Page 80 of Body of Trust

“What the fuck is that?” Carlo yells just as a Hummer comes bursting through one of the garage doors.

I run and duck behind a piece of equipment in the corner.

Another door is broken through as a second Hummer comes crashing in and then another. Men in black squad suits hop out of the trucks and descend on the warehouse with guns drawn and blazing.

Jesse is at my side, and I cling to him.

“Is this the FBI?” I ask him, completely bewildered.

“No. It’s the mob.”

“Amelia!” I hear my name called from someone outside the garage walls.

I look out the window to see Uncle Enzo standing near a black SUV. I turn to Jesse in confusion.

“Ask later. First, we need to get you out of here. Now!” He stands and calls over to a man with a gun, “I need cover!”

He takes a look at me and doesn’t hesitate. Guns are drawn, and the man gives us cover as we run through the crescendo of bullets. Enzo is waving us over, as if it could make us move faster. When we get to the back of a truck, Jesse opens the door for me and ushers me quickly inside.

Enzo starts driving before Jesse closes the door.

“Someone needs to explain what happened in there!” I yell, so bizarrely confused by the men in Hummers who just barged through commercial-sized garage doors and rained bullets all over the Lugazzi warehouse. “How did you know we were there?”

I grimace in pain, making me grab my shoulder.

“Is she shot?” Enzo glances in the rearview mirror more than on the road.

“She took a bullet for me,” Jesse explains with a glimmer of a smile on his face.

“You think that’s funny?” Enzo points at Jesse through the rearview. “I swear to Christ—”

“Uncle Enzo, it’s okay. Oddly. It hurts like hell, but I’m all right,” I assure him, and then I smack Jesse. “And seriously, what is the smirk for?”

He covers his mouth with his fist. “Nothing. I’m just the one who always says I’d take a bullet for you, and you did it for me.”

“Yeah, so?”

Jesse sits back, feeling pretty good about himself. “Nothing. It just means you love me. Like, really love me. You’re not just saying it because I’m bloodied and bruised and you thought we were going to die.”

Enzo sways his head from side to side, as if the guy’s got a point. The fact that he’s sitting here, driving us away from danger, has me back to the original question at hand.

“Enzo, how did you get involved in this?”

He thumbs back toward Jesse. “Lover boy came to me. Said you were in trouble.”

I swivel my head toward Jesse so fast that my hair hits my chin. “If you spoke to Enzo, that means you spoke to him before today.”

Jesse looks at the rearview, as if asking permission from Enzo. He gives a nod to proceed.

“I didn’t trust Salinger. Not after he was so cavalier with our plan for you. It never sat right, so I went to see your father in the hospital. I told him everything. Who I am, what I did for you last weekend, and every step along the way. Well, I left out a few parts,” he adds, and I widen my eyes, reminding him that my uncle is in the vehicle. Jesse continues, “He told me to go to Enzo. That he’s the only man he trusts. I had them follow you.” He pauses and then turns to my uncle. “What took you so long?”

“You try getting into that fucking compound. The place is like Fort Knox. We had to change plans and get the Hummers. You know this shit isn’t like the movies. You have to stop what you’re doing and come up with a plan. And it doesn’t take a minute to make a plan. It’s like a goddamn drama, listening to those idiots fight over what needed to be done. I was the one in charge but Joey wants to take a helicopter and Vic thinks a night raid is better,” he rants, and I laugh a little at how charming he is. “The good thing is, you’re both alive. Bad news is, she needs a doctor. So do you.” He grimaces in disgust at Jesse’s face.

Jesse lowers his head, so he can see his reflection in the rearview. “Man, that is pretty bad. I don’t suppose you’ll kiss me with a face like this?”

“Hell no,” I say, and he looks at me, surprised.

“No?”