Chapter 6 – THE WATCH THAT STOPPED TIME

“ELLIE!” I screamed.

Luca didn’t hesitate.

He threw himself across the space between them, tackling Liam mid-throw, but it was too late to stop the flashlight completely.

It glanced off the side of the SUV and smashed into Luca’s ribs as he went down.

A sickening crack echoed in the garage.

Luca grunted in pain, but he didn’t let go of Liam.

The two men hit the concrete floor, violently grappling.

Liam slashed wildly with the knife, catching Luca’s forearm. Blood sprayed across the gray floor.

“Mommy!” Ellie sobbed, burying her face in my shoulder.

I couldn’t just watch.

I scrambled for the dropped pistol, my hands sliding on the slick concrete.

I found it. My thumb fumbled with the safety switch, pressing it down just like I’d seen in movies.

I aimed with both hands, but they were rolling too fast. I couldn’t shoot without risking Luca.

“Luca!” I screamed.

Liam managed to get his knee on Luca’s chest, raising the knife high for a fatal downward strike.

BANG.

The gunshot deafened me.

But I hadn’t pulled the trigger.

Liam froze. The knife dropped from his hand.

He slumped sideways onto the concrete, gripping his shoulder, howling in agony.

I looked toward the garage entrance.

Mrs. Carter, the head housekeeper, stood there in her sensible shoes, holding a massive, smoking shotgun.

“I told you I locked the guests in the cellar, Mr. Moretti,” the older woman said calmly, lowering the barrel. “I never said I stayed with them.”

Luca shoved Liam off him, breathing heavily. He pressed a hand to his bleeding forearm, but his eyes instantly found me.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded, ignoring his own wounds.

“No,” I choked out, dropping the pistol. “We’re okay.”

Luca slowly stood up. He walked over to Liam, who was writhing on the ground.

He didn’t hit him again. He didn’t have to.

“The debt is paid,” Luca said coldly. “But if you ever come within a hundred miles of Madison or Ellie again, Mrs. Carter won’t aim for your shoulder.”

Liam groaned, clutching his bleeding arm.

Sirens wailed in the distance. The police were finally arriving.

Luca turned away from him and walked toward us.

He dropped heavily to his knees in front of Ellie. He didn’t care about the dirt or the blood on his clothes.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked softly.

Ellie looked at his bleeding arm, then at his face.

“You got hurt saving me.”

Luca managed a faint smile. “I’d do it a thousand times.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his gold pocket watch. The glass face was completely shattered from the fight.

He placed it gently in Ellie’s tiny hands.

“Time stopped when you got scared tonight,” Luca whispered. “Now, we start over. Deal?”

Ellie clutched the broken watch to her chest. She looked at me, then back at him.

“Are you my new dad?”

The entire garage went silent. Even Mrs. Carter paused.

I felt my heart lodge in my throat.

Luca looked up at me. The ruthless mafia boss, the man who commanded an empire, looked completely vulnerable.

“That’s not up to me,” Luca said softly, his eyes locked on mine. “But I would be honored to try.”

Tears spilled over my lashes.

I hadn’t realized how heavy the burden of doing it all alone had been until someone finally offered to carry it with me.

But as I reached out to touch his face, my fingers brushed against his ruined suit jacket.

And I felt a thick, stiff piece of paper hidden in his inner pocket.

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