Page 24 of Unspoken Ties

I was like a fawn, still frozen in fear. My muscles were locked in place as I stood above the two dead men’s bodies.

“We need to go,” Ettore gasped, clutching his chest.

My eyes trailed to the wound on his chest. “What? No! We need to call 911!” I reached into my purse for my phone and began fishing around.

“Don’t even think about it. You can’t call a government service when you’re in the mafia.” He winced in pain, using the side of the car to steady himself. “Get in the driver’s seat. I’ll give you directions to our doctor.”

“But I can’t—I don’t have a license!” I stammered, still fumbling for my phone.

“No time for that,” he growled, his face contorting in pain. “This isn’t a driving test, Liria. Get. In. The. Car.”

I could barely think. The mere sight of blood had always made me queasy, and Ettore was losing a lot of it. He was staggering now, almost collapsing against the car door.

Swallowing hard, I slipped into the driver’s seat while he fell into the passenger seat. He was panting heavily now, his face pale and clammy.

Ok, ok.I can do this. It was mostly self soothing rather than any belief I could actually accomplish it. I pushed the startbutton, and the car chimed in response, but the engine stayed silent.

“You need to keep your foot on the brake pedal,” Ettore said. “And put on your seat belt.”

“Er, right.” I clicked the buckle in, and then my second attempt at starting the car proved successful.

The familiar purr of the engine was drowned out by the thunderous pounding of my heartbeat in my ears. My hands shook as I shifted the lever into drive. Ettore reached over and adjusted the rearview mirror to his liking, grimacing from the effort. He slowly released a shaky breath, then slumped back into his seat, grimacing again with pain.

“Take a right out of the parking lot and stay on Genessee.”

Despite my inexperience, the urgency of the situation somehow made me drive better than I thought I could. It wasn’t perfect, but it got the job done. Ettore’s directions were all the navigation I needed as we sped down the unfamiliar roads.

“Here,” he said, directing me to pull into a warehouse parking lot.

Three men, dressed in dark suits with their hands clasped behind their backs, stood waiting out front as we pulled up. I couldn’t help but notice the way they shifted on their feet and exchanged quick glances as we approached. They were expecting us, likely notified by Ettore, who had been constantly texting while I was driving.

I slammed on the brakes a little too hard as I stopped the car and launched our bodies forward.

“Sorry!” I said to Ettore, turning bright red.

He didn’t have time to respond to me. Two of the men were already hauling him out of the car and towards the building.

My heart hurt as I watched them take him inside. Would he be ok?He got hurt because of me.My shoulders slumped, andI leaned forward and placed my head on the steering wheel. I sucked.

The third man tapped on the driver’s side window, a silent command to get out of the car. I nodded, acknowledging his order.

I realized I had no clue how to turn the car off. Asking the man for help would be too humiliating, so I tried to figure it out on my own. If I had to push the brake and press the button to start it, it only made sense that the same thing would turn it off. I tried, and it made a horrible whirring noise.

“Put it in park and then press the button,” he said from outside the car.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but I did as he instructed. The car’s engine shut off, and I stepped out, the man gesturing for me to enter the building.

Normally my throat closed up and I couldn’t speak when I talked to strangers, but I needed to know the answer to my question. “Is Ettore going to be alright?” I asked the man, nearly jogging alongside him to keep up with his pace.

“I’m not a doctor,” he responded flatly.

“But he’s seeing one?”

“Obviously.” We reached a room of chairs and he pointed to them. “Sit.”

I didn’t have any other options. So, I sat, crossing my fingers that Ettore would be ok.

Chapter twelve

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