Sincerely, Yours

Chapter 7

The last few days had been hectic. German would be in and out of the house. Kassandra spent all day in the pool or reading in the library. Mariano would never leave her side. That night, Kassandra waited for German in the dining room. He was later than usual, she was starting to get worried. She stood up and paced around the room. Mariano poked his head in. "He's not at the club, miss." He said.

"Where can he be? He doesn't answer his phone either."

"The driver said he dropped him off at the club this evening and he sent him home, telling him not to wait for him."

There was a noise outside the house. Kassandra looked out the window as Mariano rushed and pushed her behind him. A car screeched at the front gate, the back door opened and a body was pushed outside the car. Then the car took off.

"Is that German?" Kassandra asked, running towards the front door. Mariano quickly catched up to her and pulled her back.

"You can't go outside, miss. Let his men go check." He said, motioning to the two men standing by the door.

The men opened the door and ran outside. Kassandra tried to look over Mariano's shoulder. "This is killing me, Mariano."

"Try to stay calm."

After what seemed like hours, the two men returned carrying a body and placing it on the floor in front of them. Kassandra shrieked. "German! What have they done to you?" She quickly kneeled next to him. His face was bruised and bloodied. "Wake up!" She shook him.

"Miss, let them put him in bed so the doctor can come and check him." Mariano pulled her up. "I'm on the phone with him, he should be here in the next few minutes."

The men picked up German and went up the stairs. Kassandra pushed Mariano aside and ran up the stairs after them. She opened the door for them and pulled the sheets down so they could lay him in bed. She slowly took his bloodied shirt off. There were bruises all over his chest and back. She heard him grunt.

"German?"

He slowly opened his eyes and smiled up at her. "Hey, you." He slowly lifted his arm and caressed her face. "Why do you look so sad?"

"Look at you. What happened?"

"This is nothing. Just a scratch." He said, trying to sit up, but winced in pain.

"This is not just a scratch, German! Who did this to you?"

The door flew open and a short balding man walked in with a bag. "Miss, could you wait outside, please." The man told her.

"No, I'm staying right here."

"Kass, listen to the doctor and go wait outside. I'll be alright. Mariano! Please, can you take Kass outside?" He called the big man. Mariano walked into the room and looked at Kassandra.

"Miss? You still haven't eaten today. I suggest you come and grab a bite to eat while the doctor checks on Mr. Rios."

"Fine, but after, you're going to tell me everything, okay?" She said, getting off the bed and walking outside.

She went down to the kitchen and took a few bites from the food the cook served her. Was this what Carlo meant with war? They could've killed German tonight.

She was lost in her thoughts, when the doctor called her. "Miss?"

"Yes, how is he?"

"He is going to be fine. I cleaned his wounds. He might have a fractured rib. So he needs lots of rest. No extraneous activities, no heavy lifting. These are some painkillers, if he needs them." He said, handing her a medicine bottle.

"Thank you, doctor."

"You can go in now, he's calling for you."

Kassandra quickly went up the stairs towards the room. She slowly entered the room and found German propped up in the bed. "How are you feeling?" She said walking towards the bed.

"Hurting a bit." He said while she handed him the bottle of pills. "Thanks. I'm sorry you have to see me like this."

"What's going on, German? Who did this to you?"

"Carlo's men. We are at war, Kass. It's serious."

She went and laid next to him. He pulled her towards him, placing her head on his lap and stroking her hair. "I'm scared. When I saw you tonight I thought the worst."

"I'm so sorry, Kass. I wish you weren't involved in this. Now you understand why I wanted to keep you away from this."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Kass. But my main thing is to keep you safe."

"What about you, German? You were almost killed!"

"I'm fine. He knows that if he kills me it's going to be worse for him."

"What if you agree to his deal? Is it too late?"

"That's never going to happen, okay?"

"What is the deal, anyway? Maybe I can understand."

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay."

And they laid like that until they fell asleep. Later that night the doorbell started ringing. "Who could that be?" German asked, trying to get up.

"German, don't move. You can hurt yourself. I'll go check."

"No! Stay here. Mariano will come."

There was a knock on their door. "Sir, it's Mr. Mills. Something happened." Mariano said, opening the door as Robert ran inside. He was covered in soot.

"Robert! What happened to you?" Kassandra asked, getting up and running towards him.

"There was an accident, Kassie." He said between coughs.

"What happened?" German asked.

"Mom stayed home tonight because she wasn't feeling well. I left work early to go check on her, something didn't feel right. As I neared the house I could see the fire."

"Fire? What fire, Robert?"

"The house, Kassie. The house was engulfed in fire."

"But mom got out on time, right? How is she?"

Robert dropped to the floor and shook his head. He started looking at his hands and started crying. "She's gone, Kassie. I tried to go in, but the fire... it destroyed the house."

"No! You're lying, Robert. Mom is fine." She cried kneeling next to Robert and hitting his chest. He grabbed her tight against her struggles and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry, Kassie. I tried to save her but it was too late." Both of them cried as German and Mariano looked at each other.