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CHAPTER ONE

“ G o, go, go,” Vince shouted.

There was a screeching sound, unlike anything I’d ever heard.

A violent gust of wind hit us, and the whole helicopter exploded with noise.

I reached out.

And then stared at Vince, who, instead of jumping into our helicopter, attacked the gunman in the other.

Suddenly, the whole world tilted until I couldn’t see Vince anymore as we vaulted off the platform.

Time slowed down when the helicopter did something that felt like a backflip—or we were being pushed off the roof.

I banged my head against the window, then fell forward into my straps as the ground came closer at alarming speed.

We would all die.

Suddenly, Hawk pulled on the controls .

My stomach lurched both from the sudden stall and the terrifying realization of what had just happened.

This had been an attack.

We’d been shot at, and God knows what the men in the helicopter planned to do with us.

And I realized that we weren’t pushed off the roof, but Hawk had maneuvered the helicopter this way…to escape.

Only Vince, Hero, and one of Hawk’s guys were still on that roof.

With those men…

I turned in my seat, tried to catch a glimpse behind us while my heart was racing in my chest, and my pulse pounded in my ears.

Where was Vince? Was he okay? Why didn’t he come with us?

And what the hell just happened?

“Vince,” I murmured over and over while I tried to orient myself.

I didn’t even know in which direction the high-rise was.

All I could see was our own reflection in the mirroring surface of the building next to us, which was close…way too close.

I closed my eyes and replayed the last couple of seconds. Were these men after me? Was all of this my fault? But how would they even know where I was?

Shit. If I hadn’t gotten involved in the hacking, if I hadn’t been so desperate to find something I could disappear in, something I could control after my kidnapping, would none of this have happened?

I opened my eyes again, just in time to watch Dante leaning over and putting a headset over my ears. Then he cupped my cheeks, his face just inches in front of mine.

“Everybody good?” Hawk’s voice in my ears conveyed what Dante was expressing with his eyes.

“Positive,” Hawk’s guy said, his face grim.

“Positive,” Dante replied, then nodded at me.

“Yes,” I whispered, then cleared my throat and repeated my “Yes,” with a little more conviction—I was absolutely not feeling.

I stared into Dante’s face, watched the corner of his mouth lift slightly.

He knew exactly what I was—completely freaked out.

But how could they all be so cool when we literally just vaulted off a building…in a helicopter?

And left Vince and the guys behind.

Dante let go of me and settled back in his seat.

Hawk’s guy turned around, and I met his gaze. His eyes conveyed the same empathy and understanding as Dante’s. “I’m Goofy,” he said and gave me a nod as if we’d just met for afternoon coffee.

These guys were definitely built differently.

I nodded at him, and once he’d turned back around, I stared out the window as the city receded beneath us, my mind racing .

Who were those men? Were they sent by whoever had bought my identity? Or were they after Vince, and my presence was just a coincidence?

Either way, I’d never experienced danger so up close and personal. And why did it take so long for us to turn back around?

“How long until we’re back on the roof?” I said into the headset. What would we do when we arrived? Would Vince still be there? Would he still be fighting?

“Jemma?” Dante’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. I felt his hand on mine, warm and reassuring.

“I’m fine,” I replied, unable to meet his gaze.

Because I was not fine.

Not at all.

“If you keep on breathing like that, you’ll pass out,” Dante said, and suddenly, I realized how fast and shallow my breathing was.

“Hey, Dante,” Hawk’s voice sounded deep and authoritative through my headset. “Had any chance to get some flight time in recently?”

Dante chuckled. “I’m able to kick your ass every day. Want me to take over?”

Hawk nodded at the guy in front—Goofy, his name was Goofy—then pulled off his headset, unhooked himself, and maneuvered out of the seat and back.

Dante did the same in reverse, and before I realized it, they’d switched seats, and Hawk was the one sitting beside me.

He strapped himself in, took the headset, then turned to me .

I stared back at him, and whatever he saw in my eyes made his darken. He laid his hand on my neck, squeezed, then leaned in. “Breathe with me, Little One.”

I focused on his exaggerated breathing, and with some effort, I managed to slow my breathing and match his rhythm.

The world around me faded away, and even the roar of the helicopter blades became a distant background noise.

Hawk kept his dark eyes locked on mine. “Better?” he murmured, his thumb tracing my jawline.

I nodded, unable to form words. The fear was still there, just beneath the surface, but Hawk’s presence had pushed it back, at least for now.

“Good,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. “Now, tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

I swallowed hard, glancing around at the others. They were occupied with operating the helicopter, but there wasn’t any privacy in the cramped space of the helicopter, and they could hear every word through the intercom anyway.

“Why are we not going back?” I whispered.

Hawk inhaled, and his eyes conveyed so much empathy, I couldn’t hold back the tears spilling over.

