Malavita by Dana Delamar

them, but they managed to block her way each time she attempted to escape. Enrico wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying, but he doubted they were giving her compliments.
    Pushing through the throng of students reminded him of swimming against a strong current, but Enrico eventually made enough progress to get within earshot.
    “There’s an elephant who wants his trunk back,” one of the boys said. He had dark brown, curly hair and red cheeks. The other boys laughed appreciatively.
    Antonella said nothing, but her eyes glittered and the nose in question was red with impending tears. “Animals,” she hissed.
    The boys laughed harder. “Did you steal that thing from an anteater?” the same boy asked.
    “ Basta !” Enrico shouted. The boys’ heads swiveled in his direction. So did Toni’s, but she looked aghast instead of happy to see him.
    The apparent ringleader, the boy with the curly hair, strutted toward Enrico. “What are you going to do about it?”
    “Whatever I have to.” He smacked his right fist into his left palm. Three against one—those were pretty good odds.
    “Ooh,” the boy said, raising his brows and his voice in an imitation of a frightened female. “I’m terrified!”
    You should be . “Do you know who we are? Who she is? Who her father is?”
    The boy hesitated, then shrugged. “No one’s given a shit before.”
    “You want to bring all that wrath down on yourself?”
    One of the other boys started to look uneasy. He grabbed the ringleader’s sleeve. “Arturo, maybe we should go.”
    “Fuck this stronzo ,” Arturo said, motioning to Enrico with his chin.
    No doubt the comment was meant to get Enrico upset. But nothing they said to him could make him any angrier than what they’d said to her.
    Enrico pushed up the sleeves of his light jacket. “Call me a stronzo again.”
    The boy looked at what Enrico was doing and the calm way he was doing it, and Enrico heard the first quaver in his voice. “ Stronzo .”
    Enrico almost laughed. “You’re as stupid as you are mean.” With a lunge, he grabbed Arturo’s shirtfront and hauled him close. “You have no idea who I am, yes?”
    When the boy shook his head, Enrico gave him a cold smile.
    “Rico, per favore ,” Toni said. “Let him go.”
    “Why?”
    “Don’t make a scene.”
    She didn’t understand the most basic thing about men, and especially boys: the only thing they respected was strength. Mercy, compassion—those didn’t work on thugs like these.
    Enrico shifted his gaze to the boy he held. Arturo needed to learn a lesson. When Enrico opened the left side of his jacket to reveal the Beretta in its shoulder holster, the boy’s eyes widened. “You understand now? I give a shit. I care. Say another word to her or in any way disrespect her, and you’ll find out how much I care.”
    “ Mi dispiace ,” Arturo said, stumbling over the words.
    “Not to me, idiota . To her.” Enrico spun the boy around. “On your knees and apologize.”
    The boy fell to his knees in front of Toni, while his friends started to back away. Enrico shook his head and clucked his tongue. “No, no, no. All of you. Now.”
    The other three boys joined their friend, and they all mumbled apologies to her. Toni stared at them stonily, her lips pressed together. “ Basta ,” she said, but she was looking at Enrico when she spoke.
    The boys slinked away, and Enrico stepped forward. “I made the smallest scene I could,” he said. “But it had to be done.”
    She shook her head. “You’ve only made it worse.”
    “I doubt that, Toni. They don’t want to tangle with me.” He tried to take her arm, but she wouldn’t let him do so as they walked to his car.
    “So you’re going to follow me everywhere I go?” she asked. “Act as my bodyguard?”
    He sighed. “Trust me.”
    “You think you can flash a gun and solve all my problems?” She stopped walking and looked up at him. “What if they tell someone? What if I’m