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My heart races. "Shit, no, this is wrong. I'm going to go home. I'm sorry, Nita. Jenkins was right. I just, I just?—"
"You just needed to feel safe," she finishes for me. "Girl, I told you. I got you. Always have and always will. Besides, you know I can still hop a good fence and pop those locks to the roof if I need to get out of dodge."
"Just hearing you talk like this makes me sick. I'm not staying, but thank you for everything. Always. You need anything?"
"I'm fine, making lesson plans for the kids for the rest of my day."
A knock at the door makes us both jump and laugh. Jenkins calls from the other side. "We should get going, Evelyn."
We hug one last time as she tells me, "Take care of yourself."
"I will, and thank you for this. I'm going to be a better friend."
She nods. "Of course, you will, by making me your maid of honor when you renew those vows in front of all your friends and family."
She winks, giving me one last hug as I leave with Jenkins. The quickness of his pace has paranoia all over it. He remains by my side, speaking in a low tone. "Alessandro just sent word that he wants you back at the house as soon as possible."
"Did he say anything else?"
Jenkins turns to me briefly. "I'm the help in his eyes. I'm just following orders for now."
We're only a few feet away from the car when I notice a guy leaning against the trunk of the car.
"Move it, pal," Jenkins commands the stranger.
"I'll move it soon as you turn over the keys, old man. Oh, yeah, you can toss the bitch in the back too. I'll show her a good time."
I look around at the brightness of the Sunday afternoon, wondering where a police officer is when you need one.
Jenkins growls with frustration. His long legs don't take long to get close to the guy causing trouble. Only he pulls out a knife, but that doesn't stop Jenkins from attacking. They trade blow for blow until I see the keys to the car fall to the ground.
After grabbing them, I pop the trunk, remembering Lorenzo's arsenal. There's only a handgun left, but it's enough to get my point across. I grab it, eject the clip, cock it, and point it at Jenkins and his brawling buddy.
"For fuck's sake, lady. You got it," the guy says. He looks so much younger now that I can see the fear in his eyes. He scurries away, and Jenkins takes the gun from me before putting me into the car to get me home.
13
ALESSANDRO
The whimpers and blubbering of an errant shooter echo around Oz's pool house. Blood has this funny way of showing up in various shades of red depending on how deeply you cut into the body. I stare at a stream of it pooling under the dangling body of someone who'd dared trespass on this property and shoot at people I care about.
The idea of Evelyn being hurt does something visceral to me. Both my hands and the front of my shirt hold a few smears of blood that remind me to have this entire suit burned.
"I know it was not your intent to make a liar out of me, Billy," I say to the attacker. He's hanging by his feet off the diving board in the deep end. It took a few knicks with my razor to get his name. Now, I'm working on who he's working for and why. I grip the center of the rope that's binding his arms together, stretching his limbs in front of him, holding the razor against his forearm.
"Puh- puh- please, Mr. De Luca," Billy the shooter whines. "I don't know nothing. I'm only doing a job. I had to do this. I owe these people money. I already told you where I met the guys at. Please. Someone HELP ME!"
"It's unfortunate for you that you're bad at your job." Shaking my head, I ignore his pleas for mercy. "Now, I promised my wife that I'd keep her safe. Her Family is under my protection. So, you and your pals, pals that you're going to tell me how to find, decide to fire semi-automatic rounds at women and children looking to enjoy a lovely dinner my wife has painstakingly prepared."
I can feel the rage simmering as I slip the blade of the razor under the top layer of skin, fileting a sliver of it and letting the searing pain set him into a fit of screams. His body trembles and releases more bodily fluids that continue to drip and pool under his dangling body.
"I'm going to peel you like a fuckin’ apple," I snarl. "I want to see how many layers it takes to get down to the bone. Just to make sure you stay awake for the entire process, I have some liquid adrenaline coming."
Billy whimpers, cries, and slobbers before passing out. I wipe my razor on his pants and walk away from him. There's a wet towel on the edge of the pool near the shallow end. I step out to get most of the blood off my hands and razor. Lorenzo and Oz look on while I fold the razor back into its sheath to slide into my pocket.
"You gonna tag Lorenzo in?" Oz asks with a gleam in his beady eyes. "Or can I take a stab at it?"
"Very funny. Go for it, I guess. I'm afraid my patience is going to wear out before he tells me anything else useful. Ren and I should head to that strip joint he mentioned."
