Page 131 of Beni

“Yes?”

“She’ll understand. If not her, then Tommaso. I have to—”

“Don’t hang up the phone!”

“It’s that, or he dies.”

He didn’t give August the chance to choose, however, before he simply hung up the phone. She stared at the dead device in her hands for what felt like eons, although it might have only been a few seconds at the most.

Her heart was gone.

That was the problem.

It disappeared.

Turned to dust.

Apparently, it was that moment that Camilla decided to come and find August. How long had she been gone from the movie, now?

Fifteen minutes, or so.

Too long for the bathroom break she had claimed to her friend so that she wouldn’t follow her, and she could make that call to Beni.

“Aug—”

Camilla didn’t even get to push the door open all the way, or finish whatever it was she wanted to say before August spun to face her. Maybe it was the absolute terror in her eyes that did it, or the lack of color to her skin. It could have been the fact that she was still holding that dead phone in her shaking hands like she couldn’t let it go because her life depended on it.

It felt exactly like that.

Whatever it was that her friend saw, Camilla knew right away. Something was wrong. So very fucking wrong.

“What happened?” Camilla asked, rushing into the bathroom.

“He was shot.”

“What?”

“Beni was shot.”

Camilla’s hands landed to her arms, grabbing tight before she shook her just hard enough that her hazy vision cleared of tears that threatened to fall. “August, stop mumbling.”

“Beni was shot!”

That made Camilla freeze.

“When?”

“Just n-now—or a couple minutes ago. Joe said a clinic, o-or something … I don’t k-know what he m-means.”

Great.

Now her fucking teeth were chattering.

Shock was a bitch.

Camilla hugged August tight, arms locking around her like bars to stop the sudden shivers that raced through her body. “It’s all right … it’ll be fine. We’ll call Tommaso, okay? He’ll know what they’re going to do.”

But would it make a difference?