She nods without taking her eyes off the stage.
I stand and walk toward the back of the hall.
Rico catches my eye and follows me outside.
Luca stays inside to watch Angelica and Sofia.
The cold air hits me as soon as I step through the door.
Rico is there now, ready to lead me around the side of the building where the church butts against an alley.
Enzo has a man pinned against the wall with one arm twisted behind his back. I didn't realize he had even come.
The man is young, with a nervous expression and sweat running down his face despite the cold.
He wears a dark jacket and jeans.
Nothing that marks him as part of Antonelli's crew, but if my men tell me he's the enemy, I'm obligated to trust them.
I walk over and stand directly in front of him.
He tries to straighten but Enzo keeps him pinned.
"Who sent you?" I ask.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he says, and his voice is shaking. He's green, probably never been confronted by a mark before. Gerard is getting sloppy.
I pull my knife from my belt and press the flat of the blade against his cheek.
Not hard enough to cut, just hard enough to make him understand what will happen if he lies to me again.
"I'm going to ask you one more time. Who sent you?"
"Fuck," he gasps. "Gerard wanted me to follow you and see where you went. That's it…"
"And what were you supposed to report back?"
"Just information. Nothing else. I swear." His eyes dart around frantically as he pushes at Enzo's chest.
He's just a child still, maybe not even twenty years old. Who the fuck sends someone so young to do a job like this?
I press the blade harder. "Did he tell you to hurt anyone?" I already know I can't kill him, but I can send a message.
"No, just information. That's all."
I study his face.
He's telling the truth.
He's just a scout—a low level soldier sent to gather intel.
But the fact that Antonelli sent him at all is a problem.
It means he's watching my movements now, not just my business practices, and that means he's planning to escalate more quickly than we thought.
I step back and fold the knife.
Then I grab the front of his jacket and Enzo backs off.
