Ihad to control my own breathing.
Putting a bullet in her little blonde head and finishing what Senator Jones started was the right thing to do. She got into the wrong car on the wrong night. I didn't leave witnesses; it wasn't a luxury I could afford. But what had that tiny, brainless thing done? She ran toward me, clinging to my chest as if I’d just saved her.
No, it wasn't like that.
After I grabbed Madeleine Jones from behind, I forced her to shoot herself in the temple with her own gun. I had the perfect opportunity to make her execution look like a suicide, and I took it, that's all. I had no talent for heroism, nor any desire for it.
“Thank you for saving me,” the tiny woman sobbed in her thick Southern accent. Her voice reminded me of the singer Dolly Parton.
It was such a shame she had to die.
Pushing her away with a simple shove, I watched as she fell backwards. Confusion and tears mixed on her face when she sat up, leaning on her forearms, trying to understand what was happening. Certainly, realizing that she was far from being safe.
I stepped forward, stopping over her body, one foot on either side of her hips. I pointed Madeleine Jones’ gun at her foolish little face, shadowed by the night, but not enough to hide her features.
“You're going to kill me.” It wasn't a question. She was just stating what was going to happen next.
I nodded. “È vero.” I admitted, crouching over her body, focusing on her confused face, her half-open lips as her breath came in short gasps. “It was a terrible night to accept a ride, Signorina Parker.”
Even with her back to the moon, I could see as her eyes widen.
“The FBI agent...” she gasped.
I laughed, a low but sincere sound. “No, Signorina Parker. I'm not an FBI agent.” I replied, brushing her bangs away from her face with the tip of the gun. “But since the dead are excellent at keeping secrets, I'll tell you one...” I muttered, amused by the confusion still dancing across her face, by the way her delicate body trembled beneath mine. "I'm a businessman, but not thekind you're used to. My società is what people in your world call themafia, and unfortunately, your late boyfriend’s mother was becoming a nuisance to my business and had to be silenced. You're just in the wrong place. I hope you understand that it's just the cost of doing business."
I got up slowly and saw her nod her head. Standing over her again, I pointed the gun, surprised to see her lower herself. She laid completely on the ground, her face now devoid of emotion. Her hands rested on her chest, too relaxed for someone about to die. Even her breathing had slowed down, becoming disturbingly calm.
Lingering over her, the gun still pointed at her head, I didn’t recognize the tightness in my gut. There was something too strange about the American woman. Strange enough to make my finger hesitate on the trigger, and it never hesitated. That's when I realized, thanks to the moon now bathing her entire face, the splendor of her small eyes.
They were green, but not like mine. Not like anyone I knew. They had a deep, vivid tone, where yellow and green mingled and vibrated simultaneously.
The color of peridots.
The image of the Vicari women's ring appeared before my eyes. Memories of the rectangular stone sparkling on my mother's finger shook my mind like an avalanche, followed by her advice and warnings. The past came rushing back in a fraction of a second…
I moved away from Daisy Parker.
Inspecting the scene, I realized it would be impossible to justify another death. Senator Jones would be ruled a suicide. The quick way I grabbed her arm and made her shoot herself in the head, the angle of the bullet, was the almost perfect crime. However, if I executed Signorina Parker and they investigated her body, they would realize she died later, which would drastically change the situation.
I didn't need any more trouble with the American police, but leaving witnesses behind was out of the question.
“Get up.” I growled, seeing her still lying there. “I said get up.” I grunted and saw her blink and slowly rise.
Dio, it was impossible to look more clueless than she did at that moment.
“But—I thought—”
“Change of plans. You're not going to die. At least, not here.” I growled again and she just nodded. “But if you don't want me to change my mind, you'd better do as I say.”
She stood up, trembling, and I thought she was going to fall at any moment. Carefully, without taking my eyes off her for a single moment, I crouched down next to Senator Jones's body. I removed the bullets from the gun and let it fall slowly, near her legs. In a suicide, it would make sense for the gun to fall near the body, creating impact marks on the floor.
I stood up, putting the bullets in my pocket. There was no need to put them back in the gun; it wouldn't change the situation much.
Before moving away from the body, I scuffed the ground, erasing any footprints, and approached Daisy, standing with her arms wrapped around herself, trembling.
I hadn't yet decided how to get rid of her. Or when.
“Andiamo,” I grunted, pushing her toward my vehicle.
