THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE ORDERED ME TO THROW AWAY AN OLD CHILD’S COAT—THEN LUCA SAW HIS NAME STITCHED INSIDE

BANG!

The gunshot thunder echoed off the stone crypt walls.

Luca didn’t hesitate for a microsecond. He threw himself in front of me, his massive frame shielding my entire body as the heavy oak table flipped over.

The bullet grazed Luca’s upper arm, tearing through his suit jacket and leaving a crimson streak of blood across his white shirt.

“Luca!” I screamed, catching his arm.

“I’m fine!” he roared.

Chaos erupted in the crypt. Don Falcone’s bodyguards opened fire on Vincent’s personal escorts. Smoke and screams filled the subterranean air.

In the confusion, Vanessa grabbed her father’s arm and dragged him toward a hidden iron escape tunnel behind the altar. Two of Bellini’s surviving guards hurled smoke grenades onto the floor, blinding the room in thick, acrid grey fog.

By the time the smoke cleared, the escape hatch had been slammed and bolted from the inside.

Don Falcone stood over the bodies of Vincent’s fallen men, his face carved from dark granite.

“Vincent Bellini and his daughter are hereby declared enemies of the Five Families,” Falcone decreed, his voice echoing with absolute authority. “Every asset, every dock, every ship under the Bellini flag is forfeited to Luca Moretti. Hunt them down. Show no mercy.”

Luca pressed a handkerchief to his bleeding arm, his dark eyes fixed on the locked iron hatch.

“Marco,” Luca commanded. “Where does that tunnel lead?”

“It exits at the old freight rail yard near the Navy Pier docks,” Marco answered, reloading his weapon. “That’s where Vincent keeps his private luxury yacht.”

Luca turned to me. His face was streaked with soot, his arm bleeding, but his eyes were filled with fierce, protective resolve.

“Claire, you stay here with Falcone’s men,” Luca said firmly. “It’s over. I’m going to end this at the water.”

“No,” I said, gripping his uninjured hand tightly. “You took a bullet for me, Luca Moretti. I’m not sitting in a crypt while you finish your father’s fight. I’m coming with you.”