Chapter 54
Istood outside the detention center, trying to keep a low profile in the dark.
De Luca was only inside for five minutes before he walked out with Bianca in tow.
She looked worried – until she saw me.
Her mouth dropped open –
And then she ran and jumped into my arms.
I spun her around and kissed her.
A few seconds later, though, she broke off the kiss and started talking a mile a minute.
“Oh my GOD – what happened?! I was sure you were – wait, what are you wearing?!”
“In a minute,” I said, then looked at De Luca. “Okay, go do the other thing.”
He nodded, then walked back into the detention center.
“Adriano, what’s going on?!” she whispered.
I told her almost everything – how Moretti had tried to kill me, how I’d escaped, and how I’d found De Luca.
But I left out a few key details.
It took me about a few minutes to relate the story.
She was horrified about the part where I could have gotten shot –
And she held my wounded hand like it was a baby bird.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe – oh,” she whined, then kissed me tenderly.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“What happened to the cop you knocked out?”
“Hopefully he’s still hogtied in the interrogation room and nobody’s found him yet.”
“What are we going to do now?” she asked.
“Pick up your dad,” I said.
She looked at me like I was an asshole. “And how are we supposed to do that?”
I grinned. “Turn around.”
De Luca was walking out of the detention center with another man.
He was probably 45 or 50, short and stocky.
He looked rumpled, unshaven, and incredibly frightened – like he was afraid he could be killed any second.
That is, until Bianca turned around.
She froze in place.
So did he, his eyes wide.
“…Daddy?” she cried out, her voice on the edge of tears.
“ Paperotta,” he whispered.
Little duck.
She ran to him and he hugged her tight.
Relief and pure love washed over his face.
“I thought you were d-dead,” Bianca blubbered.
“I’m sorry, honey,” he said. “It was the only way – ”
“To keep yourself alive,” I said as I walked up. “Very smart, too.”
Bianca turned around and wiped tears from her eyes.
Mr. Lettieri looked at me in fright. “Who are you?”
“This is Adriano, Papa,” Bianca said. “He saved my life.”
Lettieri frowned. “Thank you – but how – ?”
“All in good time,” I said, then turned back to De Luca. “Everything okay?”
He looked around nervously. “Yeah, but it might be a good idea for you to get a move on.”
“You got a car?”
“…yeah?” he said, like he didn’t like the sound of that.
“I’m gonna need it.”
He grimaced. “Don’t you have your own car?”
“Yes, but somebody may be watching it. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you extra for it. Besides, you’re not gonna need it in Thailand. What is it?”
“A 2012 Fiat.”
“How’s an extra 20 grand sound?”
The cop looked astounded. “Uhhhhh… okay…?”
“Go get it. Quick.”
The cop nodded, then started jogging down the street.
Lettieri got a sick look on his face. “There aren’t many people who would pay a policeman 20 thousand euros for his car at the drop of a hat.”
I knew he’d figured out I was Cosa Nostra.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m on your side. Ask your daughter if you need confirmation.”
Bianca nodded. “He’s okay, Dad. He is, I promise.”
Lettieri didn’t look reassured.
I couldn’t blame him, given his years of experience with the Agrellas…
But I figured he’d come around.
“We need to get my wife,” Lettieri said, a worried look on his face.
“She’s safe,” I told him.
“Where?”
“Out in the countryside, where we’re going.”
Lettieri looked even more frightened. “…where’s that?”
“My family’s place. Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine. You’re among friends now.”
“And why, exactly, are you doing all this?” he asked. “No disrespect intended.”
“None taken. To be honest, you have information I need. That my family needs. But that’s only part of it.”
“And what’s the other part?”
I looked at Bianca and my heart swelled.
After only 24 hours of knowing her, I wasn’t ready to say the words that I really wanted to…
The words I felt…
But I think the feeling carried through anyway.
“I care for your daughter a great deal,” I said. “You’re important to her … and so you’re important to me .”
The smile Bianca gave me through her tears?
All the reward I would ever need.
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