The drive leavingCavalli’s is very different from the one a mere hour before.
This time, I relax in the backseat with Victor, holding his hand. No blindfold. I returned his knife, and he gave me back my Sig Sauer. Its weight feels weird but familiar.
Two of the guys ride in the front. Joe and Spiro. Joe is driving again, keeping to back roads.
We’re rolling down an alleyway when I recognize the silver siding of the building up ahead.
“Stop here a moment,” I say. “Please.”
Joe looks into the rearview mirror, and Victor nods. The car slows to a stop.
The back door of Three Diner opens before I step out of the car. Two of the owners greet me. The tall young woman with dark glasses and the tiny white-haired one with weathered hands. The shadow of a third woman, round and matronly, haunts the door.
“You’ve returned,” the young woman says, with a hint of a smile. Her head angles like she’s looking into the sky or hearing music playing far away. “And you’re not alone.”
“Yes.” I don’t know what I want to say to them, so I wait through an awkward pause.
“You’re ready, daughter of Vera,” the white-haired lady pronounces.
My throat clogs up, but I nod.
“Then go, and fate will bless you.”
I slide into the back seat, and Joe takes his foot off the brake a second later. Victor tips his head to the two women and gives them a cocky wave.
As soon as they’re out of view, he leans forward to study my face. “Did you get what you needed?”
“Yes,” I say, but then I amend, “but not from them. I already have what I need.”
“Almost,” he says and holds up a silver chain, the sword charm dangling from his palm.
I’d cuss him out, but I’m too happy to see my old necklace. I lift my hair and let him put it on me. He takes his sweet time and fiddles with it so the sword settles on my sternum.
And all too soon, we’re at an ancient brick warehouse a few blocks away from the docks. I recognize the area. “This is Vesuvi territory.”
“Yes. Stephanos has bolt holes like this all over the city. It’s how he’s survived.” He’s patting his clothes, presumably checking his hidden knives. “He’s inside.”
This is it. The moment I’ve prepared for all my life.
I press the sword into my skin for a second before shrugging out of Victor’s long coat. I take a moment to check my Glock. In the front seat, Joe and Spiro are doing the same.
“Here.” Victor holds up a black vest. I shrug it on, and he makes sure it’s fastened up the front.
“We disabled those cameras,” Spiro tells me, pointing to the surrounding buildings and the silver or black equipment nestled in the eaves. “But he’ll have more inside.”
“Thank you.”
A heaviness settles over me, more than the weight of the vest. Reality descending. I open the car door, and the sky above is so blue, I could cry. The shadows at my feet are dark and deep, and I can see every speck of dust floating in the air between me and the warehouse door.
When I step out of the car, Victor appears at my side. “I’m coming with you.”
“Of course.” He’s made it clear he wants to keep me close. Whether because he loves me or thinks I’m his property, it doesn’t matter.
He pulls on a black ski mask and glides ahead of me. Signaling me to wait, he presses a hand to the heavy steel door. It opens easily, without a sound. Did he come here beforehand and oil the hinges? I wouldn’t be surprised.
Victor leans in, his whisper barely stirring my hair. “He’s fond of booby traps, but there won’t be many here because he hasn’t had the time to set them. He was hiding elsewhere. Recent events flushed him out.”
Recent events. Like Victor killing Bruno and presenting his head to me on a platter. A grisly valentine.
