Page 36 of Cara

I'm not even surprised. “He’s with Chicago? What is he? A capo? A soldier?”

“He’s outside the Mafia. He has a hideout in Reykjavík. I’ve been there once when Nicky’s operation fell apart. He hid me for months. I’ve been flying under the radar since.”

“And this man is helping you out of the goodness of his heart?”

She gives me a deadpan look. “There are decent people in this world, Sophia. He was an associate of Nicky’s. He visited Chicago frequently. He saw me in trouble, and he helped me.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“I help him out, too. I became pretty good with a computer when Nicky was selling in the underground.”

In this life,nothingcomes free. “And you trust him?”

“As much as I can trust anyone. That doesn’t say much, but it’s something.” She chuckles. “I trust him a hell of a lot more than our father or Dominic, that’s for sure.”

The cold-hearted fury I could have unleashed two minutes ago has settled enough for me to deposit myself into the chair across from her. The day has taken its toll on me. “Listen, ifyou’re not here to kill me, let me thank you and be done with it. You should get as far away from me as you can.”

She tilts her head, eyes slanting in disbelief.

“You’d let me leave without asking about him? Really?”

She doesn’t have to say his name for me to know who she’s referring to.

“I don’t know if I want to know,” I whisper, waiting for her to tell me about my husband. She doesn’t, and thatterrifiesme enough not to ask, hoping she’ll drop the subject.

She inhales while standing. “We can save that for another time. For now, let’s grab what you need and get as far away from this place as we fucking can.”

She gathers some of my clothes, stuffing them into her duffel bag. I watch her, eyes wide.

“Victoria, stop. I'm not going with you.”

“If you want to live?—”

The words die on her lips as our movement halts, both of us hearing tires squeal to a stop on the cobblestone pavement. With one grave look at each other, we spring into action. She scoops up the gun from the table. I’m grabbing my bag, stuffing in whatever I can find that holds any significance. Mostly weapons I’ve stashed around the apartment.

“Come on!”

“Wait, my passport!”

“That name is no good.” She thrusts a new booklet into my hands. “You’re lucky I came prepared. Let’s fucking go!”

As she grabs the doorknob, it recoils back on her, shaking violently.

Hearing low voices speaking in Italian sends me spiraling, reminding me that I prepared for this. My eyes lock on the window by the kitchen. I lead her to it, shoving the glass open.

“I think she’s in there!”

She climbs through first, and I follow closely behind her, my feet landing on unstable shingles. Vickie grabs my arm,cursing as we slide to the edge. I unwind the chain ladder, releasing it to full length alongside the brick building. It clatters as I test my weight upon it, catching Vickie wince as I scale towards the ground.

Halfway down and I'm heaving.Dio, it’s high up.

As my feet hit the ground, the initial sigh of relief I release is replaced by dread. Icy, seeping through my veins.

The streetlight’s gone.Gone.

Victoria screams, but a rough hand is already closing over my mouth. A scratchy voice hissing in my ear drowns her out. The voice of someone who can barely speak.

“You could’ve fucking killed me earlier, you know that?”