Chapter 34 (Enzo)

I regret bringing Aura to the Neshaminy Inn. It's a shithole, the kind of place where cockroaches have more rights than the guests. But we needed to get out of town fast, and this was the first place I could think of that would take cash without asking questions.

It's a risk, I know that. But I figure we've got at least a day before anyone finds us. That should be enough time to put my plan into action. Aura won't like it, I'm sure. But I've got to do whatever it takes to keep her safe from these dangerous fuckers. After everything I've put her through, she deserves that much.

I lie awake, listening to Aura's soft breathing beside me. Sleep has been a fucking hard thing to come by ever since I realized how I felt about her. The guilt eats at me, gnawing away at my insides. I hurt her. I caused her pain and suffering. Sure, I was following orders from the family. But in the end, I'm the one who made the choice to obey.

That's the thing about being a soldier. You follow orders, trusting that the people giving them know what they're doing. But sometimes... sometimes they're wrong. And you're left holding the bag, trying to figure out how to live with your fucking sins.

I glance over at Aura's sleeping form. She looks so peaceful, so innocent. It's hard to believe everything she's been through. Everything I put her through. Christ, I kept her as a prisoner. I was going to break her for those dangerous men. If I hadn't stopped myself...

I shake my head, trying to banish the thoughts. It doesn't matter now. What matters is keeping her safe. But how the hell do I do that? How do I go from being her captor to... whatever the fuck we are now?

A noise from the bathroom snaps me out of my brooding. I'm instantly on high alert, every muscle tensed and ready for action. I strain my ears, listening. There it is again - a faint scratching sound.

Slowly, carefully, I reach for my gun. I slide out of bed, moving silently towards the bathroom. Aura doesn't stir. Good. If this is what I think it is, I don't want her caught in the crossfire.

The scratching gets louder as I approach the bathroom door. I can see movement through the gap under the door - someone's trying to come in through the window. Fuck.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself. Then I flick on the light and burst through the door, gun raised.

"Well, well," I say, my voice cold. "Look what the cat dragged in."

Ettore freezes, halfway through the tiny bathroom window. His eyes widen when he sees the gun pointed at his head.

"Hey, Enzo," he says, trying for casual and failing miserably. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Cut the shit," I growl. "Giacomo send you?"

Ettore nods, climbing the rest of the way through the window. "After your little chat earlier, he figured you might try something stupid."

I laugh humorlessly. "And you drew the short straw, huh?"

"Something like that," Ettore mutters.

I can see the fear in his eyes, poorly masked by bravado. Giacomo's a paranoid fuck. The moment he senses weakness in someone - even someone who's been loyal, like me - he acts. It doesn't matter that I've never given him a reason to doubt me. All that matters is that he thinks I might be compromised.

"So what now?" I ask, keeping my gun trained on Ettore's head. "You here to take me out?"

Ettore's eyes flick towards the bedroom. "Nah, man. I'm just here for the girl. Bring her back to Giacomo, no trouble."

"That's not gonna happen," I say flatly.

Ettore grins, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Come on, Enzo. Don't tell me you actually want to keep that little bitch for yourself."

My finger tightens on the trigger. "I'd choose your next words very carefully if I were you."

"Enzo?" Aura's voice calls from the other room. "What's going on?"

"Everything's fine, sweetheart," I call back, not taking my eyes off Ettore. "We've just got a visitor."

Ettore's grin widens. "Sweetheart, huh? Looks like I hit a nerve."

"I'm only going to say this once," I say, my voice low and deadly. "Aura is off limits. She's not going to be a sex slave for Giacomo or anyone else. She's mine."

"Yours?" Ettore laughs. "Since when?"

"Since I tried to buy her from Giacomo and he refused," I snap. "I offered him forty grand, Ettore. Forty fucking grand. And he still said no."

Ettore's eyebrows shoot up. "Shit, man. You must really like her pussy."

"I'm warning you," I growl. "Shut your fucking mouth."

"Or what?" Ettore sneers. "You gonna shoot me? Your old pal?"

I don't hesitate. "If I have to."

Ettore stares at me for a long moment, then sighs. "Fuck, Enzo. What happened to you, man?"

