Chapter 6 - The Shadows of Chicago
The peaceful interlude in Gray Hollow lasted for exactly two weeks. Two weeks of Luca showing up at the bakery every morning, learning how to braid Lena's wild curls, and spending hours sitting in silence with Ash, building intricate Lego towers. The twins had grown completely attached to him, with Lena openly calling him "Mr. Luca" and Ash frequently reaching for his hand whenever we walked across the street.
We hadn't crossed the physical line yet. Luca stayed at the inn, and though we shared long, late-night conversations on my porch after the kids went to bed, the trauma of the past kept a thin wall between us. I was learning to love him again, but trust is a fragile glass that takes a long time to glue back together.
Then, on a Tuesday afternoon, the illusion of safety shattered.
I was wiping down the bakery tables when I noticed a strange silver sedan idling across the street, right where Luca’s SUV usually sat. The windows were heavily tinted. A man got out, dressed in a sharp leather jacket that looked entirely out of place in our sleepy West Virginia town. He walked into the hardware store across the street, but his eyes were fixed entirely on the bakery.
My instincts, honed by years of living with a mafia don, screamed at me.
Within minutes, Luca entered through the back door of the bakery, his face incredibly grim. He didn't have his usual gentle smile for the twins.
"Sarah, go upstairs right now. Lock the door and pull the shades," he said, his voice dropping into that low, command-style register that brooked no argument.
"Who is it, Luca?" I asked, panic flaring in my chest as I grabbed Lena and Ash, who were playing near the counter.
"Donati’s people," Luca muttered, his hand resting instinctively beneath his flannel shirt, where I knew he kept his firearm. "A remnant faction from the old Chicago turf wars. They must have tracked my security detail’s encrypted communications when I authorized a funds transfer for your apartment's lease renewal."
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"I told you!" I cried out, a wave of bitter terror washing over me. "I told you they would bring the violence here!"
"They won't bring anything inside this town," Luca said, his amber eyes flashing with a terrifying, primal protective fury. "Because I am going to end it out there. Go upstairs, Sarah. Protect our babies. Leave the rest to me."
