He walked down the long dark hallway to the front and entered the waiting room blinking at the change in light. As his eyes adjusted, he felt startled at what he saw. Shel’s bruising rivaled his own; she looked on the verge of collapse. Breathing through her mouth, eyelids fluttering, she needed the wall to stand up straight and her skin lacked color. For all that, the mere fact she was here, alive, seemed a miracle- a miracle to which he had no claim. The saint in this particular miracle was the little guy with her, who looked even worse than she did.
“Hey,” Abatangelo said to him in greeting, and offered a nod. Turning to Shel, he added, “You okay?”
“No,” she admitted, leaning toward a vinyl chair and collapsing. “I’m fucked up.”
“We came for a car,” Cesar said. “She called.”
“Yeah,” Abatangelo said, still looking at Shel. “I know.”
It took every ounce of reserve he possessed not to walk across the room to her. A tension flickered between her and the guy, a sort of bickering neediness. Abatangelo guessed it had kept them alive. He saw the birthmark and thought, Cesar, recalling the name from Frank’s description. The guy had jumpy eyes, a wiry frame and a dazed intensity. Abatangelo had seen boxers like that, usually ones at the end of a hammering. There was also something very wrong with his left arm. Blood stained the sleeve above the elbow, front and back. The limb hung there lifeless. The fingers were gray.
“Ground rules,” he began. “You carrying a piece?”
Beyond Cesar’s shoulder, he saw Shel gesturing with two fingers. Then she patted her stomach and the small of her back.
“We came here for a car,” Cesar repeated, squaring off.
Abatangelo raised his hands. “Steady. You’ll get one,” he said. “Unless you try to strong-arm me. Not a car in this shop you can drive out of here. It’s the weekend. Keys are in a safe. Only Ed knows the combination and he’s not here.”
“Where the fuck is he?” Cesar’s good hand drifted from his side, hovering near his belt buckle.
“He’s a phone call away. He left this for me to handle.”
Through the window Abatangelo could see his Dart parked a little ways down, across the street. Eddy sat behind the wheel, the shotgun across his lap and the.357 in his hand. If he knew Eddy, the engine was running. He was ready to pop the clutch and race in shooting. Having him outside, not in, was the one concession Abatangelo had managed to get.
Cesar said, “Who are you?”
“A friend.”
Cesar made a hissing little laugh and shook his head.
“I say something funny?”
Cesar looked at Shel, offering an ugly grin. “Another friend,” he said.
Abatangelo told him, “Look, I’m serious. I’m unarmed. Think about that. You come in here, I don’t know who you are, what you really want, but I’m willing to work it out. That said, I’m not gonna get muscled for the privilege. You try anything, you leave here on foot.”
“You’ll be worse off than that,” Cesar murmured. He leaned toward the work bay, peering inside.
“No one’s in there,” Abatangelo told him. Silently, he calculated how quickly he could jump across the space, pin the limp arm to the wall. The wound’s bad, he thought. The guy might go into shock.
“Better not be,” Cesar said, righting himself.
“You know, I don’t think I’m getting through to you.”
“Where’s our car?”
“I don’t know where you’ve been,” Abatangelo said, “but something happened last night. Been on the radio, maybe you heard. Your men met Felix Randall’s men. They cut each other to shreds. Men you probably know.”
Cesar, turning so his bloodied, motionless arm came forward, said, “See that? I got it from men I know.” He grimaced and spat. “Fuck them all.”
Abatangelo felt helpless, his mind slipping. “My point,” he said finally, “is there’s been plenty of bloodshed already. Look at you. You’re hurt. She’s hurt. You both need care.”
“Not your problem,” Cesar said, grimacing. “A way outta here, a car. I’m getting tired of asking.”
“Where are you trying to get to?”
“None of your business,” Cesar said, voice rising. His hand edged a little closer to the jacket button.
“Sure it is. Where determines what car. If you don’t want to tell me where, tell me how far.”
“Give us a car,” Cesar hissed.
“Us?”
“Her and me.”
Abatangelo looked past him again. Shel listed in the chair like it was everything she could do to stay upright. Her face was wet. Her eyes drifted. He doubted she’d stay conscious long.
“She needs a doctor.”
“You keep bringing up stuff that’s none of your business.”
“She stays,” Abatangelo said. “Gets treated. You get a car. That’s not a bad deal.”
Cesar squinted, as though he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “Deal?”
“I want her taken care of. I’m a friend. I told you.”
Cesar bent a little at the waist and whispered, “Yeah? I saved her fucking life.”
He used the shock of that statement as a distraction and unbuttoned his jacket. The handgrip of his weapon stuck out from under his belt. He rested his hand on it.
Abatangelo, his eyes locked on Cesar, asked Shel, “That true?”
She forced herself upright in the chair, wincing from the effort. “It’s a little more complex than that,” she managed. “Short version, yeah. I’m alive because of him.”
Cesar grinned. From behind, Shel added, “He greased the fucker who was supposed to do me. To be honest, though, he did it for his own reasons.”
Cesar spun around, like he’d been mocked. His hand hadn’t moved, poised on his gun. It was the way he looked at her that tipped Abatangelo off. Possessive. Resentful. There’d be no finessing this thing.
“Thank you,” he said, edging closer. “For saving her life.”
Cesar turned back laughing. “She comes with me.”
“Hold on,” Abatangelo said, keeping his voice level and easy. “You saved her life, all right. I’m grateful. So is she.”
“You talk for her now.”
“You’re also on the run. Without a car. You steal one, that’s just more heat to deal with. She got you here. That’s a gift. Be grateful. Otherwise you’d be stuck. In your position, stuck means dead.”
“Be grateful,” Cesar repeated. “A gift.” His voice had grown softer, but the harshness remained, as though the words were hitting his teeth. He looked at Shel one more time, then back at Abatangelo. “You people love to talk.” His face was turning pale and his breath was coming faster. The breaths were shallow. He was starting to wet his lips a lot.
“What did you think was going to happen?” Abatangelo said, taking the next step closer. “You save the princess, she falls in love? Kinda fairy tale for a guy like you.”
Cesar tightened his grip on the gun.
“Problem with that kind of thinking, it assumes you can earn her feelings. But you can’t. She either feels something for you, or she doesn’t.”
Cesar backed away from him, to preserve the distance he’d need to aim and fire. He seemed uneasy on his feet, and yet his body looked coiled and ready. He stopped less than a yard from the wall, in the corner formed by the Coke machine.
“Trust me,” Abatangelo went on, “I’ve thought about this long and hard. It’s why we want it so bad. A woman’s love. Best thing going, and there’s not a damn thing we can do to earn it. Am I right?”
“Get me a car,” Cesar said, tugging the gun from his trousers.
Abatangelo lunged, caught the hand gripping the weapon and in the same movement crushed Cesar’s wounded arm against the wall. Cesar gasped and uttered the beginning of a scream that died in a rush of spent air. His knees buckled but he didn’t lose his grip on the gun. Abatangelo tried to pin his wrist back. Cesar butted him, catching him right at the bloody gash near his temple. Abatangelo lost his grip on Cesar’s gun hand. Cesar lurched with his shoulder into Abatangelo’s midriff and drove him back, far enough so he could aim.
