And if this is a trap, I'm as good as dead.
But if the information is good, it could give me the leverage I need to turn this war around.
We park two blocks away from the Pantheon and walk the rest of the distance on foot.
The square in front of the ancient building is packed with people—couples taking photos, street performers playing music, vendors selling trinkets and flowers.
The fountain at the center sprays water into the air and catches the light from the surrounding lamps.
It would be a breathtaking sight if I weren't so angry.
Rico points toward a bench near the fountain. "He said he would be there wearing a gray jacket."
I scan the crowd and spot a man sitting alone on the bench.
He wears a gray jacket and his head is tilted forward like he is looking at his phone.
But something about his posture is wrong.
He's too still, too slumped.
I move closer and see the blood.
It spreads across the front of his jacket in a dark stain.
His hands rest in his lap and his eyes stare blankly at nothing.
A knife wound in his side has bled out and left a pool beneath him on the cobblestones and not a single person around here seems to have noticed.
They're just walking past like it's any normal night.
"He's dead," I say quietly to Rico.
My eyes are already scanning faces, looking for movement in the chaos around us, but there’s too much of it.
Too many people are here, and picking out someone trying to flee is useless.
Rico curses under his breath. "Antonelli got to him first."
I kneel beside the bench and check for a pulse even though I already know what I'll find—nothing.
The man's been dead for minutes at most.
The blood is still fresh and warm, still oozing from the hole in his side.
And then people start to notice.
A woman screams.
A crowd begins to form around the bench.
I stand and scan the square again for anyone moving now, anyone trying to leave quickly.
And I see a figure in a dark hoodie cutting through the crowd toward the narrow alley behind the Pantheon.
He moves fast enough to draw my attention and I know that's the killer.
He glances back once and I catch a glimpse of his face.
