Page 119 of Tristano

Only I don’t. Instead, I realize I’m surrounded by people. Lots of people.

Familiar people.

Lorenzo. Giovanni. Bastiano. Matteo. Conor.

Where is he?

Then I feel him. Turning to look over my shoulder, Tris is crouched behind me. Ready to catch me if I fall.

Always ready to catch me.

“Tris?” I manage to breathe out.

My throat is raw, and my face is wet. When did that happen?

“It’s okay,anima gemella.” He moves closer, taking the knife from my hand. “I’ve got you.”

Looking down, I see all the blood all over me. Then I see the body. The mutilated body of the man I once called my uncle but will never again.

Ben is no more. He’s nothing but a fleshy mess beneath my legs.

“I… I…” I stutter.

“Shhh.” Tris pulls me into his arms.

I start to sob. “I killed him.”

“Don’t think about that now. You’re safe and okay. Meredith is okay. Everything is going to be okay now.”

“How did you find me?”

“Ricky. He found you and called me.”

Pulling back, I search the room for the man.

“He’s outside figuring out how to play this.”

“What do you mean? He’s not a crooked cop. He has to report it. I’m going to go to prison. Oh god, I just got you.” I reach up, cupping his face. “I just got you, and I’m going to lose you. I had to do it though. You get that, right? He murdered my grandfather. He abducted so many women. He was evil. I swear it.” I ramble on and on until he barks out an order to one of the men.

“Matteo, get Ricky in here.”

Within a minute, Ricky is pulling me up to my feet and walking me over to a corner.

“Are you okay, kid? He didn’t touch you, did he? Hurt you? Do we need to get a doctor for you?” He’s looking me over.

Tris hovers over his shoulder, but doesn’t step in.

Ricky pulls me into his arms then, patting my hair much like a father would.

“I was so worried about you. I thought they were going to hurt you. I wanted to storm in right away, but we didn’t want things going sideways. You’re okay, right?”

I break down then, crying even harder into his shoulder. I mumble words of regret into his shoulder, but I know they can’t understand me.

“She’s worried about prison,” Tris eventually speaks up.

“Why? There’s no way anyone is going to find out about this. I got my men on it,” Ricky declares.

Pulling back, I stare at him. “You’re not corrupt. You can’t cover this up.”

---