Page 242 of Marcello

“I’ll bring you one,” I promised. “Stay close so you can hear me when I come back.”

I started to go, then turned back to her.

“Look – I know this is a horrible situation, but I swear to God, I’m the same guy I was yesterday and the day before that. I’m sorry this is happening, but I love you – and I’m going to get you out of here.”

She just looked at me with pure hatred.

I guess I’d probably look at her the same way if she’d shown up with a bunch of thugs to kill MY family.

“Hide,” I begged her, then turned and ran down the corridor.

75

Giulietta

Ifelt like I was losing my fucking mind.

Romeo was in the Camorra!

He said he loved me –

Even though he’d brought a bunch of gangsters here to kill my family!

But he helped you hide, a voice whispered in my head. He’s trying to keep you safe.

Plus, Romeo said he’d been forced to join the Camorra by Fausto Rosolini, who had threatened to kill Romeo’s family if he didn’t become a mole.

Can you really blame him? Wouldn’t you have done the same?

And Romeo didn’t know Papa was in the Cosa Nostra –

Because YOU didn’t fucking TELL him.

I wanted to curse and cry and protest that Romeo didn’t tell me he was in the Camorra –

But I always came back to the same point.

If I had just been honest with him from the beginning, none of this would have ever happened.

Romeo could have warned my father what was about to happen…

Papa could have convinced Fausto to let Romeo off the hook…

And we would all be safe.

So, in a way, it’s all YOUR fault this is happening.

I didn’t want to believe that was true –

But that didn’t matter to the vicious little voice in my head.

I couldn’t deal with that, though.

I had to hide, and quick.

I reached out for the wall in the pitch black.

I felt the smooth stones and rough, crumbling mortar beneath my fingertips.