Chapter 1

When my husband, Alex Marino, gave my seat in the armed convoy to his ex, he didn't even ask me first.

At the time, I was putting the last safe-passage papers into a folder. Seven maps were spread across the table, marking the roads south, the checkpoints, and the safe houses where we could stop. We lived in Liverpool's dock district. We could have taken ordinary roads to the south coast, but the Marino name was too recognizable and the family had too many enemies. Leaving the city without armed escorts meant putting our lives in the hands of whoever waited along the road.

I'd spent six whole months getting ready for this ten-day trip.

Alex was the Marino family's head of enforcement. All year long, he was either guarding the docks or settling shipping disputes for Don Marino. I just wanted to take him and his family to the coast for a few days during one of his rare breaks, so that for once, they could all sit down to a dinner without gunfire.

I was a surgeon who ran a private clinic and two convalescent homes in the dock district. Wounded men from the docks, factory owners' families, and members of crime families who didn't want to go to a public hospital all came to me. After expenses, I still made 50,000 pounds a month. Alex's salary from the family was only 3,000.

The trip's original budget, more than 20,000 pounds, came out of my pocket. I negotiated passage fees with every territory boss along the way, booked the inns and meals, and planned the escorts' route. I even counted out the blood-clotting medicine for the first aid kit myself. When I heard Alex's sister had never ridden in a long-distance convoy escorted by armored cars, I added another 15,000 pounds to upgrade the guards and the cars for the whole family.

I didn't resent any of it.

Alex's parents, James and Sarah Marino, lived in the side wing of the villa that was in my name. After the two of them left the family business, they didn't have much in savings, so I paid for their food, their clothes, and everything else. His sister, Emma Marino, had been in my care since she was ten. She was 15 now, and from her clothes and private tutors to her shooting lessons and yearly checkups, I took care of almost everything.

I'd always thought this was my family.

Until Alex walked in the door and tossed a new set of passage papers with a black seal onto the table.

"Victoria heard we're going to the south coast, and she wants to come too." He unbuttoned his leather gloves, as casual as if he were talking about dinner. "The convoy's full, so I gave her your seat. These are the new road papers I got for you. Take the long way around on your own, and we'll meet up at the inn."

I picked up the road papers. One glance, and my hand froze.

The Blackmoor district.

It was a stretch of industrial wasteland crisscrossed by abandoned mine shafts and narrow railroad tracks, controlled by the Blackmoor gang, who had a blood feud with the Marino family. Last month, three merchants who'd crossed it alone were stopped and shot dead. When the police found them, their car doors were riddled with bullet holes. The cargo and drivers from two of the vehicles were still missing.

These so-called papers only allowed me one driver and no more than two guns, and the whole route took at least 36 hours. Even if the Blackmoor gang honored them, a single car on its own would be enough to tempt any bandit.

"Who is this route for?" I asked.

"You." Alex had already picked up his drink. "Scarlett, you know those people, you're a great doctor, and if you run into trouble, you can take care of yourself. Victoria scares easily. She couldn't handle something like that."

I stared at him. "When my mother wanted to come along last week, what did you say? You said this was a Marino family trip and outsiders didn't belong in the cars. Now Victoria asks, and you're not only bringing her, you're kicking me out of the convoy?"

"Victoria's not like your mother." Alex frowned. "She grew up in the Marino house. To me, she's always been family."

"Then what am I?"

He finally seemed to hear how angry I was and set his glass down with a thud. "Don't start with this again. She's a woman who can't even defend herself, and you go out alone on house calls all the time. You're not even scared of gunshot wounds. What's the big deal about letting her ride in the convoy and having you take a different road?"

"Three people just died there last month." I pushed the map in front of him and pointed at the stretch marked with a red X. "Right here. You're the head of enforcement. You know better than I do what the Blackmoor gang does to Marino cars. And you're saying it's no big deal?"

"I already got you the road papers." His patience ran out fast. "You won't even make one small sacrifice so Victoria can be a little safer? I never thought you'd be this petty."

I looked at James and Sarah, sitting by the fireplace.

James avoided my eyes and buried his nose in his newspaper. Sarah came over and patted my hand affectionately. "Sweetheart, don't take it to heart. Victoria and Alex grew up together. They have a bond no one else can match. Take the long way and think of it as seeing more of the scenery."

Emma leaned against the arm of the couch and added with a grin, "Scarlett, you're so capable. Are you really scared of a few punks blocking the road? Victoria's different. She's so delicate she has nightmares just from hearing gunshots. Of course my brother should protect her."

I slowly folded up the road papers.

"In this house, who exactly is the outsider?" I asked. "I paid for the convoy, I planned the trip, and I cover every single expense for this whole family. Now she says one word about wanting to go, and you all want me to give up my seat and my life. If that's how it is, why did Alex marry me in the first place? He should've married Victoria."

Alex's face darkened. "Scarlett, don't threaten me with our marriage. When you married into the Marino family, you should've understood what it means to put the family first."

"The family you're talking about includes her, but not me."

"Enough! It's just a different road. I'm not sending you to die!"

The moment he finished, a car horn sounded outside the front door.

Emma jumped right up. "Victoria's here!"

Martha, the maid, opened the door, and Victoria walked in wearing a pale coat, every curl beneath her hat in place. Two drivers followed her, hauling several huge leather trunks, each corner capped with the metal crest of a famous luxury maker.

Emma rushed over and threw her arms around her. "I missed you so much! If you hadn't left back then, you'd be my real sister-in-law by now."

"Don't be silly." Victoria smiled and touched Emma's cheek, but she didn't deny it.

Sarah took her hand, and her eyes actually welled up. "I've been waiting all these years for you to come back. I used to think that once you and Alex got married, I'd give you the best room upstairs. Who would have thought..."

Right there in my living room, they talked about the marriage Victoria should have had.

Alex didn't stop them. Instead, he went over to help Victoria out of her coat and asked if she'd been cold on the way.

I stood on the thick living-room carpet and suddenly remembered how Alex had collapsed on the docks six years ago, badly wounded, and how I'd stayed by his side for three nights straight. When he woke up, he held my hand and said that as long as I stayed, he'd never let me be hurt again.

I believed him back then.

Now, in front of his whole family, the man I'd saved with my own hands was trying to send me alone into the line of fire.

I didn't argue anymore. I just put the Blackmoor papers back on the table.