The Venetian and the Rum Runner - L.A. Witt Page 0,105

off.

And then, just like that, the door slammed shut, and the men were gone, along with Liam and Francis. No one remained but Danny and the rest of the lads. Peter cried quietly, choking on his sobs as Mathew tried to comfort him while Paddy and Bernard tried to help Tommy.

Danny swallowed the threat of his own tears. He wanted to stay strong for his men, but he’d never had to be strong like this. He didn’t know how.

There was a slim possibility that Giulia had escaped, but Danny was certain in his heart that she hadn’t. Francis was definitely dead. God only knew what would become of Liam. And now these men, whoever they were, knew Danny and his crew were working for Carmine.

Oh hell.

I got us into this.

How in the world do I get us out?

Chapter 22

“Carmine!”

The sound of Giulia calling his name jolted him out of a sound sleep. Pushing himself up on his elbows in the darkness, Carmine wondered for a fleeting moment if he’d dreamed it before his sister called out again.

“Carmine!” Her voice was closer now, her footsteps thundering up the stairs, and she sounded out of breath and frantic. He was up and pulling on his robe when she banged on his bedroom door. “Carmine! Wake up!”

He flung open the door. “Giulia? What’s going on?” The hall light was on, illuminating his sister’s dirty, tear-streaked face. She was dressed in overalls, a cap, and a shirt that was too big for her. “Where have—”

“The rum runners are in trouble.” Her expression was full of fear, her eyes red and wet, but she spoke with sheer determination. “Yeah, I was with them, and whatever it is you want to say or do to me for that, do it later. Send me back to Sicily. I don’t care. But right now, I need your help.” She swallowed, and this time a hint of a tremor slipped into her voice. “They need your help.”

Carmine’s blood turned cold. His mind was instantly muddled with questions, but one came out loud and clear: “What’s happened to them?”

Before she could respond, Mama’s bedroom door opened, and their mother squinted across the hall at them. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Mama.” Carmine gently steered his sister toward the stairs. “Go back to sleep.”

“But—”

“It’s nothing to worry about, Mama. Just a broken window at the speakeasy.” He continued down the stairs with Giulia. In the parlor, he switched on a light, and they sat down. “What happened?”

Giulia wrung her hands in her lap. “The boys and I, we did a run off Montauk.” She glanced at him, eyes hard as if to remind him to let it go for now. He would have words with her about it later, but right now, he was too focused on the danger his crew was in. The danger Danny was in. Oh God.

Giulia continued, “On the way back, we were stopped by some cops. All of us.”

“You were all together?” Damn, didn’t they have more sense than that?

His sister shook her head. “No, we all left half an hour or so apart. I was in the last truck, and when we were stopped…” Her expression turned distant, and then she sighed. “I didn’t see much. Francis…” Her lips quivered and fresh tears filled her eyes. “He told me to stay in the back of the truck and he covered me up so they wouldn’t see me.”

Giulia didn’t even have to spell it out, her relationship with Francis. She cared about her friends and would be devastated over any of them being in such danger, but the way she said his name… Carmine swallowed. Whatever was going on between them, it was likely this Francis had saved her life tonight. If he’d found out about any of this under other circumstances, he’d have been furious with Danny and the crew for taking his sister out with them, and he’d have wrung this Francis’s neck, and maybe he still would later, but tonight…

“Tell me,” he whispered. “What happened?”

Giulia rolled her shoulders and sniffed, clearly trying to pull herself together. “The cops, they started taking all the liquor off the other trucks. They were gonna find me, so I snuck off the truck and hid in the bushes.” She paused, eyes growing distant again. Closing them, she took a deep breath. “They started burning the trucks. I heard Francis try to get away, probably so he could…” She put her hand to her mouth. “Probably so he could save