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He pulls me up so that I’m eye to eye with him. “Get it?”
I hear more footsteps crunching on the glass behind him, but I can’t see who it is. He turns his head as he releases me. I fall to the ground in front of the counter, collapsing with relief and gasping for breath.
4
RAF
I can’t getthe woman from the bakery out of my head. I’ve never seen a civilian stand up to a mafioso like that before. Even angry, she was so beautiful. I can only imagine how amazing she would look if she wasn’t glaring and yelling at me.
I know I’ll have to see her again. I have to find out about that property, and she seems like the one I’ll be dealing with.
When I left the bakery, I made note of what time it closed. I figure I could talk to her as she leaves. Or I could follow her and find out more about her.
I show up just after 3:00. She probably won’t be leaving right away. I park in the same spot across from Grays Ferry Triangle. When I look past the fountain to the bakery, I see the glass of the front door shattered. I should come back tomorrow. A broken door’s not likely to put her in a better mood than this morning. But my instincts tell me something’s wrong.
I run across the park. As I get closer, I can see the back of a figure inside, threatening someone. I run through the broken door, just as he turns to look.
The girl drops to the floor, and I’m filled with rage. I recognize him. Nevan Kelly, a Captain in the Irish Mafia. I take him by surprise and punch him hard across the face.
He takes the hit. Usually, I can knock someone out cold. The Irish guys aren’t the biggest, but they’re fucking skilled boxers. They’re used to taking powerful hits without dropping.
He doesn’t go down, but I slowed him. I try to punch him again, but he ducks and dodges, twisting away from me. I grab him from behind and wrap my arms around him, trying to crush the air from his lungs.
I hear the sound of a switchblade opening, feel a stab in my left bicep, and then another in my right thigh. My arms release him involuntarily.
Kelly sprints out of the bakery’s front door, leaving his knife in my thigh. Seeing that he’s gone and the fight is over, I slump to the ground clutching at my leg.
Then her face is over mine. She’s looking into my eyes. I feel her hand on my chest. She’s yelling at me for the second time today, this time asking if I’m okay.
Her worried face is even more beautiful than her angry face.
5
CAROLINE
“Stay with me! Hey!”This guy looks like he could be passing out. He’s mafia too, but he saved me. I owe him. Who knows what that other guy was going to do to me if he hadn’t come back. I guess they don’t work together after all.
His eyes refocus and I can see him coming back. He’s able to talk. “I need a bandage. Or a cloth.”
I’m still wearing my apron. “Will this work?” I untie it and slip it over my head.
“For now.” He takes the apron, straightens it out and wraps it around his thigh, above the knife handle still sticking out. He loops the apron back through the neck strap and wraps the rest of it around his leg, below the knife handle. “Hold this tight.” He gestures for me to hold the apron on his leg.
I close my eyes and look away, holding the apron tight to his leg as he grips the knife handle. I hear him groan and feel him pull the knife out of his leg with a quick jerk. He drops the knife to the floor and then grabs the apron. I let go of it as he positions it over the wound, tightening it even more.
“We need to get you to the hospital.”
“He didn’t hit an artery. I should be okay once I clean it up. Do you have a first aid kit?”
I remember seeing one in the back, so I run to get it. I unhook the first aid box from the wall. When I turn around to bring it to him, the man is hobbling into the back to follow me. He’s carrying the knife in his hand. I stop where I am.
“It might not be good for business if you’ve got customers bleeding in your window.” He tosses the knife onto the metal table. “A switchblade probably wouldn’t help either.” He lifts himself to sit on the table. “I didn’t fix the broken door though.”
He grins at me and I try to smile back, but I know my eyes don’t show it. I set the first aid kit on the table next to him and he opens it. “Hey, this is pretty well stocked. Looks like you’re prepared.”
“You know. It’s a bakery. Lots of injuries can happen.” I make it sound like it’s the same kind of kit any restaurant would have, but I’m also surprised by some of the items in here. Some of it looks military grade. Advanced Clotting Gauze. BleedStop Trauma Kit. Even a small belt that looks like it’s for making a tourniquet. It makes me wonder what my uncle was prepared for.
“Thanks for helping me,” I say.
