Page 41 of Vincenzo (The DiMaggio Crime Family #3)
AMALIA
“ F ucking figures that pendejo would call the cops on us,” Armando says.
“You’re sure it was him?” Enzo asks.
“The neighbors know not to report the shit they hear from over here, so it must’ve been him,” Armando says.
“What does that mean now that your dad is out of the picture?” I ask, knowing he owned the chief of police.
Armando clenches his jaw and lets out an audible sigh while the sirens grow clearer in the distance. They’re getting closer.
“It means you need to get out of here.” Armando snaps his gaze to Enzo’s. “Both of you. Now. ”
I grab hold of my cousin’s arm. “Armando, I can’t?—”
“Yes, you can, Amalia.”
“No, I can’t just leave you to deal with this.” My voice is controlled, but inside, I’m shaking to my core. The only thing keeping me upright is the death grip I have on my cousin’s forearms.
“Miami isn’t safe for you anymore,” Armando says, snapping my attention back to him as realization dawns on me. My cousin must notice the hurt in my eyes at what he just said because he immediately follows it up with “At least for now.”
Armando glances at Enzo before settling his gaze back on mine. “You need to get out of Florida until I get this cleaned up.”
“This isn’t your responsibility. I’m the one who did this. I should be the one to clean it up.”
“Absolutely not. You’ve done enough, Amalia. You avenged our parents’ deaths. You’ve done more than enough.”
“And this does not all fall back on you,” Enzo says. “We all had a part in what went down tonight. We all fucking killed some people, but what’s important right now is getting you the fuck out of here.”
“You’re not going down for this shit, Amalia,” Armando says. “You know I’ve worked with Chief Valdez before, so let me handle this.”
“I can’t leave you here to?—”
“You can and you will,” he says, and the authority in his voice is unwavering.
“Armando, por favor ?—”
“There’s keys to Diego’s boat in the boat house over there,” Armando says to Enzo. “The code is two nine five three six. On the right-hand side of the wall, you’ll see the keys. Take them and get her out of here.”
Enzo nods and moves to push me toward the boat house.
The sirens get louder.
“I’m not leaving!” I yell.
“Go, Amalia!” Armando yells back at me, and it’s the first time he’s ever done that.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before opening them again.
“Go,” he says, this time softer, almost as if he’s pleading with me.
“I’ll take care of everything here. Look at this as your chance to go and live the life you could never have being stuck here.
This is your chance… Your chance to get out. ”
Get out.
Is that what I want?
Miami and the cartel are all I’ve ever known, and now Armando’s telling me to leave just like that? To get out and live the life I was never able to have. Is that what I want?
He must see the hesitation on my face. “I will not let you go down for this shit. Go, Amalia. I’ll keep you updated, but I need you to go right fucking now .”
The sirens are close now.
“I don’t like this, Armando.” I shake my head, unable to wrap my mind around what he’s telling me to do.
“We have to go,” Enzo says through clenched teeth. He looks over his shoulder as if he expects the police to raid and take us away at any second.
“I can’t just leave him, Enzo,” I cry out. “He’s the only family I have. What would that say about me if I leave him here to pick up my mess?” I’m desperate for Armando to understand. Leaving him here by himself could put him in a bad spot. I can’t do that to him.
Screeching tires sound, and I’m sure the police have just pulled up to the front of the house.
Armando looks at Enzo and says, “You need to get her out of here. Whatever it fucking takes. Get. Her. Out.”
Enzo nods, and before I know it, he has me hiked over his broad shoulder and is running toward the boat house.
“No!” I cry out. “What if Armando goes down for all of this, Enzo?”
He doesn’t answer me as he enters the code to the boat house. I lift my head and watch as Armando hurries toward the front of the house, surely to try and head off the police.
“Put me down, Enzo!”
He doesn’t answer me and grabs the keys to the boat and races through the trees and shrubbery toward the dock. I punch him on his back and flail my legs around, but it’s no use.
It’s not until he places me on the cushioned seat in Diego’s boat that he speaks. “I’m sorry I had to carry you out of there like that, but we have to go, Amalia.”
“How can you leave my cousin to pick up our mess? What is wrong with you?” I yell at him, anger bubbling in me at the possibility of Armando getting in trouble for what we’ve done.
What I’ve done. This was all my doing. Everything.
Enzo and Armando might’ve killed the guards, but this entire night happened because of me . They did it to help me .
Enzo’s eyes glisten under the dock lighting, sympathy taking over his face at my harsh words. “You heard what he said. He has connections with the chief of police. He’ll get out of this.”
“If that’s the case, then why’d he insist on getting me out of there?” I demand. “If there wasn’t any concern, it would’ve been fine if I stayed.”
“That’s not always how things work in our world, and you know it,” he murmurs as if he didn’t really want me to hear the words.
“I don’t know who was called to the scene, but chances are, Armando will get either arrested or at least questioned about the crime scene.
He doesn’t want you around that, and I don’t either.
I won’t apologize for getting you away from that shit. ”
Voices sound in the distance from Diego’s home, drawing both of our attention back to the house, but we can’t see anything with the trees in the way.
Enzo’s widened eyes meet mine. “We’re leaving, and I swear if you do anything to get out of this boat, I will drag your ass back here and tie you to me. Do you understand?”
I avert my gaze because honestly, jumping from this boat doesn’t seem like the worst idea.
“I said, do you understand, Amalia? ”
As much as I want to go back and help my cousin, I know everything he and Enzo are doing is for me .
If I go back now, Enzo will follow me, and if all hell broke loose, they’d both cover for me.
I have to trust that Armando knows what he’s doing.
I can’t put Enzo in a position where he could suffer the consequences for my actions.
“I understand,” I whisper.
Enzo leans in and kisses my forehead. “I would do anything to protect you,” he says, then jumps back onto the dock and hurries to untie the boat.
He throws the ropes back onto the boat, and I should get up and help, but it’s like I’m frozen to the spot and all I can do is watch.
Before I know it, Enzo has the boat started and he’s taking off into the bay. I turn back to look at Diego’s house, not sure what I expect to get from it but wishing there was some sort of sign from Armando letting me know everything’s all right.
My mind wanders with all the possible outcomes. I’m trapped in it, concern for my cousin so prominent I don’t realize Enzo’s sitting next to me until his hand is on my leg.
I slowly bring my gaze up to his. “I didn’t know you could drive a boat,” I say, and it’s just what we needed to lighten the mood.
Everything will be okay. It has to be.
Enzo breathes out a laugh. “We have a lake house in upstate New York. We practically grew up there during the summers.”
I give him a small smile, then it’s quiet between the two of us, nothing but the slight breeze and the small waves bouncing off the boat filling the night air.
“He’s the only family I have left,” I finally whisper. “I can’t lose him too.”
Enzo wraps his arm around my shoulders and draws me into him. “He’s not the only family you have left anymore,” he says. “But I promise you’re not going to lose him. I won’t let that happen. Ever.”
I turn my head to peer into Enzo’s dark eyes, and it’s the first time I’ve been able to let out a breath of relief since getting on this boat.
It’s impossible for Enzo to predict the future like that, and I know anything could happen, but there’s something about his tone of voice and the sincerity in his eyes that has me believing him.
We might not know what’s going to happen, but at this moment, I know I’m not alone and no matter what, Enzo and I will figure it out. Together.