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“How can you not remember?” Davide presses.
“Because it never happened, Davide,” Luca says in a cold voice.
My body goes rigid. How would he know that? Did Damian tell him about that event?
“That’s the story Philip told us while we were playing cards at his place.” Luca continues. “It was the summer after freshman year, as I recall. Good old days.”
I feel this strange falling sensation, and I’m spiraling as panic settles inside me. Oh my God, he remembers.
I don’t dare look at Luca, I can’t bear to see the loathing on his face. He probably hates me now. It’s over. Squeezing my lips together, I rein in the tears that threaten to fall and try pulling my hand out of Luca’s grasp. The grip he has around my fingers only gets stronger. Taking a deep breath, I somehow gather the courage to look up at him, but instead of a look of anger which I expected to find, I see a smug smile pulling at his lips. His hand lifts to my face, and he brushes away a stray tear with his thumb. My eyes widen as he leans forward to place a quick kiss on my lips, then turns to Davide.
“I wonder, Davide,” he says, “what were you promised in exchange for running me off that road?”
With his face turned ghostly white, Davide stares at Luca. A chair screeches, and in the next moment, Davide launches toward the nearest door. Marco catches him halfway there.
The room has gone silent.
“Boss.” Marco turns to Luca. “Where should we put him?”
“Kitchen will do,” Luca says. “We have a tiled floor there, it’s easier to wash away the blood.”
Marco nods and starts dragging Davide toward the door on the opposite side of the room. Most of the guests were in the middle of their meals, but now, everyone has stopped eating, and dozens of eyes are staring at Davide, who thrashes and yells as he tries to free himself. Marco backhands him, then keeps hauling him in the direction of the kitchen.
The door on the left suddenly flies opens and three men walk in, followed by Emilio and Tony. I don’t recognize the first two, but the one that follows is one of Lorenzo’s bodyguards. Their hands are tied behind their backs, and they have bruises all over their faces. Emilio nudges one of them with his gun, and the guy stumbles. I shift my gaze to Lorenzo, who’s sitting rigidly in his chair, staring at the tied men.
“To the kitchen, as well. I’ll take care of them later.” Luca crosses his arms over his chest and turns to Lorenzo. “I wonder, what did you promise Davide? A capo’s position when you take over the Family after I’m out of the picture? Was that the plan?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lorenzo mumbles.
“No?” Luca smiles and leans into Lorenzo’s face. “There was one thing that kept bugging me. Why haven’t you tried again? And then it came to me. You knew I didn’t remember anything. Tell me, what gave me away?”
Lorenzo watches him for a couple of seconds, then grits his teeth. “I found the doctor who treated you when you were admitted to the hospital.”
“But you needed to be sure, didn’t you? Before you revealed it to the Family. So, you brought Davide with you to the lunch yesterday to see how I’d react. And when that failed, you brought him here. I’m so sorry for ruining your plan.”
“You took my place!” Lorenzo sneers. “It was mine! I spent decades licking Giuseppe’s ass, and then you barged in, married this cunt, and fucked up everything!”
Someone gasps at a table nearby, but other than that, the room remains eerily silent.
Luca leaps from the chair, grabs Lorenzo’s hair and smashes his face on the tabletop. The plates and silverware clatter fromthe force of the blow. Lorenzo flails, reaches for Luca’s hand and tries to wriggle free, but Luca just slams his face into the table again. And again. The tableware clinks and rattles each time. Two of the plates and several glasses end up falling to the floor, the shattering of china and crystal adding to the symphony of brutality.
The gasps and murmurs among the guests continue while my husband does his best to beat the living shit out of Barbini. Eventually, Luca pulls Lorenzo up, still holding him by the hair. “Apologize to my wife.”
I lean back in my chair, staring at the bloody mess of Lorenzo’s face. He looks up, then spits in my general direction, bloodied spittle soiling the white tablecloth.
The eyes of the people in the room dart between Luca and Lorenzo, waiting for what will happen next.
“You know, I’m okay with you trying to kill me,” Luca says, and he looks down at the table. “That’s business. You tried. Failed. I shoot you in the head, and we all go back to our merry lives.” He reaches for a corkscrew on the table, then steps closer to Lorenzo.
“But no one disrespects my wife, Lorenzo,” Luca barks, then looks up at Marco and Emilio who are standing behind the underboss. “Hold him down.”
Luca’s men grip Lorenzo, keeping him in the chair. As I watch, my husband plunges the corkscrew into the side of Lorenzo’s neck, just under the ear. Lorenzo screams and tries to get up off the chair, but Marco and Emilio push him back down and keep a hold of him as Luca rips the corkscrew out. Blood sprays from the wound, soaking the front of Luca’s shirt, as well as Marco’s hands. Several of the guests shriek.
“Did I hear an apology?” Luca bends his head as if to hear what Lorenzo is saying, but the only sounds that leave Barbini’s mouth are choking noises. “Nope, I don’t think it was an apology,” he says and thrusts the corkscrew into Lorenzo’s neck again, from the front this time.
I shut my eyes, not able to watch the bloodbath anymore. But I can’t shut out the whimpering. The choking sounds. I swallow bile.
A minute or so later, the choking sounds cease, and I will myself to open my eyes. Luca is standing in front of Lorenzo, corkscrew in hand. His right arm is covered in blood. His front, too. I move my gaze to Lorenzo, or really his body, and gasp. There’s a long red line around his neck, blood pouring from at least a dozen puncture wounds and flowing down his torso. Bile gathers in my throat from seeing all the blood. Grinding my teeth together, I take a deep breath and force myself to remain still. I am not fainting with the whole Family watching.
