Protected By the Monster

I stumbled out the door and into the hallway. He kept hold of my arm as he dragged me down the steps. I barely managed to keep up as he held me tight, hard enough to hurt, his fingers digging into my arm.

“Did you do that to my apartment?” I asked.

“Of course,” he said. “What, you think your precious uncle did that?” He laughed, bitter and angry. “No, your precious little mafia uncle has been trying to protect you, but you don’t seem to know that, do you? Stupid, stupid fucking girl. I slept in my goddamn car to get you, and now here you are, like fish to barrel. Is that other saying? Fish to barrel? Or shooting fish in a barrel.”

I staggered down the last flight of stairs and he shoved me forward. I tripped and went sprawling out, my chin snapping down onto the floor. I gasped in pain and rolled onto my side, grabbing at my face. He stood at the bottom of the steps, his arms crossed, shaking his head.

“Look at you, pathetic girl,” he said. “All this trouble for one pathetic little girl. And to think, you’re worth so much money.” His eyes seemed to gleam a dangerous, deadly glint.

I sat up, shaking my head, trying to clear it. I stared at him, and from the darkness beneath the steps, just a few feet behind the man, I saw something move.

At first, I didn’t understand what I was seeing. I thought it might have been my imagination, or maybe I suffered a concussion when I fell.

But no, a figure stepped out from underneath the steps.

I recognized him as he stepped into the light. He raised a gun up, level with the man’s skull. My eyes went wide with terror and the man seemed to notice.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

Just as Luca pressed the gun against the back of his head.

“You shouldn’t have hurt her,” he said. “I thought about letting you live, at least long enough to ask you some questions. But you know what? I’d rather see your brains on the wall than listen to you complain, you little fucking piece of shit.”

“Wait—”

Luca pulled the trigger.

The gunshot was loud, so much louder than they are in movies. My ears began to ring and I felt dizzy as the bullet ripped through the man’s head, sending brain and blood and shards of bone splattering against the wall next to where I sat. The man’s body stumbled forward like it was still alive then crumpled down to the floor, folding in on itself.

Luca shot him twice more in the chest before putting his gun away. He spit down on the corpse before walking to me and holding out his hand.

He said something, his mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear. I shook my head, blinking, trying to clear my mind. But I was dizzy, terrified, and splatters of blood covered my face.

He bent down, spoke louder. “Are you okay?” I heard through the ringing.

“I’m okay,” I said, although maybe I shouted it, I couldn’t tell.

“Come on,” he said, taking my arm and hauling me up. “Let’s go back.”

I nodded, mute, dumb, and afraid, but alive. I leaned against him as he walked to the door and opened it. We managed to leave the building as my downstairs neighbor poked his head out from his apartment and began to scream incomprehensible noises.

“That’ll be a problem,” Luca said, hustling me down the stoop. “That guy’s going to talk.”

“How did you know?” I asked him as Luca led me away from the house. “How did you find me?”

“I saw you were gone and made an educated guess,” he said. “Now hurry up, we have to go.”

He took me to a black sedan, opened the door, and pushed me inside.

I curled up on the seat and stared out the windshield, the world moving around me in jerky, uneven motions, as my ears continued to ring and ring and ring.7LucaI made sure Clair was safe and in her room before closing her door and heading downstairs. She was in shock and could barely talk, let alone understand the gravity of our situation.

She fucking tricked me. I was livid with her, so fucking livid with her. She tricked me into going out for lunch and then ran as soon as I left the house.

And worst of all, she went straight back to her apartment. Right back to the one place where the Jalisco were absolutely going to catch her.

She didn’t get it. That much was obvious. She had no clue just how much danger she was in, but now that she had brains and blood splattered on her face, maybe now she’d listen.

I picked up my phone and called Roberto. I didn’t have a direct line for the Don, but Roberto was close enough. He ignored my first call, ignored the second, but picked up the third.