“This helicopter is not built to carry all of us,” Hawk said.

“I…” I started then faltered.

“Peaches, Vince, and Hero stayed behind to at least give us a fighting chance to escape.”

I shook my head when the meaning behind his words settled in. “We need to go back. ”

I switched from looking at Hawk to Dante and Goofy. “We need to go back there and help them.”

How could I explain the crushing fear that made my head pound?

How could I make them turn back?

Dante turned and shook his head. “Vince would want us to take you to safety,” he said, but I could see in the tension in his lips how much he hated leaving his brothers behind.

“Who was that?” I finally whispered.

Hawk’s grip on my neck tightened slightly. “No idea. Whatever’s happening, we’ll figure it out.”

I gnawed on my bottom lip. I wanted to believe him, but it all was so beyond my scope of familiarity. I scoffed at myself. Here I thought I was a badass and all, but despite my family, despite growing up in the mob, I’d never experienced this level of violence this close. Italy had been a glimpse, a more psychological form of torture.

But this, knowing Vince was still there…still fighting, in danger, or maybe already dead…my throat closed up, and I opened my mouth though no words came out.

“Stop thinking for now,” Hawk cut me off, his tone brooking no argument. “We don’t know who those men were or what they wanted. We don’t know what’s happening, and until we do, there’s no point imagining the worst. Once you let your thoughts go down that path, it’s really difficult to keep from spiraling.” He squeezed the back of my neck once more, then moved his hands to my shoulders. “Vince, Hero, and Peaches will give them the fight of their lives. Why don’t you try to calm down and focus on your breathing for now?”

I nodded, not at all convinced but too exhausted to argue .

How was it so easy for these guys to just go on even though their friends—or brothers—were in immediate danger?

I focused on my breath, tried to keep myself from thinking. But I couldn’t keep the tears from running down my cheek, or the shivering.

Hawk wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his side.

But I was cold to my core.

“Where are we going?” I asked, realizing I had no idea what was coming next, or what our destination was.

“That’s actually a really good question,” Goofy chimed in. “Boston?”

Hawk remained silent for a while. “They probably know that’s our planned destination.”

“Positive,” Goofy replied.

“Then let’s not make it so easy on them,” Dante said, pulled out his phone, did something with it, and then handed it to Goofy.

Goofy, in turn, manipulated something on the dashboard, then handed back the phone.

“Where are we going?” I asked, and Dante turned back and looked at me with a lopsided smile before he turned back and scanned the horizon. “Somewhere safe,” he replied, “somewhere Vince would want us to go. Somewhere where we can regroup and figure out our next move.” He sighed. “Somewhere he will find us for sure.”

I closed my eyes and leaned back.

If there was one thing I had absolute trust in, it was Vince doing everything in his power to protect everyone he loved. And even though I still wasn’t sure if I counted as one of those he loved, Dante did.

So he would find us as soon as possible—if he was still able to do that.

Fuck.

A new bout of tears ran down my cheeks, and I turned my head and closed my eyes.

The events of the day caught up with me all at once, and I felt myself shutting down, drifting, lulled by the steady thrum of the helicopter.

Hawk moved back to his own seat more comfortably, and I immediately felt cold and alone.

I sat in silence. Whatever came next, I knew one thing for certain: Nothing would ever be the same again, and I couldn’t just go with the flow anymore.

If this attack was targeted at me, my sheer presence put everyone in harm’s way.

Because of me, Vince stayed on the roof of that building. Because of me, Vince attacked an armed man in a hovering helicopter.

If he was dead, it was because of me.

I half listened to Dante, instructing Goofy on what the landing situation would be like.

The helicopter ride seemed to stretch on for an eternity, the rhythmic thump of the blades a constant reminder of the situation we’d just escaped from. I alternated between staring out the window at the landscape below and sneaking glances at Dante .

His focus never wavered from the controls, his hands steady and sure as he guided us through the air.

Did Vince know how to fly a helicopter, as well?

Was there anything these Salvini men weren’t capable of?

My mind wandered back to the rooftop and replayed the events in slow motion. The sudden appearance of the other helicopter, the masked men, the tenseness in Vince as he shielded me with his body.

It all felt like a scene from a movie, too surreal to have truly happened.

But it was real. All too real.

And there was a decent chance it was my fault.

I still couldn’t believe it. I had never intended for any of this to happen. It was never supposed to put anyone in danger.

I thought about my family—my dad, my sisters, Fee, and Alex.

Did they already hear what had happened?

And what about Vince’s family and Isabella? Was she still safe?

Were all of them safe?

The thought of any of them being in danger because of me made me feel physically ill.

And then there was Vince. Complicated, infuriating, oddly caring, overprotective Vince.

He’d had every right to be suspicious of me, even to hate me. But look where we were now. Instead of hating me, he’d protected me, over and over .

