Chapter 116
Dario
Inside the Hospital
As I stood there listening to Niccolo over Lars’s cell phone, a single thought kept echoing in my head:
This is impossible.
This is IMPOSSIBLE.
THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE.
“The women are grabbing servants,” Niccolo said. “Roberto and Valentino are organizing the foot soldiers, and we’re heading for the tunnel.”
“Where’s Rachel?” Lars asked anxiously.
“She went to the armory. She’ll meet us in the tunnel.”
“The attack – how bad is it?” I asked.
“It’s a catastrophe. The parlor is gone – ”
“What do you mean, ‘gone’?”
“I mean they blew it all to hell.”
“Who’s ‘they’?” Lars interjected.
“I don’t know. I doubt it’s the Camorra – it feels like a military strike.”
“The Wagner Group, maybe,” Lars muttered.
“Everybody’s getting revenge today,” Niccolo joked darkly.
“Niccolo – ” I began.
“There isn’t time,” my consigliere interrupted. “Listen to me: you have a choice to make.”
“What choice?”
“Cesare’s coming for you, Dario. That’s the only thing that makes any sense in this giant clusterfuck.
“If you stay in the hospital, you’re going to have to fight it out THERE.
“But if you leave and make a big show of it, you can draw them away from Alessandra.”
“You’re serious,” I said in disbelief.
“Dead serious.”
“That’s a TERRIBLE plan.”
“I ran out of ‘simply bad’ options a while ago.”
“I told you, I’m not leaving my wife.”
“Then prepare to hole up in whatever room she’s in and shoot it out, because that’s where this is headed.”
I looked at Lars.
He nodded grimly as though to say, Niccolo’s right.
This was my worst nightmare come true.
Either stay and endanger my wife and unborn child –
Or go and leave them unprotected.
“What are our odds if we leave?” I asked.
“Ask Lars. He’s the expert.”
“It’s a coin toss,” Lars said. “If we stay, we’re cornered with our backs against the wall. If we’re out in the open, we at least have a shot at evading them.”
“What about Alessandra?”
“If they kill us, they’ll end up killing her,” Lars said. “If they follow us, though… she’ll most probably live.”
“‘Most probably’?”
“I can’t guarantee anything… but she has a better chance if we’re not around.”
I stared into the distance, my guts filled with cold lead.
Stay, and potentially doom my wife –
Or leave her side, which every fiber of my being screamed against.
My father had told me often, Sometimes every one of your options is shit –
But you still have to make the call.
That’s what being a Don is about.
“If we go, it’s just you and me,” I said to Lars. “Everyone else stays to guard Alessandra.”
“NO – ” Niccolo protested.
“YES,” I snarled. “And we draw their attention LOUDLY. Agreed?”
Lars nodded. “Agreed.”
“At least take a FEW men!” Niccolo begged.
“NO.”
“Then take Renzo! Have him DRIVE you, for god’s sake!”
I looked at Lars.
He shrugged. “He’s a damn good driver.”
I was sorely regretting leaving Rachel at the mansion.
“Alright, go get him,” I said.
Lars nodded and hustled down the hall.
“What about Giorgio?” Niccolo said. “If he started out in Fiesole, he should still be en route to Adriano. He could come meet you.”
“Niccolo – ”
“PLEASE – I’m BEGGING you – ”
“Alright,” I snapped. “Fine.”
“Thank GOD. I’ll call him, but turn on your ‘Find My’ app so he can track you.”
“Alright. Niccolo?”
“Yes?”
“If I don’t make it – ”
“STOP.”
“Niccolo – ”
“Neither of us has wonderful odds at the moment, Dario, but it’s no good to talk like that.”
“Alright,” I said. “Give my love to the others.”
“I will. Give my love to Alessandra.”
“I will.”
I hung up on my brother…
Knowing that might be the last time I ever talked to him.
I slipped back into Alessandra’s room. She was sitting in a reclining chair, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth.
Dr. Aiello looked over at me. “Good news. It does indeed appear to be Braxton-Hicks contractions – false labor brought on by stress. I’ve been leading Alessandra through some breathing exercises, and the contractions are fading.”
“Excellent,” I said. “Thank you. Now I need a moment alone with my wife.”
Dr. Aiello looked at me with undisguised irritation. “Signor Rosolini, I’ve been more than understanding up to this point – ”
“Doctor,” I snarled in my most commanding voice, “I said I need a moment alone with my wife.”
The blood drained from Dr. Aiello’s face, and he quickly left the room.
Alessandra looked at me in panic. “What’s going on?”
I knelt by her chair and took her left hand in both of mine. “We’re afraid that Cesare Caproni is coming here to the hospital – ”
Her eyes widened. She struggled to sit up, but I clamped down firmly on her hand.
“ – so Lars is taking me away. The rest of my men will stay with you – ”
“You’re leaving me?!” she wailed, her eyes filling with tears.
“Amore mio, he’s coming for me,” I whispered. “As long as I’m here, I’m a threat to you and Elena.”
“But – ”
“This is the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life – and if you want me to stay, I will. But my only thought is of you and the baby. If I stay, there is an excellent chance we all die. If I leave, at least you and Elena will live.”
Alessandra’s entire body was wracked with sobs. “I don’t want you to go.”
“I know.”
Alessandra looked down at her belly and cradled it protectively with her free arm. “But…”
“I know,” I whispered.
Alessandra looked back at me and pleaded, “Tell me it’s going to be alright.”
“It’s going to be alright.”
“Swear to me it’s going to be alright.”
I gripped her hand. “I swear on my father’s soul, I will do everything in my power to make sure you and Elena live a long and happy life.”
Her face crumpled in anguish. “Swear to me that you’re going to be alright!”
I smiled at her sadly. “…I can’t.”
She doubled over and sobbed uncontrollably.
I stood up, tilted her face towards me, and kissed her –
Perhaps for the last time.
“I love you,” I whispered. “And no matter what happens… tell Elena that her father loved her.”
I raced out of the room, fearful my resolve might falter –
As my wife wailed behind me like a dying animal.