A DEBT HE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT

Marco slammed me against the floral wallpaper of the back hallway.

His grip on my throat was like an iron vise. I clawed at his thick fingers, kicking my legs, but he was too heavy, too strong.

“Don’t scream,” he whispered, his foul breath hot against my face. “If you scream, I’ll break your neck right here, and then I’ll go downstairs and introduce myself to the boy anyway. Nod if you understand.”

I couldn’t breathe. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision. I managed a frantic, jerky nod.

He loosened his grip just enough to let air rush painfully into my lungs.

“Good girl,” Marco said, smiling. “You’re much smarter than Sarah was.”

He grabbed my arm, twisting it painfully behind my back, and forced me down the stairs toward the basement.

My mind was racing. Vanessa had betrayed me. She stole the key to save herself, giving Marco the boy so he would leave her alone.

We reached the heavy steel door of Luca’s private garage.

“Open it,” Marco ordered, shoving the brass key into my hand.

My hand shook violently as I slid the key into the deadbolt. I turned it. The heavy lock clicked.

Marco pushed me aside and threw open the door.

The garage was dimly lit. The three expensive cars sat in the center. But the leather couch in the corner was empty. The blankets were tossed aside.

Leo wasn’t there.

Marco’s face twisted in rage. He spun toward me. “Where is he?!”

Before I could answer, the heavy steel door behind us slammed shut with a deafening CLANG.

Marco jumped, spinning around. He grabbed the handle and yanked.

It was locked from the outside.

“What is this?” Marco snarled, pounding on the door. “Open the door!”

The intercom box on the wall crackled to life.

“I told you we were going to have a private conversation, Marco,” Luca’s voice echoed smoothly through the speaker. “You just seemed impatient to get to the basement.”

Marco glared at the speaker. “Luca! You arrogant son of a bitch. Open this door, or I’ll snap this girl's neck!”

“You won't touch her,” Luca replied calmly. “Because if you do, I press the button on my desk, and the fire suppression system in that garage removes all the oxygen in the room in exactly forty seconds. It’s how my father built it. Remember the last time you played with fire, Marco?”

Marco went completely still. He touched the scar on his chin instinctively.

I backed away from him, my heart hammering.

“Where is the boy, Luca?” Marco demanded, trying to keep his voice steady.

“He’s safe,” Luca said. “He’s sitting in my office right now, watching cartoons with my head of security. He’s not going anywhere with you.”

“He’s my blood!” Marco yelled.

“He’s Sarah’s blood,” Luca corrected, his voice hardening. “You lost all rights to him the day you left her in that motel.”

Marco laughed, a desperate, ugly sound. “You think you can keep him? The law will give him to me! I have money now! Vanessa just gave me two hundred thousand in cashier's checks!”

“Did she?”

There was a pause. Then, the sound of a paper shredder whirring came through the intercom.

“I had my bank cancel those checks twenty minutes ago,” Luca said softly. “Vanessa’s signature requires my countersign for amounts over fifty thousand. You have nothing, Marco. No money. No son. No leverage.”

Marco’s face turned purple. He reached into his jacket, pulling out the folded envelope Vanessa had given him. He tore it open.

He stared at the checks. Useless pieces of paper.

“I’ll kill her,” Marco hissed. “I’ll kill Vanessa. I’ll ruin your wedding!”

“The wedding is canceled,” Luca said.

A sharp intake of breath echoed through the speaker. It wasn’t Luca’s. It was a woman’s.

“Luca, no—” Vanessa’s voice came through, sobbing, panicked. She was in the office with him.

“You gave a monster the key to the room where I was keeping a six-year-old boy, Vanessa,” Luca said, his voice devoid of any warmth. “Pack your things. You have one hour to leave my house.”

“Please! Where will I go? He’ll hunt me down!” Vanessa cried.

“Not anymore,” Luca said.

The intercom clicked.

The heavy steel door suddenly groaned and unlocked.

It swung open.

Standing in the doorway were four men in dark suits. Luca’s personal enforcers.

“Take Mr. Vane for a drive,” Luca’s voice instructed from the intercom. “Make sure he understands that Chicago is no longer safe for him. Permanently.”

The men stepped into the garage. Marco didn’t fight. He knew the rules of the world he was in. He looked at me one last time, hatred burning in his eyes, before the men dragged him out into the night.

I collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air, tears streaming down my face.

A minute later, footsteps hurried down the stairs.

Luca walked into the garage. He didn’t stop until he was kneeling on the concrete right in front of me.