Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“Yes,” she spoke in a weak voice. “I hate to admit it, but yes. Now, don’t panic, okay? I’ve got connections. If there’s actually a hit out on you, I’ll try and call it off. I’m so sorry, Piper. I know how you must feel. I’ve been there.”
I breathed in, tears pooling in my eyes. My limbs went numb, and my lips shook as my friend leaned over towards me. She took me in her warm embrace, her words replaying in my mind in a loop. What Leo had suggested as a theory, had been confirmed. Maggie had absolutely no reason or desire to frighten me. She was a dear friend of mine, although I hadn’t seen her in months. I only wished there was something she could do. If she couldn’t, I would receive the ultimate punishment for just doing my job.
29
CESARE
That week of doing diddly squat had felt like a goddamn age.
Tensions were high among us.
But the days that followed after our meeting with the head of the Roselli family were actually worse.
Much worse.
It was hard for me to wrap my head around it, but the truth was staring me in the face. Even the usually cool Matteo, had no intention of speaking. In two days, he broke his silence three times. Once he did, I couldn’t recognize that bastard. He burst out in shouts and cries, reminding me of our mutual friend. The composed man had left the building. In his place was a baffled, loud son of a bitch who wouldn’t keep his voice down.
During a conversation with him, Leonardo got so upset that he went on to destroy everything made of glass in his living room. A thick vase, a platter and a couple of bowls had the misfortune of being around him. After he was done throwing stuff against the walls, all he had was a floor littered with glass and a living room that looked like a grenade had gone off in there.
Their feelings about our situation wouldn’t allow me to reach a decision. One would think that Maggie’s frustration should have convinced me. She wasn’t wrong—I wasn’t blind to that. Her crew had indeed been in the crosshairs of the organization. Still, there was a big difference between acknowledging someone’s fate and working with them to avoid it. Those guys had attempted to execute us. I couldn’t look past that. I couldn’t brush aside the fact that they had walked into a bar, with the intent to empty their rifles into me and my boys.
Regardless of her personal feelings, though, Maggie had brought something very important to my attention: Piper’s predicament.
I told no one about this, but, as we made our way out of the warehouse, I wanted to kick myself in anger. That’s who I was mad at. My own, stupid self. With everything that had been going on, I had failed to contact Piper. I had neglected to do something as simple as picking up my phone and calling her. Our struggle had consumed me. I had put it ahead of everything else, which included communicating with a girl I liked so much.
But that had to change now.
I couldn’t go on pretending that nothing had happened between us.
I couldn’t sit back and watch while the mob went after her.
Unfortunately for me, paying her a visit in the hospital or at her apartment was out of the question. I had to assume both places were being monitored. There would either be wise guys on her block, or their associates would let them know I was there. To see Piper that rainy night, I had to get creative. And take a chance I wouldn’t normally take if the circumstances were different. I knew her building had a fire escape. It was old and rusty, but it would have to do.
I ditched my Torino two blocks away from her neighborhood. Car after car rolling down the drenched road, I held my coat over my head to shield myself from the rain. It was funny, but the bad weather was acting like an ally of mine. Walking around like that, I doubted anybody could recognize me. Besides, whoever had been in charge of monitoring Piper’s building, they had to have known my Torino. They had to have been expecting to see it nearby. I didn’t think anyone thought they would see me on foot. Even so, I kept a good portion of my jacket hanging over my face. Its zipper and part of its hem kept bumping into my forehead almost throughout my walk to Piper’s building.
Noticing the brownish color of that building, I quickened my pace to a jog. I turned right and away from the sidewalk, rainwater tapping onto the metal of that fire escape. I caught a glimpse of some drops falling off its rusty edge as I put my foot on the bottom step. I felt the cold, soaked surface in my palm, starting my climb. I kept my gaze up at the dark sky, raindrops smashing into my forehead and my cheeks.