She swallows hard.
“So Dante ran. He was going to kill me there in broad daylight. The only reason he did not was because of the crowd. Too many people would have seen him. He pressed the barrel against my forehead, and I simply waited, but there were too many witnesses.”
Her voice shakes.
“I ran in the same direction Valentina had gone, and…”
“Gone?” I interrupt. “He did not take her?”
“Don, she escaped. She said goodbye to me and simply left.”
“Where did she go, Graziela?”
“I do not know. Had she known that everything would change seconds later, she would never have run. One turn of events, and suddenly she was no longer guilty. Dante was.”
“You had the chance to escape. Why did you come back? Who did you return to protect, De Luca?”
“I am as responsible as anyone for your fathe
