THE WAITRESS, THE MAFIA BOSS, AND THE NAPKIN THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

I stared at the blinking red light in my palm, the blood draining completely from my face.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Every flash felt like a countdown to our execution.

"Lorenzo," I choked out, holding the tiny plastic disk up.

Lorenzo’s eyes locked onto the tracker. The color vanished from his already pale face. He didn't say a word. He just snatched the device from my hand, threw it onto the dirty linoleum floor, and raised his boot to crush it.

"Wait!" I yelled, dropping to my knees and shielding the tracker with my hands.

Lorenzo froze, his boot hovering inches from my fingers. "Evie, move. They know exactly where we are."

"I know!" I looked up at him, my mind spinning so fast I felt dizzy. Fourteen years of surviving in the poorest parts of Cicero, fourteen years of dodging debt collectors and reading people’s tells, all converged into a single, terrifying idea. "If you smash it, they know we found it. They’ll adapt. But if we leave it intact..."

Lorenzo lowered his foot slowly. The tactical gears in his head were turning. "...we can lead them exactly where we want them."

He looked at me, a flicker of genuine awe in his dark eyes. "You want to set a trap."

"Gilbert is the inside man," I said, standing up, my voice shaking but resolute. "He knows the layout of The Obsidian better than anyone. They’re probably using him to coordinate the search. I can go back. I can take the tracker, lure them away from you and Leo, and get close enough to Gilbert to find out where Celeste is."

"Absolutely not," Lorenzo growled, his hand closing over my arm. "You are not a soldier, Evie. You walk in there, they will execute you. I’ll take the tracker."

"You have a bullet hole in your shoulder!" I fired back. "You can barely stand! And if you get caught, who protects Leo? If they find him, they kill him. He is the priority. I am a waitress. I’m invisible. They won't expect me."

Lorenzo stared at me. He hated it. I could see the protective fury raging in his eyes, but he knew I was right.

"We need the Commission," Lorenzo said quietly, his voice hard. "The heads of the Chicago families. If they see this ledger, they will strip the Vane family of their protection. Celeste will have nowhere to run."

He pulled out his phone. "There’s a warehouse in the West Loop. Pier 4. It’s neutral ground. I’ll call the Commission to meet us there. You take the tracker, drop it on a freight train heading south to buy us time, and then meet me at the pier."

"Okay," I breathed.

"Do not go near Celeste," Lorenzo ordered, his hands suddenly gripping my face. His thumbs brushed my cheekbones, his touch incredibly gentle for a man with so much blood on his hands. "Do you hear me, Evelyn? You drop the tracker and you run to me."

"I promise," I whispered.

I took the tracker, slipping it into my shoe.

I left them at the Greyhound station and ran into the freezing night.

But I didn't go to the train yard.

I had seen the way Celeste looked at Lorenzo. I knew how power worked in this city. If Lorenzo brought that ledger to the Commission, they wouldn't help him. They would take the ledger and use it to blackmail the Vanes for their own gain. They would let Lorenzo die to absorb his territory.

There was only one way to end this. I had to get the ledger to the one place the mob couldn't bury it. The press.

But first, I needed Celeste to think she had won.

I walked straight to the back entrance of The Obsidian. The police tape was already up, but the alley was empty. I slipped through the loading dock doors. The kitchen was dark, smelling of dried blood and spoiled food.

I walked into the dining room.

"I knew you'd come back for your things, Evie."

The voice echoed from the shadows of the bar.

The lights flipped on.

Gilbert stood there, holding a suppressed pistol. Behind him, looking perfectly composed in a beige cashmere coat, was Celeste Vane.

"You stupid girl," Celeste sighed, walking forward, her heels clicking on the marble floor. "You really thought a napkin would save him?"

Gilbert moved fast, grabbing my hair and throwing me to the floor. He kicked my ankle, finding the tracker tucked inside my shoe. He pulled it out and tossed it to Celeste.

She caught it, a cruel smile spreading across her perfect face.

"Where is Lorenzo?" Celeste asked softly, crouching down in front of me.

"Dead," I spat, glaring at her. "He bled out an hour ago."

Celeste laughed. A cold, hollow sound. "Liar. The tracker hasn't stopped moving since the motel. But I don't care about Lorenzo right now. I care about what you took from the locker."

She snapped her fingers. Gilbert yanked my coat off, searching my pockets. He found nothing.

"Where is the ledger, Evie?" Celeste whispered, her eyes turning murderous.

"Gone," I said. "Where you'll never find it."

Celeste’s face tightened. She stood up slowly. "You think you’re brave. You think you’re honoring your pathetic, thieving father."

She reached into her cashmere coat.

"But you’re just a waitress who played out of her league."

She pulled her hand out of her pocket and tossed something onto the floor in front of me.

It hit the marble with a heavy clatter.

My heart stopped beating.