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Sabina’s vision narrowed to Lorenzo. She couldn’t have given any other description of the scene. There was only him, once again caught in a hail of bullets because his stupid, noble heart didn’t want to see anyone else get hurt. What if this time it killed him?
For the first time in her life, fear didn’t render her motionless; it spurred her into action. She flew down the alley, oblivious to the gunfire. “Enzo!” she cried, and then cried it again.
He looked up, mouthed something she couldn’t hear. Terror filled his eyes, and he lurched forward, but Roman held him back, kept him behind the stack of boxes.
A different sound pierced the air. Still a bullet, but not as wild as a Betsy. Short. Loud. Effective. Silence immediately followed. She pulled to a halt only steps away from Lorenzo. She looked to the building, where the new shot had originated.
Papa still had his hand raised, his lips pulled back in a snarl. “You do not.” Bang. “Shoot.” Bang. “At my children!” Bang, bang, bang.
With each bullet, she flinched, shuddered, swallowed down bile. A Betsy clattered to the ground. Seconds later a figure slumped over it. The dirty cop, she was pretty sure.
“Bean.” Lorenzo’s arms closed around her before she was even aware he had moved. She buried her face in his chest and clung. Her eyes closed, every sound in the alley intensified.
Sally darted behind them, aimed at Roman. Tony spoke, obviously addressing Papa. “I’m sorry. Enzo was in the way, and—”
“You think you need to apologize for not shooting your brother?” Papa cursed and fired another round into the corpse.
“We’ll take care of him now,” Tony said.
Roman’s curse echoed Papa’s. Sabina pulled her face up so she could look at him over Lorenzo’s shoulder. He didn’t even seem to have heard Tony. Incredulous, he stared at Sally. “You mean to tell me all this is for nothing? He didn’t even do it?”
Papa tore his gaze away from the body and aimed it at the pile of boxes. Bloodlust still colored his eyes, but contemplation narrowed them. “You care to explain that outburst, O’Reilly?”
Roman cursed again. “You didn’t kill Eddie.”
“I could have told you that, had you ever bothered to ask and been willing to listen.” Papa finally lowered the arm holding the gun, and he lowered it right in front of Tony. A barricade.
He turned his gaze on Sabina and Lorenzo. He was angry, that was obvious. But it was tempered by the rush of fear for them. “I’m assuming the two of you didn’t show up by happenstance. This cop means that much to you, Bina?”
Her arms tightened around Lorenzo, and she shook her head. “He doesn’t, Papa. You do. I don’t want him dead, but more, I don’t want you to be guilty of his death. I love you too much. And Tony and Val.”
A low growl sounded from Papa’s throat. His head angled, and he swallowed hard. Without looking away from her, he aimed his words at Roman. “O’Reilly. If I let you live…”
“I’m done.” A glance at Roman proved his face matched the crisp tone of his voice. “Call me what you want, but I’m an honest cop. You didn’t kill him, I’m not going to frame it to look like you did. It was one of Torrio’s boys.”
Tony lurched forward, but Papa pushed him back. “Sabina, Enzo, escort him from the boxes, please, so I can look at his face and he can be assured Tony’s not going to shoot him.”
Lorenzo guided Sabina forward with a protective arm around her. Into her ear, he whispered, “You ever scare me like that again, I’ll lock you in the apartment and never let you out.”
She bit back a shaky smile. “Well, if you stop putting yourself in the path of bullets…”
Roman and Sally pulled each other to their feet and stepped out, careful to stay partially masked behind Sabina and Enzo. Their hands were linked. Cliff joined them from the other side.
Papa took a half step forward. His face had gone blank. He didn’t quite look like her father, but neither did he look like the unfamiliar Mafia boss she had seen a moment before. “Explain how you’ve come to believe it was Torrio.”
Roman shrugged. “Sally said so.”
“Sally.” Papa’s gaze moved to the blond.
Tony scoffed and strained against the restraining arm. “And you believe her? Right.”
“I have no reason not to.”
Papa’s smile was small and mean. “Don’t you? She’s been keeping Ava apprised of your investigation from start to finish with the promise of a room here for her troubles.”
Sabina craned around to verify that Roman’s smile was just as small, just as mean. “And she’s kept me apprised of all she’s told Ava, because I offered to pay off her debts to Torrio so she can get out altogether.”
Papa grunted. “There’s a reason girls like her end up where they do, O’Reilly.”
