The corridor outside Aria's room was colder than Luca expected.
He stepped into it with the precision of a man who had lived too many mornings like this one, mornings where danger felt close but remained unseen, like a shadow moving behind frosted glass. Nico stood at the far end of the hall, his posture stiff, arms crossed tightly over his chest.
The moment Luca closed the bedroom door, the silence broke.
Nico straightened. "Boss."
Luca adjusted his cuffs, though his hands were steady and his eyes colder than the steel fixtures lining the hallway. "Talk."
Nico hesitated, just long enough for Luca's pulse to tighten.
"It is about the man we captured last week," Nico said.
Luca's jaw hardened. "The one from the northern docks."
"Yes."
Luca stepped closer. "I told you to transfer him to the holding safehouse. Why are we discussing him now?"
"Because he talked," Nico said.
Luca paused.
The air shifted.
