Page 245 of Niccolo

My only option was to finish the job and get away from him as fast as I could.

Niccolo would keep his promise,a voice said in the back of my mind…

And I felt miserable about Taormina all over again.

99

After speaking with Fausto, I went for a walk to clear my head.

I desperately wanted to clean the metaphorical blood off my hands…

Although I feared that was impossible.

I ran into Dante over by the barn.

“Haven’t seen you around the last 24 hours,” he said.

I replied with a vague half-truth. “I had some business I had to attend to. Could I ask you a favor?”

“Depends on what it is.”

“I need to learn how to use a gun.”

“Just point… and shoot,” he said, mimicking pulling a trigger.

“Smartass,” I said, and he grinned. “I need to be able to hit a target 30 feet away.”

“Ah, well, that’s something entirely different.”

“Can you help me?”

“Sure. I’m assuming a pistol?”

“Yes.”

“Revolver or semi-automatic?”

“I don’t know anything about guns,” I admitted. “Which is better?”

“Revolvers are simpler and more reliable, and the shell casings stay in the gun after you fire them. Semi-automatics have more bullets and are easier to reload, but the shell casings fly out as you shoot. Not something you like to leave behind for the cops to find.”

I pondered my options for a second. “I’m not worried about the cops. So, until I become a good shot, I think I should err on the side of more bullets.”

“Follow me, then.”

He led me into the barn, where two dozen large, black, hard-shell cases were stacked in an old horse stall. He pulled one out and placed it on the ground.

“Why aren’t these in the house?” I asked.

“They’re backup.”

“Backup for what?”

“In case something happens at the house.”

He opened the black case, revealing a layer of grey foam. Four pistols lay in cut-out hollows that matched their outlines.

Dante selected the smallest gun and ejected the clip from the handle, then pulled back the top of the gun to check for bullets.

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