“No,” I say as I get control of myself. “But you just confessed to all those murders, didn’t you?”
“So what? You recording this conversation or something?”
“No,” I reply, shaking my head. “But he is.”
I point above the hole to the figure standing up there. Blizzard swings around, reaching for his gun. He doesn’t even get halfway.
Enzo brings the shovel down on Blizzard’s head with a smack so hard that his eyes roll straight up into the back of his head. His unconscious form falls toward me.
I scramble away but there isn’t enough space to escape him. He lands on me and I get a horrible feeling I’ll die under his bulk before Enzo’s strong hands get hold of me, pulling me out of the coffin, up onto the soaking wet ground that smells as sweet as a summer’s morning.
The freezing wind has never felt so good on my face. The rain that’s starting to fall again is baptizing me, giving me new life.
“Are you all right?” Enzo asks, lifting me to my feet, holding me tight against him, one hand running through my hair, kissing the top of my head. “Did he hurt you?”
“Didn’t get a chance,” I reply, starting to cry. “Thanks to you.”
39
ENZO
* * *
“I’m sorry I took so long,” I say, fighting to keep from losing it. “I thought I was too late.”
“No,” she says, managing a smile. “When I saw you holding up the phone, I knew what you were doing. I kept him talking so you could get it all. Did I do good?”
“You did incredibly,” I reply, refusing to let go of her. “In a coffin with his dick out and you got him to confess everything.”
She shrugs. “It wasn’t so hard.” She starts to laugh, a note of hysteria to it. “The confession and the dick.”
I hold her tight as the giggles turn into sobs. I keep her pressed to my chest, letting her cry, my shirt soaking through with her tears.
“I thought you were dead,” she says. “The Don told me you were dead.”
“Takes a lot more than that to kill me,” I reply. “I found out where you were and got here as fast as I could. Saw the Don leaving before I could stop him. Saw Blizzard digging but I wasn’t sure if it was a trap so I waited until I was sure it was you. Picked up the shovel when he dropped it.”
“You didn’t want to shoot him?”
Blizzard starts moaning in the hole. “Wait there,” I tell her, climbing down and pushing Blizzard’s ample bulk into the coffin, shoving his limbs inside while he starts to blink his eyes open.
“What’s going on?” he mutters, awareness coming back to him.
“You’re paying for your crimes,” I say, shoving the lid into place as he starts to scream. I jump out and start shoving soil into the hole with my bare hands, using my arms like they’re a digger scoop. “Please,” Blizzard shouts, his voice muffled and getting quieter. “Let me out and we’ll talk about this.”
I ignore him, pushing more soil in.
“I’ll kill you both if you don’t let me out of here.”
Chloe starts helping me and we’ve got about a foot of dirt on the coffin when there’s a shot fired from inside the hole.
“Did I hit you?” The voice is comically hopeful.
“He’s doing his best,” I say, pushing more dirt in as I count off the shots. “See if he’s smart enough to save one of those bullets for himself.”
Chloe puts her hands over her ears. “You think he’ll shoot himself?” she asks as I grab the shovel to get the remaining soil into the hole.
“I doubt he’s got the balls,” I reply. “He’s a fucking coward,” I yell down into the hole. I turn back to her. “FBI on their way. They’ll find the negatives and your taped confession sitting up here waiting for them.” I yell again. “Goodbye, Senator. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to vote when the time comes.”