Chapter 6 - THE TICKET
The headlights cut through the heavy rain, illuminating the cobblestone alley in a harsh, blinding glare.
I threw my arm over my eyes, backing up until my spine hit the cold, wet brick of the bakery wall. The pain in my ribs flared, sharp and sickening, but the adrenaline rushing through my veins drowned it out.
Dr. Bennett stepped out of the black sedan.
He wasn’t holding his medical bag. He was holding a suppressed handgun.
“Get in the car, Anna,” he said.
His voice was exactly the same as it had been an hour ago in my bedroom—calm, clinical, and completely devoid of empathy. The kindly old doctor who had patched up the Romano family for twenty years was a ghost. This man was a stranger.
“You,” I breathed, the pieces violently snapping together in my mind. “You locked the gates from the outside.”
“I triggered the external failsafe from my car, yes,” Bennett said, stepping closer. The rain plastered his grey hair to his forehead. “Anthony is a blunt instrument. He was supposed to secure Leo quietly. When he failed, I had to ensure Luca couldn’t send his men out into the city.”
“You work for the Chicago syndicate.”
Bennett smiled, a tight, humorless expression. “I work for my retirement, my dear. The Romanos pay well, but Chicago pays better. Now, where is the child?”
I clutched my coat tighter around me, the child’s drawing burning a hole in my pocket.
“I don’t know,” I lied, keeping my chin high. “Anthony said she was at St. Jude’s.”
“Don’t insult my intelligence,” Bennett sighed, aiming the gun at my chest. “Anthony is a desperate idiot trying to buy time. But I saw the way Leo looked at you in the hallway before I slipped out. He told you where she is. Get in the car.”
I looked around frantically. The alley was a dead end behind me. The only way out was past him.
“If you shoot me, you’ll never find her,” I bluffed, praying the tremor in my voice wasn’t obvious.
Bennett tilted his head. “I know about your sister, Anna. Lily, isn't it? Room 402 at Mercy Hospital. A ventilator keeps her breathing.”
My heart stopped.
“If you don't get in this car,” Bennett continued softly, “I will make a phone call, and a nurse on my payroll will walk into Room 402 and turn off the machine. You have ten seconds.”
Tears mixed with the rain on my cheeks. I had fought so hard to keep Lily safe. I had scrubbed floors, taken abuse, and hidden my own pain just to keep that machine running.
Now, this monster was using her life as a bargaining chip for a five-year-old girl.
I had no choice.
I took a step toward the car.
Before my foot hit the pavement, a massive black SUV tore around the corner, its tires shrieking against the wet asphalt. It didn't brake. It accelerated, slamming directly into the passenger side of Bennett’s sedan.
The impact was deafening. Metal crumpled. Glass shattered into a million glittering diamonds under the streetlights.
Bennett was thrown backward, the gun clattering out of his hand and sliding into a puddle.
The door of the SUV kicked open.
Luca Romano stepped out into the rain.
He wasn't wearing a jacket. His white shirt was soaked, clinging to his broad shoulders. In his right hand, he held a sleek black pistol. His eyes were fixed on Dr. Bennett, who was groaning on the ground, trying to crawl toward his dropped weapon.
Luca didn't run. He walked with a terrifying, lethal grace.
He reached Bennett, placed his heavy dress shoe on the doctor’s wrist, and pressed down until a sickening crack echoed in the alley.
Bennett screamed.
Luca didn't blink. He kicked Bennett’s gun away, then grabbed the doctor by the collar of his coat, hauling him off the ground.
“You touched my family,” Luca whispered, his voice darker than the storm around us. “You threatened my staff.”
Luca slammed Bennett against the brick wall. The doctor slumped, unconscious.
I stood paralyzed against the wall, shaking violently.
Luca turned to me. The murderous rage in his eyes vanished the second he looked at my face. He holstered his weapon and crossed the alley in two massive strides.
He didn't ask if I was okay. He didn't yell at me for leaving.
He pulled me into his arms.
His chest was hard, soaked with rain, but incredibly warm. I buried my face in his shirt, letting out a choked sob. He wrapped his arms around me, careful to avoid my bruised ribs, holding me with a fiercely protective grip.
“I’ve got you,” Luca murmured into my hair, his large hand rubbing my back. “You’re safe, Anna. I’ve got you.”
“How did you find me?” I cried against his chest.
Luca pulled back just enough to look down at me. “Leo told me. After you left, he realized Bennett was missing from the lockdown. He knew you were in danger.”
“My sister—” I gasped, panic returning.
“Is safe,” Luca interrupted firmly. “Marco dispatched four of my best men to Mercy Hospital ten minutes ago. They are standing outside Lily’s door right now. Nobody touches her.”
Relief made my knees weak. Luca caught my waist, supporting my weight easily.
“We have to go to my apartment,” I said, looking up into his dark, intense eyes. “Mia is there. Leo’s daughter.”
Luca’s expression tightened with a mixture of awe and profound sadness. “My niece.”
He led me to the driver’s side of the crushed SUV, which was miraculously still running. He helped me into the passenger seat, his hands gentle, treating me like I was made of glass.
As I climbed in, my foot hit something on the floorboard.
I reached down and picked it up.
It was a faded, blue Amtrak train ticket.
“Luca?” I asked, holding it up as he got into the driver’s seat. “What is this?”
Luca looked at the ticket. The Reversal hit me instantly.
“That’s Leo’s,” Luca said quietly, putting the car in gear. “He dropped it in the hallway.”
I looked at the destination printed on the ticket.
Chicago.
“Why does Leo have a ticket to Chicago?” I asked, a new wave of dread washing over me. “That’s where the syndicate is.”
May you like
Luca gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.
“Because Leo wasn't running away from them, Anna,” Luca said softly. “He was going to trade himself to them. To buy Mia’s freedom.”
