“He’s in shock. His blood’s not getting to his organs. We gotta get him to a hospital—”

“No.”

“He’s going to die.”

“Make him not die!” I reach for the gun, but as I suspected, it takes too long. Junior holds my arm still.

“You wasn’t like this when you came the first time.”

A pause. The rattle of the front gates being drawn is the only sound.

“Let go.” I issue the command as a statement—the way Dario would.

He lets go of me and steps away. I could step back. Put more distance between us. If I reach for the gun then, I may have enough time to point it at him and make him save Massimo.

I’m not going to shoot Junior though. He knows it. Not because I’m afraid to. Not because it’s wrong or immoral. But because he’s a better friend than enemy. Dario and I need friends.

I use both hands to apply pressure with the cloth, leaving myself defenseless. Junior is stronger and bigger. One punch and I’d be knocked out. He could wrestle me down and tie me up. He could lock me in the bathroom.

He won’t. When he gets a knife from the block, all he does is cut the tight parts of Massimo’s clothes away.

“They have Dario,” I say as the clacking of locks comes from the front. “My family. The Colonia.”

“I know who you are.”

“They’re going to kill him.”

“I heard how he married you.” Junior gets a stack of tablecloths from the cabinet. “Might be a perfect opportunity to lose him.”

Had it even occurred to me to walk away from Dario? Not just him, but from my family? This city? From all the power games and bloodshed? If I went back to the house, I could take anything valuable and drive away. Sell it. Figure out how to make a life out of what I had. If I turned my back on everything, I could find real freedom alone. Dario wouldn’t blame me. If he lived, he might find me, but he wouldn’t hold it against me.

What a waste of time. I’m not going to do any of that.

“Never,” I say.

“You love him?” Junior snaps open a tablecloth and lays it over my brother’s chest like a blanket.

“I’ll shoot you to save him, and I like you.”

His laugh is a smile and a short intake of breath.

“Then go.” He takes out his phone and shines the light into my brother’s eyes. “Get him. Shoot anyone who gets in your way. Leave this guy here and we’ll get him to the hospital.”

“I can’t go without Massimo. I need him. If I can… I’m going to trade him for Dario.” The plan seems crazier now than when I came up with it, and Junior raises one eyebrow slightly to confirm the lunacy. “I know what you must think of me, and you’re right. I’m terrible. I’m a bad person and the guy I’m trying to save made me this way.”