Page 90 of Ruthless Consequences

“You’re a piece of shit, Lilo,” he said. “You never deserved her. You never deserved this.” He chucked his chin toward the house and the bakery. “You know what I went through as a kid? I was so severely abused the state was forced to take me from my parents. Then my grandparents took me in. And they were good to me. But it’s not like having your parents. It felt like having nothin’. And then I see the most special girl. She’s sittin’ at the piano with the light falling all around her. Singin’ the prettiest song. A song I felt. For once I felt somethin’ other than emptiness. Then she opens her eyes and looks. Not at Ghetti. Not at me. But fuckin’ you. How’s that fair?”

“You love her so much,” I said, realizing his train had totally derailed. “I gotta get in the bakery.”

“You did this to her!”

“I did,” I said. “And I’ll pay with my life to save her. What about you?”

He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “She’s better off. Because men like you never die. You live forever through them. Like a fuckin’ spirit that’s possessed someone. And they’re never the same again.”

“You fucking piece of shit. You want her to die.”

“She’s better off,” he repeated. “You too.” He raised the gun and I pulled out mine, knowing it was going to be too late. But instead of keeping it trained on my chest, his hand jerked to the side of me. His eyes went wide as his finger pressed the trigger.

I moved just in time.

Two guns went off. Two shots fired.

Sebastiano took a step back, looked down at his chest, then crumbled to the ground. A body hit the cement behind me. Norah. The impact of the bullet must have knocked her down. A blossom of crimson blood stained her dress, over her shoulder. Her nose ran with blood that looked black, her lip was split, and her right eye was swollen shut. He must have roughed her up.

“He was going to kill me one of these days,” she said, then she held pressure to her shoulder and turned her eyes to the sky. “At least it wasn’t my ribs this time. I’ll get up in a second. I always do.”

The door to Valentino’s was open. The lights were out. The air was cool. It smelled like it always did. Fresh-baked bread, sugar, and coffee. My feet barely touched the floor as I made my way through the main area to upstairs, where the bakers did their thing. The Head’s comment about ashes told me just where he was keeping my wife. With the ovens.

There were two ways to get in. The most obvious entrance was from outside. The door was constantly kept open while the ovens were on to allow fresh air in. But there was a door that was kept locked in the baking area. It led downstairs to where the ovens were.

A noise from behind me made me turn, gun pointed. A gun pointed at me too. I lowered mine.

Michele stood between the doorway, his hair sticking up in all different directions. He was pale, but his cheeks were red. He smelled like he’d gone a week on a serious bender. His white T-shirt was stained, and his pants were wrinkled. His arm dropped to his side, and he swayed.

“She’s your Carine, you know that?”

“I know,” I said.

“You fuckin’ it all up! You see me? You see what it means to lose yourself?” His voice was raw and full of emotion. But it wasn’t the time to hash this out.

My life was on the line—my wife.

“I have to save her,” I said, “or I’m done.”

“That’s the most sense you’ve made in your entire life. Your entire life.” He blinked at me. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you call me?”

“Where were you?”

“In the office. I fell asleep after a couple of drinks. Thought I heard something. Here you are. What’s going on?”

I rushed out the store.

“The stairs,” he said. He was blinking rapidly, like he was trying to wake up. “He won’t expect you. Most people only know about the one on the street.” He started for the door. “Fuckin’ thugs! In my bakery. Inmybakery! With my daughter.”

I grabbed him by the arm. He looked at my hand before his eyes turned to mine.

“You think you can shoot and hit?”

He lifted the gun, pointing it toward the window, and got into the firing position. “Everything seems stable enough.” He lowered it.

“I’ll go down from the street. Surrender my gun. You’ll have to take the shot. Wait by the door.”

“You call him a bum, I’ll know it’s time to take the shot.”

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