Chapter 1

Theo watched me sign the papers without hesitation, surprise showing in his eyes.

He knew I loved him more deeply than anyone else ever could.

Over the years, I had risked my life for him again and again. When he disappeared and no one knew whether he was alive, I slipped into an enemy’s party in a low-cut evening gown, smiling over drinks with the man until I learned where Theo was being held.

By the time I brought Theo out that night, the hem of my dress was soaked in blood. He held me tight and promised he would never make me do anything like that again.

He had prepared himself for accusations, for desperate pleas.

My behavior today unsettled him.

After a long silence, he let out a quiet sigh.

“I’ll leave you your favorite armored sedan, too. Antonio will be reassigned as your personal driver.”

“I want us to part on good terms.”

He didn’t even give me another chance to cry.

He was avoiding me—the Nightingale, the woman men all along the East Coast fell prey to.

Watching him walk away, I struggled to hold back the hurt.

The next day, Theo sent over Antonio’s employment contract.

With it came the ownership papers for the customized armored Rolls-Royce Phantom, worth more than forty million. Its exterior had been made less conspicuous, but every component was extravagantly expensive.

That car had protected me for five years.

Whenever Theo was busy, Antonio was usually the one driving me around in it.

I had no real fighting skills. Getting close to those men depended entirely on being beautiful and knowing how to coax them. The closest call came after I had killed one of Theo’s enemies. We were ambushed on the way back, more than a dozen bullets striking the car, and Antonio kept his foot on the accelerator for miles.

Those enemies were all waiting for a chance to tear the Nightingale apart.

I needed that car.

Theo was gone. At least the car was still mine.

I had barely put away the documents when Antonio told me I couldn’t take it just yet.

Caterina Bellano had just called. She wanted to borrow it for a trip to the south side that afternoon and would return it before nightfall.

I swallowed my discomfort and agreed.

I didn’t want to start a fight with her over something so small.

At three that afternoon, Caterina arrived at the estate with her men and walked straight toward my Phantom.

She tapped the heavy door, looking pleased.

“Keys.”

Antonio didn’t move.

His gaze passed over her and instinctively settled on me.

Caterina turned. When she saw me, one eyebrow lifted.

“Theo really must be worried you can’t survive without him. He even gave you an estate.”

My expression darkened.

She took the keys anyway and sat in the car for a while.

When she got out, she had apparently changed her mind.

“Nice car. I’m keeping it.”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard.

“No.”

Caterina stopped dead.

She turned and, for the first time, looked directly at me.

“What did you say?”

My fingers curled into my palms.

“The title has already been transferred. It’s mine.”

After a brief silence, she laughed.

“Evelyn, have you forgotten what you are?”

She patted the car, her voice growing more contemptuous.

“A car like this is meant for a Don’s wife. Not a whore.”

“Theo let you wash off the smell of other men and play wife for three years. Did you really think everyone had forgotten how you used to work for him?”

Her words pierced my chest.

To get close enough to shoot those men, I had to use my body to lure them in. But the moment they came closest to me was the moment they died.

It had been Theo’s idea.

He said that whenever he saw me, all he wanted was to lie in my arms. That I made men forget themselves.

And now it was being used to humiliate me.

I clenched my teeth.

“Miss Bellano, my name is on the title.”

“A few pieces of paper.”

She cut me off impatiently, looking me up and down.

“You got a few estates and cars. Does that make you think you’re still part of the Vitale family?”

Anger flared in my chest.

Sensing the tension, Antonio stepped forward to smooth things over.

But before he could speak, Caterina turned her attention to him.

“I hear you’ve been with the Vitale family for nine years. You’re staying, too.”

Antonio stiffened.

Caterina lifted her chin.

“I want the car and the driver. There’s nothing here I can’t have. What exactly is your problem?”

I was about to answer when brakes screeched outside the gates.

Theo was back.

He sensed the tension as soon as he stepped out.

His gaze passed over my strained expression before settling on Caterina.

She walked over and slipped her arm through his.

“I want this car and this driver.”

Theo was silent for a few seconds. Then he withdrew his arm.

“They’ve already been transferred to Evelyn. If you want a car, I’ll order you a new one.”

Caterina’s face darkened.

“You’re telling me no?”

The next instant, she snatched a gun from the guard beside her.

Bang. Bang, bang.

The shots left my ears ringing.

The finish on the steering wheel splintered. Fragments of metal flew, and bullets tore scorched holes through the leather seats.

Looking at the bullet-riddled car, she gave a cold little smile.

“If I can’t have it, no one will.”

Then she turned and walked away.

I stood frozen.

After a long while, I approached the car, one step at a time.

I stared at the ruined interior. The control system had been destroyed. It wouldn’t even run.

Tears stung my eyes.

Theo stood behind me, watching my trembling hands. For the first time, guilt appeared in his eyes.

He was about to speak when several sharp blasts of a car horn interrupted him.

Caterina was telling him to hurry.

I turned toward him, my eyes already wet.

“Theo, this car can’t be fixed.”

He hesitated, then sighed.

“I’m sorry. I’ll have someone take care of it. They can replace the system…”

Then he hurried away.

I closed my eyes.

The flicker of hope I had felt when he defended me went out.

“Then it won’t be the same car anymore…”

Late that night, a new armored car pulled into the estate.

A basic model.

It wouldn’t even stop rifle fire. The tires couldn’t withstand the friction at high speeds.

“Miss Evelyn, the Don says the other car couldn’t be repaired, so he bought you a new one.”

I looked down at the new documents and almost laughed.

He couldn’t protect what I wanted to keep.

He couldn’t even be bothered to replace it properly.