Page 31 of Savage Little War

Once we’re dropped off close enough to the main town square to walk to it, we put on our backpacks and head there, slipping into the flow of the crowd as they explore cafés and restaurants.

“Wow,” Cara says as she peers up at a huge cathedral that people are climbing a large staircase to reach. Bells toll overhead, vibrating in my ribs.

“There are a lot of historic buildings here,” Luca explains as he gestures to a nearby clock tower and other buildings. “You’ll see touches of Roman influence, and some of these structures are medieval.”

“You should retire from a life of crime and be a tour guide, Luca,” I tell him as my eyes sweep back and forth, scanning faces and shadows where Ferro’s guards could be lurking.

“What fun would that be?” he replies before motioning for us to cut away from the crowd and go up a small staircase between two buildings. “Be prepared for a lot of stairs.”

Cara frowns a little, but she takes my hand and follows me as Luca winds through back streets and up staircases to take us farther from the tourist area.

“Ferro could be staying anywhere,” Luca says as we walk down a back street, passing by someone’s laundry hanging on a line.

“Well, we need to narrow that down quickly,” I tell him.

Luca suddenly pauses and holds up his hand, making Cara and me jolt to a stop behind him.

Voices sound up ahead around the nearest corner. Two men speaking rapid Italian, sharp and irritated. Nothing that I can translate, but it seems like Luca is tuned into their conversation.

I’m about to ask Luca what’s going on, but I hear one word come out of one man’s mouth and my blood turns cold.

Ferro.

“Shit. Back up. Back up. Hide!” Luca hisses under his breath at us as he whips around and starts pushing us backward.

I tighten my grip on Cara’s hand and tug her into a deep, arched entryway to someone’s home. We press our backs against the wall and blend into the shadows as much as we can. Luca melts into the dark, moving toward the corner like he belongs there.

“Where’s Luca?” Cara whispers.

I shake my head as I look out at the back street, not seeing any sign of Luca. “He’ll be fine. Stay quiet and still.”

Cara presses her lips together and shrinks back as much as we can as we hear incoming footsteps on the narrow cobblestone street.

I hold my breath as I watch two men walk past us. Luckily, they’re so engrossed in their conversation that they don’t see us as they pass by and head farther down the street. I take in every feature that I can, but I mostly see them from the side and from behind.

One is tall and lean with short dark hair, while the other is a little smaller but far broader with wavy hair.

Unfortunately, I still don’t get enough of a good look at them to be able to pick them out of a crowd of similar looking Italians. I don’t hear any names either, but they must be some of Ferro’s guards. They’re probably crawling all over the place.

The tall one pulls a radio out of his back pocket and speaks into it before putting it away.

Once their voices and footsteps fade away, Luca appears in the entryway a few moments later. “They’re working for Ferro. They’re annoyed about having to run pointless errands for him like picking up groceries and shit. He must be staying off the streets.”

“We need to follow them back to where he’s staying,” I tell him as I step forward to slip past Luca.

Luca holds his hand out to grab my shoulder, making me stop in place. “They’re meeting up with some other guards at a bar. They could be there for hours, and I don’t think it’s smart to have three people tracking them.”

I frown. “We can’t just let them get away.”

“I’ll track them,” Luca says before taking out his phone, his thumbs flying over the keyboard. “These are the directions to the safe house. Take Cara there. I’ll check back in, and you can meet me with some of our men.”

I don’t like the thought of sitting this out right now, but I like the idea of being separated from Cara even less. If I’m not patient, I’ll just run myself and Cara into early graves.

“Fine,” I say before motioning for Luca to take off. “Don’t lose them, and don’t get caught.”

Luca nods before spinning around and hurrying down the street in the direction that the guards went.

“I hope he’ll be okay,” Cara murmurs, her features tensing in worry.