Chapter 1

"I'm taking Luca to the East Side to bring Mia back. She's alone at the safe house, and I don't like it."

His face was pale with pain, but his voice remained low and steady.

I tossed the bloody gauze into the medical waste bin and turned to him with a cold laugh. "The East Side is a battleground for the Salvatore family right now. If you go, you'll tear your stitches."

Cassius froze.

His dark eyes locked on mine. His voice softened, but it left no room for argument. "Marco took a bullet for me and died. I'm never letting his sister get hurt. Sierra, stop being difficult."

He gave a soft sigh, as if I were merely pouting for his attention.

Just then, the heavy bulletproof door of the clinic swung open.

Luca Marino, Cassius's right-hand man, entered with several heavily armed bodyguards surrounding a young woman in a white cashmere coat.

The moment Mia saw Cassius, her eyes filled with tears. She threw herself into his arms as if she'd finally come home.

"Cassius... there's gunfire everywhere out there. They said someone's trying to kill me..."

The tension left Cassius's jaw. He didn't push her away. With the same hand he'd used to sign the divorce papers, he gently patted her back.

"It's okay," he said, his voice low. "I'm here. No one's going to touch you."

His face was calm and tender, full of patience and indulgence.

Too bad none of that tenderness was ever meant for me.

Mia leaned against his chest and glanced at me over his shoulder. There was nothing fragile in her eyes. She looked almost amused, as though she saw me as a rival who posed no threat.

"Dr. Hale," Mia said with a smirk, "the Don's time is valuable. Since the surgery's done, I'll take him off your hands. Thanks so much."

I gave her a cold look. "If you know he's just had surgery, you shouldn't be rubbing yourself against him wearing that much perfume. You could cause an infection."

Mia's face soured.

She tugged at Cassius's sleeve, eyes lowered. "Cassius, I was just so worried about you... I didn't mean to."

"Sierra." Cassius frowned and moved Mia behind him, a warning in his eyes. "She's had a scare. Why are you being so mean to her?"

He lowered his voice. "You're just a private doctor. Remember your place."

Remember my place?

His words hit me like a punch.

When he'd proposed to me, his eyes had been red-rimmed. "I'm sorry I can't tell the world about you. It would put you in danger. But I'll never forget that you're my wife."

He'd looked as humble as a sinner at confession.

I wrapped my arms around him and made him a solemn promise. "Yes, I will."

I just never imagined that one day, he'd forget who I was to him.

Once Mia and Luca had gone, it was just Cassius and me in the clinic. He turned to me and started to say something, then didn't.

After a long moment, he reached out and squeezed my shoulder. "Close the clinic for a few days. If you need anything, make a list for Luca. I'll get her settled, then come back tomorrow night and spend time with you."

Then he left.

The heavy steel door slowly swung shut, taking the strong smell of cigars and Mia's sickly sweet perfume with it.

I went to the sink, turned on the cold water, and scrubbed his blood from my fingers. The plain silver band dug uncomfortably into my left ring finger.

14 days to go.

I shut off the tap, yanked the ring from my finger, and hurled it into the medical waste bin.