Chapter 6 - He Took a Bullet for Me and Asked for Nothing
The tunnel ended beneath an old church three blocks away.
Snow fell heavily outside.
I was shaking.
Adrian removed his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders.
“You're freezing.”
“So are you.”
“I'll survive.”
“You say that too much.”
He smiled.
Then he leaned against the wall.
I noticed blood.
“You've been shot.”
“It's a graze.”
“Let me see.”
“Emily.”
“Sit.”
He actually obeyed.
I laughed through my tears.
“You listen when someone tells you to sit?”
“Apparently.”
I treated the wound under the church's dim light.
He watched me silently.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're staring.”
“I like watching you work.”
“That's creepy.”
“Probably.”
I smiled.
For a moment, neither of us was thinking about Victor.
Then Adrian said, “You need to leave Chicago.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“No.”
“You are the target.”
“And so are you.”
“This is different.”
“How?”
He looked at me.
“Because I've lived this life for years.”
“And I can decide whether I leave it.”
He reached for my hand.
“You should never have been dragged into this.”
“I was already in it before I met you.”
He looked away.
Then he told me the truth.
The Duca and Parker families had once operated a legitimate shipping company together.
Victor had turned it into a criminal network.
My father wanted out.
Adrian's father wanted to expose him.
Both men died.
Adrian inherited the empire.
My mother inherited the secret.
And I inherited the evidence.
“Why me?” I asked.
“Because Victor thought you had no idea what you possessed.”
“And now?”
“He knows.”
A car stopped outside.
Adrian's hand went to his weapon.
His security chief entered.
“Boss, we need to move.”
“Where?”
“Safe house.”
Adrian nodded.
I followed.
The safe house was a renovated townhouse on the North Side.
I was given a bedroom.
Adrian stayed downstairs.
I couldn't sleep.
At three in the morning, I heard voices.
I went downstairs.
Adrian was speaking with his security chief.
“We have confirmation,” the man said.
“Confirmation of what?”
“The judge. The police captain. Two aldermen.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Victor has them.”
“What will you do?”
Adrian looked toward the window.
“Destroy the network.”
I stepped forward.
“Then do it legally.”
He turned.
“Emily.”
“You have evidence.”
“We don't have enough.”
“You have my father's archive.”
“We need to verify it.”
“Then verify it.”
His eyes softened.
“I'm trying to keep you alive.”
“And I'm trying to stop people from dying because of me.”
He walked over.
“You don't owe anyone that.”
“I owe my mother.”
He was silent.
I touched his hand.
“My father died protecting this truth.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“You loved him.”
“Yes.”
“He believed in you.”
“That makes what happened worse.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I spent years becoming someone he wouldn't recognize.”
“You don't have to stay that man.”
He looked at me.
“What do you see when you look at me?”
“A man.”
“Not a monster?”
“No.”
“Not the mafia king?”
“No.”
“What then?”
I whispered, “Someone who came back.”
He kissed me.
This time there was no hesitation.
There was fear.
Need.
Tenderness.
The kind of kiss that felt like two wounded people discovering they were allowed to want something good.
When we separated, he rested his forehead against mine.
“I won't make promises I can't keep.”
“I don't need promises.”
“What do you need?”
“The truth.”
He nodded.
“You have it.”
Then a gunshot shattered the window.
Adrian shoved me to the ground.
He took the bullet in his side.
“Adrian!”
He collapsed against me.
“No.”
His men opened fire.
I pressed both hands against his wound.
“Stay with me!”
He struggled to breathe.
“You're giving me orders again.”
“Because you keep getting shot!”
He smiled weakly.
“Fair.”
An ambulance arrived minutes later.
But before they took him away, Adrian grabbed my hand.
“Don't trust the police.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor owns more than money.”
He was wheeled away.
I stood outside in the snow.
Then my phone buzzed.
May you like
A message from Ryan.
I know who killed your mother.
