THE MAFIA BOSS SAW THE BRUISE I WAS HIDING—THEN HIS FIANCÉE ANSWERED BEFORE I COULD

The rain poured down, washing the blood and oil into the harbor drains.

Luca’s hand trembled against Vanessa’s throat.

He was a man who had commanded fear for twenty years, but right now, looking at the little boy shivering in Elena’s arms, he looked entirely shattered.

Leo was wearing a pair of yellow dinosaur pajamas, completely soaked through.

He buried his face in Elena’s neck.

“It’s okay, baby,” Elena sobbed, rocking him back and forth. “Mama’s got you. It’s okay.”

Luca slowly lowered his gun.

He let go of Vanessa’s throat.

She slumped against the wet metal of the shipping container, gasping for air, her eyes filled with venom.

“You’re pathetic, Luca,” she wheezed.

Luca didn’t even look at her.

He walked toward Elena.

Every step looked like it cost him a piece of his soul.

He stopped a few feet away, dropping to his knees on the filthy asphalt.

“Elena,” he whispered.

Elena looked up. Her forehead was still bleeding from the shattered car window. Her eyes were fierce, protective, and completely exhausted.

“Don’t come any closer,” she warned, tightening her grip on the boy.

“I didn’t know,” Luca said. His voice broke. “I swear to God, Elena. I never knew.”

Leo peeked over his mother’s shoulder.

He had Luca’s jaw. Luca’s dark hair. But he had Elena’s soft, gray eyes.

While they stared at each other, I kept my eyes on Mercer.

He was bleeding heavily from his shoulder, groaning against the tire of the ruined SUV.

I stepped closer to him, keeping my distance.

Something had fallen from his pocket during the scuffle.

A small, wooden object.

I bent down and picked it up.

It was a beautifully carved music box. The lid was cracked from the fall, but the tiny metal crank on the side was intact.

I turned it over.

Carved into the bottom were the words: For Leo. Love, Uncle Daniel.

My breath caught in my throat.

Uncle Daniel.

Luca’s security chief.

I looked at Elena. “Daniel knew?”

Elena flinched.

Luca’s head snapped toward me. “What did you say?”

I walked over and handed him the broken music box.

Luca stared at the inscription.

His face went completely blank, the kind of blankness that precedes an explosion.

“Daniel,” Luca whispered.

Elena swallowed hard.

“He helped me escape, Luca. Four years ago, when the house was attacked. He knew I was pregnant. He knew if I stayed, one of your enemies would eventually use the baby against you.”

“My own head of security,” Luca said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “He lied to me every single day for four years.”

“He protected your son!” Elena shouted, her voice echoing off the containers. “You couldn’t keep us safe! Your world is a poison, Luca. Daniel gave Leo a chance to grow up without looking over his shoulder!”

“And yet,” Vanessa interrupted, a sickening smile creeping across her bruised face, “here he is. Covered in mud and blood. You really did a great job protecting him, Elena.”

Luca stood up.

He walked back to Vanessa, his eyes dead.

“You’re going to jail, Vanessa. For the rest of your life.”

Vanessa laughed. “Am I? And who is going to call the police? You? The head of the Moretti syndicate? You bring the cops here, and they start asking questions about everything.”

She pushed herself off the container, rubbing her wrist.

“You’re going to let me walk away, Luca. Because if I go down, I take the entire family with me.”

A sudden screech of tires interrupted her.

Three black SUVs tore onto the pier, their headlights blinding us.

Doors flew open.

A dozen men poured out, weapons drawn.

And stepping out of the lead vehicle, holding an assault rifle, was Daniel.

Vanessa smiled triumphantly.

“Perfect timing,” she said.

She looked at Daniel. “Shoot him.”

Nobody moved.

Daniel looked at Luca. Then at Elena. Then at the little boy shivering in the rain.