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“Who’s Norton?” Sally asked as she put her foot back onto the ground.
Sabina finally pulled enough air into her lungs to speak. “I don’t know his name, but it was a cop. A few inches shorter than Roman, red face.”
Cliff cursed again and jammed agitated fingers through his fair hair. “That’s him. I just talked to his lieutenant, who just realized Norton’s working for Manny. Someone saw him leaving the Mancari house this evening.”
No. Sabina grasped Sally’s arm. “That must be who Papa was talking to. We’ve gotta get where they’re going. What’s that way?” She nodded to the left where the car turned at the corner.
Sally and Cliff answered simultaneously. “Ava’s Place.”
Sally started off after them, Sabina leaped to keep up, and Cliff grabbed them both by the shoulders. “Huh uh,” he pronounced in a definite cop’s voice. “I don’t know what the two of you are even doing here, together no less, but you’re not heading into a gunfight. Sally, take Sabina into Roman’s and stay out of the way.”
As if expecting to be obeyed, Cliff took off at a run. Sabina exchanged an exasperated glance with Sally, and they both went after him.
Her feet hurt, her lungs burned, and the streetlights barely made a dent in the darkness. But she just focused on every circle of light and prayed with everything in her that Lorenzo had reached his brothers in time.
Lorenzo braked to a halt in the alley behind Ava’s Place, killed his engine, and let his eyes slide closed. He’d tried the speakeasy first, but a cousin had opened the slide instead of Val and informed him that his brothers had been “promoted.” To Ava’s Place.
Vinny had written down the directions, and Lorenzo had taken two wrong turns as he navigated the unfamiliar streets. But he was here, finally. He didn’t see anyone else in this alley, but hopefully that just meant he’d made it before anything went down.
Not that he was already too late.
Hands still gripping the wheel, he took one long breath to steady himself, forming the exhale into an impromptu prayer.
The stakes in this situation dwarfed him. So much could be lost—his brothers, or his relationships with them. O’Reilly. And Manny…who knew what his response might be if he discovered his future son-in-law interfered with his orders? He just hoped Sabina had made it home by now. Please, God…
Engine sounds filled the alley as an old jalopy turned in. Lorenzo watched in his rearview mirror as O’Reilly got out, turning and reaching as if to pick something up. He wasn’t given the chance. The driver peeled away, nearly running over the agent’s feet. O’Reilly spewed a stream of vehement curses.
Lorenzo hurried to get out of the car. If the plan was to have someone dump O’Reilly where they wanted him, then that meant they wouldn’t give him any time to leave. His brothers would be right—
There.
The back door to Ava’s opened as Lorenzo slammed his car door shut. In his periphery he saw the familiar gaits of Tony and Val, but he kept his gaze on O’Reilly.
The agent was focused on the Capecce brothers and the weapons that gleamed in their hands. First understanding, then fury, and finally resignation settled over O’Reilly’s countenance. His hands dangled at his sides, proving he had no weapon. Perhaps that was what he’d been reaching for.
Then O’Reilly turned and spotted Lorenzo. His lips peeled back in a knowing sneer, as if there was some twisted victory in seeing that Lorenzo was on his brothers’ side. The sneer faltered as Lorenzo moved toward O’Reilly rather than the opposite side of the alley.
“Enzo!” Tony’s voice vibrated with pent-up frustration. “What the devil are you doing here? Go home, you babbo. Now.”
He didn’t answer—just stopped in front of O’Reilly and faced him squarely long enough to watch the questions flicker through his green eyes. Would he land one last punch before going over to his brothers, out of the way of the Betsy’s aim? The gleam in his eye testified that his thoughts ran in that vein. But Lorenzo saw confusion flicker as he moved his feet slightly, then he turned to face his brothers.
His heart beat a frantic rhythm in his chest, pumping life and energy to every cell. His mind was clear, crystalline, every thought perfectly formed and held within a prayer. Senses on alert, he was aware of every shift Roman made behind him, and he shifted to compensate so that the agent remained fully blocked from his brothers’ sights.
Tony growled out a low warning. “Enzo…”
O’Reilly shifted again. Lorenzo shifted to compensate. “Will you just stand still, you idiot?”
The agent stilled, but his voice was curiously similar to Tony’s. “What the devil are you doing here, Capecce?”
“Trying to save your neck. My car’s right there. We can move toward it together, and I can get you out of here.”
O’Reilly snorted. “Why, so you can take care of me yourself?”
Lorenzo rolled his eyes, even if the babbo couldn’t see it. “Yeah, that’s it. You saw right through me.”
“Well what am I supposed to—”
“Enzo.” Tony held his gun raised, at the ready. He motioned Lorenzo out of the way with it. “Leave. Now. We have a job to do here.”
