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I pat down the last of the soil, pulling the box out of my jacket. I take the memory card out of my phone and place it inside the box next to the negatives. Then I wedge the shovel in the soil.
“Now we can leave him to suffocate,” I say, spitting on the dirt at my feet.
“You’re not serious?” she asks, sounding shocked at the idea.
“He was going to use you as his fuck slave. You want him to live after that?”
“I don’t want him to suffocate in the coffin if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Seriously? You want me to let him out?”
“I want him to face justice. Don’t you?”
“This is justice.”
She puts a hand on my arm. “No, it isn’t. This is vengeance. That’s not the same thing.” She winks. “What’s better? A quick death in there or a slow one in a Supermax?” The rain has stopped. The sun’s coming out. It feels a lot like a fresh start.
I shake my head in disbelief. “After everything he’s done, you’ve still got some compassion. How do you do it?”
“Because I refuse to become like him. What about you, Enzo? Who do you want to be?”
I grab my notepad from my pants pocket and write a quick note. I fold it and push it into the soil so it’s sticking out next to the shovel.
Chloe’s giggling again. “What’s up?” I ask her.
“Nothing,” she replies with a shake of the head. “Not got my scores on that notepad?” she asks.
“Sorry?”
“Never mind. What does it say?”
“Take a look.”
She reads it out loud. “A gift from the new Don of the Felici famiglia. Dig here. You’re welcome.” She puts the note back and then looks at me. “Thank you,” she says. “I wasn't sure who you were but now I know.”
“And who am I?”
“The kind of person I could get to know. Tell me something though and be honest with me. Is it over?”
“Let me show you.”
I take her hand and we walk toward the entrance of the cemetery. The car the Don stole from me is where I left it, rolled to a stop just outside the gates.
A spiderweb of cracks in the windshield has spiraled out from where the bullet went through and caught Umberto in the throat. I open the car door, leaning in to pull the ring off his finger.
“What’s that for?” Chloe asks as I pocket the ring.
“Felici family seal,” I tell her. “Tells everyone there’s a new Don in town.”
We walk over where I hid the Don’s car and climb into it. The sniper rifle, I leave behind. I don’t need it anymore. I doubt I’ll have to shoot anyone ever again. I’ll only have to show the seal and work will be done for me. As they all say, you got to obey the Don.
“You all right?” I ask as we drive out of the cemetery just as an unmarked FBI van heads into it. “You need to go to a hospital?”
I look at her bruised and battered hands, the soil in her hair, the dirt and blood on her face. “Tell me one thing,” she says.
“Anything.”
“Umberto said you shot my parents. Was he telling the truth? Did you kill them?”
