Chapter 5 - Shadow in the Nursery
Salvatore’s cold expression held for a heartbeat, then his lips cracked into a grim, yellowed smile. ""She has teeth, Luca. Good. You’ll need a woman with teeth if you plan to rule this city. Forty-eight hours. Not a minute more.""
The drive back to the estate was silent, but the air inside the armored Maybach was charged with an intoxicating tension. Luca sat beside me, his thigh pressed against mine through the fabric of my dress. Every bump in the road sent a jolt of raw awareness through my body.
""You handled Salvatore better than most of my capos,"" Luca said quietly, staring out at the rain-slicked highway.
""I’ve spent the last nine months dealing with landlords, utility companies, and drunk men who thought fifty dollars bought my dignity,"" I replied, staring at my lap. ""An old Italian man in a tuxedo doesn't scare me.""
Luca turned his head, his dark eyes searching mine in the dim amber interior of the car. ""What does scare you, Mara?""
""Losing Isla,"" I said without hesitation. ""And... trusting someone who will make me regret it.""
Luca reached over and covered my hand with his. His palm was broad, rough, and burning warm against my skin. ""I don't break my promises, Mara. If I have to burn this entire city to the ground to keep you and that little girl safe, I’ll strike the match myself.""
We arrived back at the estate well past midnight. I immediately kicked off my four-inch designer heels, feeling the plush carpets between my toes as I hurried up the grand staircase toward the nursery. No matter how glittering the world was outside, all I cared about was checking on my baby’s sleeping face.
I pushed open the door to the nursery. The room was dark, illuminated only by the soft glow of a star-shaped nightlight.
""Elena?"" I whispered, expecting the night nanny to be sitting in the armchair.
The armchair was empty.
Panic struck like ice through my veins. I rushed over to the white birch crib.
Isla was there, sound asleep, her thumb tucked into her mouth. I let out a choked gasp of relief, pressing my hand against my chest to stop my heart from bursting. But as I leaned down to pull the blanket over her shoulders, my hand touched something foreign sitting on the crib rail.
A piece of paper.
I picked it up. My blood turned to liquid nitrogen.
Taped to the paper was an ultrasound photo—the exact 12-week ultrasound photo I had kept in my dresser back at my old apartment. Written across it in jagged black Sharpie were five words:
SHE HAS MY EYES, MARA.
I dropped the photo as if it were coated in acid. A strangled scream tore from my throat.
In a fraction of a second, the heavy door blew open. Luca burst into the room, a sleek black semi-automatic pistol drawn and raised, his eyes wild and scanning the corners of the dark room.
""Mara! What is it?!""
I could only point with a shaking finger at the floor where the ultrasound photo lay face-up.
Luca holstered his weapon, knelt down, and picked up the paper. When he read the message, every muscle in his neck and jaw corded with feral fury. The air around him seemed to drop below freezing.
""He was inside my house,"" Luca snarled, his voice a low, terrifying rumble that shook the quiet room. ""He bypassed the perimeter sensors. He stood over this crib.""
""He knows she's here,"" I sobbed, collapsing onto my knees beside the crib, burying my face in the mattress. ""He's going to take her, Luca. He's going to use her to get away!""
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Luca dropped down beside me. He didn't hesitate. He pulled me against his broad, solid chest, wrapping his arms around me like an impenetrable fortress. I buried my face into his neck, soaking his silk collar with my tears, clutching his lapels like a drowning woman.
""He won't touch her,"" Luca whispered against my hair, his voice vibrating with deadly certainty. ""He made the fatal mistake of coming into my sanctuary. He thinks he's hunting you, Mara. But he doesn't know that he just walked into my trap.""