"I woke up," I say simply. "Now, tell me the truth. Did Giacomo send you to kill me?"

Ettore shakes his head. "Nah, man. I swear. He just wanted me to bring the girl back."

I can tell he's lying. Ettore's always been a shit liar. "And you came in through the bathroom window because...?"

"I, uh... I didn't want to wake you?"

I snort. "Try again, asshole."

Ettore's shoulders slump. "Fine. Yeah, Giacomo wanted me to take you out. Said you were getting soft, that you couldn't be trusted anymore."

I nod, unsurprised. "And you were gonna do it. Just like that."

"Orders are orders, man," Ettore says, not meeting my eyes. "You know how it is."

"Yeah," I say softly. "I do."

And that's the fucking problem, isn't it? We're all just following orders, never questioning, never thinking for ourselves. Well, I'm done with that shit.

"Enzo?" Aura calls again, her voice closer this time. "Is everything okay?"

I glance towards the door, just for a second. But it's enough.

Ettore moves faster than I would have thought possible. He lunges forward, grabbing for my gun. I react on instinct, squeezing the trigger even as I try to dodge his attack.

The gun goes off, the sound deafening in the small space. I feel a burning pain in my leg - Ettore's shot must have grazed me. But I don't have time to think about that now.

I fire twice more, catching Ettore square in the chest. He stumbles backwards, a look of surprise on his face. His gun goes off one more time, the bullet embedding itself in the wall behind me. Then he collapses to the floor, blood spreading rapidly across his shirt.

"Enzo!" Aura screams from the other room.

"It's okay," I call back, my voice strained. "I'm okay."

Aura appears in the doorway, her eyes wide with fear. She takes in the scene - me, bleeding from a leg wound, and Ettore's body on the floor.

"Oh my God," she whispers. "Is he...?"

I nudge Ettore with my foot, kicking his gun away. He doesn't move. "Yeah," I say softly. "He's dead."

"Fuck," I mutter, the reality of what just happened sinking in.

This is the cost of the life we live. The family demands everything from you - your loyalty, your morals, your fucking soul. And what do they give you in return? Money, sure. Power, maybe. But in the end, all they really give you is death.

Men like Ettore, men like me - we're expendable. Giacomo would sacrifice a hundred of us without blinking if it served his purposes. And for what? A seat at the table with the big boys? A chance to be the one giving the orders instead of following them?

It's all bullshit.

I'm filled with a sudden, overwhelming anger. Not at Ettore - he was just following orders, same as I've always done. No, I'm angry at the whole fucking system. At Giacomo, at the family, at myself for being a part of it for so long.

Ettore was a good soldier. A stubborn fuck, sure, but loyal to a fault. And look where it got him. Dead on a dirty bathroom floor because he couldn't see past his own blind obedience.

Well, I'm done with that shit. I'm done being a "good soldier" if it means following orders like this. If it means killing my friends and destroying innocent lives.

"Enzo?" Aura's voice pulls me out of my anger. She moves towards me, wrapping her arms around my waist. I lean into her touch, letting her ground me.

"We need to go," she says softly. "Someone must have heard the gunshots."

She's right. I can already hear sirens in the distance. We quickly gather our things and hurry out to the truck. I drive us on a convoluted route, doubling back and taking side streets to make sure we're not being followed. Finally, I pull into an empty lot in Camden, New Jersey.

"We'll stay here for the night," I tell Aura. "I'll keep watch while you sleep."

She frowns. "Shouldn't we take turns?"

I shake my head. "No offense, sweetheart, but if someone finds us, you're not gonna be able to shoot them."

Aura doesn't argue. She curls up in the passenger seat, using my jacket as a pillow. Within minutes, she's asleep.

I keep my eyes on the road, my mind racing. I think about Ettore, about our shared history. We came up through the ranks together, did a lot of jobs side by side. And now he's dead by my hand.

Giacomo knew what he was doing when he sent Ettore. He thought I might hesitate, might not be able to pull the trigger on a friend. Well, fuck him. He underestimated me. And that's going to be his downfall.

Because I'm going to use that. I'm going to play on his assumptions, on his belief that I'm weak. And then I'm going to tear him to fucking pieces.