"Don't be," he said. "If anyone should be apologizing, it's me. I was afraid of losing you, afraid of losing us. Because I know he's your brother, Genna. I know he's your best friend. But he's also the guy who killed my brother. He's the guy who pointed a gun at my head. So I know there's a chance that when it comes down to it, it's going to be either me or him."
"How am I supposed to choose?"
"I don't know," he said, "and I'd never ask you to, but others might, and that terrifies me. You're right, though. I should've trusted you. And I made a promise. I said wherever you wanted to go, we'd go, so…"
"So…"
"So let's go."
Snow covered the icy Manhattan sidewalks, flakes drifting from the overcast late February sky as coldness clung to the city. A cloud of breath surrounded Gabriella when she stepped out of her building, a shiver tearing through her. She pulled her coat tighter around her body, scowling up at the sky, at a traitorous sun that hadn't shown its face in days.
She hated winter.
Everything died in the winter, the beauty of the world somehow getting lost, withering away and leaving only remnants behind. But life didn't stop, no… it trudged along, clinging to frigid breaths, holding on for another tomorrow where maybe the sun would shine again.
No friggin luck today.
"Excuse me," she mumbled, moving around someone lingering outside the building, attempting to walk away when they stepped in her path.
"Amaro's cousin, right?" the man asked, smiling at her. It took a moment for recognition to strike, for familiarity to sink in. She'd run into the guy before—literally—at Casato.
"Uh, yeah, and you are…?"
"A friend," he said. "Your name's Gabriella, right? Russo? You happen to have a boyfriend, Gabriella Russo?"
Her back stiffened at the way he used her full name. He was choosing his words carefully, every syllable deliberate, like he was trying to intimidate her. "I might, but even if I don't, I'm not interested. Sorry."
She attempted to go around him but yet again he stepped in her path, blocking her from leaving. "Ah, don't be like that. I'm just asking a question."
"One I'm choosing not to answer," she said. "If you don't like it, take it up with the Constitution. It guaranteed me life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness without having to worry about persecution."
"I'm not the government, sweetheart."
"Could've fooled me," she said. "You seem to have the whole smug incompetence thing down."
She tried for the third time to move past him, managing to make it a few steps before his hand gripped her bicep hard enough to stop her. "Feisty one, aren't you?"
She yanked from his grasp, a surge of anger rushing through her. "Look, I don't know whose goon you are, nor do I care, frankly. Barsanti, Galante, doesn't matter. I'm not afraid of you."
"Maybe you ought to be."
"Well, tough cookie, because if you're hoping to scare me, you're failing miserably. You should work on that, you know, for the next time you try to intimidate one of Victor Brazzi's grandchildren."
She took a few steps, flexing her hands at her sides as her heart raced, prepared to swing if he touched her again, but only his voice followed her this time.
"Brazzi. You think I'm scared of that name?"
"Maybe you ought to be."
He laughed when she threw his words back at him. "That's funny. Damn near as funny as the look on your boyfriend's face when he's got a knife in his gut. Now that is a fucking riot."
Gabriella's footsteps stalled. She wanted to keep going. She should've kept going. Instead, she faced him again. "That was you?"
He held up his hands, as if in surrender. "Guilty."
She pointed at him, waving her finger all around at his cocky grin. "Smug incompetence. Knew it. You stabbed him and never hit anything important. Do you know how crappy you have to be to miss even a kidney?"
"That's not incompetence," he countered. "If I wanted to hit something, I would've, but I wasn't trying to kill the guy. Just wanted to poke the bear a bit. All in good fun."
She shook her head. "You keep telling yourself that."
"I will," he said, "and why don't you tell your boyfriend something for me, while we're at it? Tell him to watch his back."
He strolled away, not at all frazzled by their conversation.
"Why can't you just leave him alone? Huh? What did he do that was so wrong?"