“There isn’t time,”myconsigliereinterrupted.“Listen to me: you have a choice to make.”
“What choice?”
“Cesare’s coming for you, Dario. That’s the only thing that makes any sense in this giant clusterfuck.
“If you stay in the hospital, you’re going to have to fight it out THERE.
“But if you leave and make a big show of it, you can draw them away from Alessandra.”
“You’re serious,” I said in disbelief.
“Dead serious.”
“That’s a TERRIBLE plan.”
“I ran out of ‘simply bad’ options a while ago.”
“I told you, I’m not leaving my wife.”
“Then prepare to hole up in whatever room she’s in and shoot it out, because that’s where this is headed.”
I looked at Lars.
He nodded grimly as though to say,Niccolo’s right.
This was my worst nightmare come true.
Either stay and endanger my wife and unborn child –
Or go and leave them unprotected.
“What are our odds if we leave?” I asked.
“Ask Lars. He’s the expert.”
“It’s a coin toss,” Lars said. “If we stay, we’re cornered with our backs against the wall. If we’re out in the open, we at least have a shot at evading them.”
“What about Alessandra?”
“If they kill us, they’ll end up killing her,” Lars said. “If they follow us, though… she’ll most probably live.”
“‘Most probably’?”
“I can’t guarantee anything… but she has a better chance if we’re not around.”
I stared into the distance, my guts filled with cold lead.
Stay, and potentially doom my wife –
Or leave her side, which every fiber of my being screamed against.
My father had told me often,Sometimes every one of your options is shit –
But you still have to make the call.
That’s what being a Don is about.
“If we go, it’s just you and me,” I said to Lars. “Everyone else stays to guard Alessandra.”
