THE MOMENT THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE CALLED ME “A GREEDY LITTLE MAID,” I SLAMMED HIS MOTHER’S JEWELRY BOX SHUT BEFORE HE COULD GIVE HER THE NECKLACE—AND THIRTY GUESTS WATCHED HIM TURN TOWARD ME. I had never seen Dominic DeLuca look at anyone the way he looked at me that night. His hand was still resting on the little velvet box.

The impact was sickening.

Julian collapsed backward into the boat, unconscious before he even hit the fiberglass hull. The emerald necklace slipped from his fingers, tumbling onto the deck.

Victoria stood over him, chest heaving, the iron candlestick hanging limply from her hand.

“He promised me,” Victoria sobbed, her mascara running in dark streaks down her face. “He promised he would pay the Rossi family. He told me if I got the necklace, he would clear my debts and take me to Montreal.”

Dominic lowered his gun. He looked at the woman he had almost married.

“He was using you, Victoria. He was never going to take you anywhere.”

Victoria dropped the candlestick. She fell to her knees on the wet dock, burying her face in her hands. “I’m dead. If I don't pay the Rossi family by tomorrow, they are going to kill me.”

I didn't care about Victoria. I didn't care about Julian.

I crawled across the wooden planks, grabbing Leo and pulling him into my arms. I buried my face in his damp hair, crying so hard my chest physically ached.

“I got you, baby,” I whispered. “Mommy’s got you.”

Leo clung to my neck, trembling but safe.

Dominic stepped onto the boat. He retrieved the emerald necklace and the microfilm. Then he pulled a zip-tie from his pocket and bound his unconscious brother’s wrists to the steering column.

He stepped back onto the dock and looked at Marco, who had just rushed into the boathouse with three armed guards.

“Take Julian to the warehouse,” Dominic ordered. “Do not let him wake up. I will deal with him tomorrow.”

The guards hauled Julian out of the boat and into the rain.

Dominic turned to Victoria.

“Get up.”

She looked up at him, pathetic and broken. “Dominic, please. I’m sorry. I was desperate.”

Dominic reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. The same box I had slammed shut hours earlier in the dining room.

He opened it. Inside was a simple gold bracelet.

“This was my grandmother’s,” Dominic said quietly. “It’s worth fifty thousand dollars. The exact amount you tried to bribe Hannah with.”

He tossed the box onto the floor in front of her.

“Take it. Take the cash from your room. Pay off the Rossi family. And if you ever step foot in Chicago again, I won't wait for them to kill you.”

Victoria snatched the box from the floor. She didn't say thank you. She scrambled to her feet and ran out into the storm, vanishing into the darkness.

The boathouse was finally quiet, except for the rain hitting the roof.

Dominic turned to me.

I was still sitting on the floor, holding Leo. I expected him to fire me. To tell me to pack my bags and leave the estate. I knew too much. I was a liability.

Instead, Dominic knelt down on the wet planks in front of us.

He looked at Leo. The little boy who had Julian’s dark eyes, but none of his cruelty.

“Are you okay, Leo?” Dominic asked gently.

Leo peeked out from my shoulder. He nodded slowly. “The bad man said he was my daddy.”

Dominic looked at me, a profound sadness in his expression. Then he looked back at Leo.

“Any man can be a father, Leo,” Dominic said. “But a real man protects his family. He doesn't scare them. You already have the bravest parent in the world right here.”

He pointed at me.

Tears welled in my eyes.

Dominic stood up and offered me his hand.

I hesitated, then took it. His grip was warm and solid. He pulled me to my feet.

“Come inside, Hannah,” Dominic said. “You and Leo are freezing.”

“Mr. DeLuca, I should pack. After everything that’s happened... I understand if you want us gone.”

Dominic stopped. He looked at me, his dark eyes intense and unwavering.

“You protected my mother,” Dominic said. “You protected the legacy of this family when the woman I chose to marry tried to destroy it. You are not leaving, Hannah. Unless you want to.”

I looked at him. Really looked at him.

Behind the terrifying reputation of the mafia boss, there was a man who fiercely loved his mother, who grieved for his father, and who had just saved my son’s life.