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CLAUDIA

Claudia thought NYC was the ideal place to live, but after exploring other destinations, she found them equally amazing, if not better. After this road trip, she understood why the city had always been her favorite: it was hectic and packed like other American towns.

What made her think about that?

Nothing came to her.

Before filling up on fuel, they placed tulips at the base of a tree in a Worcester park. Dominic took care of the clar while Claudia got snacks and drinks inside a convenience store. The surrounding neighborhoods had Victorian-era mills, three-story homes, and scattered diners. Everything differed from what she had been familiar with.

With arms full of food that would add eight pounds to her ass in a heartbeat, Claudia crossed the cracked sidewalk as an 18-wheeler parked beside the store. Windows up and tinted, it slowed as it passed her.

She shivered despite the heat as she hurried to where Dominic was shutting the latch on the gas tank. "See the truck?"

As he slipped half of the unhealthy sweets from her arms, he cast a sidelong glance behind him. "Yeah. Feel like something's off?"

Perhaps Claudia was panicking. She shrugged. "It freaked me out. The driver rode leisurely down the road. It was as if someone were tracking me."

Dominic stood by the car, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, a confident smirk playing on his lips. The suede pants hugged his frame, giving off an air of undeniable authority.

As soon as the other car door opened, she slid in. A hefty older man in overalls hopped down and walked straight into the store, not bothering to look back.

She released a sigh of relief and flashed Dominic a bright smile. "I suppose he was watching to see that I made it across the street."

He chuckled before shutting the door.

The stress subsided as they traveled and ate. She enjoyed how he drove with one hand. It didn't take her long to become comfortable with his free hand. It seemed Dominic could do anything.

Throughout the trip, they saw glimpses of passing Mafia members a few times, but nobody caused any trouble.

Outside of Lincoln Park, though, his ability to spot a rival from afar was going off like a detonator. As they neared her apartment on 5th Avenue, bile was eating her stomach.

He clutched her knee. "You're scared."

"Is it obvious?"

"No." Dominic inhaled deeply and exhaled. "But maybe we shouldn't continue. Perhaps you can ask Kayla to ship your items to Italy."

Claudia stared at him and shook her head. "I can't drag her into this. As far as I know, she's innocent."

"True. We don't want to bring anybody else down." While he coasted to the right, Dominic peered around. "Right now, a lot of things can go wrong. Lorenzo's guys are fast and will catch up to us before we know it."

Her emotions shifted. "I know."

When Claudia saw Rockefeller Center, she knew they were almost there. She doubted her decision to go back to her house, and she wasn't certain whether or not their situation might change.

Dominic parked the car in a vacant alley near a large, empty delivery truck and loading dock. He gave her a sidelong glance. "Let's get this done."

She paused for a moment before asking, "What about the new IDs? I haven't even seen what my name is."

A smile spread across his face. "When we get out of here, we'll check them out. Stefano said that he took excellent care of us, whatever that means."

"Oh, goodie," Claudia muttered, shaking her head. "I'm sure he gave me a stripper name."

Dominic slipped two fingers under her chin and tilted it. "No matter what name he gave you, you're my Dia."

"And you're my Dom and always will be." Claudia smiled as she retrieved the small key from her wallet and unlocked the back door. 

Dominic was standing next to her, holding her hand. No one was present as they rounded the corner within the building and stepped into the elevator, yet she anticipated an ambush by a group of men clad in black. The entryway and couches were empty.

It confused her that the receptionist wasn't there to greet them, but she thought she was having lunch.

He asked, "Did you want to check the mail?"

She looked at her house keys for a moment before glancing up at him again. "Not now. No time."

Dominic arched his neck to gaze down the hallway when the elevator doors opened. Gritting, he glanced at her. His annoyance was obvious, but he joined her as they gradually headed toward her apartment's front door. With the correct timing, someone from Lorenzo's or Damian's crew was already inside her house, waiting for their arrival.

Claudia rushed to the entryway, typed her four-digit code, inserted her key, and unlocked the door.

As they stepped inside, the sweet aroma of flowers greeted them. Overflowing green, thick, and long plants nearly reached the roof.

A quiet, "Holy fuck," escaped his lips. "I can see that your friend carefully kept an eye on your place."

"That's why I trusted Kayla," Claudia said as she walked toward the kitchen and saw the mail her friend had gathered for her.

Envelopes, magazines, online subscription inquiries, and mail littered the counter.

"Wow!" Dominic exclaimed in surprise. "That's a lot of mail to go through."

She couldn't help it. A chuckle escaped her. "I haven't come here in weeks and didn't have anything when I last checked. The mail grew over time since I became a target."

