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“She told me about the car crash your enemies planned, and the assassin on the motorcycle, and how you came to get her after it was all over.”
Then came the longest pause of all.
“My granddaughter must care about you immensely, Massimo… because she has not spoken to me about it once in the 15 years since it happened.”
My heart both expanded with joy and ached with grief. I realized how much Lucia trusted me… and how much I had failed her by not protecting her.
“I… I didn’t know that.”
The Widow’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Please… bring her back to me.”
“I will,” I promised. “Or I’ll die trying.”
92
Lucia
A mafia goon came running up the stairs to the bell tower.
“Sir, our patrols spotted three speedboats leaving Treporti and heading for Venice. Do you want them to engage?”
My heart skipped a beat.
Both with hope –
And fear.
Massimo’s on one of those boats…
Zollner peered out at the bay through his rifle scope and giggled. “Oh, my – there they are! Full speed ahead!”
“Tell them to attack, but don’t worry if they get to the island,” Aurelio said. “Alert everyone here to get ready.”
The thug nodded, then spoke into his radio as he went back down the stairs.
“Oh, I hope they all make it!” Zollner squealed in excitement. “This is going to be so much FUN!”
93
Massimo
The wind whipped in our faces as the speedboats roared across the water.
We were heading towards the islands of Le Vignole and Sant’Erasmo. The plan was to go between them and then head for San Michele.
Lars was driving the boat I was in. Five men huddled in the seats behind us.
Adriano was piloting another boat with six men, and there was a third boat with the remainder of our guys.
Twenty-three men to take a whole island against a force of God knows how many mercenaries.
Lars’s words echoed in my head:
Odds are they’re in the church on the northwest tip of San Michele. It’s basically a fortress – and the most easily guarded spot on the island.
We can’t attack it directly. That would be suicide. There’s a stone wall surrounding it that we’d have to climb, plus Aurelio’s sure to have at least half his men inside the church. They’d kill us before we could even get out of the boats.
The bell tower next to the church is the highest point on the island, so they’re sure to have a sniper up there. If we get out too close, it’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel for him.
