I liked Jack. I really didn’t want to have to shoot him. But Iwouldshoot him if I had to, to protect Angelo.
So instead, I slid my hand under Angelo’s jacket, and put my hand on the small of his back. “I think he’s got the message,” I said softly.
It took another second or two, but Angelo let go of Julian’s throat. Julian fell to the ground coughing and choking.
No one moved to help him.
That was the saddest thing, I thought, as we went out into the bright sunny day. No one hadevermoved to help Julian. Things might have turned out differently for him if someone had.
Chapter Twenty-One
We followed Jack across to where his Pinto was parked, but paused when Alessandro Castellani appeared in the doorway of the house and jogged over to us. “Messina,” he called. “I wanted you to understand—”
“I understand,” Angelo said, and those two words were enough to cut off whatever excuses Alessandro had been about to spill.
Instead, he spread his hands in appeal. “I don’t want any trouble with the Morellis.”
“You won’t have it,” Angelo said impatiently, and walked around the car to get into the front seat. He paused, though, when I didn’t move.
I wanted toknowthings from Alessandro Castellani, and this was my last chance. “Why did you follow Julian and me out to the gardens that night?” I thought I knew why, but I wanted to be certain.
Alessandro took a long pause, weighing his words before he replied. “Julian has been obsessed with Messina for many years. I was worried that he saw you as competition.”
“You were worried that he was going tokillme,” I returned flatly.
He gave a contorted smirk. “Well, you see how it would have made things difficult. My father really did want Messina for protection—there have been several attempts on his life, you understand.”
“And that argument we saw you having with your father?”
Alessandro’s chin came up and I saw the ghost of his younger self, the sneering mugshot photo recreated in real life. “That?” he sniffed. “I didn’t want any part of his plans to persuade Messina to work for him. I knew it would be a waste of time. I told him to save his dignity—but he refused.”
* * *
It wasa silent drive back to our motel in Jack’s Pinto. I was wondering where we should head next.
“I’m real sorry about all this,” Jack said when we he pulled up into the motel carpark. “This Family of mine…” He shook his head.
“Not your fault,” Angelo said.
“We’resorry about using you as a hostage,” I said, leaning forward, giving Angelo a nudge.
“Yes,” he said after a moment. “Sorry about that.”
Jack smirked. My nudge had not gone unnoticed. “Nothing to apologize for,” he said. “I would’ve done the same.”
I nudged Angelo again. He pressed his lips together, giving me a glare from the side of his eyes, and then said, “And of course, I’ll still be happy to recommend you to the Morellis.”
Jack stared out the windshield, his wrists resting over the wheel. “Yeah,” he sighed. “It’d be nice, wouldn’t it? Getting out of here. A new city. New start.” He turned to give us both a smile. “Can’t do it.”
“What?” I pulled my head back sharply in surprise. “Why the hell not? The Morellis…if nothing else, they’re lesscrazy.”
I didn’t want to see Jack get sucked down into the whirlpool that was the Castellani Family. They were at war with each other. There was too much bad blood there, and too little love.
It wouldn’t end well.
“Thing is,” Jack said, “what kind of man would I be to turn my back on my people now, when they need me the most? Sandro—I was good friends with him before…well. And Julian, okay, he’s nuts, but it’s not entirely his fault, you know?”
“Did you know it was him?” I asked, remembering Jack’s reaction to seeing that heart there in the desert. “Did you suspect?”
