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“Enough of this,” Julian said. “If you sign these papers, we’ll make sure your mom walks free and we’ll leave you alone for the rest of your lives.”
“However short they may be,” Bautista said.
“Make them show her,” Luca whispered in my ear.
“I want to see her,” I said.
“I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Julian said.
“Push,” Luca whispered.
“I have to make sure she’s okay,” I said. “I need you to show me that she’s okay. I can’t just… just trust you people.”
“I understand your position,” Julian said. “But I also know that you didn’t really come here alone. I don’t know where they are, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the Leone are around here somewhere. They might even be listening in right now.”
“Keep pushing,” Luca whispered. “We need her.”
“Of course they’re here,” I said. “I’m not stupid enough to come without them. But we have a deal and they can go fuck themselves. The only thing I want is my mother.”
Julian laughed. “Where are they?”
“Rooftops,” I said.
Julian glanced at Bautista and nodded. Bautista walked away and took out a phone. He called someone, spoke rapid-fire Spanish, nodded back at Julian.
“Okay then,” Julian said. “You were honest with us, yeah?”
“I was honest,” I said.
“Good,” Luca whispered. “Good girl.” His voice was crooning, calming.
“Then come sign the papers.”
“Bring my mother out here, right now, and I’ll sign.”
“We can go in circles all night,” Julian said.
“I gave you something. Now you give me something. That’s how negotiations work. If you can’t come here and meet me halfway in good faith, then I’ll walk away and let you and the Leone family shoot at each other. Honestly, that would probably be the best-case scenario for me.”
Julian stared at me, and I swear, my knees were shaking.
But I felt strangely in control. Like I was finally at a point where I’d do anything, truly do anything, and nothing else mattered. Even if these three men would kill me, and I was sure that they would, it just didn’t affect anything I was going to say or do.
In the end, I had to save my mother. That was all that mattered.
“Fine,” Julian said, and snapped his fingers at Bautista, who took out his phone again, made another call, hung it up.
“They’re moving,” Luca whispered. “Car doors opening. I see her right now.”
I almost answered. I really almost answered, my mouth opened, I was on the verge of speaking, but then I shut my mouth before the words could come out. I was sure they noticed, sure they saw that little lapse, but they didn’t mention anything.
We stood in silence for two minutes, until my mother appeared around the corner, shepherded by two bald men with no necks and dark jackets. She started running toward me when they reached the parking lot, but one of them grabbed her elbow.
“Mom,” I said. “Mom, are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
“No,” she said, glaring back at her captives. “They didn’t hurt me, because they don’t want to make their mothers ashamed of them.”
One bald monster rolled his eyes.
“We’re not unreasonable men,” Julian said. “We didn’t beat her, didn’t hurt her. We will though, certainly we will, but it didn’t come to that. We’re happier for it, I think we’re all happier for it.”
“What now?” I asked, but I wasn’t talking to Julian.
“Getting into position,” Luca whispered, and I heard a bit of static over the line as he began to move. “Stall them.”
“Now you sign,” Julian said. “We make it nice and official. Then you walk away with your mother. Your life won’t have changed at all, and nobody got hurt. All very civilized.”
I took a step forward. Julian opened the briefcase again and offered it to me.
I took it, put it on the ground, and knelt in front of it.
He leaned down, looking over my shoulder. I found a pen tucked into a little pocket, took it out, clicked it open, then began to skim the first page.
“Don’t read it,” Julian said, his voice soft, his breath warm on my neck. “Don’t waste your time. Just sign the fucking thing.”
“I’m not letting you take more than you’re owed,” I said. “So unless you want me to get a lawyer to go through this, you better let me read it.”
He chuckled darkly, but didn’t argue.
The lawyer-speak flowered in front of my eyes and made no sense.
It didn’t matter. I skimmed, kept skimming, pretended to go through it. I initialed the first page, flipped it, read on.
As far as I could tell, it wanted me to sell my soul and my firstborn child.
“Another minute,” Luca whispered, sounding distant. “Just hold on.”
“What does this mean?” I said, jabbing the pen at a random clause.
Julian grabbed the paper from my hand and held it inches from his nose. He squinted, shook his head, shoved it back at me.
