Chapter 1 - The Girl in the Storm
A barefoot seven-year-old girl walked into a storm-battered ER carrying her dying baby sister, then came straight to me, the most feared mafia boss in St. Louis. She handed me a bent metro card with my secret number on it and whispered, “Mama said you’d protect us. Don’t let Derek take my sister.” The moment I heard his name, I knew their mother was in danger, and those children had been sent to me for a reason.
My name is Ethan Cole.
To the public, I was a real-estate investor with hotels, construction companies, and enough money to make problems disappear.
To the right people, I was something else entirely.
That night, I sat inside the emergency room in a charcoal Italian suit while rain battered the windows. One of my men had been brought in after an “accident” that I knew wasn't accidental.
Then the hospital doors opened.
A little girl stood there barefoot and soaked, clutching a baby wrapped in an oversized hoodie.
The infant was barely moving.
“Sweetheart, where are your parents?” the receptionist asked.
The girl ignored her.
She kept walking until a nurse rushed forward.
“Let me take the baby.”
For a second, the child held on.
Then she surrendered her sister.
“She’s burning up!” the nurse shouted. “Get pediatrics!”
Doctors disappeared through the doors with the baby.
The girl stood alone.
That's when she saw me.
She reached into her wet pocket and pulled out the metro card.
“Are you Ethan Cole?”
“Yes.”
My private number was written on the back.
I recognized the handwriting.
Lena Mercer.
She had emailed me eleven times that month.
I hadn't answered once.
“Where's your mother?”
The girl's face tightened.
“I don't know.”
Guilt hit harder than I expected.
“Why did she send you to me?”
“She said you'd protect us.”
“From Derek?”
Her eyes widened.
Then she grabbed my sleeve.
“Mama said don't let him sign anything for Rosie. Even if he says he's her father.”
Every instinct I had sharpened.
I knew Derek Mercer.
And Derek knew exactly what happened to men who crossed me.
“Is Rosie really his daughter?”
The girl slowly shook her head.
Before I could ask another question, the emergency-room doors opened.
Two of my men immediately stood.
The little girl's fingers tightened around my sleeve.
A man stepped inside, rain dripping from his coat.
“There you are,” he said.
The child moved behind me.
“That's Derek.”
I rose slowly.
Derek stopped when he recognized me.
For the first time that night, fear appeared on his face.
And suddenly I understood something.
Lena hadn't given her daughter my number because she trusted me.
She'd given it to her because she knew Derek feared me.
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Now I needed to find out why.
And where Lena was.
