The first crack- so fine you could have mistaken it for light changing- creased his smile. He could feel it too, the ground shifting in increments too small for a novice to see. Attention was the drug; denial was the come-down.
Renzo took a step closer, voice respectful. “We can draft a memorandum. Something suitable for- ”
“No,” Emilia said. “No paper. Paper leaks. This is a word with a clock on it.”
Rafael moved a fraction to his right- small adjustment, better cover if a gun appeared. Cesare clocked it, filed it, chose not to name it.
“You are asking me to wear mercy that you do not possess,” he said quietly.
“I’m asking you to wear optics,” she said. “I’ll keep the mercy.”
“And why,” he asked, turning the question like a coin, “would a woman with your hands ask for anything that
