Chapter 1 - The Recognition
The stranger stepped back.
That was interesting.
Very interesting.
The man who had just called me "babe" did not break eye contact with the creep.
He simply stood there, a wall of custom-tailored wool and quiet menace.
The little girl in the red raincoat squeezed his hand.
She looked exactly like him, right down to the sharp, dark eyes.
The stranger in the gray jacket raised his hands slowly.
"No problem here," the stranger muttered.
His voice had lost all its playful arrogance.
"Just making conversation."
"The conversation is over," my fake boyfriend said.
His voice was a low, terrifying rumble.
The stranger did not argue.
He turned on his heel and walked away so fast it was almost a run.
I let out a breath I did not know I was holding.
"Thank you," I said, pulling Mia closer to my leg.
"You didn't have to do that."
The tall man finally turned to look at me.
His expression was perfectly blank.
Then his eyes flicked down to my face, and something shifted in his gaze.
"I didn't do it to be a good Samaritan," he said softly.
He knelt down so he was eye-level with my daughter.
"Hi there," he said, his voice instantly warming.
"I'm Damian, and this is Lily."
Mia peeked out from behind my knee.
"My ice cream died on the ground," Mia announced.
Damian smiled, a genuine, striking expression.
"That is a tragedy," Damian agreed.
He stood back up and looked at me again.
"You're Chloe Adams."
My stomach plummeted.
I had never seen this man in my life.
"How do you know my name?" I asked, taking a defensive step backward.
Damian reached into his coat pocket.
I tensed, preparing to grab Mia and run.
He pulled out a silver money clip and a business card.
"Eight months ago, a little girl was brought into the Chicago Med pediatric ICU with severe poisoning."
My breath caught in my throat.
I remembered that night perfectly.
The doctors had almost given up, but I caught a subtle symptom that changed the antidote protocol and saved her life.
"You saved my daughter," Damian said, his voice thick with emotion.
He glanced in the direction the stranger had fled.
"And that man who was just talking to you was not a random creep."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
May you like
Damian's eyes turned ice cold.
"He is a hitman for the Falcone crime family, and he was sent here to kill you."
