Chapter 1 - The Waitress Wrote “Gunman Behind You” on the Mafia Boss’s Check—By Sunrise, Her Life Belonged to Him
The night Chloe Bennett saved Dominic Moretti’s life, she did it with a receipt, a dying pen, and three seconds of courage she never knew she had.
She did not scream.
She did not call 911.
She simply stood frozen beside the dessert station of The Brass Lantern, staring across the candlelit dining room at the man in the olive-green jacket, and watched him slide a suppressed gun beneath his napkin.
The barrel was pointed at Dominic Moretti’s back.
And Dominic, the most dangerous man in Boston, had no idea.
Chloe’s hand found the check presenter beside the dessert station.
Her pen barely worked.
She scribbled fast, the letters jagged and desperate.
GUNMAN BEHIND YOU.
Then she walked.
Every step felt impossible.
The gunman’s eyes flicked toward her.
Chloe forced herself to smile like a tired waitress bringing a bill to the wrong table. Her knees nearly gave out when she reached Dominic’s booth.
“Your check, Mr. Moretti.”
She slid the black leather folder onto the table.
She left it open.
Dominic’s dark eyes shifted from his phone to the white paper.
He didn't gasp. He didn't look over his shoulder.
His expression remained completely, terrifyingly blank.
"Chloe," Dominic said, his voice a low, smooth baritone that didn't match the deadly situation. "Drop."
Chloe didn't think.
She threw herself backward, hitting the hardwood floor just as the deafening crack-crack-crack of suppressed gunfire shattered the quiet dining room.
Glass exploded above her.
Screams erupted from the wealthy patrons as they scrambled under tables, their expensive wine spilling like blood across the white linens.
Dominic had moved with terrifying speed.
He was out of the booth before the first bullet tore through the leather seat where his chest had been a second ago.
A heavy silver revolver was suddenly in his hand.
He fired twice.
The man in the green jacket stumbled backward, clutching his shoulder, his own gun clattering to the floor.
Leo Marchetti, the giant bodyguard, was already moving.
He vaulted the bar, tackling the wounded gunman to the ground with a sickening crunch.
The restaurant was in total chaos.
Dominic stood over Chloe, his suit jacket dusted with plaster.
He looked down at her, his dark eyes analyzing her shaking form.
"Get up," he ordered.
"I... I have to call the police," Chloe stammered, her hands trembling as she tried to push herself off the floor.
"No police," Dominic said smoothly.
May you like
He reached down, grabbing her arm in an iron grip, and hauled her to her feet.
"You've seen his face. You're coming with us."
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