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My heart beats normally as I shoot my father in the head, its earlier pounding calmed.
The silencer isn’t very silent, as it turns out. Or maybe Agostino’s men just have very keen hearing, or maybe they were listening all along. The door behind us bursts open before his body hits the floor.
It’s okay. Luca and I were prepared for this probability. Luca takes my hand, and we exchange smiles as thecapos grab us and drag us, unprotesting, from the office.
Chapter 28
Luca
Outofallthepeople I thought could be responsible for the Pits, it never dawned on me that Carina’s father was behind it. He had the power to stop the fight between Francis and me. He had the power to save his son. To stop his daughter’s life from being turned upside down.
I don’t fight back; there are too many men. I’m grabbed from all sides, and within seconds, a blindfold is dragged down over my eyes. I hear Carina curse when Baccio growls, but she tells the dog sharply to stand down and stay, and he grows silent.
“Ronaldo—” she says. There’s the faintest tremor in her voice.
“I have him,” the man she brought with her from California says, his voice calm. “I’ll call Sal.”
I reach out to where she stood and fumble for her hand, finding it after a moment. Whatever our fate is, we will be together, but I don’t plan to go quietly into that good night. If the opportunity arises, and I have even the slightest chance of getting us out of this alive, I will take it. So far, the fact that they haven’t killed us, along with the fact that they took the time to blindfold us, is reassuring. We still have time. No matter how short it is.
The breeze touches my neck. Someone touches my head, and I stoop to get in a car. I don’t release Carina’s hand, and she follows to sit close beside me. She doesn’t speak. The car door slams, the car rocks softly with the movement of other bodies, and then we are moving.
I hadn’t expected Carina to actually shoot her father, but pride swells my chest regardless. I had thought she would talk, accuse him, or threaten him in some fashion. Not once had I thought she’d be able to pull the trigger.
As proud as I am, if I’m honest, I might have preferred if she had done it when the house wasn’t filled with capos. We could have waited until no one was around. But anger and emotion took over, and she made the judgment call. I’m not going to take that from her.
As the car continues to shift under us, nerves rattle in my veins, but I try to keep any panic that wants to raise its ugly head at bay. I need a clear head. I need to keep my nerve.
I’m trying to consider all the possibilities. Would they spare me because of who I am or the fact that it wasn’t me who killed the don? Because fuck that. I won’t allow it. It doesn’t look good for Carina, but I won’t allow her to die.
I squeeze her hand, trying to communicate that with the touch of my fingers. She squeezes back, and her knee nudges mine. Words thicken my throat. I want to tell her how fucking brave she is. I want to tell her how much I love her, but I keep my mouth shut. There will be time for that later.
Instead, I listen to the men in the front seat, hoping they’ll speak and reveal something, but they remain silent.
I’m not surprised. They’re professionals. We’re taught that it’s the unknown that builds fear. They need us to be afraid…reckless. I’ve been in the front seat before for one of these trips, but never in the back.
It’s an interesting drive.
The car starts to slow, and when it comes to a halt, the engine is killed. My eyes dart around behind the black blindfold, trying to see something, anything. A door opens, and I’m pulled out, Carina’s hand slipping out of mine. Cold air strikes my neck, and I’m shoved forward. The capos’ hands aren’t gentle. One of them laughs. They’re having fun shoving me around.
We keep walking, and I’m pushed, again; the air changes, and I know I’m inside. Carina’s string of colorful curses beside me gives me comfort. My girl isn’t making it easy for them.
I knock up against several objects. I’m sure one is the corner of a table, and I’m dragged around it. Hands grip my shoulders and press down. Wood hits the back of my legs, and I descend into the chair. My feet shift along the surface of a carpet beneath my feet. Labored breaths beside me confirm Carina’s presence.
A door opens and closes. Footfalls move toward me, and light strikes my gaze as the blindfold is removed. I blink rapidly, preparing myself for whatever is coming, and quickly take stock of Carina as she does the same, her gaze darting around the luxurious den we’ve been brought to. She appears unharmed but faintly wild, her hair in a fierce halo around her head and mascara circling her eyes.
Assured she’s okay, I turn my attention to the man in front of us.
Angelus Valachi.
“What a very eventful evening. Arson. Murder. Keeps a man busy.” His smile is smug but disappears as he gets to his feet.
I shift in the seat, my hand going to the band of my trousers where my gun once was. Angelus notices the movement but doesn’t comment. He walks to the bar and pours himself a brandy into a crystal glass.
“Would you like one?” he offers Carina.
“No, thank you.” Carina’s voice is solid and strong.
Under the circumstances, I’m impressed.
