“He’d been shot in the leg and was bleeding out. I immediately called for an ambulance, told them what to expect, and got to work elevating his legs and putting pressure on the wound. I kept the guy calm and told him he was gonna be fine. Then the ambulance arrived and took him away.
“It’s funny… before it happened, I wasthis closeto going into a bar and throwing it all away,” Raffaelo said, holding his fingers a millimeter apart. “After I helped that guy in the alleyway, I wascovered in blood and looked like I’d been shot myself… but I felt better than I had in years.
“The next day, I called an old friend at the hospital and found out the guy had made it through surgery. I was glad, but I figured that was the last I’d ever hear of it – until your husband showed up on my doorstep.”
“This was before he went to prison?” Alessandra asked.
“Exactly. He was handling Florence for his father and uncle back then. He was their liaison with the Agrellas.
“Dario thanked me for saving Alberto – that was the name of the guy who got shot – and told me he needed a doctor for his men in case of emergencies. Gunshot wounds, mostly. Exactly the kind of thing I was good at.
“He was very open about what line of work he was in. He didn’t try to hide anything – he said he wanted me to be aware of the downsides so I could make an informed decision.
“I thought about it for exactly two seconds before I said ‘yes,’ and I’ve been working for Dario and your family ever since.”
“He’s saved the lives of at least a dozen men who work for Don Rosolini,” I said to Alessandra.
She looked impressed.
“I don’t know about a dozen,” Raffaelo said modestly, “but I’ve saved a few.”
“You saved Cosimo’s life the night Mezzasalma and the Agrellas shot up the hotel,” I pointed out.
“I wish I’d been there in Venice,” Raffaelo said regretfully. “I might have been able to save a few more.”
He was talking about the terrible fight on the cemetery island of San Michele, where Massimo killed Aurelio – and where 14 of my friends and fellow foot soldiers had died.
For a second, I thought of Lorenzo lying on his back, his blood staining the gravel beneath him.
The look in his eyes as he knew he was about to die.
I shuddered, then shook my head. “It’s a good thing youweren’tthere. As soon as the Russians saw you helping us, they would have killed you.”
“Which is probably why your husband didn’t ask me to go,” Raffaelo said to Alessandra. “He’s been incredibly good to me. I owe him everything. No one else would have given me a chance, but he did. And he’s been extraordinarily generous. He pays me more than I ever made as an ER doctor, and I hardly ever do any work.”
“Thank god. Ifyou’reworking hard, then the rest of us are in deep shit.” I turned to Alessandra and Cat and apologized. “Please excuse my language.”
“Don’t fuckin’ worry about it,” Cat said, and we all laughed.
“To peacetime,” Raffaelo said as he lifted his glass of orange juice in a toast. “It may be boring, but it’s the best kind of boring there is.”
“To peacetime,” I agreed as I clinked my glass against his, and Cat and Alessandra joined in as well.
“To peacetime.”
12
Adriano
Giorgio did a goddamn good job briefing everybody. He was nervous at first, but he settled down fast.
I knew it was a big deal for him to talk to Dario and everybody else. None of our foot soldiers had ever done that before. It was sort of like a sergeant coming in and briefing a five-star general and a bunch of two-stars. He handled himself well.
Raffaelo was Raffaelo. He didn’t give a shit about status or rank – he just launched right into it. He gave a great speech, and I could tell Dario was affected by what he said.
Once Giorgio and Raffaelo went off to the kitchen, Dario looked at the rest of us. “Thoughts?”
Since he wasconsigliere,Niccolo was the first to speak. “The way I see it, we have two problems: the gangs and the public health issue. Sofia and Rachel don’t know this, so I should make it clear: when our father died, we decided to get out of the drug business.”
