Page 102 of The Savage

Because Cesare and Rafa will bulldoze the world before anyone touches Maddie or Sofiya.

And I⁠—

I’m not losing Giada.

Not to fate, not to her family, not to mine and most definitely not after six years of searching for a ghost with her voice.

The vow settles in my bones like steel.

I will not be the Salvatore who fails.

Then—

A flicker. A flash of a stare.

I feel the shift before she does – an itch at the back of my neck, the subtle bend in the air when predators decide to watch instead of pounce. Old instincts coil low in my gut.

Someone’s eyes meet mine.

Then flick away.

Another. Leaning on a wall, pretending to smoke.

A third. Too well-built, too alert, too still.

Three shadows too careful to be tourists. Too tense to be locals. And absolutely too disciplined to be random criminals.

Mancinelli men. Here? I have protection with me, a gun and three knives close to hand, but my arm is another strategic kick from being a no-show if someone gets a lucky hit.

Shit.

‘Renzo?’ Giada asks quietly, sensing the tight coil of my body.

I force my shoulders to loosen. ‘Keep walking, angel. Nice and easy.’

She does. Because she trusts me. Trusts me enough not to question the sharp edge in my voice.

It’s a rush that hits harder than any drug.

We reach the gelateria, a small jewel box of a place with glass counters full of pistachio, hazelnut, blood orange, stracciatella. She presses a hand to the window, eyes lighting with wonder.

She’s so beautiful it’s a physical ache, but I’m not stupid enough to look away from the reflection in the glass.

Two men stand twenty metres behind us.

A third pretends to browse magazines across the piazza.

Watching. Waiting. Calculating.

And I remember Nightowl’s message: Weasels make chessboards out of the wood when Rats desert sinking ships.

Fuck.

El Topo may not have willingly abandoned ship but he’s weakened enough not to be a threat from his jail cell. But that doesn’t mean others haven’t stepped into his stupid shoes.

Other… weasels.

Fuck Nightowl and his fucking bullshit messages.