Page 40 of Salvatore

I’m already racing down the hall, fumbling with my phone as I shove myself into my wool coat.

“9-1-1. What’s your emergency?”

“My name is Adrianna Daniels. I’m a guidance counselor at James Harris High School. I just learned two students are about to fight at the Block.”

“Where?”

“The Block.” I curse when I slip on the first step and twist my ankle.

“What did you say?” the irate operator snaps back.

“It’s a basketball court. I think it’s near Halladay and Communipaw.”

“Holliday and what?”

“Halladay and Communipaw,” I say louder.

“What city?” she asks, getting testy.

I curse again, this time with frustration as I limp out the door. This is the problem with calling from a cell phone. “Jersey City.”

“Please hold while I connect you.”

I’m cramming myself into my car with my purse smacking against my side and my dangling coat only half on when the call disconnects. “Hello? . . . Hello? Damn it.”

I stare at my phone, debating whether I should call again. But instead of dialing 9-1-1 again, I scroll through my contact list. Beneath Autumn’s phone number is Salvatore’s. I close my eyes briefly, take a breath, and punch the number.

“Hello?” his sleepy voice answers.

“H-Hi. It’s Aedry.”

Suddenly he’s awake. “What’s wrong?”

“Gianno went to the Block. It’s an old basketball court near Halladay?”

“I know where it is. What the hell’s he doing there?”

“He’s meeting a kid he’s supposed to fight.”

He swears and I can hear him rustling in his sheets.

“Sal, what’s wrong?” a woman asks in the background.

I pause in the middle of yanking my coat free from my closed car door. There’s a woman in his bed . . . just four days after he kissed me.

I shove aside my petty jealousy and focus. “Salvatore, I’m scared,” I tell him truthfully. “This boy Gianno is meeting is violent and a known drug dealer?”

“I’m on my way.”

“I’ve tried calling the police?”

“No, no cops,” he snaps. “I’ll take care of it. Just stay where you are and I’ll call you when I have him.”

He disconnects, leaving me to stare numbly at the screen.

My mind races with what to do. It shouldn’t take Salvatore long to get there, but it won’t take long for Keon to hurt Gianno . . . or possibly shoot him.

I’m closer to the Block than Salvatore is. I know I can arrive sooner. But I realize that in going, I’m rushing into danger.

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