**“Dance Like You Love Me… There’s a Sniper on Your Forehead”: The Waitress Who Saved Miami’s Most Feared Mafia Boss and Changed His Empire Forever**

The intelligence squeezed from Luca’s encrypted phones revealed Salvatore Moretti’s endgame: the annual Miami Yacht Club Gala aboard the Ocean Empress, an ultra-luxury mega-yacht sailing into international waters. Moretti intended to broker the sale of the stolen Rossi trade routes to an overseas cartel during the voyage.

"The only way to stop the transaction is to board that vessel," Dominic explained in the war room, mapping out the ship's blueprints on the digital screen. "Marco will lead a boarding team by water, but we need someone inside the VIP ballroom to duplicate Moretti's digital ledger before he transfers the codes."

"I'll do it," Emma said immediately.

Dominic snapped his head toward her, his jaw clenching. "Absolutely not. It's suicide. If Moretti's men recognize you, they'll drop you into the Atlantic with concrete on your ankles."

"Nobody looks at the waitstaff, Dominic," Emma said, stepping up to the blueprint and pointing at the service pantry adjoining the master suite. "You told me that yourself. Moretti knows your face; he doesn't know mine outside of blurry security stills. Give me an earpiece, a server's uniform, and a flash drive. I can get into the server room and pull the files while you create a distraction."

Dominic stepped closer, his dark eyes ablaze with protective fury. "I am not using you as bait, Emma. You're a civilian."

"I stopped being a civilian the moment I stepped in front of that sniper for you," she said, refusing to back down. Her eyes locked with his, fearless and burning with resolve. "You saved me from my debts. You showed me respect when everyone else in this city treated me like invisible dirt. Let me finish this with you."

Dominic stared at her for a long, agonizing moment. Slowly, his hand rose, his knuckles brushing her jawline with unexpected tenderness. "If anything happens to you aboard that ship, Emma... I will burn this entire city to the ground."