Kara swallowed hard and stood up.
The man she assumed was Angelo’s father came forward. “Are you Kara? The one who called us?”
“Yes, I’m Kara Gallagher.”
“Kara…” The man’s voice held a hint of Italian, faint but definitely there. “And you are Angelo’s… fiancée?”
She never should’ve said that. But if she hadn’t, she might have had to talk to the police, and she couldn’t have kept her promise to stay with him. And who knew how long it would be before someone contacted his parents? Now what was she supposed to do?
Thinking quick, but not thinking straight, she replied, “Yes… I’m so sorry he didn’t tell you about us. Our relationship is reallynew. And our engagement is a still a bit unofficial.” That would help explain why she didn’t have a ring on her finger. Later, when she knew Angelo was going to be okay, she would find a way to fade into the background and never be seen again.
The parents exchanged a glance and then Angelo’s mother was suddenly hugging Kara tightly.
“Oh…you are so beautiful. Think of the beautiful littlenipotinithey will have, Matteo.” The woman was grinning, now, wiping away her tears but Kara could see how worried she was.
“Yes, yes,” Matteo said, but he focused on Kara. “What happened to our boy? You said he was hurt? How?”
“We were leaving the soup kitchen and a man tried to grab my purse. Angelo fought him and… he was stabbed.”
Angelo’s mother paled.
“Stabbed?” The man she assumed was Angelo’s brother now stepped forward.
“Yes. I kept pressure on the wound and called 911. We came straight here.”
“Were you hurt, Kara?” Matteo asked.
“No, not really,” she reassured them.
“But your hands…” Matteo gestured to her hands. She glanced down at the blood staining her fingers and palms. She kept forgetting she was covered in Angelo’s blood. The blood of their son.
“I’m all right, I promise.”
“And Angelo?” his mother asked. “Is he all right?”
“Angelo is in surgery. I haven’t heard any updates yet.”
Angelo’s mother put an arm around her. “Let’s wash the blood off your hands.”
“Wait,” Angelo’s brother said, looking at Kara. “Have you talked to the police yet?”
She shook her head, and fresh fear crept back under her skin. The police. She couldn’t talk to the police… but she had to now. There was no way to get out of it without lying, and she’d lied enough to today.
The younger man offered her a tense smile. “I’m Dante, Angelo’s brother. This is my wife, Alessia.” He nodded at the woman standing at his side who smiled in sympathy. “These are my parents, Matteo and Francesca.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Kara said, her tongue a bit tied by the unexpected introductions.
“Right. Let me find the police. They usually have someone working in the building.” Dante was gone for only a minute. When he returned, he had an officer with him. “I told him what happened and how you came here with Angelo in the ambulance.”
The officer looked at her, his eyes gentle. “I heard the call on the radio. I’m glad I can get your statement. Do you mind stepping into the hall with me, ma’am?”
She swallowed hard and nodded, following him into the whitewashed hospital hallway.
He pulled out his notepad and clicked open a pen. “What’s your name?”
Her mother’s voice screamed in her head to lie about anything she was asked, but she couldn’t. They’d check her current fake ID. She’d get caught now if she tried. “Kara… Gallagher.” Gallagher was the latest fake last name she went by. She had a name changing protocol, using Kara only once every few years since it was her real first name.
“All right, Kara. What happened tonight?” he asked her.
