53. Zola

Chapter 53

Zola

An hour earlier

I couldn’t believe it had come to this.

I was waving a gun riotously at Dante’s men, but they seemed unfazed even though they watched me closely, like hawks on prey. They were certain I was either bluffing or didn’t even know my gun was without bullets. Giotto had removed them before giving it to me. What they didn’t know was that I had found some in Dante’s room.

In order to let them know I wasn’t joking around, I turned around away from all the people present and fired the gun. It resounded in the air like a bomb, almost forcing me to cover my ears with the unexpected blast. One of the female staff screamed, but all I could think of was the hole I’d put in Dante’s gorgeous wall.

Anyhow, that’s solved my problem. The men no longer looked unfazed. I saw their shared looks of concern.

“Get out of my way,” I shouted wildly.

“Calm down, Miss Leone, please. Why not talk to the boss first, huh? Let him come home. What can it hurt to wait a little … hmmm?”

I shook my head. “No, my mind is made up. If you all don’t get out of my way, I’m going to shoot. Starting with you.”

“You’re making a mistake, Miss Leone. This is not a good idea. You are safe here. You won’t be out there.”

“I said, get out of the way.”

“The boss will be angry with us if we let you go.”

‘I swear I will shoot you if you don’t,” I warned.

Reluctantly, they stepped out of the way and I ran to the car in the garage that responded to the key fob in my shaking hand. I had just opened the door when a vehicle screeched to a stop in front of me.

“Get in,” the man who had tried to persuade me said. “We’ll take you where you want to go. You can’t go on your own. It’s too dangerous.”

I hesitated. I didn’t trust them. I didn’t trust that they didn’t have a trick against me up their sleeve.

“That car you’re trying to steal has a jamming mechanism,” the guy in the passenger seat said in a thick New York Bronx accent. “It’s not going to start unless we decide to let it.”

I stared at him in frustration. It looked like I didn’t have a choice so I got into the SUV and we drove away.

“Take me to my former apartment please,” I said and they complied without any arguments.

I kept the gun pointed towards the front and my eyes on the two men via the rearview mirror. I felt terrible. They had saved my life and protected me, but I knew of no other way. If everything worked out the way I planned I would tell them that they were never in any danger. There had only been one bullet in the chamber and I had fired it at the wall.

When we arrived, I waved the gun at them again. I was sure they would try to stop me but they didn’t. Instead, they jumped out and fanned out around the car, their eyes looking all around for signs of danger. I got out of the car and hurried over to my apartment. I didn’t stop until I got to the elevator. I put the gun in the pocket of my jacket and rode the elevator up to the twelfth floor. I knew Dante would be furious with me, but by my reckoning, my plan carried less risk.

“This will help Dante,” I whispered to myself as the elevator doors slid open. I ran towards my apartment. I had no keys so I rang the doorbell. The door was pulled open, and Antoine stood before me. Behind him, I could see Detective Mellor.

He looked at me, shock in his eyes, and then he pulled me in for a huge hug. My mind registered the familiar warmth and I couldn’t help but completely sink into it.

“They said you had been kidnapped?” he accused and I held onto him even tighter.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized.

He pulled away and looked at me with a confused expression. “For what?”

“For dragging you into my mess. I couldn’t think of where else to meet her.”

He made a face. “Ugh! She’s horrible. Imagine having to sleep with that.”

My eyes widened. “Hush,” I whispered.

“Zola,” Detective Mellor called.

“Yeah, I’m here,” I said and moved into the apartment.

“Don’t leave without talking to me first,” Antoine said just before he disappeared into his bedroom.

I stopped in the middle of the place that used to be as familiar to me as breathing, but now it seemed so strange to me, it was as if I’d never lived here. For one it seemed incredibly small and way too bright. Had it really always been so bright?

“I'm happy you contacted me,” Detective Mellor got to her feet.

“Please sit down,” I said.

She smiled and did as I had asked.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“Some water will be fine,” she said.

I retrieved a bottle from the refrigerator.

“With ice and lemon?” I asked.

“Those would be nice. Thank you.”

When it was ready I brought it to her. In another glass, I had Antoine’s famous persimmon iced tea for myself. She acted like she didn’t have a single care in the world and suddenly, I knew I’d made a mistake. I swallowed.

“You wouldn’t let me leave here even if I wanted to, would you?” I asked.

