Page 71 of Niccolo

“So there are at least two people who know you were undercutting your brother for years – and now they know you betrayed your nephews, too.” I narrowed my eyes. “You know what they say about two people and a secret.”

Fausto grimaced. “The saying involvesthreepeople, but your point is taken.”

“What saying?” Aurelio asked.

“Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead,” Fausto replied.

“Maybe we should make sureeveryoneis dead,” I suggested darkly.

“How?” Aurelio asked.

Fausto and I looked at each other, and I knew we had the exact same thought.

“The Sicilian gangster,” I said.

“Mezzasalma.” Fausto smiled. “Perhaps it’s time to see if we can work with him.”

Mezzasalma was quite a bit different from the Turk.

For one, he refused to come to Fausto’s mansion.

“A real Sicilian,” Fausto explained. “Completely paranoid and totally unwilling to cede a single advantage.”

“Which is smart,” I replied.

“Very smart,” Fausto agreed.

“But how do we know he won’t try to killus?”

“He swore on the soul of his dead mother he wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, well, I know how bindingthosekinds of oaths are,” I said sarcastically.

Fausto laughed. “For men of honor – and Sicilians are men of honor – itisbinding. However, I’ll still be bringing every last one of my foot soldiers.”

The meeting happened at midnight. The location wasn’t decided until the last minute – apparently so neither side could get there first and gain the upper hand.

Fausto haggled over the phone with Mezzasalma until both men agreed it would happen in the countryside, far away from any town.

We arrived two minutes before midnight: me, Fausto, and Aurelio in the chauffeured Rolls-Royce, along with every single one of Fausto’s foot soldiers in a fleet of black BMWs.

The meeting place was a field bordered by an olive grove. It was a new moon, so the field was nearly pitch black.

Fausto’s foot soldiers assembled behind their bulletproof cars, pistols and sniper rifles at the ready.

Fausto called out, “SignorMezzasalma!”

A deep, gravelly voice shouted from amongst the olive trees a hundred feet away. “Meet me in the center of the field. Don’t bring any of your men.”

I looked at Fausto, my heart beating wildly. “Are we really going to go out there alone?”

“Yes, but my men will be covering us the entire time.”

“What abouthismen? Surely he didn’t come alone.”

“They’re probably hidden in the olive grove with a bunch of rifles aimed atus.So… no sudden moves, please.”

I stared at Fausto in shock.

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