Page 19 of Veil of Smoke

Blood paints my sleeves. I toss the rag on the floor.

She leans in, voice low. “Dario. This isn’t your usual reaction. What’s the angle?”

I don’t answer.

“Massimo?”

I shake my head. “Different.”

She reads my face. “Not so different.”

“You wouldn’t get it.”

“I get enough.”

Behind us, the club starts to clear. People spill into the alley, shoving each other, sirens growing louder somewhere out on Wabash.

I reach for the back door and pause.

“She matters,” I say.

Rita lights a new cigarette. “She’ll matter more if you move your ass.”

I push the door open.

Rain hits hard.

I step into the alley. Cold wind punches through my coat. Smoke from the building follows me out, catching in my throat.

I light a cigarette with damp fingers. Takes three tries.

The rain helps cool the heat still burning in my chest.

I lean against the wall and look down at my hands.

They’re shaking.

It’s not adrenaline.

It’s her.

Every path I follow leads back to her. The envelope. The dock. That look in her eyes.

I wanted her to be an error in the system. A mistake I could erase.

But if that were true, Corradino wouldn’t be sending men after me in jazz bars.

He’s not hunting me.

He’s watching how close I’ll get to her before I break.

I check my phone.

One new text.

Cam: Confirmed—Viviana Torrisi. No priors. Business clean. Father was Vincent Torrisi. Badge ID 40192. KIA during a Caldera operation.

I lock the screen.

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