Chapter 2 - The Guns Came for Damian—But Evelyn Discovered the Mafia Boss Was More Terrified of Losing Her Than of Dying HimselfThe first man through the broken window never made it inside.
Damian dropped him before Evelyn could even understand what she was seeing.
A second shadow appeared.
Marcus fired.
The attacker disappeared into the storm.
For several minutes, the diner became a war zone.
Glass shattered.
Bullets punched through wooden walls.
The generator flickered.
Evelyn stayed crouched behind the counter while seventeen armed men defended the building.
Damian moved differently from the others.
He never wasted motion.
One step.
One shot.
One command.
Everything calculated.
When the firing suddenly stopped, the silence felt worse.
“Why did they stop?” Evelyn whispered.
Damian looked toward the windows.
“They're waiting.”
“For what?”
“For us to panic.”
Evelyn swallowed.
“It's working.”
He looked at her.
“You're doing fine.”
“I am hiding behind a pie warmer.”
“You're alive.”
“That's your standard?”
“Tonight, yes.”
A sudden crash came from the back.
Two men rushed toward the kitchen.
Evelyn grabbed a cast-iron skillet.
Damian caught her wrist.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
He looked surprised.
“I know this building better than you.”
“I don't care.”
“I do.”
Evelyn pulled free.
“There are three doors back there. One leads to the pantry. One to the cellar. One is fake.”
Damian stopped.
“A fake door?”
“Robert built it.”
“Why?”
“To keep nosy children out of the liquor.”
Damian stared.
“You have a hidden liquor room?”
“I had a husband who thought hiding bourbon behind a fake wall made him a genius.”
Marcus almost laughed.
Evelyn pointed.
“Stop smiling.”
The back door burst open.
A man stepped inside.
Damian fired.
The attacker fell.
Evelyn stared at the body.
She had never seen anyone die before.
Her hands started shaking.
Damian noticed.
“Look at me.”
She did.
“Breathe.”
“I can't.”
“Yes, you can.”
His hand settled gently over hers.
“Four seconds in.”
She inhaled.
“Four out.”
She exhaled.
Again.
Again.
The shaking eased.
“You've done this before,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“How many?”
Damian looked away.
“Enough.”
A strange sadness crossed his face.
Evelyn understood then that he wasn't proud of the violence.
He simply carried it.
Like a scar nobody could see.
The attack finally ended just before dawn.
Two of Damian's men were injured.
Three attackers were dead.
The rest had fled.
The storm remained brutal.
Evelyn emerged from behind the counter.
She looked at Damian.
“Who were they?”
“Men who want me dead.”
“Why?”
“Business.”
“That's not an answer.”
“It is the only one you're getting.”
“No.”
Damian raised an eyebrow.
“No?”
“You brought this to my home.”
“I didn't intend to.”
“You brought eighteen armed men into my diner, got half my windows shot out, and nearly killed my generator.”
Vincent looked nervous.
Damian remained calm.
“I'll replace everything.”
“Money isn't the point.”
“What is?”
“You owe me the truth.”
Silence.
Eighteen men waited.
Damian looked at Evelyn for a long time.
“My name is Damian Vale.”
She nodded.
“That doesn't mean anything to me.”
“It should.”
“Why?”
“Because there are cities where men stop talking when I enter a room.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
Marcus coughed.
Vincent looked at the floor.
Damian almost smiled again.
“I run an organization.”
“What kind?”
“The kind you shouldn't ask about.”
“Then don't tell me.”
“I already told you.”
Evelyn crossed her arms.
“Fine.”
She walked away.
Damian watched her.
Later, while Evelyn cleaned the broken glass, she noticed something wedged beneath Damian's coat.
A photograph.
She couldn't see it clearly.
But she recognized the edge.
It was old.
Damian noticed her staring.
“You saw that?”
“Yes.”
He took the photograph out.
It was a picture of a young boy standing beside an older woman.
The boy was Damian.
The woman looked strikingly familiar.
Evelyn stared.
“Who is she?”
“My mother.”
“She looks like…”
“Like who?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Never mind.”
Damian folded the photograph.
“She died when I was seventeen.”
“I'm sorry.”
His expression changed.
“Why?”
“Because nobody deserves to lose their mother.”
“You lost yours.”
“Yes.”
“And your husband.”
“Yes.”
“Anyone else?”
Evelyn looked down.
“My sister.”
Damian's eyes softened.
“I'm sorry.”
Something about the way he said it was different.
Not polite.
Not automatic.
Personal.
They stood in silence.
Then Noah called from the booth.
“Boss.”
Damian turned.
“What?”
“We found something.”
He handed Damian a small envelope.
Damian opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Evelyn recognized the diner immediately.
It had been taken from the road.
Her diner.
Her car.
Her farmhouse.
Her.
Standing outside.
Damian's face became cold.
“Where did you get this?”
“From one of the attackers.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Why do they have photographs of me?”
Damian did not answer.
“Damian.”
He looked directly at her.
“They weren't here because of me.”
A chill passed through her.
“Then why?”
“They were here because of you.”
The room went silent.
Evelyn felt the world tilt.
“What?”
Damian folded the photograph.
“Someone has been watching you.”
“Who?”
“I don't know yet.”
“And you're going to find out?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His answer came without hesitation.
“Because they're now my problem.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“No.”
“No?”
“I am not your problem.”
Damian stepped closer.
“You became my responsibility the moment they pointed a gun at you.”
“That's not your decision.”
“It is.”
“Why?”
Damian's voice dropped.
“Because I made it.”
She should have walked away.
Instead, she whispered.
“And what if I don't want your protection?”
His gaze remained on hers.
“Then I'll protect you anyway.”
For a man who had spent years making others obey him, Damian had never sounded more frightened than he did in that moment.
And Evelyn suddenly understood something dangerous.
May you like
The most powerful man in the room wasn't afraid of bullets.
He was afraid of losing her.
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