**THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME RETURN A MUDDY BASEBALL GLOVE TO HIS ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD SON DURING HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER—THEN HIS FIANCÉE SAID, “HE WAS KICKED OFF THE TEAM FOR THROWING A TANTRUM,” BEFORE HE EVEN ASKED WHY THE LITTLE BOY WAS HIDING HIS NEW JERSEY UNDER HIS JACKET AND WHISPERING, “I DIDN'T QUIT. I PROMISED DADDY I'D PLAY.”**

I stared at the glowing screen of my phone, my lungs refusing to take in air.

Bring the boy, Rachel. Or I tell Luca who your father really was.

My father died of a heart attack when I was ten. He was a mechanic. He fixed transmission belts and smelled like motor oil and cheap coffee. He had absolutely nothing to do with this world.

But the text message was clear. Dominic Bellini knew something I didn't.

"Rachel?" Luca’s voice broke through my panic. "Who texted you?"

I instinctively hid the phone against my chest. "It's... it's just a spam message. From the network."

Luca’s dark eyes narrowed. He was a man who made a living reading lies, and I was a terrible liar. But before he could press the issue, the SUV jolted as it turned off the paved road and onto the gravel path leading to the Northside community baseball field.

The rain had slowed to a heavy drizzle, but the fog was thick, rolling over the grassy outfield like a blanket. The massive floodlights surrounding the diamond were turned off. The only illumination came from a single set of headlights parked near the first base dugout.

A black van.

"Stop the car here," Luca ordered.

The SUV parked at the edge of the gravel lot. Luca turned around, looking directly at Caleb.

"Buddy," Luca said, his voice infinitely gentle but completely firm. "I need you to get on the floorboards. Keep your head down. Do not look out the window. Do you understand?"

Caleb nodded bravely, slipping off the leather seat and curling into a ball near my feet. He clutched his baseball glove to his chest.

Luca turned to me. "Stay with him. Keep the doors locked. If things go wrong, the driver has orders to take you both to a safe house in Michigan."

"Luca, wait," I panicked, grabbing his arm. "My mother is out there. Let me go with you."

"Absolutely not," he said, pulling away. "Dominic is desperate. Desperate men are unpredictable. I am going to trade this ledger for your mother, and then I am going to end the Bellini family permanently. Stay in the car."

He opened the door and stepped out into the rain, slamming it shut behind him.

I watched through the rain-streaked window as Luca walked slowly toward the baseball diamond. He didn't draw his weapon. He held the small, leather-bound notebook up in his left hand, walking straight toward the black van.

The van’s doors opened.

Dominic Bellini stepped out. He was holding a large umbrella, looking infuriatingly calm. Behind him, two large men pulled a figure out of the back seat.

It was my mother.

Her hands were zip-tied behind her back, and a piece of duct tape was strapped across her mouth. She looked terrified, stumbling as the men dragged her toward home plate.

"Mom," I whimpered, pressing my hands against the glass.

I looked down at Caleb. He was shaking, his eyes squeezed shut. I looked back out the window.

Luca and Dominic were standing ten feet apart on the muddy chalk line. I couldn't hear what they were saying. Luca tossed the ledger onto the ground between them. Dominic smiled, motioning for one of his men to pick it up.

The man stepped forward, grabbed the book, and handed it to Dominic.

Dominic opened it, flipping through the pages. He nodded in satisfaction.

Then, Dominic did something that made my heart stop.

He didn't release my mother. Instead, he pulled a pistol from his waistband and aimed it directly at Luca’s chest.

Luca froze. He raised his hands slowly.

Dominic was laughing. He was talking to Luca, pointing the gun, clearly breaking the deal.

Panic flooded my veins. Luca was going to die. My mother was going to die. And I was sitting in a locked car, holding a secret about my father that I didn't even understand.

I looked down at the text message still glowing on my phone.

Bring the boy, Rachel. Or I tell Luca who your father really was.

Why did Dominic want Caleb? The boy was already disinherited in Vanessa’s eyes.

Unless...

Unless Vanessa didn't just want Caleb off the baseball team. Unless she wanted Caleb entirely out of the bloodline.

I made a split-second decision that would change my life forever.

"Driver," I said quietly. "Unlock the doors."

"I can't do that, Miss Rachel. The boss gave strict orders."

"Unlock the doors, or I will break this window," I threatened, grabbing the heavy metal seatbelt buckle.

The driver hesitated, then hit the button. Click.

"Stay here, Caleb," I whispered, kissing the top of his head. "Do not move."

I pushed the door open and stepped out into the freezing rain. I didn't have a weapon. I didn't have a plan. All I had was the phone in my hand.

I ran toward the diamond, my boots slipping in the mud.

"Hey!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Dominic whipped around, the gun wavering. Luca turned, his eyes widening in absolute fury.

"Rachel, get back in the car!" Luca roared.

I ignored him. I marched straight up to Dominic, my chest heaving, the rain pasting my hair to my face.

"Let her go," I demanded, pointing at my mother.

Dominic sneered, lowering the gun slightly. "Well, well. The little maid comes to play. Did you bring the boy like I asked?"

"No," I lied smoothly, surprised by the steadiness in my own voice. "I left him at the estate with thirty armed guards. You're never getting near him."

Dominic’s smile vanished. "That was a mistake, Rachel."

"Was it?" I took a step closer. "You said you were going to tell Luca who my father really was. Go ahead. Tell him. Because I don't care."

Dominic looked at Luca, a cruel grin spreading across his face.

"She doesn't know, Luca," Dominic taunted. "The poor girl actually doesn't know why you hired her. Why you let a nobody off the street take care of your precious son."

Luca’s face was unreadable, but his jaw was clenched so tight it looked like it might shatter.

"Don't do this, Dominic," Luca warned softly.

"Oh, I think she deserves to know," Dominic laughed. He looked directly at me. "Your father wasn't just a mechanic, Rachel. He was the man who built the bomb that blew up Luca’s father fifteen years ago."

The world tilted on its axis.

"No," I whispered. "No, you're lying."

"Ask him!" Dominic yelled, pointing the gun at Luca. "Ask the great Mafia Boss why he brought the daughter of his father’s murderer into his home! He didn't hire you out of pity, Rachel. He brought you here to punish you."

I looked at Luca. I waited for him to deny it. I waited for him to call Dominic a liar.