[Alfio's Pov]
There was a silence that wasn't silent at all. Not really.
It was loud with tension. Screaming with unspoken threats and grudges old enough to be buried in a graveyard no one dared to visit.
I stood behind Salvo, quiet, still, trying to disappear into the sharp cut of his shadow.
Riccardo didn't answer him right away. His posture was rigid, like one wrong word might turn this place into a war zone. And maybe… maybe that was already happening. Not with guns or fists. But with eyes. With presence.
Two predators. Same prey.
And I was stuck between them.
God, why does this feel like I'm the meat in a very, very dangerous sandwich?
Salvo tilted his head, still smiling. That kind of smile that says, I know something you don't, and I'm about to use it against you.
"Well, Officer Riccardo," he said again, his tone deceptively amused. "You're either the worst undercover cop I've ever seen or…" His smile widened, shark-like. "You're not here as a cop at all, are you?"
