He yapped in delight.
We left the gated community. In the rear-view mirror, I could make out Oscuro and Beppe following in the Range Rover.
“I have a meeting with the Historical Society next week. Hopefully, Salisbury will show his face.”
“Has he still not left the house?”
“He has a delicate ego,” I laughed. “Are there any leads on who shot Don Piero?”
The atmosphere in the car grew heavy quickly. I hadn’t meant to point out the Outfit’s failure, but the sooner we found out who killed Don Piero, the better. Especially in terms of gaining favor with the Outfit, which would help our rise to power.
“No,” Alessandro said eventually. “We have figured out where they shot from, but there were no cameras–or eyewitnesses.”
I could tell it was weighing on him. Not only because his grandfather had been assassinated, but because Dante and I had been in the firing line.
The act itself rose a lot of questions about how strong the Outfit was. If we couldn’t protect our don, who could we protect?
“I’m sure they’ll reveal themselves soon. These things never stay secrets for long,” I said.
Alessandro didn’t answer.
I looked over to him, opening my mouth, when I caught sight of his expression
His eyes were trained on the rereview mirror, darkening rapidly. He looked over his shoulder, fingers tightening on the wheel.
My husband’s entire body seemed to tighten, to ready. It was the same look I imagined a lion made just before it pounced.
“Put on your seatbelt,” he growled.
“It’s on. What’s—?”
Alessandro ramped up the car, foot to the floor.
I looked over my shoulder just in time to see two unfamiliar cars speeding up to us. One reached the Range Rover, hovering on their left. A window rolled down and—
“They’ve got a gun!”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, they fired, barely missing Oscuro. The Range Rover swerved, clipping the front of the second car.
My stomach dropped.
I snapped my head back to Alessandro.
This was not a situation I could do anything about. I did not know how to shoot a gun, how to scare these two cars away. Manipulation and patience would do absolutely nothing in this situation.
All I could really do was put my trust in Alessandro.
I twisted in my seat, peering down at my son. Dante was...fast asleep. His little fists were curled, and his eyelids scrunched up tight.
“Sit down,” snapped Alessandro, swerving the vehicle. We took a corner almost on two wheels, nearly sending me flying into the window.
Polpetto yelped furiously.
Behind us, the bodyguards’ SUV fell back, locked into combat with one of the enemy cars. Seeing an opportunity, the second car revved up and began advancing on us.
I stashed Polpetto by my feet, who immediately slipped under the seat, shaking. Then I unbuckled my seatbelt and began crawling to the middle seat.
“Sophia, I swear to God—”
I managed to climb over Dante’s baby seat before tripping at the last second and landing roughly on a seatbelt.
“Shit—Ow—”
“Are you okay?” Alessandro asked, taking another corner like a NASCAR driver.
“Fine,” I grumbled, sitting up and belting in. Dante was still peacefully asleep. “We need to protect Dante.”
My husband took the car over a curb, almost taking out a lamppost. Furious yells and horns followed us as we sped away. “I know that!”
I braced my hands on either side of Dante.
I had the sudden clawing sensation of not being able to protect my son. Alessandro couldn’t very well pull over and let us out. Whatever happened was completely out of my hands. I didn’t get to decide the outcome, not like everything else in Dante’s life—–in my life.
I stared at the back of my husband’s head.
Alessandro would do whatever it took to protect Dante, and I. Would that change how he reacted in this situation? Whoever had decided to attack had chosen a time when Alessandro was with his wife and son.
My grip tightened.
“Sophia, in the backseat, there is a blanket. Under the blanket, there are some guns. I need you–”
I was already up on my knees, bending into the back. Alessandro wasn’t kidding, beneath a heavy gray blanket was a considerable collection of firearms.
I grabbed the first one I saw.
The last time I had held a gun was on my wedding day, I realized abruptly. I had forgotten how heavy they were, how brash to the touch.
I yanked it over, moving it to the front seat.
Alessandro took it with one hand, flicking off the safety.
“We need to change places,” he barked.
“You are not starting a shootout with my son in the car!” I almost shrieked.
“We don’t have much of a choice! Now, take the wheel!”
I scrambled into the front seat and into Alessandro’s lap. He waited until both my hands were on the wheel and my foot next to his on the accelerator, before untucking himself from me and getting into the passenger side.
As I buckled up, I narrowly missed an old lady pushing her shopping cart. “Shit!”
Alessandro rolled down his window, the rushing wind blowing into the SUV.
The city grew closer and closer, the streets growing busier and the skyscrapers blocking my view.
Alessandro didn’t seem to notice as he leaned out the window and fired.
The sound resonated through the inside—and woke Dante up.
My son let a piercing wail, as pitched as the gunshot. Immediately, my breasts began to grow heavier.
This is not the time! I hissed to myself.
“It’s okay, baby!” I called back, swerving. “Shh, shh, it’s okay—Alessandro!”
Alessandro snapped back, just before a bullet pierced the air where he had been. He swore loudly before leaning out and aiming once more.
Screams from pedestrians began from outside, barely audible over the sound of my son crying.
Alessandro fired once again.
Suddenly, there was a screech of tires behind us, then the sound of metal clashing with metal.
“Got them!” Alessandro said.
I pressed my foot to the brake a little too enthusiastically, and we skidded for a second before the SUV stopped.
In the second of silence, I could suddenly feel my entire body. The pounding of my heart, the rushing of my blood, the constriction of my lungs. A scream, or a sob, was working its way up my throat—
Dante let out another wail.
“Are you okay?” Alessandro demanded. He grabbed both sides of my face, his hands smelling of gunpowder. “Sophia!”
“I’m fine. Go...go and see who it was. Before they get away.”
Alessandro didn’t move.
I pushed at him lightly. “Go. Now. Or it was all for naught.”
He kissed my forehead and checked on Dante before sliding out of the car and storming away.
I unbuckled Dante, holding him to my chest. He whined in my arms, unhappy and frightened. And from the smell of his diaper, he was also uncomfortable.
Outside the car, I could make out Alessandro whipping open the crashed car’s door and yanking out whoever was shooting at us. Blood coated half their face, their pale skin broken up by cuts and scrapes.
A roaring sound caught my attention and I spotted a familiar Range Rover speeding around the corner, almost taking out a row of parked cars.