TheCamorrathug slumped halfway out of the car, but didn’t fall out completely.
Cristoforo whistled in wonder. “Jesus Christ – who’d you bring us, King Kong?”
“He’s a big boy,” I agreed. “Where’s Adriano?”
“In the office. He said to come find him as soon as you got here.”
“Where are the women?”
“They’re with him.”
I hurried to the rear of the warehouse, where the office was.
As soon as I got back there, I saw Adriano holding Bianca as she cried –
But I was also shocked to see Massimo with Lucia –
Not to mention Niccolo, Roberto, and Mei-ling. They were standing apart from the others, whispering amongst themselves.
There was no way they could’ve gotten here that quickly from the mansion. They must’ve been in town for something else.
Emilia was sitting in a chair in the corner. She looked shellshocked.
I headed straight for her –
“Hey,” Adriano snapped at me. “Over here.”
I gestured towards my girlfriend. “Please – just give me one minute, okay?”
Adriano glanced over at Emilia, then grudgingly said, “Alright – but we need some questions answered.”
“Thanks,” I said as I went over to my girlfriend.
She didn’t even look at me. She just stared numbly at the ground.
I knelt down in front of her. I reached up to touch her cheek –
And realized that my hand was bloodstained from moving theCamorrathug.
In fact, my white dress shirt was stained red, and my suit jacket was stiff with dried blood. I looked like a character out of a Quentin Tarantino movie.
I cursed theCamorraand my fucking job and wished I’d had the goddamn sense to wash my fucking hands first.
Emilia finally seemed to register I was there.
She looked up at me –
And immediately recoiled, a look of horror on her face.
“It’s okay – it’s not my blood,” I said, though I wasn’t sure if that made it better or worse. “You okay?”
She looked at me like she didn’t recognize me at first –
And then she dissolved into tears. She grabbed me in a hug and buried her face in the crook of my neck.
I guess she was so messed up, she didn’t even care about the blood.
I hugged her back and whispered, “It’s okay. You’re safe. It’s alright.”
