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“Why? What did they do?” I posed another question, my tone intensifying.
“A couple of weeks ago, they tried to purchase an entire gun shipment,” she told me, putting her hands on my shoulders as we looked each other in the eye. “The whole thing went terribly wrong, but those three are very determined. There’s no doubt in my mind; they’ll try again.”
“Oh, my god…” I whispered, coming to a painful realization. Matteo, Cesare, and Leo hadn’t attempted to buy handguns to protect themselves. They had tried to buy hundreds of weapons, with the intent to sell them. My stepbrother had been wounded during that transaction.
“Look, Piper,” she urged, rubbing my shoulders over my lab coat. “I’ve met some dangerous men. I’m sure you remember my stories about them. I remember how much you hated my involvement with them. But—and this is a big but—they got out of that life. Was there a price to pay for that? Yes, but they’ve all straightened out now. I wish I could say the same about these men you’ve been seeing. I’ve talked to them. They seem nice, but they want to conquer a world that’s too dangerous.”
I lifted my hands up to hers and wrapped my fingers around her wrists. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m afraid it’s too late.”
“What?” She asked, her big eyes widening. “What are you talking about?”
“Maggie…” I faltered, my mind traveling back to the night that Leo was brought into the ER. “I’m in too deep already. I didn’t mean to. It happened because I patched up one of them and didn’t call the cops when he showed up full of bullet holes. Someone’s put a hit out on them. They think I might be in danger, too.”
“Oh, no.” She put her hand over her mouth. “I knew I should have come here sooner. This wouldn’t have…”
“There’s nothing you could have done for me, Maggie,” I interrupted her. “There’s nothing anybody could have done really. I just tried to do my job, and this is what I get. Now, I’m going to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth. Are they right? Could the mob come after me for helping them?”
“Yes,” she spoke in a weak voice. “I hate to admit it, but yes. Now, don’t panic, okay? I’ve got connections. If there’s actually a hit out on you, I’ll try and call it off. I’m so sorry, Piper. I know how you must feel. I’ve been there.”
I breathed in, tears pooling in my eyes. My limbs went numb, and my lips shook as my friend leaned over towards me. She took me in her warm embrace, her words replaying in my mind in a loop. What Leo had suggested as a theory, had been confirmed. Maggie had absolutely no reason or desire to frighten me. She was a dear friend of mine, although I hadn’t seen her in months. I only wished there was something she could do. If she couldn’t, I would receive the ultimate punishment for just doing my job.
29
CESARE
That weekof doing diddly squat had felt like a goddamn age.
Tensions were high among us.
But the days that followed after our meeting with the head of the Roselli family were actually worse.
Much worse.
It was hard for me to wrap my head around it, but the truth was staring me in the face. Even the usually cool Matteo, had no intention of speaking. In two days, he broke his silence three times. Once he did, I couldn’t recognize that bastard. He burst out in shouts and cries, reminding me of our mutual friend. The composed man had left the building. In his place was a baffled, loud son of a bitch who wouldn’t keep his voice down.
During a conversation with him, Leonardo got so upset that he went on to destroy everything made of glass in his living room. A thick vase, a platter and a couple of bowls had the misfortune of being around him. After he was done throwing stuff against the walls, all he had was a floor littered with glass and a living room that looked like a grenade had gone off in there.
Their feelings about our situation wouldn’t allow me to reach a decision. One would think that Maggie’s frustration should have convinced me. She wasn’t wrong—I wasn’t blind to that. Her crew had indeed been in the crosshairs of the organization. Still, there was a big difference between acknowledging someone’s fate and working with them to avoid it. Those guys had attempted to execute us. I couldn’t look past that. I couldn’t brush aside the fact that they had walked into a bar, with the intent to empty their rifles into me and my boys.
Regardless of her personal feelings, though, Maggie had brought something very important to my attention: Piper’s predicament.
I told no one about this, but, as we made our way out of the warehouse, I wanted to kick myself in anger. That’s who I was mad at. My own, stupid self. With everything that had been going on, I had failed to contact Piper. I had neglected to do something as simple as picking up my phone and calling her. Our struggle had consumed me. I had put it ahead of everything else, which included communicating with a girl I liked so much.
But thathadto change now.
I couldn’t go on pretending that nothing had happened between us.
I couldn’t sit back and watch while the mob went after her.
Unfortunately for me, paying her a visit in the hospital or at her apartment was out of the question. I had to assume both places were being monitored. There would either be wise guys on her block, or their associates would let them know I was there. To see Piper that rainy night, I had to get creative. And take a chance I wouldn’t normally take if the circumstances were different. I knew her building had a fire escape. It was old and rusty, but it would have to do.
I ditched my Torino two blocks away from her neighborhood. Car after car rolling down the drenched road, I held my coat over my head to shield myself from the rain. It was funny, but the bad weather was acting like an ally of mine. Walking around like that, I doubted anybody could recognize me. Besides, whoever had been in charge of monitoring Piper’s building, they had to have known my Torino. They had to have been expecting to see it nearby. I didn’t think anyone thought they would see me on foot. Even so, I kept a good portion of my jacket hanging over my face. Its zipper and part of its hem kept bumping into my forehead almost throughout my walk to Piper’s building.
Noticing the brownish color of that building, I quickened my pace to a jog. I turned right and away from the sidewalk, rainwater tapping onto the metal of that fire escape. I caught a glimpse of some drops falling off its rusty edge as I put my foot on the bottom step. I felt the cold, soaked surface in my palm, starting my climb. I kept my gaze up at the dark sky, raindrops smashing into my forehead and my cheeks.
I must have been crazy…
That fire escape was long overdue for a replacement. I heard it creaking with every step I took. It swayed forward, my two hundred pounds clearly too much of a burden for it. The metal banging into the wall behind it, I put one foot over the other slowly. I tested each one of the steps first, applying just a little bit of force, before resting my weight on it.
