be a trick,” I tell her. “We go out there, some Irish motherfucker takes his chance and executes me, and you get caught in the crossfire.”
“Irish?” she says, a strange quality to her voice.
“Yes, what about it?”
A pause, and then she says, “Nothing. I just want to know who tried to kill me.”
A few minutes later, Nario appears in the doorway, hands raised. I climb to my feet and approach my second. “What’s the damage?” I ask.
“Three dead on our side. Two dead on theirs. But it was strange, Carlo.” He gestures for me to follow him into the hallway. “As soon as you got into the rec center, they started to retreat. It was slow-going for them, since we had a few of them pinned, but still. You’d think they’d—”
“Use their advantage. Try and kill or kidnap you, at least,” I murmur.
“Exactly. Strange.”
“We need to get out of here,” I say. “The cops are going to be all over this shit. You called our contact, bought us some time?”
He nods. “Only so much we can buy, though.”
I head outside to find Santo, Maury, and Durante pulling up in a car. Santo leaps from the car and runs into the street, his face beet red, a savage twist to his mouth. “Irish motherfuckers!” he roars, taking out his old-school Smith & Wesson. “Who the fuck they think they are? Huh? Come back here! Come the fuck back here!”
“Santo!” I remember what Nario told me about the traitor. I wonder if Santo isn’t just trying a little too hard to seem like he’s on our side. “It’s done, man. Settle down.”
He gruffly shoves his gun back into the holster, spitting onto the concrete.
Sirens pierce the air. Nario gives me a look and breathes in. Bullet casings lie like ruined origami all over the lot.
“What are we doing about the girl?” he asks. “The Irish saw her. They know she works here. They saw you wanted to keep her safe. She might become a target now.”
I want to tell him the only reason I got her to safety is that she’s a civilian and a woman. I want to tell him that she isn’t our problem. I want to tell him that I’m Carlo De Maggio, don of the De Maggio crime family, and I don’t waste time worrying about what happens to women I don’t even know.
But I can’t, because if something were to happen to Hazel because of me … I can’t even finish the thought. That would mean letting in more feeling than I’ll ever allow. The sirens are getting louder now, screeching.
We have mere minutes.
“Durante,” I call. “There’s a girl in the rec center. Bring her to the limo, gently. Do not harm her in any way.”
He nods. “Sure, Carlo, sure.” The big man lumbers toward the rec center.
“The rest of you, load up the dead and get the fuck out of here. Nario, ride in the minivan with the men. Maury, I want you driving the limo.”
The Albino stalks wordlessly toward the vehicle. I follow close behind, climbing into the back. I’m grimly pleased to find that my whiskey, despite the odds, stayed upright during the fight. I knock back the second half and then turn to the rec center to see Hazel kicking and squirming in Durante’s massive arms.
As promised, he isn’t hurting her. He holds her like a child. I find myself watching for anything untoward, for any sign that he is attracted to her, but he is as respectful as a man can be considering the circumstances.
I press the button to lower the driver partition. “Lock the doors as soon as she’s inside.”
“Of course,” Maury says.
I press again and the partition closes. The sirens are wailing screams now. The cops will be here any moment. Durante pushes Hazel into the car. She grips the edge of the door, trying to keep from entering all the way. I move forward and wrap my arms around her, feeling the hard muscles of her ass shifting and writhing against my cock.
“Carlo, I’m serious. I’m fucking serious. Let me out of here.”
I pull her onto the seats, twist, and press myself against her as the doors close and lock with a loud click. She is staring at me with those irresistible green eyes, but I harden myself. I just hold her in place, my forearm pinned across her chest, my leg bent sideways to stop her from kicking out. The limo pulls away.
She shoots me a look of