"What? When?"
"Ten minutes ago. She was in the bakery early, like always. Three men, professional operation. They want to meet at the harbor customs house in one hour, or they kill her."
One hour.
Not enough time for proper planning, barely enough time to assemble my people.
"Who?" I ask, though I already suspect.
"The Palermo crew.”
“I thought that problem was taken care of.”
"So did I. What do you want me to do?"
I look at Madison, who's watching my face with growing alarm. The conversation we desperately needed to finish will have to wait. Signora Ricci's life hangs in the balance, and every minute I delay increases the danger she's in.
"Standard protocol. Assemble everyone at the harbor. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
I end the call and turn to Madison, who's standing frozen by the kitchen table.
"What happened?" she asks.
"Someone took Signora Ricci from the bakery. They’re holding her at the harbor to force me into negotiations."
Her face goes white. "Took her? Who? I was just there earlier."
"The same group who has been causing trouble lately. People who want to use her to get to me."
"Oh God." She presses her hands to her face. "This is because of me, isn't it? Because I barged into that meeting and then they trapped me on the road. And then you did something, right? This is all my fault!”
I cross to her, taking her hands in mine. "No! This is because dangerous men sometimes do desperate things. It's not your fault."
"What are you going to do?"
"What I have to do." I meet her eyes, seeing the fear there. Not for herself, but for Signora Ricci, for me. "Madison, I need you to listen to me carefully."
She nods back. "Okay."
"You stay here. You lock the doors, close the curtains, and you don't leave this cottage for any reason until I come back for you."
"But—"
"No." My voice is harder now, the tone I use when lives depend on obedience. "This is my world, my responsibility. You don't know these people, you don't understand the violence they're capable of. If something goes wrong, if they realize how much you matter to me, you become a target."
"I want to help."
"You help by staying safe. By giving me one less person to worry about while I'm trying to work through this to keep everyone safe."
She stares at me for a moment, and I can see her wrestling with the urge to argue, to insist on being involved. But something in my expression must convince her this isn't negotiable.
"How long?" she asks quietly.
"I don't know. A few hours, maybe more."
"And if... if something happens to you?"
"In anything ever happens to me, Emilio will come for you. He has detailed instructions to get you out of Sicily safely, with enough money to start over anywhere you want."
