“To dance! She is money! He is nothing to us! He turned his back on his ownfamiglia. Denied his blood. Ashamed of us!” He pounded on his chest. “His own flesh and blood!”
“What about heart? What about that, son? Do you not have one?”
No, no, no! He’s going to…
“He’s going to shoot!”I screamed, just as Ettore pulled a gun from his back pocket, aiming the weapon at Brando’s chest. He pulled the trigger, the blast loud enough to crush my eardrum and shatter my soul.
At my scream, one of Marzio’s men went to take the gun from Ettore’s hand. Instead of the bullet connecting with Brando’s chest, it struck Marzio straight in his. He stumbled back but stood straight again, snatching my arm. We teetered like two drunks.
Another bullet whizzed past my ear, but before I could drop, Marzio held me in his arms, and we both fell to the floor in a bruising heap.
“Nonno!”
He struggled to breathe, to open his mouth, but the grip on my arm was still tight. “I—” He licked his lips, tasting the air. “Tutti i miei peccati devono essere assolti.”All my sins should be absolved.
I was faintly aware that another pulled me back, and I fought off the gravity until I realized it was Brando.
“Come, baby. We have to go.”
“No!Nonno! He needs—”
“He’s gone, baby. There’s nothing we can do.”
I blinked at him, and that was when reality flushed out panic, replaced with hysteria. A crimson patch bloomed and gushed. He had been shot through the shoulder.
“Brando,” I whimpered, touching the area. My hands glistened with his blood. I went to rip my dress, to apply pressure, but he stopped me, telling me we didn’t have time.
Rocco had been shot on the opposite shoulder, Uncle Tito through the leg, and a few men nursed similar wounds. Men were scattered on the floor, some of them no longer breathing.
We rushed outside, avoiding the swarm of people scrambling to get away. The battle raged on, single shots being fired from numerous spots in the shadows of the villa.
Uncle Tito kept an arm around Rocco’s neck, and we hustled to the area where my new car was parked.
I couldn’t open my mouth to speak, but the look on my face caused Brando to say, “Don’t panic. I’m not going to die. I’m fine.”
All I could do was nod, a numb sort of detachment settling over me.
Romeo and Dario caught up to us, helping Rocco with Uncle Tito. Dario told Rocco that Rosaria, Maggie Beautiful, Aberto, Viola, and her two men were going with Donato to Aberto’s until the situation was deemed safe.
Rocco and Uncle Tito were placed in the back seat of the Maserati, and I asked which car we were riding in. I refused to leave Brando. Romeo and Dario hustled toward their own car. I started to chant “no, no, no.”
Brando took my hands in his, squeezing. “You can do this, baby.” Then he shoved me into the driver’s seat, closing the door, going around to the passenger side.
Okay, Scarlett, you can do this.I glanced at Brando, who had his eyes closed, head pressed to the back of the seat.Grabbing the knife from Brando’s leg, I cut long pieces of my dress, forcing Brando and Rocco and Uncle Tito to use them as tourniquets. My hands trembled as the car roared to life, lights illuminating the stretch before us.
Peeling out, I heard a horn blast when I cut off another escaping car. The Maserati was no Ferrari, but it wasn’t a station wagon either. The fast car rose to the challenge of my lead foot, its flood of power pursuing with a growl, and it took turns like it was built for the curving roads.
“Scarlett,” Brando said, glancing at the speedometer. “You’re going to have to go faster.”
“Why?” I said, almost too calmly. “Are you…?”
“No, baby,” he said softly, placing a hand on my thigh. “But Tito—”
“Ah,” the old doctor tried to growl, but the sound came out like phlegm stuck in his throat. “I will be fine. Do not worry about me.”
I glanced in my rear-view mirror. Two headlights trailed behind.
“Dario and Romeo,” Brando said.
