Page 92 of The Doctor

“You always knew when he was around.”

“Like Berto Vinci?”

I nodded. “You could say that.” But why’d he have to say that?

I wanted to throttle the man for the way he treated Clara, for thinking he had the right to take her away from me. Not after ignoring her like he did. Not talking to her, walking away from her, treating her like she was nothing but a kid that didn’t know what she was talking about.

I think it was Cosimo.

It wasn’t the same. That’s what I kept telling myself over and over again. Me not believing Clara came from a long history of her lying to get a reaction, to get what she wanted out of me and the people around her.

This wasn’t history repeating itself. It was me making sure the lieutenants were safe so we could focus on finding whoever was responsible for shooting Paulo.

“You and your mom survived it?”

Once again, the kid’s voice jolted me out of my head. I scrubbed a hand down my face, already feeling how the events of the day were weighing me down.

“Yeah. Yeah, they… Paulo…” I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “The guy shot my dad, but Paulo showed up and he got scared. Ended up shooting my mom’s arm instead of her heart.”

“And he didn’t hurt you?”

Another breath huffed out of me, because I was left with nothing but hurt. Watching your father kneeling before his killer before his brains were blown out? Believing your mother and you were next?

There was nothing about that night that hadn’t hurt.

“I was fine,” I choked out. But I was anything but. “I owe my life to Paulo.”

“I heard about that. That he and Lorenzo saved you.”

What was there to say to that?

Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing.

And thankfully, I didn’t have to. I pulled into Cosimo’s circle driveway, stopping just past the door. Benny and I were greeted by none other than Cosimo, his wife Ida, and his oldest sons, Raoul and Piero.

Perfectly fucking healthy.

Not a single threat in sight.

“Everything okay here?” Benny asked.

Cosimo lifted his head, looking down his nose at the kid like he was dog shit on the sidewalk. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You hear about Paulo?” I asked, trying to ease the massive amount of tension that emanated from the old man. “He was gunned down in front of his apartment. Doctors aren’t sure if he’s going to make it. And there was an explosion at Lorenzo’s office, and Sarah said Arik’s missing. We’re just here to make sure you and your family are okay.”

While Ida sucked in a sharp breath, Cosimo turned a sneer my way. “You’re forgetting someone.”

“What do you mean?”

Raoul shifted behind Cosimo, closer to his mother and brother and out of my sight.

“You’re forgetting Berto. Haven’t you heard? He’s gone missing too.”

“What are you—”

In the space of a heartbeat, Cosimo raised his gun. The sound of it going off reverberated in my ears, and I watched in horror as his bullet pierced Benny’s brain and the kid fell to the ground.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t blink. I couldn’t do anything but stand there, frozen in my spot, knowing I’d made the biggest mistake.