Page 93 of The Savage

‘I’ve worked it out,’ she adds quietly. ‘I know your family… They’re mafioso.’

I smile, slow and unrepentant. ‘We prefer “businessmen”. But yes. We do what needs doing. And I have my role within it.’

She folds her hands, knuckles white. ‘Have you killed people?’

I let the silence hang. Think back to the pilfering priest I dealt with in Rome… Fuck, was it only a handful of weeks ago? I feel like I’ve lived five lifetimes since.

‘Would you pray for my soul if I have?’ I ask softly.

Her eyes flicker with something, fear maybe, or compassion, or maybe both. She looks down for a long moment, thinking. Then, ‘I would pray that God sees the whole of you. Not just the parts men might fear.’

Jesus Christ.

I stare at her.

That right there – that answer – is pure mob-wife poetry.

‘That,’ I murmur, ‘is exactly what a Donna della Mafia would say.’

Her gasp is sharp, scandalised, but something glints beneath it.

Not denial.

Not horror.

Interest. Possibility.

My greedy fucking heart lurches.

She reaches for another piece of pastry. My phone pings again – sharper this time, the coded alert I never ignore – but I do, just for one more beat.

She watches me with wide, steady eyes. ‘What now?’ she asks.

I meet her gaze.

‘Now, amore,’ I say slowly, ‘we see who’s trying to find us.’

The phone pings again.

And this time the sender flashes across the screen.

Nightowl

Weasels make chessboards out of the wood when Rats desert sinking ships.

Christ, the fucker is back to his cryptic worst.

‘What does that mean?’

I glance over to find her eyes on the screen. I watch her for a beat, my brain ticking over. I could toss out a half-assed answer because I’m not sure what the message means, save for the Rat part which I’m betting my left nut refers to El Topo.

But… wasn’t I just celebrating how strong Giada was? A simple, genuine answer isn’t going to break her.

‘It’s a message from someone I know.’

She rolls her eyes and I want to kiss her and fuck her until those eyes roll back again in ecstasy. ‘I can see that. I asked what it meant.’

‘You remember the Sicilian word for rat?’