Page 72 of Lies like Rubies, Part Two (Savage Jewels)

“Stay there, Miss Sofia.” Tommaso’s footsteps rang out against the tile, echoing in the still empty hall as he checked every alcove and corner. I waited behind the bust, my heart pounding, my hands clammy, ready to protect myself. A few minutes later, he crouched in front of me. “All clear. They used tranq darts, not bullets, and I suspect Vito will be fine.”

A body laid on the floor behind a corner, blood dripping out of his skull where Tommaso shot him.Shit.Gunshots. Bodies.Feds.

Tommaso took one look at the tight expression on my face. “It’ll be fine, Miss Russo. I’ll get a cleanup crew in here shortly.”

I nodded, my breath exploding out of me in a scared huff. I took his hand and stood, pulling my phone out of my bag to check the time. My final would start in five minutes.Shit.

“I gotta go,” I said, shoving my phone back into my bag. “My final’s in the next building over. Full of people. It’ll be fine.”

“You have your gun?” Tommaso asked. I loved him for accepting my decision.

I nodded, my breath still uneven.

“Call Mr. Oscuro and stay on the line with him until you’re in the classroom. I’ll have a man outside the door in a few minutes and waiting for you when you leave.”

Nodding again, I spun on my heel, calling as I power walked to my final.

“Kitten?” Dante answered, when I called.

“Someone tried to attack me here at school,” I gasped. “I’m fine, Vito was tranqued, one dead body. Check on Lizzie, please.”

“She’s fine,” he snapped. “Nico’s with her. I can see her on the cameras, playing with Miss Carolina. What are you doing? Are you safe?”

“I’m walking to my final, Dante. Tommaso’s staying with the body, called a cleanup crew.”

“Fucking hell, Sofia.”

“He asked me to stay on the line with you until I get to the room where I’ll take my final.”

The summer heat blasted me in the face as I exited the library. “And you think taking this final is more important than your life?”

“Dante, I have spent the last four years battling every single person in my life except my daughter so that I can graduate college and stand on my own two feet, including you. If I don’t take these fucking finals, I willneverhave a shot at a normal life. So yes, it’s fucking important,” I snapped right back.

I could practically see him pinching his nose in frustration. “Okay,micetta. You’ve got my full attention. You’re fucking brilliant, and you’re going to do great on your exam.”

Pushing into the building, with one hand in my bag and wrapped around my gun, I ignored the throngs of students around me, all with similar tense expressions, all worried and nervous about finals, the same as me. But I was the only one who had to pass it coming down from a shooting-induced adrenaline spike.

“Yes, I am,” I huffed, pushing into the classroom and slumping into my seat, stressed out of my goddamned mind.

“Kitten,” Dante said, “you’re safe. Lizzie’s safe. Just get through this exam.”

I exhaled sharply and steeled my spine. “Wish me luck, Dante.”

“You don’t need it, kitten.”

Dante’s confidence in me settled into my chest like a ray of goddamned sunshine cutting through clouds on a rainy day.

My phone lit up with text messages.

Nick

You got this, baby.

Lorenzo

*thumbs up emoji*

Dante obviously hadn’t shared the news of what just happened yet. I thumbed the phone onto silent and slid it into my bag. I finished the exam with a few minutes to spare, even after checking my answers. Closing my eyes, I sat in my chair, basking in the relief of having finished one final before gathering my things and dropping the test off at the professor’s desk.

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