Page 16 of Mafia Betrayal

“No shit. Now, get in the car and leave.”

He continued to stand by the car, one hand on the top of the door, the other clenched like he was trying hard not to show any emotion.

Men. Always had to be so prideful. It would kill them one day. Natural selection at its finest.

I could leave him in the parking lot, bleeding out, but I needed him alive. He was going to give me a second chance, whether I had to force him to or not.

“I can help you,” I said, gazing at the wound.

“I don’t need your help.”

“I know someone who can take the bullet out.”

“I can take it out myself.”

I clenched my jaw and dug my finger into his side, close to his wound. “Get in the damn car, Alessandro.”

He winced as my finger dug into him deeper, threatening to hurt him. “You’re fucking crazy.”

I pushed him to the passenger side, then slammed the door in his face. I hopped into the car and sped out of the lot, dialing Ray’s number.

“Meet me at my place now. Bring something to remove a bullet.”

“Chiara, are you ok—”

“Just do it.”

I ended the call and focused on finding the quickest route back to my apartment. As I took a turn onto Fifth, a car sped out of a side street and began tailing me. He drove closer and closer, his high beams shining brightly into my car.

“Qual è il loro fottuto problema?” Alessandro shook his head and removed his gun from his waistband again. “Step on it.”

I pressed my foot to the floor, and we sped down Fifth Avenue, running red lights and skirting around bends. Someone began to shoot at us. The back windshield broke, the glass littering the floor.

“Vai!Vai!” Alessandro shouted, pointing ahead, like I already wasn’t hitting one hundred miles per hour.

“Will you please tell me who the hell these guys are?”

Alessandro reloaded his gun, opened the window, and stuck one hand out of the car. “Sicilian Mafia. Isreginettahappy now?”

He shot twice, and the car swerved.

“Fuck me. This is not how I wanted tonight to go.”

“Then, drive!”

I stepped on the gas, pressing it down as far as it would go. I couldn’t lose them, no matter how many turns I took or how fast this car drove. They were on my ass, and they weren’t leaving.

There was one way I knew I would be able to get rid of them. I slammed on the brakes, made a quick U-turn around a bend, and drove as fast as I could to the dock that Alessandro had made me wait at yesterday.

I continued to speed as Alessandro shot at the men behind us. The car swerved into a building, the airbags blowing up. I sighed in relief, stupidly thinking that we had lost them, when another car pulled up behind me.

Alessandro swore under his breath and pulled himself back into the car, reloading his gun. “I hope you know where you’re going.”

I had the urge to say something rude to him, but I shut my mouth and focused on getting to the dock.

When we finally approached it, I pulled off the side of the road, steering straight for the water.

The car behind us followed, and I called to Alessandro, “Shoot out his left tire when I tell you to.”

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