"It's true. It has to be. There's no other explanation."
"Then we need to find them."
"Before they give him more information. Before he strikes again."
My phone buzzes again. I grab it. Check the screen.
Aleksander.
I answer. "What?"
"We found something." His voice is tight. Controlled. "One of the bodies. The man who grabbed Vittoria first. The one who was shot."
"What about him?"
"He had a tattoo. Small. Behind his left ear. We almost missed it."
I grip the phone tighter. "What kind of tattoo?"
"A symbol. Looks like smoke. Or clouds. Our guy thinks it might be a gang marking. He's running it through databases now."
"Call me the second you have anything."
"Will do."
I end the call. Look at Igor.
"They found a tattoo on one of the bodies."
Igor sits forward. "What kind?"
"Smoke. Or clouds. They're checking gang databases."
"That could be our first real lead."
"If it's in any database." I set the phone down. "This man—Smoke—he's smart. Careful. He wouldn't let his people carry obvious identifiers unless?—"
"Unless he wanted us to find it," Igor finishes.
"Exactly."
"Another message."
"Another fucking message." I return to the window. Stare out at the grounds. "He's playing with us. Showing us he can do whatever he wants. Whenever he wants. And we can't stop him."
"We'll find him."
"Will we?" I don't turn around. "He's probably been operating in Chicago for months. Building. Planning. And none of us noticed. Not us. Not the Sartoris. Not the Corellis or the Constantinos. No one."
"He'll make a mistake."
"When? After he kills more of our people? After he takes Vittoria again?"
The thought makes my chest tight. My hands curl into fists.
"She's safe here," Igor says quietly.
"Is she? He knew about my warehouse. What else does he know? Does he know about this house? The security? The guards?"
