Page 301 of Niccolo

Again, I was utterly humbled.

But I was glad to have a new teacher to show me how to be a better man.

As the reception continued late into the night, I received a text on my phone.

As soon as I read it, I froze.

My heart skipped a beat –

And I immediately went to Dario.

“What is it?” he asked when he saw my stunned expression.

My initial shock turned to joy, and I grinned. “The Council has agreed to hear our petition next week in Rome.”

Not only could we possibly end this war with Fausto –

But I would be able to see Sofia again.

126

Sofia

The morgue attendant – the man Dante had garroted – presumably became roommates with another corpse in a coffin.

As for Aurelio’s body, we transported it back to Modena.

A couple of foot soldiers dug a grave in the field behind the farm, and Fausto had them lower the body bag into the hole.

No casket, no priest, no service. Not even a crowd – just me, Fausto, Dante, and the two gravediggers.

Fausto watched with red eyes as the foot soldiers filled the hole back in. Then he went back to the farmhouse without a word.

“Go get cleaned up,” Dante ordered the two sweaty foot soldiers.

Then it was just Dante and me left standing there over the grave.

“Jesus,” Dante muttered.

“What?” I asked.

“I wasn’t the kid’s biggest fan, but that’s no fuckin’ way to end up,” Dante growled as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

“What do you mean?”

Dante looked at me like,Are you fucking kidding?“With your head bashed in and buried out in the middle of nowhere like a two-bit chump.”

I could sense there was something he was wrestling with. I wanted to know more, so I decided to exploit the smoker’s bond yet again. “Could I get one of those?”

He gave me a cigarette and lit both his and mine.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” he grunted.

After I took a puff, I said, “So you weren’t Aurelio’s biggest fan.”

Dante gave a short, gruff bark of a laugh. “No.”

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