Page 130 of The Savage

The last one tries to bolt.

I grab him by the collar and slam him into the container wall so hard it rattles.

‘You came to my island?’ I snarl into his face. ‘To watch my home?’

He spits blood. ‘Vittore wanted eyes.’

‘He’ll have them,’ I promise, ‘in a bag.’

Cesare steps up beside me. ‘Alive. We need answers.’

I shove the man forward. Dante cuffs him. Rafa wipes blood off his knuckles with a smirk of disappointment.

‘That was it?’ he scoffs. ‘Three half-trained pricks and a runner? I expected more.’

‘So did Vittore,’ Cesare says coldly. ‘He wanted to see how fast we’d respond.’

‘Fast enough,’ I mutter.

‘Too fast,’ Dante counters. ‘He’ll escalate.’

We drag the bound survivor towards the SUV, the night humming with leftover adrenaline. The high of it all is electric. Ugly. Familiar. A taste of how the old wars used to feel.

As we load the man in the back, Rafa lights a cigar, exhales thick, savage smoke. ‘When do we get the real fight?’

My phone starts buzzing.

Unknown number again. At this point, I’d cut a dozen more bastards for a quiet night. My stomach knots, even before I swipe to answer.

I say nothing. Waiting.

‘I see you enjoyed my greeting,’ he purrs. ‘Don’t get too excited. Those were merely the… most disposable of my men.’

He lets that hang; the implication is clear.

I have many more.

‘You’re used to dealing with an old dog and his weakling son,’ he continues. ‘Yes, they’re my blood, and for honour’s sake I will avenge them…’

Rafa steps closer, listening over my shoulder.

Cesare goes still and Dante’s jaw tics.

‘But this?’ Vittore says softly. ‘This was just a taster.’

Silence. Then, ‘Last chance. Return the girl,’ he finishes, ‘or we move to the piattu forti.’

The main course.

He hangs up.

I’m staring at the black screen when Rafa growls, ‘What the fuck did he just say?’

Cesare steps forward, eyes narrow, voice low and dangerous. ‘He wants war.’

Dante cracks his neck. ‘Good. I’m starving.’

I pocket the phone and look at the blinking lights of the villa high on the cliff – where Giada sleeps under heavy guard, unaware that her uncle just set the table.