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ENZO
* * *
The timing couldn’t be worse. I’m about to fuck her in the corridor of the diner when I hear his voice and I’ve got to deal with him before he starts shooting.
I should have killed him in the alleyway. Shouldn’t have given him this second chance.
I push the door open and step out. He immediately pulls a gun and points it at me. People start screaming, rushing for the doors in their panic. “What the fuck are you doing?” I ask him as he waves the gun around like he’s batting away a wasp. “Put the gun down, Dwayne.”
He grins at me. “Where is she?”
“She’s not here.”
“That’s bullshit. She’s here somewhere. Where have you hidden her?”
“Put the gun down and we’ll talk. No one has to get hurt.”
Most of the diners have made it outside. The place’s looking like the Marie Celeste. Unfinished food on the tables, handbags, and jackets left behind. There’s just me and Dwayne. He’s got his finger on the trigger and his eyes look just wild enough for him to do something really stupid.
“This doesn’t involve her,” I continue as I grab a handful of fries off the nearest table and take a bite. “Leave her out of it.”
“This whole fucking thing is about her,” he says. “The Don’s given me an hour to get the necklace back to him or I’m dead. Hand it over.”
“You see he’s setting you up, right? You do see that, Dwayne?”
“Don’t try any of your mind games with me, Enzo. They won’t work. Just give me the necklace and I’ll leave you alone.”
“The Don’s setting you up, Dwayne.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You kill me and take him the necklace and he’ll still kill you for taking out a made man without permission.”
“No, he won’t.”
“The Don wants you dead. He’s wanted you dead for a while. You’ve been losing it, Dwayne. That Chase job? Your face was on the camera when you lifted your mask to do a toot. Think about it. He didn’t give permission to kill me, did he? Just told you to get the necklace. Just put the gun down and let’s talk about this.”
He’s starting to wobble. I can see it in his eyes. “Why’d he give you the deadline?” I ask, pushing harder into his doubts. “He knows you can’t get back to Chicago in an hour. Not even by private jet if there was an airfield anywhere near here, which there isn’t. You’ve no way to win, Dwayne. You’re a dead man either way.”
“Fuck you, Enzo. Give me the necklace.”
“You’re just going to have to shoot me.”
“I’ll do it. Don’t think I won’t do it.”
There’s a creak behind me. I glance that way. Chloe has disobeyed me. She’s coming out of the doorway and stepping into the open. “Please,” she says, holding the necklace toward him. “Please, don’t kill him. Just take it. I don’t care.”
“Dumb bitch,” Dwayne says, holding his hand out toward her. “Give it here.”
“Don’t,” I tell Chloe. “He’ll kill us both anyway.”
She looks from me to him before tossing the necklace his way. As he goes to catch it, I dive toward him. Damn it, why wouldn’t she listen to me?
I land on him as he fires at us. The bullet misses, hitting the wall behind me.
I yank him off his feet. He falls back, the gun firing again, this time the bullet hitting the ceiling. The gun falls from his hand as I kneel on his balls.
“Run,” I shout to Chloe. “Get the hell out of here!”