"You weren't just targeted." As she reached forward to get a stack of papers, Dominic followed her. "Someone is responsible for making you sick. It could have been fatal."

He was right. The situation could have turned horrible. And they still haven't discovered the person responsible for poisoning her food.

Claudia searched the storage cabinets for her father's wristband among her keepsakes. Her head bumped the counter as she turned aside, knocking a letter off. A lot was postmarked last week.

She crammed everything into a box, trying to control her anxiety at seeing her name on each envelope, the outstanding bills, and the half-dozen charities she had joined. Going through these things was almost stressful.

Dominic moved forward and grabbed her elbow to get her attention.

She wiped away her tears, glanced at him, and shook her head. "What?"

"You want me to go through these with you? Or, we can pack up everything and sort it out in Italy."

She appreciated the offer, but she refused it. "No. These can be put away for now. We're going to finish up here in a sec."

Dominic seemed eager to say something, but instead, he marched swiftly toward the opposite side of the room, his eyes darting from inside to outside. Claudia stopped at a hairstyling magazine, and then her breath caught. "Dom, what's going on?"

His head snapped, his eyes traced her, and his shoulders stiffened. He turned and walked to the front door, peering down the hall. "I noticed a black car behind the BMW. Too close."

Panic filled her stomach. "Could there be Mafia men stationed in the apartment next to mine?"

"Maybe." He quickly and discreetly retrieved a gun from his back pocket. "But anyone could be the car's owner. I hear something down the hallway. Whoever it is could pose a threat to us. Stay here."

Dominic turned and kissed her cheeks after she nodded. She cocked her head to one side as he stared at her. "I will never leave you. I'm coming back."

"I trust you."

He smiled briefly before leaving. Claudia sighed and returned to the cabinet, where she found a Guatemalan flag wristband. She had to dig into the back of the cabinet to find the paintings she and her mother had painted. They painted them for Christmas during the season, and she always looked at them.

A tear escaped her eyelid. Her father's wristband and paintings in her hand, she whispered, "They're still here. God, I missed them."

As she sat quietly, memories flooded into her mind. Everything from her last birthday with her parents to their shooting in front of her at a red light during a thunderstorm. Her eyes darted over the vibrant artwork, and she had to look at both sheets again to find comfort in knowing her mother was again with her.

She thought the Mafia had broken into her home and thrown away her stuff while she was away, but they didn't. The fact that they had never entered her home put her at peace.

Claudia sniffed and whispered, "I can't believe they're here."

"But they are," a mysterious voice said. "It paid off to wait for you to come back."

Her heart sank as she turned around, gripping her keepsakes to her heart. A man waited by the emergency exit window. His eyes were bright blue, and he was tall with dark hair. She hadn't seen this man before and didn't believe he was a neighbor's guest.

Claudia gasped and hit her back against the fridge.

"Wondering how I tracked you?" He spread his arms out to his sides. "Sweetheart, we have eyes everywhere. That gas station in the middle of nowhere? It didn't take a genius to figure out where you were going."

That fucking trucker!

What she believed was true. She forced her tongue to work. If she could keep this man talking, Dominic might have time to come back from wherever he was going; if otherwise, well, she stopped thinking before terror set in. That was something she couldn't even afford to focus on. "How did you know I'd come here?"

He gave a gentle tsk. "Did you think we didn't know about what you cherish most?"

"What?"

His chuckle was intoxicating. "Once the contract became public, we thoroughly checked this address and found your family's possessions. We kept them here to avoid my ex-girlfriend discovering their absence because she watered your plants and checked your mail every morning. Those who know Kayla as well as I do believe she doesn't miss a beat. She certainly explored this apartment with her photographic memory."

"Where is Kayla?"

"Nothing's happened to her," he said while cracking his knuckles. "I'm gonna guess you haven't heard of me."

Claudia paused but answered. "No."

"Kayla knows she and her family would suffer if she told anyone about us." He coughed while staring at her. "Even though Mr. Guarini was suspicious, some of us knew you'd come here. You and Dominic intended to be at his villa by now, but your plans have apparently changed. It pays to have a spy at Stefano's club."

Oh.

Oh, crap.

She pushed away from the counter as he stepped closer, chin tucked. "Don't try to run. The only way out is the staircase to the outside. And Dominic? He's busy at the moment."

Her chest seized.

"Never put your faith in a hired killer." The man's smile was almost as bright as the flickering light above him. "Dominic Beretta only cares about himself."

As Claudia peered at the front door from behind him, she refused to believe Dominic would betray her. "He loves me."

The man smiled and slowly shook his head. "Silly woman..."

