“He won’t.”
“You don’t know that. You can’t.”
“I said he won’t.” I keep my voice steady. One of us needs to be steady. “Because I’m going to Sal. Tonight.”
Enzo stares at me. “Dario.”
“You’ve been protecting her. I’ve been sitting here waiting. Doing nothing.” I look at the cookies. At the note meant for him. At evidence of what she built with Enzo while I kept my door unlocked and hoped she’d come back. “That ends now.”
“What are you going to tell him?”
“The truth. Mostly.” I’m already thinking through the angles. How to spin this so Sal backs off permanently. “She’s mine. That’s why she was in town. Not gathering evidence. Not working with feds. Visiting me.”
“You’re vouching for her.”
“I’m ending this.” I grab my jacket. Keys. “You stay here. Eat something. Sleep if you can.”
“I can’t just…”
“Yes you can.” I stop at the door. Look back at him. “You’ve been carrying this alone for weeks. Let me handle Sal.”
His jaw works. Fighting the instinct to argue. To take action. To do something.
“She loved you,” I say quietly. “The cookies. The note. That was real, Enzo. Whatever else happens, that was real.”
He nods.
I leave him standing in my kitchen with the cookies she made with hands I’ve held, for a man who held her differently.
Sal’s at the restaurant.
Of course he is. Sal practically lives here. Running the family business over espresso and paperwork, old school methods that somehow still work.
He looks up when I slide into the seat across from him. “Dario.” He sets down his pen. “This is late even for you.”
“We need to talk about the witness.”
His expression sharpens. “Enzo find her?”
“He doesn’t need to. I know where she is. I’ve always known.”
Sal leans back. Studies me with the particular attention he gives problems that need solving. “You’ve known this whole time.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t mention it.”
“No.” I keep my voice level. This is a negotiation. High stakes. “Because she’s not a problem. She’s mine.”
“Yours.”
“We’re together. That’s why she’s been in town. Not gathering evidence. Not working with feds. Visiting me.”
Sal stares at me like I’ve announced I’m joining the priesthood. “You’re fucking the woman who testified against you.”
“I’m seeing her. There’s a difference.” I don’t look away. “She did what she had to do. Saw something and told the truth. I don’t punish people for being honest.”
“Jesus Christ, Dario.” He rubs his face. “Do you have any idea how this looks?”
