As he drew it, the men who’d forced the car off the road came over the brow of a rise nearby and opened fire.
The third man got one shot away before he danced to the buck and kick of each bullet that struck him.
I didn’t have time to mourn the unfortunate stranger but climbed over the back seat to join the others.
“Do something!” Antonelli pleaded with me.
“If I get you out of this, you will tell me the truth. Everything you know,” I said, before slamming the door shut.
“Yes. Yes!” he exclaimed, his voice almost breaking. “Anything!”
I climbed into the front of the SUV, opened the driver’s door, and pushed the dead man out. I jumped in his seat. Glancing in the rearview, I saw the team of gunmen running toward us and prayed the Defender’s reputation for reliability was justified.
I turned the ignition and the engine spluttered. A volley of shots hit the back door, thudding into the metal with enough force to make the vehicle tremble. I tried the key again, and this time the engine roared.
I found reverse, backed away from the tree, flipped the car into first, and stepped on the gas. Dust, grass, and stones were flung up by the tires as we raced forward under a hailstorm of bullets.
I drove between trees, racing across the dry earth, heading for a dip.
The car sped down the hillside. Below us, through a small olive grove, I saw a hedge and beyond it a road.
I put my foot down and we gathered speed as we bounced across the steep ground. By the time we hit the hedge we were doing fifty. As we flew through it, I stepped on the brake pedal and turned the wheel.
The heavy tires screeched and the SUV wobbled as we swerved onto the road.
Breathless, veins full of fire and thunder, I glanced over my shoulder and saw clear road behind.
I didn’t relax for a full three minutes, concentrating on putting some distance between us and our attackers. When I looked back again, I saw a shaken Luna and her father had finally begun to breathe more easily.
“I think we’re okay,” I said to Antonelli. “Which means you’re going to keep your word and tell me everything you know.”
CHAPTER95
I DROVE FOR ten kilometers before we turned off the road onto an extremely overgrown track that looked as though it hadn’t been used for years. We bounced and bumped our way over long grass that grew in tufts along the median, and the suspension rattled and clattered as the wheels encountered hidden rocks and ruts. I didn’t stop until we crested a rise and went down the slope on the other side. I turned off the track onto rough terrain and parked in the shade of a cluster of stone pines. I cut the engine and jumped out to ensure we couldn’t be seen from the road or any buildings. There was nothing in sight except deserted countryside. I ran over to the Land Rover as Antonelli and his daughter staggered from the vehicle. I opened the passenger door and dragged the dead man out.
Antonelli came over as I set the bodyguard gently on the ground. The man’s eyes were open, but he would never see the beauty of the branches above him.
“Aldo was a good man,” Antonelli said, his voice faltering. “They all were.”
“I’m sorry,” I responded.
Luna joined us. “So, what is the truth, Papà?”
Antonelli shrank from her. “I don’t know. I didn’t mean—”
She interrupted him.
“You’re not getting out of the deal you made. Mr. Morgan risked his life for us.”
Antonelli looked ashamed. For the first time, I saw him as a tired old man rather than a powerful gangster.
“You’re right of course,” he said, stroking her cheek. “Like your mother always was.”
He hesitated.
“I wish she was still with us. She was a good person.”
“Tell him what you know, Papà,” Luna insisted. “Tell me.”
