“Marco, will you keep an eye on her?” I asked.
“Of course.”
Wow, this was a different Marco than the inflexible man I’d met thus far.
“Here, some sodas too.” I handed Effie more money to keep her busy. She went with Marco. “Let’s sit down. Tell me what happened,” I said to Isabella once Effie was out of earshot.
“He was at the stupid bowling alley,” she started, taking a crumpled-up tissue out of her purse and wiping her dripping eyes. “He always goes there in the mornings, so the bastards knew where to find him. He’d just gone to get a cup of coffee, and two guys came in and opened fire.”
“Jesus.”
“The owner who was working the bar took a bullet in his arm. He’ll be okay.”
“Anyone else hurt?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Any idea who?”
She shook her head. “They wore ski masks.”
“I guess they would. Why do you think it was Salvatore’s men?” I asked.
She shook her head with a flat look in her eyes. “Who else but someone from the Benedetti family.” She turned her attention to digging for something in her purse.
“Dominic is part of that family,” I said, watching her.
She glanced up, her lips narrow, her face tight.
“He was at your house the other night.”
She stood. “This isn’t the time, Lucia.”
“What was he doing there?” I asked, following her, the crutches an irritating nuisance.
She kept her back to me, shaking her head, watching Effie push buttons on the vending machine.
“Izzy, what’s going on?”
She faced me finally. “A big fucking mess, that’s what.”
“Are you having an affair with Dominic Benedetti?”
Izzy threw her arms up into the air. “There you go again, another affair. First it was Luke, now it’s Dominic? Excuse me, sis, but I’m not going to justify that with an answer.”
“Ms. DeMarco?” a doctor called out, rounding the corner.
“Yes?” Isabella went to him, and I followed, hobbling behind her.
“Your cousin’s injuries are very serious. We’re operating now, but it will be several hours. I can’t speak to the outcome just yet.”
“He can’t die,” she started, her eyes watering, her voice desperate. “You can’t let him die.”
The doctor looked to be immune to her emotion. Probably so used to doling out bad news, it just didn’t faze him anymore.
“Mommy, I got you a Snickers bar,” Effie started, coming back toward us with the candy bars, Marco behind her carrying cans of soda, looking as much out of place following her as possible. It would have been comical if we weren’t standing in a hospital waiting room with Luke in critical condition a few doors down.
“What did you get for me?” I asked, lifting her up and turning her away while Izzy wiped her tears.
