Chapter 95
Niccolo
We heard Dario’s panicked shouts all the way down on the first floor.
Lars, Rachel, Massimo, Valentino, Roberto, and I raced up the stairs as fast as we could, with a swarm of foot soldiers behind us. Adriano had already left for Florence – otherwise he would been with us, too.
For me, Dario’s shouting brought up the terrifying memory of the night Papa died –
When Adriano had screamed for help.
My mind immediately flew to Cesare Caproni.
Is he here in the HOUSE?!
I’d tripled security around the mansion, and foot soldiers were watching every security camera we had, so I knew it was impossible –
And it turned out not to be true.
But the reality was almost as bad.
When we burst into the master bedroom, Alessandra was on all fours and whimpering in pain. Dario knelt beside her, clutching her hand.
“What’s wrong?!” I shouted.
My brother looked up at me with the most fear I’d seen on his face since the night the Turk had held Alessandra at gunpoint. “I think she’s going into labor.”
Alessandra was only seven months pregnant.
And with Cesare and Lucrezia out there, waiting –
Christ, this couldn’t have come at a worse time!
“I’ll call an ambulance,” I said calmly as I pulled out my phone.
“To take her where – San Luca?!” Dario said incredulously, naming the only small hospital nearby.
I understood why he was objecting:
San Luca was where Papa had died.
There was probably nothing they could have done for him – after all, they didn’t know he had been poisoned –
But in our family, ‘San Luca’ had become synonymous with incompetence.
That wasn’t fair, obviously, but there was no denying that San Luca was tiny and ill-prepared for anything but the most routine issues.
However, San Luca was ten minutes away. Florence was an hour.
“If she needs immediate attention – ” I started.
“I need Dr. Aiello!” Alessandra wailed in a panic.
Dr. Aiello was the obstetrician who’d been treating her the last six months.
Lars dropped to his knees beside Alessandra. I knew he had basic emergency medical training from his time in Special Forces, but I doubted that extended to pregnant women.
“Does it hurt all the time?” he asked her gently.
“A little, but the bad pain comes and goes.”
“How long between?”
“Every couple of minutes.”
Lars looked at Dario. “She’s probably having contractions.”
“She has preeclampsia,” Dario rasped.
No one had known but him, Alessandra, and me.
Lars and Rachel looked at each other in alarm.
“Then we need to go now,” Lars said. “Massimo, pick her up.”
“I can carry her,” Dario protested.
“I know, but I need you free and clear of her,” Lars said.
Dario went silent, understanding exactly what he meant:
If someone takes a shot at you, I don’t want you both to get hit.
“Massimo,” Dario said quietly.
Massimo stooped down and gingerly cradled Alessandra in his arms, then lifted her like the rest of us might have picked up a child.
“WAIT,” I snapped, “we have to talk about this – ”
“There’s no time,” Lars said.
“I want Dr. Aiello!” Alessandra sobbed as Massimo carried her out of the room. The rest of us followed in her wake.
“San Luca’s only ten minutes away,” I pointed out. “Florence is an hour – ”
“Not the way I drive,” Rachel said.
“But an ambulance will have medical equipment – ”
“An ambulance is going to take ten minutes to get here at least, then another ten to the hospital,” Lars said. “If you call the cops and make sure nobody stops her, Rachel can get her to the hospital in Florence in 30.”
Shit.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the garage.
A foot soldier picked up immediately. “Yes, sir.”
“Six Mercedes and the Bugatti out front IMMEDIATELY,” I ordered, “and sixteen foot soldiers ready to go.”
“Right away, sir,” the foot soldiers said, then hung up.
“Alright,” I said. “Rachel, you and Lars take Alessandra to Florence. Dario, you have to stay here – ”
“NO,” he snarled.
I grabbed his jacket and hauled him back. “Do I have to remind you that Cesare Caproni is out there right now?!”
Dario forcibly removed my hand. “I don’t care. I’m going with my wife.”
“Dario – ”
“That’s an order,” he hissed.
FUCK!
“Then Lars has to go with you,” I said.
