“They shot Matteo!”
“What? You were supposed to stay in the house!” I scream.
“We had to go to the pharmacy to pick up Nonna’s medication,” Lucia sobs.
“For fucks sake, one of the guards could have done that!” I yell. “Where are you?”
“At the pharmacy on Fourth Street.”
I turn to Dominic. “Drive to the pharmacy on Fourth Street, now please!”
He presses his foot on the gas, maneuvering around the cars like he’s in a race with them.
“Lucia, where is Matteo?” My fingers clutch the phone.
“Matteo couldn’t take it anymore, Cipi! He said he would go get the medication. He said he needed air, he wasn’t going to live like a prisoner. I tried to stop him, but he walked out, so I went with him. We were leaving the pharmacy when a car drove by and shot him. The ambulance is coming…”
“Where is Matteo?” I repeat.
An ambulance siren wails in the distance through the phone.
“What’s that?” Lucia asks.
I hear the sound of a car accelerating.
“Oh no.” Lucia whispers.
“Lucia, get out of there!” I demand.
A sharp scream cuts through the line.
“Lucia!”
“Get away from me!” Lucia screams. “No! Let go of me!”
There’s a scuffle.
Lucia is screaming.
But now the noise sounds muffled.
Then there is a loud thud as the phone drops onto the pavement.
“Lucia!” My hand tightens on the phone.
“Let me go!”
A car door slams.
Tires screech as a car peels away.
Silence.
“Fuck!” I punch the dashboard, tears filling my eyes. “They got Lucia!”
I dial AJ. “AJ! See if you can hack the camera for the pharmacy on Fourth Street and download the footage now!”
Dominic accelerates past traffic.
