Page 26 of Delivered in White

“Relax. It’s just a fear tactic. I got access to everyone in this building, your team, even the janitor. Once I’m on a job, Capri…I’mona job.” He whips open his car door and lingers, staring at the road. “Besides. I just saved all their lives.” He shields his face as he drops into the seat of his car. I go to take my seat, but his big hand pushes me back upright. “Wave to them.”

“To who?” A pit forms in my belly as he revs the car.

“Just wave. Okay, now get in here.” He pulls me into the seat by my slacks.

“Trino—I thought you said…”

“I wanted you to feel safe while I got to the bottom of what’s going down.”

I shut the door, noticing my palms are clammy as I buckle my seatbelt. “What do you meangoing down? Hey, Toretto.Stop with the vague—”

He whips the car out of the parking lot as two black Town Cars swerve to follow us. I turn to see a thick-bearded man with a scar down his eye and gritted teeth speeding up to our tail. My head whips along with the car as Trino starts his rollercoaster driving.

I think about flailing and hitting him, but I realize how serious the situation is getting. “They’re after me, then? You lied about them not looking for me?”

“Was mistaken.” Trino is as calm as the summer breeze. “Don Carlo was more tactful about things, even if he was a bit of a scumbag. Seems like the guy who took over is a bit of a hothead who likes to jump to conclusions. Might be a decent leader though… because he was right in this case.”

I rack my brain.Don Carlo… Don Carlo…“Leader of the Barone family?”

“Yeah, until Leandro Rigiano put a bullet in his head. Now it’s Don Vino – owner of Scetto Wine Company.”

“Andwhyagain is he sending two cars to J. Witt?”

“To bag you as collateral until Sonny shows up… which obviously ain’t happening.” Trino pulls out a pistol and openshis window. “I know Vino isn’t playing around, because he sent imports to get you.” He sticks his arm out the window and starts shooting blindly behind him, then swerves in front of a Ford Bronco, and again down a residential street.

I’m doing Hail Marys with my eyes closed as motion, gunshots, and screeching overwhelms me. When the car stops bouncing from side-to-side, I take a breath. “Imports? Like, hitmen from Italy imports?”

“Yeah. If you hadn’t waved at them, they would’ve tortured your friends and left a massacre at Witt.”

My eyes widen. “Okay, that’s a lot to take in. So you essentially used me as bait to save my friends. I can’t tell if that’s noble or whether you’re insane—ah!”

Skrrrrrt!

The car swerves so hard it drifts out of the backyard alley onto the next main road. One of the Town Cars crashes into a dumpster and skids into a one-eighty, while the others tails us at high speed.

“I really hate that I’m getting used to my heart exploding out of my chest.” I hold the door handle with both hands.

Trino scowls and steps harder on the gas. “You might be built for this yet.”

“No thank you!”The back of my head plasters to the headrest. My peripherals are just blurs of motion as the trees and residential houses zoom by.

“Hold on.” He lowers his window again when there are no cars separating ours and the Lucrazi one.

Wait. Why is he lowering my window too?

“You think you could wave for me again?”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

I’m scared I’ll lose my arm if I stick it out the window at this speed, and just as I’m thinking it, he slows abruptly, causing the Town Car to slam on the breaks behind us, tires screeching.

“Now!”his voice springs me into action, and just as I wave, he opens the driver’s side door, leans low out of the car with his pistol aimed, and fires three shots.

Pffffth!

A tire pops and the car loses its traction, swerving every which way.

---