“I’ll stay out of sight, but I’m not going into hiding like a fucking coward while Vittoria is out there on her own.”

“Bastian?” Bruno turns to me.

“I’m with Amadeo on this one.”

He shakes his head. “Let’s go,” he says.

I open the folder on my phone. “There are two dozen addresses in here.”

“I’ll try to narrow it down,” he says as he searches for something in the wall.

“What are you doing?” Amadeo asks.

“Sonny had an exit plan in case things ever went south.” Something pops, and a part of the wall springs open. “And here it is. It’ll take you down to the garage. Car is waiting. Keep your phones on.”

Amadeo looks at him, nods. “Thank you.” He then turns to me. “What about Mom and Emma? If anything happens to me—”

“I’m going with you, brother.”

“Someone needs to be there in case—”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” I say again. “We go together. Period.”

“And I’ll be there,” Bruno adds, then turns to me. “Get him out of here.”

25

VITTORIA

My throat is hoarse, and I’m lying on the floor on my side, still cuffed to the chair, losing my fucking mind when the lights finally stop flickering and go out, plunging me into utter darkness.

For a moment, everything stops. But then that clock ticks, and I hear myself repeating the same words over and over. Muttering them. It’s the language of the insane.

My left arm has gone numb, and my cheekbone throbs. I’m lying with my full weight on my arm, and my face hit the concrete floor when I toppled. I don’t remember it happening, though. Can’t remember when I fell over. All I know is what I kept seeing. The gruesome images plastered to the walls. I don’t know if it was the same one or not. Blood and brains and the inside of someone’s head.

I squeeze my eyes shut against the nausea that makes my stomach spasm. I’m not struggling. I stopped a while ago. I’m lying here instead remembering the endless ticking of another clock. The blinking of another set of lights.

The smell of bleach permeates my nostrils, and although I know it’s not real, I swear I can still feel the burn as I scrubbed my hands raw. But it was either that or blood.