Page 98 of The Doctor

“Wasn’t really hard,” he muttered. “Did you tell anyone any of this?”

“I tried,” I said, shaking my head. “You saw how that went. Queenie ended up in a hospital bed and the rest of us got kicked out.”

Stephano ran a hand down his face and tilted his head back against his seat. “Fuck.” When he finally turned to look at me, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

But it certainly wasn’t for him to hold up his phone so I could see his screen.

“What is that?”

Stephano smirked. “Dad’s location.”

Now it was my turn to say, “Explain.”

“Years ago, I set up an app that allows me to see where our parents’ phones are at any given minute. Helped me know where they were so I could decide where I wanted to go. I still use it, and right now, it’s telling me Dad’s phone is inside this little warehouse owned by none other than Cosimo Provenza.”

“How do you know it’s Cosimo’s?”

His smirk fell, and he pressed his lips flat before turning his attention back to the city street. “Let’s just say, I’ve been there once or twice.”

“So what are you going to do?”

He lifted one eyebrow, then dragged his gaze down my body like he was sizing me up. “We are going to go get him back.”

34

Zeno

The gunshot ricocheted around in my brain, making my already throbbing temple pound until I thought my head would explode. The screams were ear piercing, to the point that it felt like it was stabbing at my one good eye.

The other felt like Cosimo had cut it out with the handle of his gun when he slammed it against the side of my head.

I didn’t know why I was still alive when Cosimo had shot Benny dead in his driveway. I didn’t know why I’d been loaded up in the back of his car only to be tossed onto the concrete, my hands bound behind my back as I was forced to kneel in the middle of the room.

I didn’t know why Arik and Berto were kneeling beside me when, across the room, Cosimo had just put a bullet through his wife’s brain.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Piero Provenza screamed, scrambling from where he knelt to his mother’s side. “You killed her!”

“Raoul,” Cosimo spat. “Take care of your brothers.”

“With pleasure, Father.” Raoul lifted his gun, and there was nothing I could do. Not to stop him. Not to save Piero or Mario. Not to keep the loud blast from blaring through the room, making the pounding in my head feel like a bullet pierced my skull instead.

He hit Piero twice in the gut, then Mario once in the shoulder, before his gun jammed and he had to stop.

In the silence that followed, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. But with my one working eye, I could see Mario mouth the word, “Why?”

Cosimo laughed, his deep voice sounding far from the frail old man I’d grown to know. “Why, you ask?” The man shook his head. “Why would you think I cared? Why would I allow this cheating piece of shit to live on for one more day? Why would I let you two continue this charade, pretending I’m your father when you’ve known for years that I’m not?”

Cosimo turned to face us three lieutenants, but there was no wild craziness in his eyes. The man looked like he was in complete control, no grief for the woman who’d shared his life, his bed, and his name for the past fifty years. No concern for the boys he’d raised as his own.

“Which of you knew that bitch was unfaithful?” He paced slowly in front of us, acting like he had all the time in the world while waving his gun in an obvious threat. “What about you, Berto?”

Cosimo stopped in front of Clara’s father, putting the muzzle of his gun to the man’s forehead.

“Did you know about this?” Berto closed his eyes, and that was confession enough. Cosimo pushed him with the muzzle, hard enough to make him fall over, until he landed face first on the floor. Instead of shooting him, though, Cosimo just smashed his foot into Berto’s groin.

“And you, young Arik?” This time, Cosimo pressed the gun under Arik’s jaw. “Tell me you’re too young to be involved in this mess. Tell me you haven’t been tainted by your father’s blood.”

Arik swallowed hard but turned an unshaken gaze toward Cosimo’s hard face.