“No. Azar had her father. Charlie had a choice: do the job on you or turn her father over to Jimmy. She could Nix you and set you up for jail or she could let her father be tortured and killed by Jimmy the Hat.”

“I don’t get it. Why would Azar have wanted me to kill her, then?”

“Charlie did that to herself. Once he realized you were really in love he saw a way to go one up on what you did to Frankie Nickels. Not only would he get you disgraced, in jail, and paralyzed, but it would be at the hands of the woman you love. And if things worked out, you would also—”

“Kill her.”

“But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t use the Nix. She tried to choke you out.”

“It still hurt,” I say defensively.

“After she called 911 about the Nix she made me wait outside the facility. She knew they’d take you to some special CDC unit. She went after her father—alone—but made me follow you. To protect you, Otto.”

“Are you her servant or something?”

“I’ve known the Izzos my entire life. Charlie Senior brought my family to this country. He supported us. I owe him everything. So when Charlie decided to enter the business I swore to protect her. So I became her muscle. I’d die for her father; I’d die for her.”

“Then why didn’t you stop her when she went after her father alone?”

“I didn’t know. She didn’t tell me she was going.”

“Why the hell would she go alone?”

Jagjeet sighs. “Charlie is great talent. Probably the greatest I’ve ever seen. But it wasn’t enough. She wanted to be muscle. Her father wanted a boy. He always did. He never let her forget it. It killed Charlie, and if she couldn’t be a boy, she said, she could at least be as strong as one. When she was thirteen she asked me to start training her, and I did. I’ve been training her ever since. And she’s good. Very, very good. But Jimmy the Hat...” His voice pulls with despair. “I should have known she’d go after her father. I should have known that. It’s my fault.”

“She got caught?”

“She can handle some cops, but Jimmy the Hat? She wasn’t ready for that. Not at her best. And she wasn’t at her best. She was injured. She didn’t have any tech support. She didn’t stand a chance.”

“If she didn’t tell you she was going, how do you know she got caught?”