Chapter 195 A Tail

Chapter 195 A Tail


Renzo’s POV

We were already moving when it happened.
Not fast, not reckless, just controlled distance from the location, keeping everything clean the way we came in. The building fell behind us gradually, swallowed by darkness and distance, and for a moment it almost felt too easy. That alone was enough to put me on edge. Nothing about that place, or the man inside it, suggested anything would be simple.
I sat forward slightly in the seat, my attention shifting between the road ahead and the reflection in the side mirror, watching the patterns instead of the movement. That’s where mistakes showed themselves, not in what people did once, but in what they repeated.
“There’s a vehicle hanging back,” one of my men said from the front, his tone controlled but not casual.
“I see it,” I answered, already tracking it.
It hadn’t been there when we first pulled out, not close enough to matter, not positioned in a way that stood out. Now it was sitting just far enough back to look like it belonged there, matching pace without pressing, without falling off.
That wasn’t coincidence.
I let it ride for a moment, taking a turn that didn’t matter, then another that mattered even less. The vehicle stayed. Not aggressively, not obviously, but consistently enough to confirm what I already knew.
“Don’t react yet,” I said quietly.
Giovanni shifted in the vehicle behind us, his voice coming through the comms with a hint of impatience. “You going to tell me we’ve got company, or you planning to keep that to yourself?”
“We’ve got a tail,” I replied.
A low chuckle came back. “Finally, something interesting.”
“Stay in position,” I said. “Don’t break formation yet.”
He didn’t argue, which told me he understood the situation more than he was letting on.
I watched the mirror again, letting the tension stretch just enough to be certain. The vehicle adjusted speed when we did, held distance when we slowed, and stayed clean through turns that should have shaken someone casual.
Confirmed.
“They saw us leave,” I said. “Or they were already watching for it.”
“Either way,” Giovanni replied, “they picked the wrong group.”
“Not yet they didn’t,” I said. “Let’s not prove them right.”
I let another block pass, then another, building just enough pattern to make the next move count. Timing mattered here. Too early and we looked reactive. Too late and we lost control of it.
“On my mark, we split,” I said.
That shifted the tone immediately.
Giovanni’s voice came back sharper. “You sure?”
“Yes.”
A pause. “Alright. Let’s see who he wants.”
I exhaled slowly, my eyes locking onto the mirror again.
“Now.”
The split was clean.
Giovanni’s SUV broke off to the right, taking a wider street that opened up into heavier traffic, while I pushed forward, maintaining speed just enough to keep the movement natural.
For a second nothing. 
Then the vehicle behind us adjusted.
It didn’t hesitate.
It followed me. “Got him,” I said quietly.
A low laugh came through from Giovanni. “Of course you do.”
“Keep moving,” I told him. “Don’t circle back.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied.
The line went quiet after that, leaving me with the road, the mirror, and the man who had decided I was the one worth following.
I didn’t speed up. Didn’t make it obvious.
I let him settle in, let him think this was working, that he had the advantage, that he picked the right target.
Then I started shifting.
Left turn.
Right.
Another left, tighter this time, cutting into a narrower street where spacing mattered more than speed. The vehicle followed clean, no hesitation, no overcorrection.
He wasn’t new.
That made this more interesting.
“You’re persistent,” I muttered under my breath.
The streets tightened further as I pushed deeper into an area that favored control over speed. Fewer exits. More obstacles. Less room to recover if you made the wrong move.
I slowed slightly. Not enough to draw attention. Just enough to bait him closer.
The distance between us closed by a fraction. That was all I needed.
I took the next turn sharper than the last, cutting through a side street that opened into a split lane barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass without thinking twice about it.
He followed.
I pushed forward, then adjusted again, threading through a stretch where parked cars tightened the path, forcing him into a decision, commit or back off.
He committed.
“Good,” I said quietly.
Because now he was exactly where I wanted him.
The road ahead opened just enough to give me one clean move. I took it without hesitation, accelerating through the gap and cutting across a lane at the last possible second, forcing a break in line that traffic immediately filled behind me.
For a second, I lost sight of him. Then I checked the mirror again.
Nothing.
I held the pace steady, not celebrating it, not assuming it was done, just watching, waiting, making sure he didn’t reappear where he shouldn’t.
Another turn. Another block. Still nothing.
I exhaled slowly, leaning back slightly in the seat. “He’s gone,” I said.
Silence answered me for a moment. Then Giovanni’s voice came through. “That easy?”
“No,” I replied. “That clean.” There’s a difference.
I let the vehicle roll forward another block before slowing just enough to think instead of react.
“Where you heading,” Giovanni asked.
I didn’t answer right away. Because I already knew the problem.
I couldn’t go back. Not like this.
If that man had seen enough  and he had then leading him anywhere near the mansion wasn’t just careless. It was stupid.
And I wasn’t either of those things.
“Not home,” I said finally.
Giovanni was quiet for half a second. “Yeah,” he said. “Figured that.”
“I’m rerouting,” I added.
“To where?” he asked. 
“Somewhere that isn’t expected.”
He let out a quiet breath. “You want backup?”
“No,” I said. “Not yet.”
Because this wasn’t just about getting away anymore. This was about making sure nothing followed me that I couldn’t see.
I glanced in the mirror one more time, my eyes scanning the road behind me, checking for patterns, for repetition, for anything that didn’t belong.
Still clean.
But that didn’t mean safe. Because the part that stuck with me wasn’t the tail itself.
It was how quickly it happened. How easily he locked onto us. How deliberate it felt.
I tightened my grip on the wheel slightly as I took another turn, pushing further away from anything familiar.
“If he saw me…” I muttered quietly.
I didn’t finish the thought out loud. Because I already knew the answer.
He saw enough.