“Leave him alone,” Enzo’s voice deepened, nearly a growl. “If you touch him—”

“You’ll what?”

“Will you two calm down?” That was a voice I recognized. Giancarlo. “Since when do I have to be the voice of fucking reason?”

Shit, is that other voice Benito Vitale?

A cold sweat arched down my back. Out of everyone in the family, he was the most dangerous. His file was thicker than anyone else’s, and the things he’d done… I shivered. Can’t think about that. Gotta get out of here.

It took everything in me to quiet my breathing. My feet padded down the cool stairs one by one. The shoes I’d been about to put on were by the front door. Could I even reach that? I kept Penelope clutched to my side. He was usually quiet when he was on me, and I prayed he stayed that way. I dipped into the guest room, grabbing my wallet from the pants I’d been wearing. No keys.

“You’ll get rid of him,” Benito growled.

“No.”

Silence.

“Enzo, I’m not asking.”

“And I’m not going to do it,” Enzo said evenly. “He’s mine.”

More silence followed, so loud I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

“I’ll do it myself,” Benito snapped.

My chest squeezed as I took a step back. The sound of Benito drawing closer made every hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Images of crime scenes and what he’d done played in my head one after the other. Severed limbs, empty eye-sockets, cold blue bodies. I imagined all of them being me, and fear trickled down my spine.

Come on, Caster. If you’re going to go down, then do it swinging.

I steeled myself, waiting to be eye to eye with Benito. Instead, I heard a grunt, a thud and the sound of fighting.

“Fuck. Will you two knock it off?” Giancarlo asked. “Goddamn it!”

I slipped Penelope into his crate. When I glanced in the direction of the kitchen, I could hear them fighting, but I couldn’t see them. That meant they couldn’t see me either. Turning, I examined the area around me. The bag I needed, the one with my most important shit, was still at the bottom of the stairs. I snagged it, juggling everything as I fled Enzo’s apartment.

I stopped outside of the opened door. I could still hear the sound of flesh colliding with flesh. Is Enzo going to be okay? He was a dick, but I didn’t want him to get hurt.

“Get off of him, Enzo!” Giancarlo yelled.

I took that as a sign. Enzo was winning. Besides, they were brothers. He would be fine. If Benito found me, I wouldn’t be.

The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. I checked on Pen in the crate. He yelled at me, letting me know exactly how he felt about the situation.

“I’m sorry, bud, but I can’t have you sliding around in the car.” I crouched down, rifling through the bag. I’d tossed my keys on top of it, but they weren’t there. “I guess we’re walking. Wallet,” I said, yanking it out. “We can get a taxi.”