Salvatore smiled too. Slower. Hungrier. His eyes never left my face.
"We can continue to protect you, but four years are not enough. It takes a lifetime."
Several young women passing through the courtyard glanced in our direction, their eyes flickering with open envy before they looked away. I felt nothing. Not a ripple. Not a tremor. The words that once would have made my chest ache with gratitude now rang hollow as spent shell casings on a marble floor.
In the previous life, the four of us had been sent to the same territory for training. The Valentis and the Monreales had influence there, old connections woven deep into every corridor and back room. I had believed that if I proved myself, if I worked harder, sharper, longer than anyone else, I could earn my place at the table on my own merits. I threw myself into every trial, every test of loyalty and cunning the territory demanded. I studied the old ways. I memorized the ledgers. I learned to read a room the way Nonna had taught me to read a person's hands at dinner, watching for the tremor that betrayed the lie.