Page 131 of When She Loves
“It’s not a demotion. You’re sending me into fucking exile.”
“Yeah, well, I think that’s a lot better than the pit of hell you were about to land in.”
I see a flash of amusement in his eyes before he reins it in. “You’re a fucking asshole. I can’t believe this is what I get for the decade I’ve given you.”
I place a hand on his shoulder. “I’m doing this to keep you alive. I’m your don, and this is an order.”
He grinds his jaw.
“We don’t have time for negotiations. This is happening. Sandro, we’re going back to my house to pick up documents for you and Nero. Then we have to get some gas.”
“Got it, boss. I’m ready when you are.”
Nero spreads his arms open. “And what am I supposed to do?”
“Stay put and think about your nice new life.”
He shakes his head. “I saw an old bottle of bourbon in the kitchen. Maybe I’ll drink myself into a stupor before you come back.”
“Just don’t do anything stupid,” I tell him, already halfway out the door.
When we get back to the house two hours later, Ras and Giorgio are there with Garzolo’s dead guys. They’re lying on the floor and still covered in a lot of dirt.
Nero crouches beside the larger one, eyeing him skeptically. “So this is supposed to be me?”
Giorgio nods. “He’s about the same height and has a similar bone structure.”
“I think the other guy looks more like Sandro than this one looks like me.”
“He’ll do. Even if they suspect something, the DNA test will put their suspicions to rest.” Giorgio glances out the window. “Sun will rise soon, so we should get moving.”
I walk over to the two bodies. The one who’s supposed to be Nero has a bullet in his head. The other guy’s chest is shot up. “I’ll say Nero convinced Sandro to turn to his side. We got into a shootout, and I had to kill Sandro too.”
“And you set the house on fire?” Giorgio asks. “You’ll have to explain that too.”
“Heard a siren in the distance. Didn’t have time to drag both of them out and had to cover my tracks.”
Ras nods. “Not bad.”
“We’ve got four cans of gasoline,” I say. “That’ll be plenty.”
“Here.” Giorgio tosses Nero his car keys. “Take my car. It’s a rental, so you’ll have to dump it somewhere. Buy a new car, and use your fake ID.”
I reach inside my jacket and take out a plastic baggie with two California IDs and a few thick wads of cash. “This should be enough for a few weeks.”
Nero nods. “I’ve got a few offshore accounts. Can I assume those are safe to access through the dark web?”
“Should be fine, but remember, you can’t be flashy,” Giorgio says. “And use a VPN.”
“Yeah, I’m not a fucking idiot.” Nero glances at Sandro. “You ready?”
My driver shrugs. “As ready as I’ll ever be, boss.”
I walk up to Sandro and shake his hand. “Keep an eye out for him. Don’t let him do anything stupid. Remember, you two have to blend in and stay under the radar.”
He nods. “Will do.”
I move toward Nero. “We had a good run.”
