A three-year-old housekeeper’s daughter painted all over my face while I pretended to sleep—an offense that could have terrified grown men inside my Chicago mansion. But when I opened my eyes and heard why she had done it, the feared mafia boss everyone called heartless nearly broke in front of them.

Dawn broke over Chicago, painting the skyline in shades of bruised purple and gold.

The siege at my estate was over. The attackers were either dead or bound in the basement cells. Not a single guard under my command had been lost, and the North Side syndicate had effectively ceased to exist.

I walked back into the fourth-floor suite just as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the heavy velvet curtains. My suit was stained with ash and dried blood, my knuckles bruised, my face exhausted.

I pushed open the door to the safe room.

Elena was sitting on the edge of the sofa, her arms wrapped around Lily, who had finally fallen asleep against her shoulder. When she heard the door click, Elena whipped her head around, her eyes wide with fear.

When she saw it was me, the breath rushed out of her lungs in a ragged sob.

"Adrian," she whispered, standing up carefully so as not to wake Lily. She rushed across the room, stopping inches from me. "Are you... are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," I murmured, my voice rough. "The threat is gone, Elena. Salvatore is dead. His men are cleared out. You and Lily are safe. No one will ever touch you again."

Elena burst into tears—not of fear, but of the immense, crushing weight finally lifting from her shoulders after years of running. Without thinking, she threw her arms around my neck, burying her face in my blood-stained chest.

I froze for a second, unaccustomed to being the one someone held onto for safety. Then, slowly, my arms came around her, holding her tight against the dark void that had lived inside my chest for as long as I could remember.

From the sofa, a sleepy little voice broke the silence.

"Mister Big House?"

Elena pulled back quickly, wiping her eyes with a flushed, embarrassed face.

I knelt down beside the sofa. Lily rubbed her eyes, looking at my bruised knuckles and tired face.

"Did you catch the thunder monsters?" she asked seriously.

I smiled, a genuine, tired smile that reached all the way to my eyes.