She shook her head and smiled. “No. You’ll either leave here as a participant of the program or in handcuffs.”

“For what?”

She shrugged. “We’ll figure something out, but we need you in our custody and not where Ugo can easily reach you.”

I was so incredibly annoyed to hear that bastard’s name.

“Moretti isn't aware you’ve left … is he?”

“I never said he had me.”

She chuckled softly. “Understood. He’s sure to be pissed though.”

I drained my glass, eager to move on to the matter at hand. “So … how are we going to do this?”

“It’s just like we discussed,” she replied. “We’ll take you into custody as a part of the program. The story will be that you managed to escape from the crash and returned to a place familiar to you and then you called us to come pick you up. Stricter measures will be put in place to protect you.”

“And if Ugo should attack me again?” I asked.

“We’ll be more vigilant this time around, trust me,” she said. “We already lost two of the best, so like I told you on the phone this is no longer just about Moretti. Ugo has severely offended us as well and we will not let him get off. This is not Mexico where you can get off with blatantly attacking the police force. He will be brought to justice. You are very much a key witness in Moretti’s case as you are in Matthew’s and Sarah’s. By the end of all this, there will be no prison time for Ugo. He'll face the death penalty and I’ll make sure of it.”

At the bitterness and conviction in her tone, I felt myself relax just a little bit more. “Okay,” I said. “I’m ready.”

Just then my phone began to ring and I was almost afraid to look down at it. I knew exactly who it was, but I didn’t have the courage to check or even to respond. I knew he would be furious with me.

“What’s happening to Dante right now? Has he been released?”

“He should have been,” she said. “Isn’t he the one trying to call you?”

At her words, I pulled the phone out of my pocket. I couldn’t postpone talking to him especially since I would be taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals soon.

I got up and left the room. I stood at the door to my former room but was unable to go in. Instead, I headed over to the bathroom and shut the door behind me.

I pressed the phone to my ear and for a moment I doubted he was on the other end of the line. There was nothing but silence. He was fuming, but I had to do what was best for both of us. Not just me, but him too. What was the use of me being alive if he was dead?

“I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“Why?” His voice was low and controlled, but I didn’t think if he had yelled, I would have felt his anger any more intensely.

“I think it’s best,” I said. “I couldn’t let them fabricate some vile charges and pin them on you. Given your background, a jury is more likely to convict you than not.”

He was so disappointed and angry with me he couldn’t even speak.

“Dante,” my voice softened. Tears burned in my eyes.

“You don’t understand anything,” he said harshly. “You’ve given away the only winning card I had.”

I thought of him washing my hair and hot tears began streaming uncontrollably down my face. My heart hurt. All the warmth and joy I’d felt, I felt as if I’d killed it.

“Why couldn’t you have trusted me just once?” he whispered.

I could have dealt with him raging and livid, even sarcastic and indifferent, but that defeated, hoarse whisper. It broke me. I felt so distraught I nearly blurted out that I loved him and couldn’t bear to see him suffer even for one moment.

Then I heard Detective Mellor call out to me and it snapped me out of my shallow pity party. I had taken this painful decision because I loved him and wanted to do something truly selfless for him, and now I must face the consequences, whatever they may be.

“I'll be fine,” I said. “I wasn’t kidnapped by you and I’ll be sure to let them know. I won’t let them pin that on you. Please take care of yourself, Dante.”

As I ended the call and switched off my phone, I felt sick. I had defeated him. No one could have defeated that magnificent avenging angel, but me. I bowed my head with sadness. The familiar crushing pain of loss gripping every corner of my chest came back with a vengeance.

There was nothing I could do but welcome it back as an old friend. I returned to the living room and saw that two more men had arrived. Were they U.S. Marshalls? They had watchful eyes, but they nodded at me politely. Detective Mellor was on the phone with her back to me and facing the window, but she turned around when she heard me return.

She put the phone away and smiled at me. “Are you ready to leave?”

I looked at the two burly men. “They’re from the U.S. Marshalls, right?”

“Of course,” she confirmed.

I was led to the underground parking lot and put into their SUV and soon, we were on our way. Detective Mellor came with us which I found peculiar but I couldn’t really say anything. In the past, she never came with Matthew and Sarah, but perhaps because of the ambush they were taking things more seriously. My only wish was that wherever they were taking me would be safe enough.