Chapter 1 - The Mirror Image
The photograph behind the dusty bar was slightly faded, but the face staring back at me was undeniably mine.
My fingers went completely numb around the small, warm body of the baby resting against my chest.
The mafia boss slowly turned his head to follow my frozen gaze toward the mirror.
When he saw the photograph of the woman with my exact face, all the color drained from his tan skin.
He took a slow, menacing step toward me.
His dark eyes were no longer curious, but filled with a lethal, burning intensity.
Before he could demand an explanation, the front windows of the restaurant shattered into a million pieces.
Deafening gunfire erupted from the dark street outside.
Screams filled the dining room as customers dove under their tables for cover.
I froze in pure terror, clutching the crying baby as bullets tore through the expensive wooden furniture.
The mafia boss did not even flinch.
He lunged forward, wrapping his massive arms around both me and his son.
He tackled us to the floor just as a bullet ripped through the wall where my head had been a second ago.
Stay down and do not make a single sound, he ordered, his voice terrifyingly calm amidst the chaos.
Two of his bodyguards returned fire, creating a temporary shield of bullets.
The boss grabbed my wrist with a grip like iron.
He dragged me toward the kitchen, shielding his crying son with his own broad back.
We burst through the metal kitchen doors and rushed out into the dark alleyway.
A massive, armored black SUV was already waiting with its engine roaring.
He threw the heavy door open and shoved me inside, climbing in directly after me.
Drive, he commanded the driver, and the massive vehicle tore through the narrow alley.
I sat in the backseat, trembling violently as the baby continued to cling to my apron.
I tried to hand the child back to his father.
Instead of taking his son, the mafia boss pulled a heavy silver handgun from his jacket.
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He aimed the barrel directly at my heart.
Tell me exactly who hired you to get plastic surgery to look like my dead wife, he whispered.
