She Crawled Under a Mafia Boss’s Table to Escape Her Ex—Then He Slid Her a Ledger and Said, “Find My Thief.”

The library smelled of old paper, aged bourbon, and ozone.

Elara sat at the massive mahogany desk, the heavy leather ledger open before her. The morning sunlight poured through the stained-glass windows, casting vibrant pools of red and gold across the pages. But her mind wasn't on the numbers. It was on the man standing across the room, leaning against the bookshelves with a glass of scotch in his hand.

Silas was watching her. He had been watching her for hours.

"You're stuck," he observed quietly.

"I’m not stuck," Elara muttered, adjusting her glasses—a pair she had found in the estate's office. "I’m tracking a recursive loop. The three hundred thousand didn't vanish into a shell company in the Caymans like the others. It was routed through a legitimate payroll software account."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it was an inside job by someone with administrative clearance," Elara looked up, her amber eyes locking onto his. "Someone who knew your exact routing protocols. Someone like Dominic."

Silas took a slow sip of his drink, his expression hardening. "Dominic was my head of logistics. If he compromised the payroll architecture, he didn't just steal from me. He handed our entire supply network to Marcone."

"And that means war," Elara said flatly.

Silas pushed off the bookshelf and walked over to the desk, placing his glass down with a soft clink. He braced his hands on either side of her chair, trapping her between his arms and the heavy wood. The scent of him washed over her, making her breath catch.

"You’re adapting very quickly to the criminal underworld, Elara," he murmured, his gaze dropping to her lips before rising back to her eyes. "Most women would be packing their bags by now."

"Most women didn't spend three years trapped in a corporate gilded cage with a man who audited fraudulent asset concealment for a living," she retorted, refusing to shrink away. "Julian thought he was keeping me safe by keeping me isolated. All he did was teach me how to spot a lie in a sea of zeroes."

Silas chuckled, a deep, resonant sound that vibrated against her skin. "I chose well."

"You didn't choose me," she reminded him with a faint smirk. "I crawled under your table."

"Fate, then," Silas whispered, before leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss that tasted of scotch and dangerous intent.

The kiss deepened quickly, turning from playful banter into a hungry, consuming need. Elara’s hands found the lapels of his suit jacket, pulling him closer as Silas lifted her effortlessly from the chair, setting her down on the edge of the mahogany desk, scattering a stack of shipping manifests across the floor.

Before things could escalate further, a sharp, urgent chime interrupted them from the security console near the door.

Silas pulled back, his breathing slightly elevated, his eyes dark with frustration. He pressed a button on the wall panel.

"Speak," Silas commanded.

Teddy’s voice crackled through the speaker, breathless and tense. "Boss, we have a breach. Dominic tried to clear out his office safe at the downtown warehouse thirty minutes ago. Our guys moved in to grab him, but he didn't come alone. Marcone’s hit squad was waiting for him."

Silas’s posture went rigid, every trace of warmth evaporating from his face. "Casualties?"

"Two of our boys are down," Teddy reported grimly. "And Dominic... Dominic got away with the portable hard drive containing the encrypted ledger backups."