"Smart man," Torretti says, pulling me through the doorway into the hall. "Now drop the gun. Kick it away. Do it or she dies right here."
"Don't—" I start, but the arm around my throat tightens, cutting off my air.
Renato's face contorts with rage and helplessness. For a long moment, he doesn't move. His finger stays on the trigger, the weapon aimed at the space where Torretti's head would be if I wasn't in the way.
"Now, Vitiello. Or watch her bleed."
The gun clatters to the floor. Renato kicks it away, hands rising slowly.
Torretti drags me further down the hallway, the knife never leaving my throat. "Don't follow. Don't call anyone. You know what happens to merchandise that gets damaged in transit."
"Camilla!" Renato's voice cracks with desperation. "Fight back! Whatever he does, keep fighting! I will find you! I will come for you!"
The last thing I see before Torretti hauls me around the corner is Renato standing in the doorway between two corpses, weaponless, his face twisted with murderous rage.
Chapter 26: Renato
She's gone.
I stand in the wreckage of my salon, staring at the blood pooling around Kozlov's body, and the only thought my mind can process is that one, simple, devastating fact.
I fucked up.
Torretti took her. Used her as a human shield to get past Matteo and out the door. A smart play from a professional who found himself in a firefight he hadn't planned on. Two men are dead at my feet, but the one who mattered got away.
Matteo appears in the doorway, his own weapon still drawn. "Their drivers are secured in the wine cellar. No phones, no communications."
I nod. Hostages we can use if needed, without the complications of more bodies.
"Torretti?"
"Gone. His driver was waiting in a black sedan, already moving when he came out with her." Matteo's face is taut with frustration. "I had a shot, but not with her in front of him."
I would have made the same call. Better to let him escape than risk hitting her.
"He'll contact us," I say, trying to convince myself. "This was survival, not planning. He grabbed her to get out alive, but now he's got valuable merchandise. He'll want to negotiate."
"You think he'll try to ransom her back to us?"
"Why wouldn't he? From his perspective, this auction went sideways and now he's got product he needs to move." I bend down and pick up my gun. "He's a businessman."
Matteo nods, but I can see the doubt in his eyes. "What if he decides she's too hot to handle? Witnesses to murder, blood on her dress."
"Then he cleans her up and moves her quickly. But he won't waste an asset this valuable. A woman like Camilla is worth a lot to his European clients. He'd be insane to throw that away."
"How long before he contacts us?"
"Not long. He'll want to get distance first, secure her somewhere safe, then make contact." I check my watch. "Few hours at most. He knows I have resources, knows I'll pay well to get her back quietly."
"And if he doesn't call?"
"Then we track him the hard way. But he will. This is about money now, not violence."
Matteo starts making calls—cleanup crew, security sweep, traffic monitoring. Professional damage control while I try to convince myself this is manageable.
Torretti is smart, opportunistic. He grabbed her in a moment of chaos and now he has to figure out what to do with her.
The smart play is negotiation. Quick sale back to me, everyone walks away richer. Life goes on.
