On the way home from a Liverpool match, an attempt was made on Santino Bambrilla’s life.
They were leaving the venue, took a side exit — they rotate exits at the game — and someone shot at them.
He was with Rome, both sustained bullets, Santino’s more serious than Romeo’s, but neither life-threatening. Santino was hit in the chest, but they missed his heart and his lungs. Got Romeo in the arm.
I think of it and I don’t like it, how much I want to call Magnolia. Tell her about this fucking shit thing that happened to someone I love, have her pause uncomfortably, not knowing what to say so she shows me photos of the most important dresses in history and runs her hands through my hair but I can’t.
When Daisy busts through our front door I can hear from the way she slams it that she’s annoyed I’ve told her to come home.
She throws open my office door, Christian behind her.
“I was having a really good da—” she starts but then her eyes land on Rome, arm bloody, face a mess, eyes blurry.
“Oh my God—” She rushes to him, one hand on his face, the other on his chest. “Are you okay?”
Christian stands in the doorway, watching on and frowning. “What happened?”
“Dad was shot,” Rome says gruffly. “Me too—”
He flashes her his arm.
Daisy doesn’t look away from him as she tells anyone who’s listening, “Someone get me the kit.”
She lifts the bloody sleeve up, peels back the material we’ve been using to apply pressure, and peers at the wound as best she can.
“Are you okay?” Christian asks, moving towards him.
Rome nods, barely looking at him.
“Santi—” Daisy asks, looking between me and Rome. “Is he okay?”
“He’ll live,” Rome says, watching her and she touches his face with her hand again.
“I’m so sorry—”
“What the fuck happened?” Christian asks me, hands crossed over his chest.
I gesture over to Rome.
“Sniped at the match.” He shrugs. “It happened quickly — and then our boys threw me in one car, Dad in another—”
“Where is he?” Daisy asks.
“I don’t know.” Rome shrugs. “Hiding.”
Declan passes Daisy her kit and she pushes Romeo down on an armchair.
Turns around and sanitises her hands and arms, she and Christian catch eyes and he gives her a sad smile.
“Rome’s going to stay here with us—” I tell them, because now feels as good a time as any. “Safe keeping.”
Daisy nods, so does Christian. Can’t imagine he’s stoked, all things considered, but he says nothing.
Walks over to Daisy and looks down at her kneeling by Rome.
“How can I help?”
She grabs some gauze and starts wiping away at the blood.
“I need a bin, I need a lot of sterilised water, or at least bottled water—” She looks over her shoulder. “Can someone try to find me some lidocaine or articaine?”
“Why does he get the drugs?” I eye my sister playfully.
Her eyes pinch at her ex-boyfriend’s arm. “He didn’t do this to himself.”
I shrug and lean back against my desk. “You shot yourself last year, they gave you drugs—”
All four of them, Daisy, Christian, Rome and Miguel, toss me an unimpressed look.
“I’m not ready to joke about that one yet—” Rome says, looking at the other side of the room.
“Yeah.” Christian shakes his head. “Me either—”
“Christian—” Daisy grabs him by the wrist, ignoring me. “Shine your phone light in here please.”
He nods, does what she tells him to and she gets to work.
Christian stares down at Rome who’s looking away.
“Do we know who did it?”
Romeo nods without looking at him. “Got him.”
“Who was it?” Daisy asks, looking between us.
Rome glances over at her. “Well, he’s dead now—”
“We don’t know for sure yet, but it’s looking like it was some old connections from Italy.”
Daisy nods. “Is your mum okay?”
“Rattled—” He shrugs. “But okay.”
“Where’s Carmelo?” Christian asks.
“Freshfield, for now,” Rome tells him.
“Carms is going to run ops for a while.”
“Woah.” Christian blinks.
It’s a big deal when the seats change hands. James Devlin’s dad is still around, but he’s stepped back. Danny Jukes and Hughie McCracken came to sit at the table when their respective fathers died. Jukes’ was murdered, Hughie’s died of cancer. Sad.
Carmelo taking over for the Bambrillas will cause a stir — I’m not worried, but others might be. People have different agendas, things they want to achieve, people have different versions of success in their own mind, and what we do is power hungry, no two ways about it.
Carms isn’t like that, it’s not what he wants. He’ll do it because it’s what we do but it’s not what he wants. Never has been, just the hand he was dealt.
“Santi’ll come back.” I shrug, even though I know myself that that’s probably not true.
“Yeah, right,” Daisy scoffs around the same time Romeo throws me a look like I’m stupid.
Carmelo’s best traits aside, he is a man, and men do love power. Historically, it’s not often been that someone takes a seat then relinquishes it when asked to.
“Got it.” Daisy sighs and then I hear the familiar clang of a bullet in a pan.
Romeo looks down at his arm, then down at her. “Thanks.”
“Mmhm.” She gives him a tender smile as she tapes it up.
She stands up, looking at his arm with her head tilted, then nods to herself, happy.
“I’m going to go clean up, and then I’ll set up your room.” She gives Rome a quick smile, then catches Christian’s eye, nodding her head for him to go with her.
She pauses at the doorway and looks over at me, her eyes are heavy.
She’s worried. I hate it when she’s worried.
“What does this mean, Jules?”
“For you—?” I stare over. “Triple security—” She opens her mouth to say something but I shake my head and hold up a hand to silence her. “No complaints.”
She breathes out loudly.
“Kevlar every time you leave the house—”
“No,” she whines.
“Yeah.” I nod back, firmly. “Unless you’re at my house or his house—” I point to Christian. “It’s Kevlar all round.”
She sighs and walks away.
Romeo looks over at me, gives me a little shrug.
“Like, to be fair to her though, Kevlar is mad uncomfortable.”
