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Then again, they hurt Antonio. Anything is possible.
I’m about to step around another container when my foot bumps into something on the ground. Bending down to pick it up, I see it’s my father’s pendant – the image of the wolf on it stark against my white glove. The one Antonio was given the day of our father’s funeral. Antonio would never go without it. He can’t be far.
My eyes land on the shipping container in front of me. When I try the doors again, it doesn’t budge. I have to take a risk and knock. “Antonio?” I whisper. “Are you in there?” I knock louder, looking over my shoulder to make sure the men don’t appear. “Antonio!”
One of the doors creaks open, and a pair of blue eyes glower at me before widening in shock. “Francesca?” Antonio’s voice rings out as he opens the door, motioning me inside. I hurry in before the men can find us. Antonio shuts the door, locking it again. “What are you doing here?” Before I can answer, he gasps and slumps onto the floor of the container. It’s so dark in here, I can barely see. I grab my phone and turn on the light to see Antonio gripping his stomach.
“What happened?” I kneel beside him and shine the light on his wound. Blood is slowly seeping out of his gut.
“I was shot. I couldn’t run, so I’ve been hiding here ever since. Franco wants me dead. He doesn’t want me to take over.”
“I can see that. I’m here to help. Let’s get you out of here. My car isn’t far.” I start to stand up when Antonio grabs my hand, stopping me.
“No. Those men are still out there looking for me. I can’t risk you getting hurt because of me.”
“Then I’ll call for help.” But when I look down at my phone, I realize I have no reception. “Damnit.”
Antonio raises an eyebrow. “Did you, Francesca Moretti, just cuss?”
“It’s Francesca Benetti now, but yes, I did. And I’m going to get you out of here. I’m done being afraid of everything. Let’s go.” I help Antonio up, slinging his arm around my shoulder. Carefully, I ease open the doors and look around. I don’t see any men.
Antonio is limping, which makes me limp as we head for the car.
“Hey!” The shout makes both of us jump.
One of the guys comes running toward us out of the blizzard. He has his gun raised. “Stop!”
Antonio jerks his body to the side, bringing us both against a container as a bullet goes whizzing by. I gasp, shocked I’m actually in the middle of a shootout right now. Talk about a different life from reading books and going to museums all day.
Antonio puts his finger to his lips, telling me to be silent. Then he waits.
When the nozzle of the man’s gun pokes around the container, Antonio grabs it and points it at the sky. The gun goes off. I hold my ears, trying to stave off the worst of the piercing sound. Antonio punches the guy in the throat, knocking him onto his back. Then he manages to grab the gun from the guy, but before he can shoot, the man kicks out, knocking Antonio onto his back. They scrabble for the gun.
“Shit!” Another man says as he comes into view. “I got this, Joe.” He lifts his gun to shoot Antonio, but I’m already moving into action. He doesn’t even see or hear me coming. I slam into his side, knocking him back and making him lose his gun. I pick it up and pause. He stares at me in shock. “You’re not going to shoot.”
I’m done with people telling me what I can and cannot do. I’m ready to make my own decisions and stand up for myself.
So, I shoot.
He screams as the bullet goes through his leg, making him fall onto the snowy ground.
In the kerfuffle, Antonio grabs the other man’s gun and shoots him in the head. I gasp, looking away. I hear another gun shot, and when I look over my shoulder, I see the other man dead as well.
“Come on,” Antonio says, grabbing my arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
* * *
I takeAntonio to the hospital to get help for his wound. He tries objecting, but I hold firm. “You could have died, Antonio. You need help.”
“But I can’t go home,” he says as he stares at the ER doors. “If Franco finds me, I’m dead.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go in there and have them fix me up, but you need to make sure he doesn’t find me here. Once I’m better, I … I’ll need to leave. I can’t be around you guys, putting you in danger. I’ll have to find my own way until I can take Franco down. If I go back home, he’ll try to kill me all over again.”
“So, you’re saying you can never see your family again?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
