Page 354 of Marcello

“You brought a WOMAN to fight for you?” the raspy voice asked in contemptuous disbelief.

“We had to have somebody to kill Lucrezia,” I replied cheerfully.

“And I’ll gladly kill any of you motherfuckers!” Lucia yelled.

I whirled around and whisper-shouted, “Shut… the fuck… UP!”

“You should keep a tighter leash on your bitch, consigliere,” the deep-voiced man said.

Lucia was about to tear him a new asshole when I held up a single finger.

NO.

A minor miracle occurred: she stayed quiet.

“Let’s keep this civil,” I called out to the Camorra. “Now, about our situation – ”

“If you were going to kill Lucrezia, you should’ve done it yourself.”

I wanted to yell, We’re not savages like YOU – but that was Lucia’s brand of diplomacy: enrage them until they attack you.

“Next time, maybe,” I said cheerfully. “Now – ”

“I told you, we’re not talking to anyone but Dario Rosolini.”

That was when I heard footsteps racing through the atrium.

I glanced back to see Adriano sprinting towards us. When he reached the barricade, he aimed his assault rifle through one of the gaps.

“Where’s Dario?” I whispered.

“He’s coming.”

“Did he kill Cesare?”

“OH yeah,” he said with raised eyebrows.

I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but there wasn’t time to ask. Instead, I turned back to the Camorra.

“Well, gentlemen, I’ve just received confirmation that my brother has indeed killed Cesare, and should be here any moment. Until he arrives, why don’t we discuss how we can resolve this situation amicably?”

“Go fuck yourself, consigliere,” the raspy-voiced man sneered, and the entire courtyard of thugs laughed.

My temper flared –

But before I could say anything, Lucia whispered, “Shut… the fuck… UP!”

I turned to glower at her.

She smiled like a brat. “See how it feels?”

“Touché,” I grumbled –

And then completely forgot about Lucia as I looked past her into the atrium.

Two men were walking into the dimly lit corridor.

One of them was Giorgio, assault rifle clutched in his hands.