“No problem,” Lars replied.
Dario seemed satisfied and walked on ahead with Massimo.
But before Lars and Rachel could follow him, I whispered, “Rachel can’t go.”
The two of them turned around to stare at me.
“Why not?!” Rachel demanded.
“Because I need one of you here at the house. We have a fucking madman out there, and in case he decides to come knocking, one of you has to stay.”
“The foot soldiers can handle it – ” Lars started.
“Are you willing to bet everyone’s life on it?” I asked defiantly.
He and Rachel looked at each other.
“You go,” he said to her.
“No,” I snapped at Lars. “If Dario goes, you go with him. Rachel stays behind.”
“But she’s the best driver we’ve got!”
I turned to Rachel. “Who’s the best foot soldier you’ve trained?”
“Giorgio,” she said without hesitation.
“He’s already left for Fiesole. Who’s second?”
“Renzo,” Lars said.
“Yeah,” Rachel concurred.
“Better than you?” I asked Lars.
“Oh yeah,” Rachel agreed.
“Hey,” Lars said in annoyance.
I called the garage again.
“Sir?”
“Make sure Renzo is driving one of the Mercedes,” I ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
I hung up and looked at Lars. “Renzo drives you, Alessandra, and Dario in one car. Massimo follows in the Bugatti just in case, along with another five cars full of foot soldiers. We can call in Adriano if we need him, but Rachel has to stay at the house to guard the rest of us.”
“Dario’s not going to like this,” Lars said.
“Dario’s not in his right mind at the moment, so I’m calling the shots.”
“But – ”
“It’s not up for fucking discussion,” I snarled.
There are times when a consigliere can’t be bothered with others’ personal feelings.
This was one of those times.
Lars knew it, and he nodded reluctantly. “Alright, let’s go.”
By the time we rejoined the others, Massimo was already halfway down the stairs with Alessandra. He took the steps carefully, like he was carrying the most precious cargo in the world.
Caterina, Sofia, Lucia, Bianca, and Mei-ling had come out into the foyer and were staring up in fright.
“What’s wrong?!” Caterina cried out. “Ale, are you okay?!”
“Everyone get out of Massimo’s way,” I called out. “There’s a minor medical emergency, so we’re taking Alessandra to the doctor’s.”
“What’s going on?!” Lucia demanded.
Just then, all seven cars pulled up out front.
I ignored Lucia and said to Dario, “Lars is going with you. Rachel is staying here.”
Dario looked at me in alarm. “But – ”
I leaned in close and whispered, “In case Cesare decides to visit.”
Dario looked conflicted, but he nodded and turned back to Massimo. “Take her out to the car.”
As Massimo walked out with Alessandra, Dario moved to follow them –
But Lars stopped my brother with a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m walking out in front of you,” Lars said.
He intended to block a sniper’s shot.
It was a nice gesture, though a futile one…
Since there was no way of knowing where the bullet would come from, if it came at all.
“Massimo, take the Bugatti and go with them,” I called out. “Valentino, Roberto, you stay here with me.”
“The fuck I am!” Valentino snapped.
“That’s an order!” I yelled back.
Val looked enraged as Lars and Dario walked out the door –
But he stayed where he was.
I stayed inside the house with Rachel, Roberto, Valentino, and my remaining sisters-in-law.
Massimo gently put Alessandra in the back of a Mercedes…
Lars and Dario got in beside her…
Massimo got in the Bugatti…
And all seven cars took off for the main gate.
“What happened?” Bianca asked fearfully.
“She’s having premature contractions,” I said, avoiding any mention of preeclampsia, “so they’re taking her to the hospital.”
“Now?!” Lucia demanded. “With that fucking psychopath out there?!”
I stared Lucia dead in the eye. “Yes. Now. With that fucking psychopath out there.”
Everyone fell silent.
“Do whatever you need to prepare,” I said to Rachel. Then I threw my baby brother a bone. “Valentino, go help her.”
As I watched them run off down the hallway…
I felt even more helpless than the night Papa died.