He took a small handgun out of the front pocket of his jacket and stared at her.

In a split second, each emotion she held surged to life. Claudia's legs acted before her brain had a chance to process the situation. She twisted at the waist and started to run for the fire escape. Her fingers curled around the paintings in her hands as a scream rose in her throat.

The light above her shimmered and popped. Before she could even take the first step down the stairs, a searing pain rushed along her spine, frying every nerve ending. She gasped for air as the agony slowed her heartbeat. Her legs folded like a music box under her, and suddenly there was nothing.

❖ ❖ ❖

DOMINIC

As soon as Dominic breathed in the heavy midday air, he knew he had made a huge mistake. He noticed a black shadow creeping away from the other building as he turned to go inside.

He recognized the driver from when he and Claudia stopped for gas on their way to New York. It seemed strange to see this man so far from the store. This was an unforeseen circumstance, and he loathed being unprepared in the face of danger more than anything else.

"Interesting seeing you here," he remarked squarely.

In the shadowy passageway, the truck driver wore his sunglasses like a complete idiot, from Dominic's perspective. "You think so?"

"I do." Dominic took a step forward and then saw it.

Others. In the distance, two men stood by the wall. His entire being focused on Claudia rather than his surroundings.

He'd left her unprotected in the apartment.

"Making a delivery?"

"Not quite. I've taken on some freelancing work."

Alessandro worked as a freelancer for Mafia rivals like a mofo, and even he avoided partnering with some Mafia bosses. "Yeah, whatever."

"I suggest you move along, brother. There is nothing to see."

Dominic didn't even bother responding to that. He reached around and grabbed the handle of his blade, then drew it from its holster. He held his gun, but using it now would draw attention to the fight.

When the man saw the silver blade, he panicked. Dominic didn't want to waste any more of his time on this moron. Quick as a flash, he lunged forward, stabbing the driver in the chest.

He jumped to one side and pulled his knees out from under him after the man jerked in fear and stood up, blocking the dim passage lights.

A bullet hit the wall near his right shoulder as he approached the door. Dominic's hands flew out, and he fell. 

Holy fuck, these men were doing this in the open again?

Not one of them was messing around.

From around the corner of the building, a six-foot-tall giant came charging forward and slammed into him. He stumbled backward a few paces before he dug in and pushed the massive opponent back.

They smashed through a cracked glass door.

He stood, dusted it off, and eyed Dominic. Dominic, more prepared, stepped aside as two more men raced at them. He had no time for this crap. If Lorenzo's men were here, they entered the apartment through another entrance and were with Claudia.

It was like a bomb went off inside his chest.

Dominic reached back and hurled the blade at the driver. He took a blow to the center of his chest. The sting from the blade could last for hours, but it wasn't enough to knock him out.

They smashed into a rotting door, twisted, and skidded over the wooden wall as another fist struck his side. A long, sharp knife dropped on Dominic.

Blocking the strike, he slid over and seized it. He ran the knife firmly across the man's forehead, separating his dragon tattoo.

He knocked every weapon out of the man's area while ignoring how terrible the fight had grown. Nothing would stop him from protecting Claudia.

He shoved his fist in the man's face, seizing his gun. His anger intensified as he imagined Claudia, her eyes wide with terror, trying to push him away. He hated not being there for her when she needed him.

Dominic twisted the driver's neck in seconds.

He stood up as another man dashed around parked vehicles. With the last fight and the pills, these men were no match for him. He seized him by the throat and hurled the man against the wall, splitting the wooden frame wide. It appeared the business was already abandoned, so fighting inside was best.

He latched onto him, taking his opponent by the throat and pounding his ribcage senseless. "What did you do with her?"

The man laughed as Dominic tightened his hold on his neck. "Nothing yet."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know."

"Bullshit! I'll let you go if you tell me where they took her!"

Dominic reared back with his free arm, slammed his fist into his jaw, knocking the man's head to the side. "I can do this all day! Tell me where she is!"

The man became convinced after a few minutes, and the yellow lights marked the wall with rich scarlet blood. He started singing like a canary.

"She's been taken to Lorenzo Guarini. He... he has her."

Dominic withdrew his hand an inch. "You will show me where."

A gurgling sound came from the man's neck as he shook. "It will be too late. She may as well be dead now."

Dominic's heart stopped when he heard those words, and he jumped to his feet, pulling the man with him off the floor. "You better hope she's still alive for your sake and everyone you have ever cared about. There will be more bodies."

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Yes, I know that this chapter was a double POV chapter, but it's the only one in the entire story. I felt that both perspectives of the characters needed to be in one section to explore more conflicts they face. Thank you for reading. Only three chapters left! <3