"She Apologized for Being Late — Then Chicago’s Most Feared Mafia Boss
"Part 2
Dante’s expression did not change.
“It becomes my business when someone arrives injured to negotiate contracts for my company.”
Madison tightened her grip on the laptop bag.
“You’re overestimating your authority.”
“No,” he said.
“You’re underestimating it.”
The elevator doors opened.
A man in a navy suit stepped out.
Madison stopped breathing.
Evan Cross.
Her fiancé.
The same man who had shoved her into the kitchen counter the night before.
His smile was warm enough to fool everyone except her.
“There you are,” Evan said.
“I’ve been calling.”
Dante noticed the way Madison’s shoulders locked.
He also noticed Evan’s eyes drop toward her bruised jaw.
Not concern.
Assessment.
Evan reached for her.
Madison stepped back.
The movement was small.
Dante saw everything.
“Mr. Cross,” Dante said quietly.
Evan looked surprised.
“You know me?”
“I know every attorney trying to interfere with the Cicero warehouse acquisition.”
The warmth vanished from Evan’s face.
Madison turned toward him.
“What does that mean?”
Evan laughed.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Dante’s gaze sharpened.
“That sentence usually means the opposite.”
Evan took Madison’s elbow.
“She’s exhausted.”
His fingers closed exactly where another bruise was hidden beneath her sleeve.
Madison flinched.
Dante moved before anyone else understood what was happening.
He removed Evan’s hand from her arm with calm, precise force.
“Touch her again,” Dante said, “and this conversation changes.”
Evan’s face reddened.
“You don’t know who you’re threatening.”
Dante almost smiled.
“That makes one of us.”
Security stepped closer.
Evan released Madison and walked toward the elevator.
Before the doors closed, he looked at her with a promise she understood too well.
Later that evening, Madison returned to her apartment and found the door open.
The lights were off.
Her phone rang inside her bag.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Dante’s voice came through.
“Do not go inside.”
Her pulse stopped.
“How do you know where I am?”
“Because Evan Cross left my building and sent two men to your address.”
A floorboard creaked inside the apartment.
Madison backed away.
Then a hand covered her mouth from behind.
She heard Dante say her name through the phone.
May you like
But the man holding her whispered something worse.
“Mr. Romano should have stayed out of his brother’s business.”
