SHE LOCKED US IN WITH A MONSTER

The cold steel of Daniel’s revolver pressed against my temple.

The room froze. The only sound was the rain lashing through the broken window and the harsh, ragged breathing of Salvatore slowly releasing his grip on Paul’s throat.

Paul slid down the wall, coughing violently.

“Daniel,” Salvatore said, his voice entirely hollow. “Put the gun down. She has nothing to do with this.”

“She knows too much,” Daniel replied smoothly. He grabbed my shoulder, pulling me tightly against his chest as a human shield. “Now, everyone is going to listen very carefully.”

I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. I was forty-four years old, and I had buried a husband who died slowly of ALS. I had watched the man I loved fade away while I was powerless to stop it.

I was entirely out of fear.

“You’re sweating, Daniel,” I noted calmly.

Daniel’s grip tightened. “Shut up.”

“Your pupils are dilated. Your heart rate is elevated. You aren’t a killer. You’re an accountant who got in too deep with your grandfather’s legacy.”

“I said shut up!” he yelled, pressing the barrel harder against my skin.

He looked at Anthony. “Kick the shotgun away. Do it!”

Anthony slowly bent down and slid the weapon across the linoleum.

“Now give me the ring,” Daniel demanded.

Salvatore was standing near the bed. He looked at me. Our eyes locked. In that split second, the gruff, unapproachable mafia boss looked at me with a profound, desperate apology.

I didn’t want his apology. I wanted an opening.

Salvatore picked up the gold ring with the wooden bead inside. He held it out.

“Come get it,” Salvatore challenged softly.

Daniel scoffed. “Throw it to me.”

“You want the key to Grandpa’s empire?” Salvatore’s eyes were pitch black. “Come take it from my hand, you coward.”

Daniel’s ego won. He shoved me forward slightly, stepping toward his father.

That was all I needed.

I reached into the deep pocket of my nurse’s scrub top. I always carried a pre-drawn syringe of Lorazepam for Salvatore’s night terrors.

As Daniel reached for the ring, I twisted my body hard to the left, driving my elbow into his ribs. When he stumbled, I jammed the needle directly into the meat of his thigh and pushed the plunger down instantly.

Daniel shrieked, dropping the gun.

Anthony moved like lightning. He crossed the room, grabbed Daniel by the collar, and threw him headfirst into the wall. Daniel crumpled to the floor, the sedative already mixing with the blunt force trauma.

Paul saw his brother fall and sprinted for the hospital door. He unlocked it and disappeared into the hallway.

“Let him go,” Anthony said, breathing heavily. He looked at me, a deep respect forming in his scarred face. “Good hit, Nurse.”

I knelt beside Rosa. Her pulse was dangerously slow.

“We have to get her out of here,” I said, looking at Salvatore. “The toxin Daniel gave her is acting fast. And you aren’t far behind without those patches.”

Salvatore picked up the gold ring and the wooden bead. He closed his fist around it.

“Where is the safe deposit box?” Salvatore asked his brother.

Anthony looked out the shattered window into the rainy night.

“It’s not at a bank, Sal,” Anthony said quietly. “Anna hid the ledger and the antidote in the one place our father would never step foot in.”