Previously:

She and Ennis put the spaghetti and the sauce with the meatballs in dishes they could be served from and put them on the table. They passed the serving fork and spoon around and helped themselves.

Firo took his first bite of meatball and was not disappointed.

"This is seriously good!"

"It's Miss Charlie's recipe."

"Ennis did most of the work, though."

"Wow, you two are amazing."

"I agree."

"Aw, you're going to make us blush."

Ennis really did blush a little bit. She was happy to be praised so much by Firo, and happy that he was enjoying the meal she had worked so hard to prepare for him.

Luck looked from Ennis to Firo and smiled as he ate another forkful of spaghetti.

Chapter 10: Like A Bullet Through The Heart

Somewhere in Little Italy. Firo's apartment.

"That was really delicious," Luck said when they had finished their meal.

"Yeah, thanks," Firo agreed.

Charlie and Ennis smiled and started collecting the dishes. Ennis began washing the plates while Charlie dried.

It was Charlie's night off, so she didn't have anywhere else to be and could stay to help with the clean up.

Luck and Firo made themselves comfortable in the sitting room.

"That was a good meal," Firo said, completely satisfied.

"You said it," Luck agreed.

"You're really lucky, getting a girl who can cook like Charlie."

"Ennis will be good, too, once she's had some practice. She really did do most of the work. Charlie just gave her directions and set examples to follow."

"Great. I'll look forward to that."

Firo glanced in the direction of the kitchen and lowered his voice as he said:

"Speaking of girls… I hear you've got one causing trouble?"

"Emilia is back."

"What? Are you serious? She has a lot of nerve..."

"What's worse is she's started to target Charlie."

"Target her?"

"Emilia tried to hurt her. But Ennis intervened."

"Ennis got involved? You don't think Emilia would target Ennis, do you? Not that she can't handle herself..."

"Don't worry. Keith and Berga are running her off as we speak."

—∞—

In the reception room in their office, Keith sat behind his desk while Berga stood by him. On the other side of the desk stood Emilia.

"So you're saying... you want me to leave town?"

Emilia crossed her arms.

"What does Luck say about this? Does he know you're doing this?"

"Of course he knows. It was his idea."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"He had a prior engagement he thought was more important."

"More important? What is?"

"He's having dinner with his girl."

"I'm his girl."

"Not anymore," Keith said.

Emilia was shocked to hear him say it. It seemed worse somehow than if anyone else had said it. Keith never said anything that wasn't worth saying.

She sat back onto the sofa in the reception room.

"He's really not coming? Not even to say goodbye?"

"No."

Emilia refused to cry in front of Luck's brothers. Even though it hurt her to be rejected, she wouldn't show it.

"Fine," she said with moist eyes. "How long are you going to give me?"

"You have until midnight tomorrow to get out of town. And don't even think about causing trouble."

Emilia looked from Berga to Keith, then stood up and walked out without a word.

"Think she'll listen?" Berga asked Keith.

"…..."

Keith hoped so, but he wasn't sure.

—∞—

Luck and Charlie were laughing as they walked up the steps to the tenement Luck lived in. Luck had shared an amusing story with her, but they stopped laughing when they saw Emilia standing in the lobby.

"So it's true. You really were with her."

Emilia reached into her purse and pulled out a small gun. She aimed it at Charlie.

"Say goodbye."

Bang!

As Emilia pulled the trigger, Luck stepped in front of Charlie to shield her. He knew she wouldn't die, but he did it anyway.

"Luck!"

Charlie knew he wouldn't die, but she was concerned anyway. Getting shot was still painful. Luck staggered. Charlie dropped her overnight bag.

"Well, that's fine, too. I was going to kill both of you anyway."

Bang!

Emilia shot Luck again, in the heart this time. He collapsed onto the floor. Charlie fell to her knees beside him, cradling his head.

"Stop it!"

"You're so stupid. You should've run while you had the chance."

Emilia aimed the gun at Charlie's head.

Charlie carefully set Luck's head on the floor and stood up.

"Heh. You want to die on your feet? Fine by me."

Bang!

Emilia aimed at her heart and pulled the trigger for a third time, but Charlie dodged so that the bullet hit her shoulder instead. She charged toward Emilia, closing the gap between them. With one hand she grabbed the gun, while the other was thrust out in front of her, slamming her palm into Emilia's chest.

Emilia coughed as her chest throbbed with pain, and she was pushed back. She hit the ground hard, stunned. She held a hand to her painful chest, drawing ragged breaths. She glared up at Charlie, who had the gun aimed at her now.

"Go ahead. Shoot me!"

"Why should I go to prison for you?"

"Oh, please. I just killed Luck! Keith and Berga would help you get rid of my body so it's never found."

"That's true. They would. If you had killed me."

Emilia's eyes widened when she heard the familiar voice and looked past Charlie to see that Luck was standing again. He was alive, and there was no blood on his clothing. But there were holes where she had shot him.

"Wha…?"

Emilia looked back at Charlie and saw that her shoulder was healing. The blood was going back into the wound, and it was closing.

"M-monsters! You're both monsters!" Emilia cried, scooting back away from them, looking terrified. "You died! I know you died! Monsters!"

"Do you think you could keep it down? Someone might hear."

Emilia opened her mouth to scream, but Charlie quickly kneeled down and delivered a blow to her head with the gun to knock her out. Not hard enough to kill, just to render her unconscious for a while.

"I see those self-defense lessons are paying off."

"I don't know. Maybe I should've let her shoot me. That way, she might've just left without finding out our secret. … What are we going to do with her?"

"Good question."

—∞—

In the end, they decided it was best to bring her back to the reception room, where they moved the rug so there was a kink in it and laid Emilia's body down in a position that suggested she had fallen forward but twisted sideways so her head wound was touching the floor. Then Luck and Charlie left and hid in another part of the jazz hall while Keith and Berga tried to rouse Emilia.

"Hey. Hey! Wake up!" Berga roared.

Emilia stirred and squinted against the light as she opened her eyes. She groaned.

"Ohh. What happened?"

"You tripped on the rug as you were leaving and banged your head on the floor."

"What? There's no way I..." Emilia trailed off when she pushed herself up to look around and saw the kink in the carpet. "..."

"You want some ice for that head?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I-I'll be fine."

Emilia didn't want their charity.

The memory of killing Luck and shooting Charlie came back to her.

"I saw them… I saw them. They wouldn't die. They wouldn't die!"

"Who wouldn't die?"

"Luck and that girl! I shot them, and they healed!"

"You shot Luck? When?"

"After I left here. I went to meet Luck at his apartment—they were both there—and I used my gun to..."

"To shoot them?"

"Yes! I killed Luck, and he stood up like it was nothing, all healed! Her shoulder healed, too. They're monsters, both of them!"

"Now, Emilia, there's no way that happened. I mean, if you killed Luck, we'd have to kill you."

That shut Emilia up. He said it so matter-of-factly that it sent chills up her spine.

"So, are you going to leave town, or are we going to have to make you?"

"No. No, I-I'll go."

Berga helped Emilia stay stable as she stood up. Emilia felt his grip on her arms and realized he could easily break them.

"And remember. No trouble."

"No trouble."

Berga let her go, and she left, hurrying away as fast as she could. Berga followed her out, making sure she went straight out the door. Emilia did. She couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Berga found Luck and Charlie and gave them the news.

"She's gone. I don't think she'll try anything, but just in case, you should probably stay away from your apartments."

"…..."

Keith looked at Luck and Charlie. They could stay with him.

"Are you sure?" Luck asked. "Kate wouldn't mind?"

Keith nodded.