Page 75 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

His phone vibrated. He answered without slowing.

“Keep walking.” The voice came through flat, controlled.

Mano kept his pace, eyes forward.

“Take the next right.”

The noise from the main street dulled behind him, the crowd thinning, the air shifting into something quieter.

“Stop.”

Mano slowed, then came to a halt.

“I see you.”

His chest tightened, sharp and brief. His gaze flicked up, scanning the street, the parked cars, the shadows between buildings. He didn’t move.

Then he saw him. A man stepped off the sidewalk across the street, unhurried, heading straight toward him. Mid-forties, maybe. Dark trousers, a plain shirt, sleeves pushed up at the forearms. He didn’t look around, didn’t slow, just kept walking like he knew exactly where he was going.

Mano’s shoulders went still as the distance between them closed.

The man stopped a couple of steps away. Up close, he looked ordinary. A short beard, a slightly hooked nose, nothing that would make you look twice. His eyes settled on Mano, calm, assessing. “Talk.”

Mano held his gaze. “I need someone handled.”

The man’s expression didn’t change. “That’s a broad request.”

“He has people watching someone important to me,” Mano said. “He’s been hanging around his place. Watching him. And he’s already made threats.”

“Name.”

“Andreas.”

“Last name?”

“I don’t have it. But I know one of his guys. Angelo.”

The man took a moment, considering. “You’re stepping into something messy.”

“I know.”

He nodded. “You want him watched… or you want him handled?”

Mano’s jaw clenched. “I want him to back off. Completely.”

The man held his gaze. “That can be arranged,” he said, like they were discussing logistics. “But you don’t come to me for something like this unless you’re ready for more.”

“I’m not asking for more.”

“You don’t get to decide that once it starts.”

That landed.

“Make sure it doesn’t get there.”

The man gave a faint, almost amused breath. “We can put distance between you and him. We can make sure he doesn’t touch you again.”

“It’s not about me. Make sure he stays away from the person he’s watching.”