Chapter 2 - THE MAN EVERYONE FEARED
Dante threw Mara behind a stone monument as bullets tore through the rain.
“Stay down!”
“I am down!”
Another shot cracked against marble.
Bianca screamed.
One of Dante’s men tackled her behind a grave marker.
Dante pulled a gun from beneath his coat.
Mara stared at him.
The stranger from the bar was gone.
This man was something else.
Calm under gunfire.
Focused.
Terrifying.
He fired twice.
The sedan swerved, clipped an iron fence, then sped toward the cemetery exit.
Dante’s men ran for their cars.
“Get the plate!”
“Already on it!”
Mara pressed both hands over her stomach.
Please.
Please move.
For one horrifying second, nothing happened.
Then she felt it.
A kick.
Sharp and stubborn.
She almost cried from relief.
Dante crouched beside her.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
“I said no.”
“You hit the ground hard.”
“The baby moved.”
Something in Dante’s face softened.
“The baby moved?”
Mara instantly regretted telling him.
“Yes.”
He looked at her stomach like he wanted to touch it.
He didn’t.
“Good.”
Bianca crawled out from behind the grave marker.
Her coat was covered in mud.
“What the hell was that?”
Dante stood.
“Not your concern.”
“Someone just shot at us!”
“They shot at me.”
Bianca pointed toward Mara.
“You brought this here!”
Dante turned so slowly that Bianca stopped talking.
“You hit a pregnant woman at her mother’s grave.”
“She slept with—”
“She did not sleep with your husband.”
Bianca’s face twisted.
“You don’t know that.”
Dante looked at Mara.
“I know enough.”
Mara stood shakily.
“I need to go to work.”
Dante stared at her.
“You were just shot at.”
“I wasn’t shot.”
“That distinction isn’t helping.”
“I can’t lose my job.”
Bianca gave a cold laugh.
“You don’t have one anymore.”
Mara looked at her.
“What?”
“You’re fired.”
“Bianca.”
“You heard me. Go pack your things.”
Mara’s throat tightened.
Her room at the estate wasn’t just a room.
It was the only roof she had.
Her savings were nearly gone.
The hospital bills from her mother’s final months had eaten everything else.
Bianca smiled when she saw the fear.
That smile did more damage than the slaps.
Dante saw it too.
“You’re enjoying this.”
Bianca lifted her chin.
“She lied to me for months.”
“She didn’t owe you the truth about her body.”
“This is my house.”
“Not anymore.”
Everyone turned.
Preston Thorne stood beside a gray Bentley near the road.
Mara’s former husband looked exhausted.
And furious.
Bianca stared at him.
“What did you say?”
Preston walked closer.
“I said it’s not your house anymore.”
Bianca laughed.
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“No.”
Preston pulled an envelope from his coat.
“I filed this morning.”
Bianca stared at the papers.
“What is that?”
“Divorce.”
Mara felt the cemetery tilt.
Bianca’s voice went quiet.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I did.”
She slapped Preston before anyone could stop her.
Then she looked at Mara.
“This is because of her.”
Preston didn’t answer fast enough.
Bianca laughed.
A terrible, broken laugh.
“I knew it.”
Mara shook her head.
“No. Don’t bring me into this.”
Preston looked at her.
“I should have done it years ago.”
Dante’s expression went cold.
Mara knew exactly what Preston meant.
He should never have left her.
He should never have married Bianca.
And suddenly there were two dangerous men standing beside her mother’s grave, both looking at Mara as if old decisions were about to become new wars.
Dante stepped between them.
“She’s coming with me.”
Mara’s head snapped up.
“No, I’m not.”
Dante looked at her.
“You need a doctor.”
“I can find one.”
“And somewhere safe.”
“I don’t need you to save me.”
His answer was immediate.
“I’m not trying to save you.”
“Then what are you doing?”
He glanced toward her stomach.
“Protecting my child.”
Mara’s entire body stiffened.
Preston stared at Dante.
Bianca stared at Mara.
May you like
And then Bianca whispered the one sentence that turned confusion into horror.
“Senator Thorne already knows.”
