Chapter 3

The dinner ended.

“Chiara, you’re coming too,” Vincenzo’s voice called from the top of the stairs.

I looked up. He was helping Katerina into her coat, his movements gentle in a way they never were with me. It was like swallowing acid.

“Of course,” he looked at me, his eyes like ice. “You’re my best intel specialist. Time to get familiar with your new boss.”

The armored car was waiting outside.

I instinctively moved toward the front passenger seat. A single look from Vincenzo stopped me.

“In the back,” he said.

Katerina took his arm and slid into the spacious middle row.

I was stuffed into the corner of the back row. An afterthought.

The car pulled away into the Chicago night.

The first bullet shattered the windshield without warning.

“Get down!” Marco yelled, wrenching the steering wheel.

Gunfire erupted from all sides, bullets hammering the car like hail.

“Shit!” Vincenzo pulled his gun. “It’s the Torrino family!”

I drew my Glock and fired back through the rear window. Katerina screamed and curled up in Vincenzo’s arms. He returned fire while shielding her with his body.

“It’s okay, baby, I’m here.”

The back tires blew out. The car spun out of control, heading for a wall.

Then I saw him. A hitter in a side tunnel, raising an RPG to his shoulder.

“Rocket!” I screamed.

Time slowed down.

The rocket streaked toward us, trailing fire.

In that split second, Vincenzo made his choice.

He grabbed Katerina, pulling her under him, using his back as a shield.

Then, he lifted his foot.

And with all his strength, he kicked. Not at the enemy. At me.

His boot connected with the door beside me, and the force launched me from the car. I hit the asphalt and tumbled, the world a blur of pain and concrete.

“No—”

BOOM.

A fireball swallowed everything behind me.

The heatwave threw me against the tunnel wall.

Shards of glass and metal rained down, cutting my skin.

I felt the sharp pain of broken ribs. Warm blood ran from my forehead, blurring my vision.

My last conscious thought before the darkness took me: I saw him crawl from the wreckage, Katerina clutched safely in his arms.

His suit was torn, but his eyes were sharp.

He gently stroked her hair, murmuring to her, then ran with her toward safety.

He didn’t even glance back. He never looked back.

I lay on the cold ground, listening to the crackle of fire eating metal.

Then the darkness took me.

When I opened my eyes, I was in the family’s secret medical wing.

“You’re awake,” old Dr. Castellano said, checking my pupils. “You’re lucky. Marco dragged you back from the blast right before it went up.”

“Vincenzo?” My voice was a rasp.

“The Boss is with Miss Katerina,” the doctor said, pausing. “She was badly shaken.”

I let out a silent, bitter laugh. Shaken.

“Doctor, turn on the monitor.”

The screen on the wall flickered on, showing feeds from all over the estate. I switched to Katerina’s room.

She was in a white silk nightgown, propped weakly against the pillows.

Vincenzo was sitting on the edge of the bed, feeding her soup, spoon by spoon. His movements were so gentle, like he was handling a priceless treasure.

“I almost lost you,” his voice trembled with fear. “I can’t live without you, Katerina.”

“I know. You saved me,” she whispered, touching his face. “You’re my hero.”

Then, Vincenzo pulled a velvet box from his pocket.

My heart stopped beating.

He got down on one knee. He opened the box. Inside was a massive diamond ring.

I recognized it. The ring passed down to the matriarch of the Russo family.

“Marry me,” he said, looking up at her, his eyes full of devotion. “Not for the family. Not for the alliance. Just because… I love you.”

Katerina burst into happy tears. “Yes! Of course, I will!”

He slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her hand.

I stared at the screen until it dissolved into static.

So, he knew how to say the words.

He just never said them to me.