Page 106 of Madness & Mercy

“You mean… you’re letting me come with you?”

I nod once. “Don’t make me regret it.”

That sobers him up fast. He heads to the closet, rifling through my suits like he’s looking for armor instead of fabric.

“What’s the plan?”

“You and I hit the basement first. See if you can squeeze a location out of Braga’s guy. Then we meet Luca and Enzo outside.”

He pauses at the window, his eyes catching on the red Maserati parked out front.

“Is that—?”

“Yours,” I say, leaning in the doorway. “But I’m driving this time.”

He frowns. “I can drive.”

I raise a brow. “Not while we’re hunting a body. You want to test-drive it, earn it.After.”

He rolls his eyes, pulling on a jacket. “Fine.”

“Got anything else to say?”

Julian pauses, meets my gaze with a half-scowl, half-smirk.

“You’re batshit crazy, you know that?”

I grin. “You want the car, or not?”

His mouth twitches, just the faintest smile, but it hits me like a bullet to the gut.

“Yeah… thanks,” he mutters.

“You can thank me when we’re both still alive by the end of the day.”

The basement is colder than usual. Concrete, steel, blood-soaked silence. I lead Julian down the stairs without a word, his footsteps falling just behind mine.

When we reach the bottom, the smell of blood and sweat hits first. Our hostage is still alive, barely. Bruised, gagged, wrists zip-tied to the back of a steel chair.

Julian exhales.

“Go ahead,” I mutter, stepping aside. “He might talk to you.”

He hesitates, just for a second. Then he steps forward, rolling his shoulders back like he’s slipping into character.

“You sure about this?” he asks under his breath.

“You said you had intel. Time to prove it.”

He gives me a look, then crouches in front of the guy. Rips the gag down in one sharp motion.

“Morning,” Julian says coolly. “Sleep well?”

The guy coughs, bloodied lips twitching into something between a snarl and a grin. “Fuck you.”

Julian smiles back, sweet as cyanide. “That’s the spirit. Now tell me where Braga is.”

The man glares up at him defiantly. “Why the hell should I?”