NICCOLÒ

33. Traitor

Stefano looked down suddenly at the stump of his left arm, ending just below his elbow; still clearly painful for him. "We used to be identical." Cee didn't interrupt him as he descended into a thoughtful silence, his eyes narrowed at the floorboards. "The plan was that I wouldn't be going on that delivery - but Anton didn't know that. When the team leader started asking questions, he stepped in - pretending to be me to get me out of trouble. He left with the delivery, with my team, in my place.

"As soon as I heard, I tried to get to the delivery van, to stop him - but by the time I got there, it was almost too late. He wouldn't leave - kept asking too many questions - and that's when the bomb went off."

Cee stayed silent, horror rising in her stomach. "See, we were just outside the van arguing when it blew. Dean - remember Dean?" Stefano smiled grimly, bringing his gun out from his belt and holding it lightly in his hand. "He came out to see why we were fighting - so he survived. Just."

"You..." Cee whispered, trying to vocalise her theories, but failing. He'd known about the bomb. He'd known about the bomb before it had gone off. Which meant...

"Don't interrupt," he snapped, pointing his weapon at her; she flinched, but he'd already pulled it back, smiling sadistically. "I lost my arm for my brother - to save his life." He paused, leaning back. "If he hadn't gone in my place, neither of us would have been hurt." Cee stared at him, her fingers clutching at the sheets of the bed like a lifeline. "Of course, I was the one to plant the bomb in the first place."

"Why?" she managed quietly, her voice cracking. "How?" This time he didn't seem to mind the interruptions as much, just shooting her a glare.

"I can't tell you why - not yet. But I can tell you how." Stefano paused, tapping his gun against his leg as he thought. Every twitch of his fingers could mean the end of her life. "I was sneaking out at night, to meet with my employers - and Anton caught on once or twice, following me - but I was careful. The people that were paying me - they gave me the bomb, the parts, the knowledge. All I had to do was get it into the van - they'd do the rest.

"So I took Anton's place, in one of his maintenance jobs. I put the bomb in the van and voila," he mocked, "instant success." His expression turned sour for a second. "So why am I telling you all this?" Cee closed her eyes tightly, focusing on maintaining her breathing when in reality she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.

"I don't know," she mumbled, fear freezing her to the spot.

"Because you can't go to Niccolò." He smiled ruthlessly, a far cry from the man she'd once nursed back in the medical wing of the Romano House. "You won't be able to tell anyone anything if you have a bullet in between your eyes."

Cee barely felt the first tear slip out, but she felt the burning pain in the back of her throat that reminded her that, for now, she was alive.

"Okay," she whispered, "I'll do what you tell me. Please don't hurt me." Stefano gave her a disgusted look, and she immediately wiped the tear away, trying to seem braver than she was.

"You haven't managed to get the information." He paused, watching their reflections in her window as he shrugged. "No matter. As long as you show up at nine pm tonight, they will still have a third hostage, and I'll get paid. Of course," he grinned nastily, "they won't be too happy with you."

Cee swallowed tightly, feeling her head spin. "Okay," she murmured, trying to remind herself of her options - but what could she do? If she didn't agree, firstly Stefano would kill her, and secondly, his employers would kill Flo and Angela. Her self-preservation, something that Cee hadn't even realised she had, kicked in. "Okay. I'll be there."