Instead of sneering at me, he’d told me I was beautiful—not only through his words but also in the way he drew a picture of me.

Instead of hating me, he told me—or ordered me—to marry him instead of Matt and told me he wanted a family with me.

And now he’d risked his life to protect me.

Why? Was it just about his overdeveloped sense of responsibility? Or was there something more?

Something like love?

I inhaled sharply. I’d never let myself think about it, but my feelings for Vince Salvini were much closer to love than hate. Despite his bossy behavior, despite his dominant nature, and infuriating, bossy attitude.

The moment in the elevator, the way he’d held me on the rooftop, the fierce protectiveness in the way he shielded me with his body. It had stirred something in me, feelings I’d never expected to develop.

Not for Vince Salvini.

Or maybe that traumatic event had just stripped the layers of my defenses and laid bare feelings that had built little by little with every interaction we’d had. Feelings I hadn’t let myself acknowledge.

I scoffed. For real now? Could my timing for this soul-searching expedition be any worse? Couldn’t I have realized my true feelings for him a little bit earlier?

Oh, fuck it. My feelings for Vince were far more complicated than I wanted them to be.

And far more dangerous.

But very much like love .

“We’re approaching the house,” Dante announced, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the helicopter.

I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. The house? What house?

All I saw was trees and rolling hills as far as the eye could see.

Until Dante reduced speed, the forest suddenly opened up, and we hovered above a massive property.

And that property was as far from a house as a cruise ship was from a pedal boat.

It looked like a hotel from up above. This was an estate.

My eyes darted from the terracotta roof to the pristine circular driveway and the perfect green lawn.

My mouth hung open as I struggled to take it all in.

This place was a world away from anything I’d ever seen or expected to see.

The Mediterranean-style villa sprawled before us, its creamy stonework gleaming despite the diffused light, with more wings than I could count.

It looked like something plucked straight from a Hollywood set, almost too perfect to be real. And the sheer scale of everything was overwhelming.

The sweeping driveway seemed to go on forever, and the meticulously manicured lawns, dotted with ornate fountains and vibrant flower beds—in autumn—were framed by a solid stone wall and looked too perfect to be real.

The glittering dark blue waters of the Olympic-sized rectangular pool caught my eye, and clouds of condensation hung above a whirlpool right next to it .

I’d never seen wealth displayed so openly, so lavishly.

We began our descent, and the helicopter touched down with a gentle bump, jolting me from my shock.

Goofy and Dante powered down the engine, and the sudden silence was almost deafening after the constant noise of the flight.

“Everyone okay?” Dante asked, unbuckled his seatbelt, and turned to face me.

There were murmurs of assent from Goofy and Hawk. But all I managed was a weak nod, not trusting my voice.

“Good,” he said, “welcome to Vince’s secret hideaway.” He winked at me, then scanned the guys before settling his gaze back on me. “Let’s move quickly. We don’t know how far behind they might be.”

I scoffed. Secret hideaway, was he joking?

Dante raised a single eyebrow as he looked at me. “What?”

I shook my head.

Dante exited the helicopter, then opened the door on my side.

“Come on, spit it out,” Dante said once I’d pulled the headset from my head and unbuckled myself.

He helped me out of my seat, grabbed my waist, and lifted me out of the helicopter. His movements and actions were so similar to Vince’s, my throat tightened.

I shook my head again. “It’s nothing.”

Dante cocked his head and smiled. “Let’s hear it, anyway.”

I sighed. “This is as much a secret hideaway as starting a huge fire on top of a mountain and then blasting music and starting fireworks and expecting nobody to see, hear, or notice anything.”

His handsome face transformed into a big grin, then he hugged me. “God, you’re perfect for him.”

I cocked my head and glared at him.

But he just winked. “Glad to know you’re quick to recover, as well,” he said, kissed my forehead, then put his arm around me and pulled me with him.

We made our way across the helipad, and a mix of emotions churned inside me. Part of me was in awe, recognizing this place as a testament to the Salvini family’s power and affluence.

I felt small and exposed standing there on the perfectly trimmed grass, acutely aware of just how powerful Vince and the Salvinis really were.

But despite this lavish version of a secret hideaway, and the promise of safety after our narrow escape, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was stepping into something far beyond my depth.

Until now, I’d only read and heard about Vincenzo Salvini, the powerful Mafia boss.

Every single interaction between us was small in scope, intimate, and personal.

Even visiting the family home on Staten Island hadn’t brought the message home—not like seeing this did.

This beautiful facade surely hid secrets and dangers I could barely imagine.

And so did the man whose level of wealth and power I only just now had truly realized .

And then, the distant whoop-whoop of another helicopter drowned out my thoughts.

And when Dante tightened his arm around my waist and basically carried me toward the house, I realized they’d found us anyway.