Page 87 of Of Beauty, Brains, & Bravery

“What do you mean, it’s okay, Jimmy? It’s not okay. We’ve got to get you to the hospital.”

“I just need to say one thing, boss,” he said weakly, squeezing my hand. “Please.” His eyes pleaded with mine, and I could feel my heart racing.

“What is it, Jimmy?”

“Don’t ruin your shot at love, boss,” he said, nodding over to Callie, who was staring at us with wide eyes.

“Hold on, Jimmy. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

“If I don’t make it, I want you to know you’re my best friend, boss. I’d give my life for you, and I know you’d give your life for her.” He looked over at Callie and then back at me. “She’s real pretty, boss. Real pretty.” And then his eyes fluttered closed, and his hand dropped from mine.

“Alessandro, what the fuck are you still doing standing there?” I looked back at him. I could hear my father and Tommasso laughing as if they thought the situation was funny. I pressed my hand to Jimmy’s chest and started trying to give him CPR. “Help me; somebody help me.” Callie squeezed my shoulder. Her eyes were full of tears, and she started sobbing.

“He didn’t make it,” she said, shaking her head. “He saved my life, but I don’t think he made it.” She started wailing. I touched his forehead. He was already going cold. I grabbed his wrist and tried to feel for a pulse, but there was nothing. Alessandro grabbed Callie and her mother and pulled them into his arms.

“Antonio, we’ve got to go,” he said. He came over to me and pulled me up. “We’ve got to go. Jimmy’s gone.” I couldn’t believe it. My best friend died. His life had been taken from him in mere moments, and it was because of me. He’d given his life to save and protect Callie because he knew. He knew how I felt about her even when I hadn’t been able to admit it to myself. I looked over at Callie, and my heart thudded. All I could see was anger and pain. I didn’t think she would ever forgive me, but I knew if I had to choose between Jimmy or Callie, it would’ve been Callie, and Jimmy knew that. He was the best friend a guy could ever ask for. I felt like I was walking on air in a dream. I felt like I wanted to cry, yet tears would not come. I walked over to my father and Tommasso. Luisa was crying as she held my father’s hand.

“We did bad things, Antonio. I know that. I have a conscience. I tried to do my best by Elisabetta. I wanted to be the woman she needed for a mother, but it hurt. It hurt to know that he had a child with her.” She spat at Phillipa. “And not with me.”

Roberto looked at her. “You were never my type, Luisa. You were just a good-time gal.”

“But I loved you, Roberto. I always loved you. I did bad things for you. You did bad things.”

Roberto grinned. “That’s life, Luisa. I’m Don Roberto Marchesi.”

“Did you ever love me?” she asked. I could see my father looking contemplatively at her, then at me, and then at Alessandro.

“The only thing I ever loved in my life,” he said, “was the way men feared me and the way women loved me. I could look at a woman, and she would drop to her knees and suck my cock, and I didn’t even have to ask her. So take that as you will, Luisa.”

She stared at me. “I’m sorry,” she said. And before I knew what was happening, she’d grabbed my father’s gun from his hand and shot him dead in the heart.

“Luisa, stop!” I yelled. But before I could stop her, she’d shot herself as well. She fell to the ground on top of him. Callie and her mother were both screaming in Alessandro’s arms. He looked at me and shook his head. His face was grim.

“We gotta go, bro.”

Tommasso looked up at me, bitterness in his eyes. “I guess that saying’s true. Live by the sword, die by the sword.”

“You don’t even care,” I said, “about any of this.”

Tommasso shrugged. “I just wanted a taste of power,” he said. “It should have been me. I would’ve made a better Don. I could have been someone. I could have taken over this country.”

I bit down on my lower lip. “Is that really Callie’s mom?” I asked, wondering if this was some sort of trick.

“No,” he said and then burst out laughing. “Yeah, it’s Callie’s mom. I took her. Your dad wanted me to. She’s been locked up for years now. Hey, at least she wasn’t lonely, right?”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Well, he had a bit of Phillipa, and I heard she enjoyed it.” Callie gasped, and Phillipa started sobbing even more.

“Are you saying my father raped her?”

“I don’t know,” Tommasso said. “I don’t care if it was willing or not.”

I grabbed my gun and pointed it at him. This man did not deserve to live. “Is my mom alive, too?” I asked him, wondering if perhaps this whole nightmare would be ended if I could just hold my mom again. I knew she could hug me and tell me that it was all okay, that she was still here as well. Maybe she was locked up somewhere, too.

“No,” Tommasso said, his eyes shuddering slightly.

“Are you sure? Is my mother alive, Tommasso?” His eyes flickered open, and he looked at me. There was an evil smile on his face.

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