"""""""Take off your apron. You're fired!"""" My manager humiliated me in front of an entire Chicago restaurant because I spent $12.40 of my own money buying lunch for an elderly woman. Minutes later, I confronted a mysterious stranger watching from the corner, unaware he was Chicago's most feared Mafia boss. But when I challenged him to use his power to help someone, he stood up and gave an order that silenced the entire restaurant.

Viktor Vance was on his back, his expensive suit shredded and covered in grease. Adrian stood over him like the Angel of Death, his combat boot planted firmly on Vance’s chest, the barrel of his rifle aimed straight between the older man's eyes.

Vance was coughing up blood, his face pale with the realization that all his money, all his connections, had bought him nothing.

"Please... Adrian," Vance choked out, his arrogance completely shattered. "We can make a deal. The Calumet docks... they're yours. All the offshore accounts... twenty million..."

"You threatened Helena," Adrian said, his voice as cold as the deep waters of Lake Michigan. "And you touched Sophie Carter."

Adrian didn't wait for another plea. He pulled the trigger.

*BANG.*

The deafening echo rolled through the cavernous warehouse and slowly died away into the patter of rain against the roof.

Silence returned, thick and absolute.

A few yards away, a pathetic whimpering caught my attention.

Daniel Mercer was crawling through the mud, dragging his bleeding arm toward the rear loading dock, leaving a smeared trail of crimson behind him. His face was caked in dirt, tears, and snot, his breathing coming in frantic, animalistic gasps.

I walked toward him, the sound of my boots clicking against the concrete.

Daniel froze. He rolled onto his back, looking up at me through swollen, terrified eyes. The former proud, arrogant manager of The Linden Room was reduced to a sniveling wretch on the floor of a slaughterhouse.

"Sophie... please," Daniel begged, holding up his one good hand. "Please! I was desperate! Vance forced me! You know me, Sophie! I gave you that job! I gave you extra shifts!"

"You fired me for buying an old woman a sandwich, Daniel," I said, my voice eerily calm, looking down at him. "You humiliated me. And then you tried to murder my mother for money."

Adrian walked up beside me, his rifle lowered, his presence casting a long, terrifying shadow over the groveling man.

"Do you want me to end him, Sophie?" Adrian asked softly, offering me the final judgment. "Say the word."

Daniel began to sob uncontrollably, his head banging against the filthy concrete. "No! Please! Have mercy! Please!"

I looked down at the pathetic creature. If Adrian shot him, Daniel would get off easy. A quick bullet, and his misery would end.

"No," I said firmly, lowering my pistol.

Daniel looked up, a glimmer of pathetic hope flashing in his eyes. "Thank you... thank you—"

"Death is too kind for you, Daniel," I said coldly. "Marcus."

Marcus and four armed operatives stepped through the ruined warehouse doors, their weapons at the low-ready.

"Yes, Miss Carter?" Marcus asked respectfully.

"Tie him up. Call the federal prosecutors. Hand over all the recordings of his extortion, his smuggling logs, and Vance’s encrypted files. Ensure he spends the rest of his miserable life in ADX Florence alongside the worst monsters in this country."

Daniel let out a wail of pure despair as Marcus grabbed him by the collar, dragging him backward through the mud into the awaiting police custody.

I turned back to Adrian.

The adrenaline finally began to ebb from my veins, leaving my limbs shaking and weak. The gun slipped from my fingers, clattering onto the concrete floor.

Adrian dropped his rifle. Forgetting the pain of his cracked ribs and torn stitches, he pulled me fiercely into his arms.

I buried my face into his neck, the scent of rain, gunpowder, and cedar washing over me as I wept tears of pure relief. Adrian wrapped his massive arms around me, holding me so tightly that I could feel the thunderous beating of his heart against mine.

"It's over, Sophie," Adrian murmured into my hair, his voice thick with emotion. "You're safe. Your mother is safe. It's over."

Behind us, my mother stepped out from behind the shipping container, tears streaming down her face as she looked at the man who had brought an army to save her.

Adrian turned slightly, extending a hand to my mother. "Mrs. Carter. My name is Adrian Voss. I believe we have an appointment at Northwestern to finish your recovery."

My mother smiled through her tears, taking the mob boss's hand.