ldn't

s blaring, distant sirens wailing, the occasional

it was the sound I couldn't shake, the one th

guns

skull like some twisted reminder

o pretend I was someone else, the past had a

low of the streetlights casting long

nd over again in my head. I didn't know much about who they were, aside from wh

nd then there w

count, sitting in the background of those dark meeti

ly was. But now he was gone, just like that. And I couldn't help but feel

want to be involved. I'd walked away from that life for a reason. But no

apartment. I'd tossed and turned for hours, my thoughts spin

r in the early morning, the usual c

ket pockets, my footsteps ech

as overth

to do with me. Maybe I could just keep pretending that I didn't

ed at me. The way he carried himself, the look in his eyes-

end untied. I passed a few early risers on their wa

ter last night, it felt like I was teetering on the edge of something b

es were talking near the entrance, their faces grim. I kept my distance,

ly's history. I leaned against the brick wall, the rough

re dealing with. No one did.

hese things worked. A cold breeze whipped down the alley,

d if Rocco was involved, then there was a g

for years. It wasn't a stretch to think this was the

ing my quiet, anonymous life. But I couldn't s

t same sense of recognition gnawing at me. I'd seen

tanding around wasn't going to help. I needed to focus, to clear my head. But the

he counter again, trying to act like nothing had change

l laughter and drunken stories, blissfully unaware of the

he door opened, my heart skipped a beat, half

tried to bury creeping closer. The bell above th

n my throat. It wasn't Luca. Not this time. But the man

, I was reminded that no matter how far

bar, his presence like a cold sh

taking stock of every exit, every face. He moved with the

one hand resting casually on the counter,

a predator on the hunt. I froz

the same bar where I'd once found sanctuary? My hand shifted under the co

, too obvious. A knife, though-that was my styl

ld Fashioned," he said, smooth and precise, like e

ed a brow, but nodded, reaching for the whiskey. My hands moved automatic

his time-he was waiting for something, or someone. I slid the drink acros

lass meeting his h

My heart pounded in my ears as I moved without thinking, m

ssed against his throat, cold and sharp,

open right here," I growled, my voice l

st have looked like a friendly embrace, two old friends catching up, but there was nothing friendly about the blade

t holding a weapon. His eyes were cold, but there

with an edge to it. "Sent by Isabella Moretti." I hesitated,

e that carried weight in the underworld. I s

tered, gesturing to one of m

d possibly want. We stepped out into the alley, the city's

tension between us didn't fade. My knife wa

lower this time, and pulled out a burner

l Me. I glanced at him before pressing the call b

few times before

rough the speaker. There was a smoothness to her tone, something al

ed me Ferrara in years. I opened my

when we meet." Her voice

ey seemed to tilt, the ground slipping out from under me. I forced myself to stay standing, the world spinning as I tried to

lt," she continued, her

e next in line. Angus will bring you to m

ella's words echoed in my mind-next in line. I hadn't been part of the Mafia for years, and

rick wall, shattering it into pieces. Without missing a beat, he h

grip tightening around the

so hard to escape wa

l myself away f