dandelion.

16

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Aviva.

I rubbed my arm, as I pulled the blacktop onto my body. It was almost midday and I had taken a long well-deserved shower. Since I had gotten to this fancy mansion j had not seen Eduardo which made me wonder if the man who carried us was an ally or an enemy.

One thing I had learned since I met Eduardo was that there were no good men, all of them were the same that was why I was getting the hell out of LA as soon as all this was over. Eduardo had assured me that it would be.

I pulled on the grey sweatpants and glanced as Eduardo entered the room still in his old clothes, he waited for the other man to leave and approached me.

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern etched on his face, I nodded, glancing at the closed doors.

"What is all this Eduardo? Where are we and who are they?" I asked, quietly. He pulled my hand and made me still on the soft bed. God the place was so nice. The bed had a huge white and cream duvet and pink linen and cream sheets.

"They are my allies, Rio has been destroying a lot of their business, something he is not a fan of. He saved me to make sure I get rid of him."

My mouth opened, "And if you don't?" that was a silly question that I should not have asked. I kept my mouth shut realizing what I said.

"I will get rid of Rio," he assured me but I looked away. Everything we have been through and finally it was over.

"You said your men were going to be here today?"

"They are, we will need a lot of backup, with what I have seen. A war like this is going to take a lot out of us, I need to be prepared."

I nodded, "So what do we do while we are here? I do not want to be around more of you..." I stopped trying to be polite but I could not find it within me.

"Do not worry, I will fly you out as soon as it is safe enough, I will get you a phone so you can call your family members to make sure they know you are safe."

"Did you not say communicating with them could risk their lives, I do not want that."

"I will make nothing happen to them," he assured me again and squeezed my good hand. "In the meantime," he pulled me into the bathroom, and I opened my mouth to object to whatever he was about to pull, what the heck?

He switched on the shower and the tap and turned to me, "There might be allies but we are not friends, Marco Mancini is the head of the Cosa Nostra, he is head of his family and respect is paramount. We are guests here until we are not. They are fast and efficient, guns will be everywhere and do not go anywhere out of curiosity. I say this for your good, I noticed you do not like to see blood."

"I..."

"Listen! There are no exits out of here, one single mistake and a bullet will be put through your skull, These are dangerous and capable men and you cannot test them. I will protect you to the extent that I can but I am also vulnerable at the moment. They know it and using it to their advantage will not be unsurprising."

I swallowed as all the warnings sank in. This man felt very terrified, I did not want to be there. Around those men that killed for a living, I rubbed my eyes, trying to start calm.

"We will be out of here by this evening, Benito will arrange proper accommodation for us. We will not have to go back to the street again but before that, be careful."

****
'Be careful.'

Eduardo's words were ringing in my head as I followed a younger maid toward a garden, this place was bigger than the outside had let on. I walked around for minutes trying to get to the garden.