Page 273 of Marcello

Cesare scowled –

But he lowered the gun.

THANK you, God.

I exhaled in relief.

However, Cesare wasn’t done being a psychopathic asshole.

He squatted down and hissed in the pregnant woman’s ear, “Tell your husband Cesare Caproni sends his regards.”

And like the worthless piece of shit he was, he spat in her face.

“Let’s go,” he ordered as he walked out of the room. “Serpente, Guercio, Cinghiale, Mangiavatt – cover us!”

I gave one fleeting look back at the pregnant woman.

We locked eyes –

And the look she gave me would haunt me for the rest of my life.

I grabbed Lucrezia’s arm and hustled her along. We followed Cesare as he ran towards another set of stairs at the far end of the hallway.

That was when the first shots rang out behind us.

I pushed Lucrezia into the stairwell and glanced back.

There they were, at the far end of the hallway: Dario Rosolini, the Swede, and another guy.

And they were cutting down our men in a hail of lead.

Serpente and Mangiavatt were already dead, and were quickly followed by Guercio and Cinghiale.

I ran down the stairwell as fast as I could –

But Cesare paused just beside the doorway, out of harm’s way, and howled with laughter.

“I DID THIS TO YOU, DARIO ROSOLINI! ME – CESARE CAPRONI!”

Then he slammed the door and bounded down the steps after me.

88

Lucrezia, Cesare, and I exited the hospital through a side door.

The street leading to the parking deck was right in front of us. Beyond that was a patch of grass, a sidewalk, and a mostly empty road. A car drove by maybe every five or six seconds.

Cesare started for the front of the hospital, then realized Lucrezia and I were headed in the opposite direction. “Where are you going?!”

“Our SUV windshield is shot up,” I yelled, “and the others are all locked.”

I didn’t bother to mention that Ciro was dead. I didn’t care to explain that one.

“Well, go get the keys, then!”

“They’re up there!” I snapped, pointing at the third floor of the hospital.

“Somebody took all the getaway drivers with him,” Lucrezia sneered, “and now we don’t have a car.”