Page 4 of Night's Reckoning
Ben had been certain the man would go for the knockout. “A bullet? You sure?”
The man pointed to his eyes. “The doctor, he says if I take any more punches, I could lose an eye. I used to be a boxer.”
“That sucks.”
Topo shrugged. “It’s only a nine millimeter.”
“Still a bullet, man.”
Topo hesitated. “Maybe… you could break a few ribs?”
It was a solid option. It wouldn’t put him completely out, but with enough bruising, his boss would believe Ben got past him. After all, he’d already taken out all the other brutes.
“If you’re sure.”
Topo put the safety on his gun and tossed it to the side. “Yes.”
Ben didn’t hesitate. He smashed his fist into Topo’s ribs, punching him until the man was falling to the ground and Ben’s fist felt like hamburger.
Damn. He really wished he’d just gone with the bullet like Topo wanted. His knuckles would take weeks to heal.
Ben finished Topo off with a swift kick to the side. He looked at Topo’s feet and bent over. “Hey, mouse?”
Topo could only blink. He was gasping for breath.
“I hate to do this, but I’m gonna need your shoes.”
2
Ben was holding an ice pack to his face when he contacted Fabia on screen chat. “Hey.”
“Cavalo!”She leaned toward the camera. “What happened to you?”
“The other guys look worse.” He shifted the ice pack. “Okay, probably I look worse, but they have concussions. Doesn’t matter. I got the info. Let Filomena know I’ll be down in Naples tomorrow night. Going to sleep, and then I’ll catch the train in the morning. I’ll have to check the schedule because I can’t remember when—”
“Ben, you need to see a physician. Come back to Rome and I’ll call Dr. Mariano.”
He winced when he shifted. He hadn’t broken any ribs, but his face and his hands were battered. “I promise it looks worse than it is. Nothing broken. My feet are a little torn up, but I finally found shoes.” He glanced at Topo’s shoes, which were sitting by the door. “Actually, after I clean them up, I might keep them. They’re really well made.”
“What are you talking about? Have you lost consciousness at any time in the past few hours? I’m worried about you falling asleep by yourself. Do you want me to come get you?”
“I’m fine.” He reached for a cotton ball and dipped it in disinfectant before he dabbed his lip. “I’m going to clean up, take a nice long shower, and then I’ll feel better after some sleep. I’m in a secure place. I just wanted to call you because my phone got smashed and I knew you’d be worried.”
“I am worried. About your health.” She frowned. “Do you at least have a spare phone?”
He held up his newest burner. “Yep.”
“Set an alarm and call me in three hours.” She held up a hand. “Don’t argue. You’ve been punched repeatedly in the head, and I’m a doctor.”
“You have a PhD in archaeology. That doesn’t make you a doctor.”
“Do you want me to call Angela?”
He glared at her. “You’d better not.”
If Fabia called her aunt, Angela would callhisaunt and then Ben would be harassed from both hemispheres.
“Call me in three hours,” Fabia repeated. “Then you can go back to sleep and call me in another three. Otherwise, I’m driving up to Genoa to get you right now.”
