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With a brief gesture, I told Emilio to stay in the car. Seconds later, Natale was at my side so we could walk toward the car together.
Behind the wheel was a woman. That was unexpected.
"This is not the time of day housewives usually go for a drive," I muttered.
"And getting lost and ending up here, of all places, is also very unlikely," Natale replied. Distrust characterized his tone.
A few meters away, we stopped. I wasn't sure what to do. The woman didn't think about getting out of the car or leaving this place again.
The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach intensified.
"Get out!" I yelled, turning my body slightly sideways so that she couldn't see that my hand was already resting on the gun.
"If that bitch tries anything..." Natale growled, his gaze incessantly fixed on the young woman who was now getting out of her car. Cautious and stiff, her hands raised as if she were facing the police.
She walked around the car without closing the door. Her entire body shook. Even her lower lip trembled when she opened her mouth. "Idios mio, please don't hurt me," she groaned.
Her gaze slid up to the ceiling as she carefully lowered one of her hands to open her jacket. It took her a few tries before the zipper obeyed her.
Natale jumped back."Minchia!"
I heard him take the safety off his gun. "Are you crazy? Are you going to ruin us all? I wanted to get out of here in one piece!"
"I have nothing to do with it! I promise! Oh God, please believe me! I shit I got kidnapped in front of the supermarket. The guy gave me oh God " She hyperventilated, tears gathering in her eyes. She was in shock. "I don't want to die yet. Please believe me."
The pleading undertone in her voice sent an icy shiver down my spine. A car door slammed and out of the corner of my eye I saw Emilio approaching. I shook my head. "Don't even think about it. With your talent, you'll get some limbs torn off. I don't want to explain that to Flavia."
With his arms folded, Emilio remained standing at some distance, analyzing the situation. So, in the meantime, I turned back to the woman. Hands raised, so that she could see that for now there was no danger to expect from me.
"And now the entire story in concise sentences," I urged her, adopting a soothing tone.
It was enough for Natale to aim at her head with his gun cocked.
She swallowed. "I was shopping when some guy pushed me into the trunk of my car two seconds after he jammed a syringe in my neck." She tilted her head, exposing a reddened puncture mark. "The groceries are still in there, in case you don't believe me– I,fuck, when I woke up I was already strapped to this. He just told me where to go. He wants you to hand over the money and if I’m not at the meeting place by a certain time, he’ll pull the trigger." The tremor in her body became stronger.
Was it enough to start the device? My pulse quickened. How much explosive power did it carry?
"So much for trusting this guy," I muttered, spitting on the floor.
I scrutinized Emilio with my gaze. Instead of sticking with old, familiar business partners, he had thought about expanding the business to other countries. After what was happening in front of us, it was clear what other mobsters thought of our ambitions.
"If you ask me, let's get in the car and leave while we still can." Natale had retreated a few more meters.
Tears ran down her cheeks. "I have nothing to do with it! I promise!"
My jaw cracked when I clenched my teeth. "What's your name?" I growled.
"G-gia," she stammered, accompanied by a sob.
"Okay, Gia. I'm Dario. Have you ever had anything to do with the mafia?"
Her eyes widened and I could have sworn that for a moment another form of fear danced across her face, but then she shook her head and all that remained was the fear of disaster hovering over her.
"Dario." I ignored Natale's warning and took a step toward the frightened woman.
"We don't involve innocent women in our affairs. And we certainly don't write it off as collateral damage!" I hissed. The answer was for Natale, but my gaze was again on my brother.
He raised a hand. Consent? "You don't know if she's innocent. To me, it all seems strange."
