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Standing at the corner of the colonnade.

He smiles and raises his glass. My lips spread slowly in a smile and then I burst out laughing and I slowly raise my hand and give him a thumbs up.

****

We enter the house in a formation that feels like a funeral procession.

She’s limping behind us—barefoot, stained in red. Her dress clings to her like wet gauze, torn and dark with dirt and blood. Enzo glances over his shoulder at her, eyes softening.

“Are you alright?” he asks, voice low. “Why are you—what happened out there?”

She doesn’t answer. Her lips part like she wants to speak, but nothing comes out. Her eyes keep darting to me.

I pull out my gun and I point it at her.

“Vieri,” Enzo snaps, stepping between me and her, hands slightly raised. “Calm down.”

Riccardo chuckles without humor. “Took him long enough.”

“Not again,” Alfio mutters under his breath, rubbing a hand over his face.

Omero lifts his brow. “Could you shoot her outside? It’ll make a mess in here.”

I see her hands trembling, see the tears prickling in her wide eyes like she’s trying to hold them back with nothing but willpower.

I lift my chin and signal the guards flanking the hallway.

“Lock her up,” I say.

Enzo jerks forward. “She’s bleeding.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I growl, swinging the gun toward him.

Enzo freezes, jaw clenched. My finger itches near the trigger, but I don’t pull. The guards move in. She doesn’t resist. They grip her arms, dragging her down the hallway. Her footsteps trail blood. She looks back once. At me.

I say nothing.

After the hallway door clicks shut behind her, tension breaks like glass.

“She saved us,” Alfio says, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Riccardo scoffs. “It was a fluke. Who would try to kill us in such a public place?”

“No,” Enzo cuts in. “It was quick thinking. Something you wouldn’t relate to.”

Riccardo’s head snaps toward him. “You’ve got a problem with me now? You want to fuck her too? Is that it?”

The punch is swift and brutal. Enzo’s knuckles crack across Riccardo’s face with a sick sound, and Riccardo reels back a step before lunging.

I raise the gun.

“Try it,” I say quietly, calmly, the barrel inches from his forehead.

Riccardo just laughs, mouth bleeding. “Do it. I fucking dare you.”

“Enough,” Omero says with a tired groan. “Jesus, we look like idiots.”

“She’s just some girl, and we’re out here ready to kill each other for her?” Riccardo wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, glaring at each of us. “We don’t even know where he got her. Why is she here? And she’s already this much of a problem.” He looks at me pointedly. “Who is she, Vieri?”