My own eyes began to droop when a soft knock sounded. The door opened without a word from me, so I knew it could only be Nestore. I peered toward the door. He stood in the doorway and regarded me with a pensive expression. He had gotten rid of the bone crown and bone knife and wore clean black pants and combat boots.
“I’m leaving for the airport now,” he said quietly.
“Flavia will be upset. Don’t be too hard on her.”
Nestore’s brows snatched together. “I saved her son, and I’ll let her live in a splendid townhouse near you. She’ll be safe, and money won’t be an issue. I don’t see how that constitutes being hard on someone.”
I smiled at him. “I just mean…” I sighed. “Try to be… kind.”
Nestore raised his brows. “That’s something I’m not very good at.”
“Sometimes you are kind to me.”
He tilted his head, the tendons in his hand holding the doorknob tensed. “You are the exception to everything.”
I swallowed at the look of adoration in his eyes, which quickly morphed to anger.
He turned and left, closing the door almost noiselessly.
Luciano stirred but didn’t wake. I stared for a while at the spot where Nestore had been, then lay my head back down on the pillow and closed my eyes. I didn’t turn the lights off. In the beginning, after I escaped from the basement, I had preferred to wake to a brightly lit room, and sometimes I still did.
Niccolo slanted me a searching look when I sank into the passenger seat with a deep breath. It wasn’t exhaustion that made me long for bed. But having seen Amelia hold the little boy, I had wished to feel her body against mine. Nothing calmed me like her presence. Hardly anything managed to rile me up like she did either.
“The police shot the male chimp when he attacked their cars, and the female chimp drowned when she tried to attack a Coast Guard boat,” Niccolo said as he steered the car away from the mansion.
I nodded. I hadn’t expected the chimps to survive. They had suffered in captivity, but they had been too traumatized for a life anywhere else. At least, now they had peace and got some revenge on humans before they moved on to the afterlife. “Any survivors?”
Niccolo scoffed. “The three bodies were nearly unrecognizable when the police recovered them. The chimps ate their faces off and ripped them apart.”
I smirked. That was the outcome I had hoped for.
“They’ll link it to us. They always know the craziest shit comes from us.”
“They won’t do anything about it.”
Niccolo huffed. “Remo will have some questions for you.”
“He wants me to spread fear, to act worthy of the name Madman, and I do. He’ll be happy I got rid of our enemies.”
“He won’t be happy we can’t question them anymore.”
I shrugged. “It got out of hand. He knows me.”
“Yeah, and I’m still surprised he never punishes you. You’re like his favorite pet.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You know what I mean.”
“I’ll simply pretend you didn’t compare me to a pet.”
Niccolo sighed. “He’ll know you did it for her.”
My hands curled into a fist. “I did it for her, but I also contained a threat to the Camorra. Remo will be pleased.”
“Everyone sees you’re different with her. Don’t you worry that Remo will think she’s too powerful?”
“Remo and I talked about Amelia, and he’s decided to accept my bond with her.”
