Page 93 of Veil of Dust

Now I know why.

Behind me, Tiziano is barking at Tomas’s tech guys—clear the front, check the perimeter, shift the bodies out of view before the cops get nosy.

But my gut twists.

Not because of the blood.

Because of Tomas.

I shut the water off and wipe my hands on my jeans. They smear red across my thighs.

I turn.

He’s still there, half-shadowed, leaning like this is just another Tuesday and we’re not dripping in the aftermath of a street war.

“Out with it,” I say.

He steps forward, hesitation in every line of his body. “Ves….”

My eyes narrow.

“You’ve got sixty seconds. Make it worth the breath.”

He swallows. His throat moves. He doesn’t blink.

“I gave Bianca intel.”

He keeps going. “Not everything. Just…just enough. To keep her off your back. I thought—” He steps forward “—I thought I was protecting you.”

The swing of the bulb catches my blade on the shelf.

Its edge flashes.

I stare at him. Hard.

“You thought betrayal was protection?”

His voice cracks. “She said if I didn’t feed her something, she’d make a move. I picked what was harmless—old routes, empty shipments, decoys.”

“You let her into my world.”

“No—”

“You put her eyes on my bar.”

“I kept her off your throat, Ves—”

“Bullshit.”

The word slices sharper than any knife.

I walk toward him, slowly.

He doesn’t back up.

“I gave her nothing she didn’t already have,” he says. “But if I didn’t pretend to play along, she would’ve taken more. She’s not just watching you. She’s circling Tiziano. You think she doesn’t know about the coup?”

I stop two feet from him.

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