Chapter 3

The next night, I stood in the surveillance room above a Rossi-owned casino.

Lucas stood beside me. On the monitors in front of us, the feed had been switched to Section B on Basement Level Two. The camera angle was perfect, clear enough to see every face.

On the screen, Noah had Amelia pinned against the wall, kissing her like he couldn’t get enough.

I watched him slip the bracelet off his wrist and toss it onto the table beside them.

Metal hit concrete with a sharp crack.

“So damn uncomfortable,” Noah’s voice came through the audio feed, clear as day. “Fucking kills the mood.”

Amelia leaned against him and laughed. “Wasn’t that your token with Vivian? Your little love keepsake? Why throw it away?”

Noah snorted. “Please. That piece of junk? Good riddance. I only wore it for show, so she’d see it.”

I said nothing. I closed my eyes. Three seconds. Then I opened them again.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Lucas didn’t ask where. He just followed me.

I didn’t speak again. By the time we stepped out of the casino, snow was falling. The car was parked across the street.

Lucas took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders.

“Where do you want to go?” he asked.

I got into the car and thought for a moment. I didn’t want to go home. That place wasn’t a home. It was a cage.

“Take me somewhere to eat,” I said.

The car drove for several blocks before stopping in front of a restaurant.

Lucas got out first, then came around to open my door.

It was my favorite restaurant.

By the time the waiter led us to our table, the food was already there.

Every dish was something I loved.

I glanced at Lucas, but he said nothing.

I was just about to speak when laughter drifted in from the entrance.

I looked up.

Noah had his arm around Amelia’s waist as they walked in like they owned the place. Amelia was pressed against him, laughing so hard she was practically glowing.

My fingers stilled against the table.

Lucas didn’t look their way. He only nudged my water glass a little closer to me.

But Noah had already seen us.

The smile froze on his face.

His eyes went back and forth between me and Lucas, again and again. Then he let go of Amelia and strode toward us.

“Vivian.” His voice was low, tight with the rage of a man who felt caught in the act. “What the hell is this supposed to mean?”

“We’re having dinner,” I said. “Small world, huh?”

“I’m asking”, his eyes cut to Lucas, “what exactly are you doing here with him?”

Because Lucas’s position was complicated, I had never told Noah what Lucas really was to me. As far as Noah knew, Lucas was just a fixer who worked with the Rossi family.

“Having dinner,” I repeated, taking a sip of water. “Do I need your permission?”

Noah’s face darkened. He reached for my wrist and yanked me out of my chair so hard my skin flushed red almost instantly.

“Are you screwing around with another man—”

He didn’t get to finish. Lucas was on his feet in a second, stepping between us.

He didn’t touch Noah. He just stood there, staring him down.

But that was enough. Noah let go. Of course he did. That was the kind of man he was, mean when he had the upper hand, weak the moment he met someone stronger.

“Let go.” Lucas only said two words, softly. But each one landed like a nail.

“You two—” Noah’s face turned red, veins rising at his temples. “You two—”

The rest of his words died in his throat when he saw the blood on my hand.

When he’d grabbed me, I had still been cutting into my steak. The knife had sliced my finger, and blood was running down the back of my hand.

I pulled my wrist free. Noah stared at the blood, his lips parting like he wanted to say something.

That was when Amelia came over.

“Noah…” She tugged lightly on his sleeve, her voice weak and breathy. “My stomach hurts.”

She really did look pale, one hand pressed to her abdomen. A good performance. Or maybe not a performance at all. Who knew.

Noah looked at her, then at the blood on my hand.

And in the end, he wrapped an arm around Amelia and left with her.

Lucas sat back down, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and wrapped it around my cut.

Then, without giving me much of a choice, he got me out of the restaurant and took me to the hospital.

We got in the car. As the engine started, I watched the streetlights slide past outside the window.

In the rearview mirror, Noah’s car was still parked outside the restaurant. He was holding Amelia’s hand while talking on the phone, his expression strained with panic.

I looked once, then turned away.

“Lucas,” I said.

“Yeah.”

“Set me up with an OB-GYN.”

His grip tightened on the steering wheel.

“You’re pregnant?”

“I’m not sure. But it’s possible.”

We were both silent for a few seconds.

“And if you are?” he asked. I could hear the strain in his voice, the way he was forcing it down.

“If I am,” I said, “then this baby will be the biggest card I have. And the thing he wants most.”

“You’re going to use this child as leverage?” Lucas’s voice went taut.

I didn’t answer.