Steven sighed. “You’re so dramatic.”
“Yeah, I know.” I grinned at him and wiped the muzzle of my gun on Roger’s shirt before slipping it back into my pants. I could hear screaming from the car and Gino came out, cursing. He slammed the door shut.
“Fuck, she’s flipping out,” he said.
I shrugged. “Get the plastic. Let’s wrap this up.”
He cursed and went around to the back of the car. He opened the trunk, pulled out a big roll of plastic, and carried it over. Together, we wrapped Roger’s body up, sealed it off with tape, then lugged it back to the car. Aida was curled up in the back seat, sobbing quietly on the floor. I helped shove Roger’s corpse into the trunk and slammed the door shut.
We got back in the car. Gino hesitated before climbing in, then looked at the girl on the floor. “Don’t flip out again,” he said. “Seriously. Fuck.”
She said nothing, just kept crying.
Steven gave me a look then turned the car around. We left Roger’s car where it was. The police would pick it up sooner or later and dispose of it, but it wasn’t like that mattered. Nobody would miss Roger, or at least nobody that mattered.
Only the girl on the floor of my SUV, crying her eyes out.
“Drop me off at the bakery,” I grunted at Steven. “I’ll handle the body. You and Gino take Aida back to my place in Mt. Airy.”
Steven frowned. “You sure about that?”
“Lock her up, make sure she’s safe.”
“Boss—”
“Do it,” I barked.
Steven just nodded and didn’t argue.
I turned around and looked at her. She was curled up on the floor, like a tiny butterfly broken and hiding. I felt bad for her, but I really had no other choice.
Vlas was the son of the Russian mafia’s boss. He was a Capo in his own right, and a powerful guy in the city. And we had a very deep and very mutual fucking hatred.
Things hadn’t been good between our families for some time. There hadn’t been all-out war, not yet at least. The Leone Family could handle a war with the Russians if that was what it came to, and I knew that my boss and fellow Capos would be up for the challenge, but everyone agreed that war wasn’t profitable. Things were good, we were making a lot of money, and nobody wanted to start the blood flooding the streets.
Once bodies began to pile up, that was when the cops came sniffing around, and cops were very bad for business.
“I couldn’t let him go,” I said to the girl. “You had to know that.”
She looked up at me, her eyes red, tears on her cheeks. “Fuck you. You didn’t have to take me. Fuck you.”
I nodded once. “Yeah, I didn’t have to, but I wanted to,” I said. “You’ll thank me for it.”
“Fuck you,” she said again and looked away.
I sat forward and let out a sigh as Steven glanced at me, a frown on his face, but said nothing.
Fucking Roger. Fucking Aida.
I should’ve left her there in that parking lot. She was a liability, and I knew she would eventually cost me something more than I was willing to pay.
But I didn’t have the heart.
Maybe it was weakness, or maybe it was something else. But the idea of cutting her loose was worse than the alternative. She hated me at the moment, and I couldn’t blame her. I’d hate me too if I had done that. But she’ll come to understand why I did what I did, and maybe she’ll forgive me.
Doesn’t matter either way. I killed her father to avoid further bloodshed. There was no getting around that one. He had to die, even if I personally would’ve forgiven the stupid bastard. Vlas wanted his head, and so Vlas would get the fucking head.
Bastard dug his own grave. That wasn’t me.
We drove through the silent, rain-slicked Philly streets, and I thought about what it felt like to lose my own parents, their blood sticky thick in my memory.
2
Aida
I woke in a strange bed in a strange room tangled in light blue scratchy sheets. I was still in my jeans and tank top, and I kicked away the blanket as I sat up and stared at my surroundings.
The walls were white and bare. There was a small closet with an old brown door in one corner. A nightstand sat next to the bed with my phone on top of it. There was a dresser with chipped gray paint and one missing drawer. A fake sunflower sat in a vase on top of it. I stared at the fake flower for a long moment as the memories of the night before came creeping back.
I saw Dante smiling at me, moving closer, his lips nearly brushing mine as he whispered in my ear. I felt the thrill run down my spine as that handsome monster moved closer. He was tall, muscular, hair casually swept back, light blue eyes almost smiling, almost laughing. His full lips never quite pulled into a full grin though, always a sideways approximation.
Then I heard the gunshot again. I saw them wrapping Dad up in a sheet of plastic.
I shut my eyes and tried to push it away.
Slowly, I got out of bed. My sneakers were on the floor nearby. I walked over, picked them up, and grabbed my phone. I tested the doorknob, found it unlocked, and stepped out into the hall. The hardwood floor creaked as I moved, and I winced with every noise, but I tried to move as quietly as I could. I passed a bathroom on the right, another bedroom on the left, and came to a set of stairs that led down. I hesitated, listening, before creeping down them as slowly as I could.
When I got to the
