The men don’t answer, butshedoes.“Nico!”Her voice sounds faint coming from inside the limo, but she’s alive. With an inhuman roar, I open fire at the attackers. Dropping behind an ordinary blue post office box for cover, I nail one of the gunmen in the forehead. Everything is a blur after that, though it probably lasts thirty seconds at most before it’s done.
Dante grasps my shoulder, shouting that the cops are coming. Why should I care about that? If they die, I die. My heart can’t decide whether it would rather shrivel up or explode inside my chest when I take in the smashed-up limousine riddled with bullets and see blood on the surrounding pavement.
Summoning what remains of my courage, I rush toward the car and my family.
44
Matilde
Ugo is heavy on top of me while the rapid bursts of gunfire continue. The children are both wailing, and all I can do is whisper, ‘Shush, shush, shush,’ in their little ears, over and over. We’re like frightened hens, just waiting for the foxes to find a weakness in our coop. Horrible memories of my captivity swarm to the forefront with my fear and helplessness, but I have to do… something.
“Wake up, love. You’re having a nightmare.”
My mind is still fuzzy with sleep when Nico flicks on the bedside lamp. Amadeo kicks his feet, smoky gray eyes popping open with the brightness. Beside him, Lucia smacks her lips in her sleep. So precious, they’ll forget the horror we lived through yesterday, but I couldn’t bear to separate at bedtime.
“I didn’t expect to sleep,”I murmur in Italian, still too drowsy for English as the nightmare fades.“What time is it?”
“Early. Not quite six.” Nico is propped up against the headboard of the king-sized bed. He promised he’d watch over us. His bloodshot eyes and yesterday’s rumpled clothes tell me he did just that. I caress Amadeo’s arm, earning a sweet little smile.
The attack ended shortly after reinforcements arrived. The culprits either didn’t expect as much resistance or they’d made their point by firing at the Chicago Capo’s wife, children and mother in broad daylight. The ones who could fled. The rest died.
Before I fully comprehended it was over, Nico was already there, checking me and the children for injuries with Dante at his back.
“La polizia?”
“I called my best contact in the department when the doc was checking you over. The FBI and Chicago PD have some inter-agency bad blood at the moment, and no one informed the Feds until everything was handled,” Nico replies in a wooden tone.
“Do you know who-”
“A couple of the ones we killed had tattoos, but nothing tying them to the Trio or Bratva. We're looking into it. Probably hired hitters from De Luca, like that bastard brother of his.”
I can't imagine Alessio doingthis,but Nico doesn’t want to hear anyone defending him. “Is there no one else?”
He grimaces. “My father’s lucidity is fading as his illness progresses. Cosima happened upon him alone in his study yesterday morning. She's always kissed his ass, and when she offered to buy him some cigars since he couldn’t find any in the house, he gave her the keys to his car and some cash, not understanding the danger she poses. By the time the guards realized what had happened, she’d slithered away.I’ll question Vera Barzetti later, but Cosima’s connections would be limited with her father, husband and son already dead.”
An uneasy feeling stirs in my belly with her name. “She might have had some other connections through her father. He was a captain, yes?"
""In Cincinnati. It's where she grew up before her arranged marriage to Barzetti."
"She said her father had trusted men there, men who act as her bodyguards now. She mentioned something about them being different."
"Different? My uncle's the Underboss there. We killed her father during the purge of the traitors but… I'll look into it."
"What about your mother’s bodyguard?”
“Died overnight from his wounds. Along with Enio.”
"Enio?" Tears fill my eyes. I knew he’d been shot more than once, but I’d hoped he would survive. “I’m sorry, Nico. I wish they had stayed safe in the car with us.”
Nico’s expression is stone. “They didn’t know if the backup would be enough. They did their duty. I’ll pay my respects to their families before we leave this morning.”
They died for us. Will the word duty bring comfort to their loved ones?
“Has your mother changed her mind about today?”
“No,” he scoffs. “I’m Capo, but she says I’m still her son, and she won’t leave my father.”
“Have you changed your mind about us?”
