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“He didn’t say grovel,” Dario snaps. “He saidguess.”
“Um… calming her friend down?”
“That’s right, Aldo. Emma has seen too much. Rosa knows about our business, but she’s neverseenit. I’ve managed to keep her from it. You ruined that, but all right. We can deal with that, but a civilian? A witness?”
With each step I take around the desk, Aldo flinches as if withdrawing into himself. I kneel next to him so we’re at eye level. He stares at me like his gaze is fixed in place, too terrified to look away.
“What if I told you that, to save your skin, you have to take care of the problem?”
I lower my voice as Dario pushes away from the wall and stands behind Aldo, but Aldo can’t turn and look at him. It’s terrifying when a violent man stands behind you, but another violent man forces you to meet his eye. I’ve been in Aldo’s spot when I was younger, before the war, before I was boss.
“Huh?” I lean closer. “If I said you have to go into the house, drag the girl somewhere she’ll never be found and put a bullet in her head. What would you say?”
His lips are trembling. This is a critical moment for him, though he might not grasp exactly how. He’s trying to work out what I want him to say.
“I…” He licks his dry lips. “I’d be surprised. You’ve always told us no women, no children.”
“That could have been a lie to maintain my reputation. Really, behind the scenes, we could’ve been hurting people like the Russians do. I’m waiting for your answer.”
Dario places his hands on Aldo’s chair, leaning against it, the chair whining.
“I’d d-do it, boss,” Aldo says. “I mean, I will. I’ll handle the problem. I’ll kill her.”
I sigh, then backhand him across the mouth. The chair falls sideways, and he sucks in a jagged breath.
“I’m almost relieved this happened,” I tell him. “I don’t want a man willing to kill an innocent girl working for me.”
“W-what?” Aldo groans, rolling onto his back.
“That was a test, dumbass,” Dario says. “You were going to be exiled either way. This city is off-limits for you. If you return, we’ll put you in the dirt. That question was to see if we were going to give you any severance pay or not. You failed. Now go. Leave the city. Never come back, or I’ll rip you to pieces myself.”
* * *
“Do you think I went hard on him?” Dario asks with a smirk once Aldo is gone.
“I’m finding it difficult to smile right now.”
I push the globe so it spins. The countries flit past, places I might’ve visited had I found the right woman—somebody to give me more children, love, and hope for the future.
More Rosas. More fulfillment.
“Her friend’s still here. What are you going to do?”
“I’ll have to speak with her. Scare her, maybe. They’ve been friends for years.”
“I remember. Emily, right?”
I laugh gruffly. “I’m not winning Father of the Year anytime soon.”
“You can’t remember her name?”
“Head’s too filled up with Ivars and Borises and Kostanin.”
Dario laughs with me. “I get that, but even so, we need to do something. If she says she witnessed this inyourhouse…”
“I know.”
We don’t need to elaborate. It’s one thing for people to make accusations about places I never was, about events I didn’t take part in, but a bloody, terrified man in my home when I was here…
