Chapter 5

He snapped back to attention, exchanged a wave with the driver through the window, and walked away without a second thought.

I watched his car disappear into the distance, but I still couldn't relax.

It wasn't until I picked up my fake ID at the airport and boarded the flight to Bayport that the tension finally left my body. I sank into my seat.

I was one step closer to freedom.

I met with Matthew as soon as I landed.

Just a few years ago, he'd still seemed so boyish, three years my junior.

Now he was taller than I'd imagined.

A light-colored suit hugged his lean, muscular frame. Nothing about the way he carried himself suggested he'd ever fallen on hard times.

Everything about him spoke of wealth and effortless refinement.

He politely asked about my injuries first, then said evenly, "You must have seen it while collecting evidence against Clark. He's been secretly working for my brother.

"He violated the rules. I'm still stuck here in Bayport, unable to return to Newbury. I'm sure he had a hand in that. We need an opportunity."

I noticed his word choice. He said "we."

The careful distance he kept between us only convinced me I'd chosen the right person.

I handed him a file. "The Don has been frustrated with the Silver Bullet Gang constantly stealing our business. If you can solve that problem, it would go a long way toward earning his respect."

Once I was out of danger, I'd asked my most trusted contact on the West Side to retrieve the politician's phone from where I'd hidden it.

After days and nights of decryption work, the files inside were exactly what we needed.

Matthew had a gift for putting the right people in the right places. His men infiltrated the Silver Bullet Gang and dismantled one of their operations overnight.

They recovered one million dollars' worth of goods that the gang had stolen.

He sent the recovered shipment back to Newbury as a birthday gift for the Don.

Not long after, the Don called him.

They talked for a long time before hanging up.

"The Don says there's a portfolio of properties in Newbury's South Side that needs managing. He wants us there immediately."

A smile he couldn't hide broke across his chiseled face.

The Don threw a welcome banquet for Matthew.

I stood by Matthew's side in a silver mermaid gown. Across the room, Clark stood with Caroline on his arm. The moment he saw me, his expression darkened.

The raid on the Silver Bullet Gang had never happened in our previous life.

The first thing Clark did when he heard about it was send people to find me.

He came up empty, of course.

He stared at me the entire evening.

But with the Don and his eldest son, Lorenzo Russo, both present, Clark never got the chance to speak to me.

He finally got his chance when I left Matthew's side to use the restroom.

Someone seized me and dragged me into a storage room.

"You played me, Nelly! You're running to Matthew just because I'm marrying Caroline? Is this your way of getting back at me?

"Do you think I won't have your father killed? Or do you think that kid can protect you the way I did?"

I raised my eyes, my expression flat. "Are you sure I can't survive without you?"

He scoffed. "Of course. No one else is going to look out for you. Matthew's just using you. You're only a soldier. No one cares whether you live or die."

So that was how he truly felt.

He'd always believed I needed him to survive. That was why he'd never been afraid of losing me, no matter how badly he treated me.

"You're wrong, Clark."

I smiled, finally understanding. "You're not the only option I have. Besides, my father is Caroline's father too. She's pregnant with your child. If you hurt him, you'll only make things difficult for her. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

His face darkened inch by inch.

"Maybe I can't touch him. But I can leak your assassination records."

Just then, the storage room door swung open, and Matthew stepped in and pulled me away from Clark.