Page 60 of The Hitman's Secret Baby
Things the Salvatores can use when the more obvious channels need insulation.
I nod once and head inside.
The manor's halls are lit golden, casting long reflections along the polished floors, the light broken only by the glint of crystal and the hush of staff moving fast, but quietly.
Alessandra passes me in the corridor, her perfume trailing like bergamot and secrets.
She says nothing.
She just gives me a nod, as if she already knows what I'm about to walk into.
I find Cristiano in the south parlor.
And he's not alone.
A third man is there, leaning against the grand piano, long legs crossed at the ankle, dark hair tousled like he just stepped out of a sea breeze.
He's drinking something pale, with no ice, and watching me like he's waiting for a reason to be entertained.
"Enzo," Cristiano says smoothly. "Good timing."
"Depends on who you ask." I pull out the nearest chair, then sit and reach for the basket of fruit at the center of the table.
The apple I choose is cold and glossy, its skin tight beneath my thumb.
I draw my knife from my pocket and begin slicing it clean, piece by piece, like there's nothing in the world worth rushing.
Cristiano gestures toward the other man. "This is Giovanni. Alessandra's older brother. You've met in passing, I believe."
Giovanni Conti straightens and steps forward, hand extended.
His suit is expensive, the kind of navy that reads black in low light.
His smile is practiced, a little crooked, a little self-aware.
"So, this is the man who always stands to Luca's right."
I shake his hand, firm and slow. "And you're the man who likes to walk into rooms like he owns them."
Giovanni laughs, a low sound that carries a little too far.
"What can I say? I get bored easily. Figured it was time to see what all the fuss was about."
Cristiano rolls his eyes. "Giovanni's here to assist with some of the old Cosa Nostra channels in the south. There's a lot of overlap with our business, especially around the ports."
"I'm here to make life easier," Giovanni says, tilting his glass. "Not more complicated. Unless complicated is more fun."
There's something about him I immediately don't like.
He talks like a man who never has to raise a blade to be taken seriously.
It seems like charm is his armor, and that makes him dangerous in a different way.
The kind of dangerous Luca keeps close until the blade's too near the neck.
Cristiano watches me watching Giovanni.
"He's useful, Enzo. Try not to scare him off in the first hour."
