“Matteo,” Salvatore’s voice is calm.
I look at him.
“You’ve been quiet,” he says. “Anything to add?”
I shake my head. “Not really.”
A beat. It’s not like I don’t plan to tell my brothers the truth. I will. Just not now. Not when even I can’t make sense of it all. I have no clue how I could begin explaining Lindsay to them. So I keep quiet.
“And before that? You nearly took Raf’s head off.”
Raffaele huffs. “He tried.”
“I apologized.”
“That’s not the point.” Salvatore’s gaze doesn’t shift.
“Then what is it?”
“There’s something going on with you. You’re on edge. Distracted.”
The word sits there. Accurate. Unwelcome. I don’t respond. Salvatore watches me for another second, like he’s deciding how far to push. Then his phone rings.
The sound cuts through the tension, sharp and immediate. He answers without looking away from me.
“Yes?”
There’s a pause and then his expression shifts. Annoyance.
“You lost her?”
There’s silence for a second.
“No,” Salvatore says, tone colder now. “That’s not acceptable. She was under your watch. You don’t lose?—”
My focus sharpens. There’s another pause and then Salvatore exhales through his nose, irritation settling in.
“Find her,” he says to the men on the other line. And then he hangs up. “My wife’s best friend is starting to be more trouble than she’s worth. She escaped the guards that were there to protect her.”
The words land. And I’m already moving.
“I’ll handle it,” I say.
All three of them look at me now.
Raffaele frowns. “Handle what?”
I don’t answer. I’m already reaching for my jacket.
“Matteo,” Salvatore says, voice sharper now.
I pause just long enough to look at him. “I’ll explain later.”
That’s all I can give them right now. Then I leave.
The city blurs past my car in muted lights and empty streets. Every second stretches longer than it should.
She gave her bodyguards the slip. After everything. After what happened. We provided her with protection and she walked away from it. My grip tightens on the wheel. It’s reckless, irresponsible. And unacceptable.
