Mara placed her hand in Nico's, stepping out of the Audi and onto the sun-warmed cobblestones.
The market was small and loud and smelled exactly like the sea.
Stalls lined both sides of the narrow cobblestone street, selling everything from fresh citrus to hand-thrown ceramics to dried herbs bundled in twine. The vendors called out to each other across the street in thick dialect, trading insults that were clearly terms of endearment.
Mara and Nico walked through the morning market like two ordinary people. No one looked twice at them; there were no hushed whispers, no sudden parting of crowds, no staff bowing to them and no armed guard flanking their every step.
Luca's two unmarked men were somewhere in the vicinity, but they stayed so far back they were effectively invisible.
No one in the town had the slightest idea that they were standing near two powerful leaders of the syndicate.
That alone felt like the most extraordinary luxury of the last few months.
