The Ghost of the Syndicate

Two hours later, the safehouse was secure once again. Private clean-up crews had arrived, whisking away the bodies and repairing the shattered glass of the foyer.

Chloe sat on the edge of the plush king-sized bed in the master suite, watching over Lily, who had finally exhausted herself and fallen back asleep, curled up beneath a heavy silk duvet.

The door opened softly, and Dante walked in. He had changed into a fresh black shirt, his shoulder bandaged neatly with sterile gauze.

"Mrs. Gable is going to be fine," Dante said quietly, walking over to the bed and looking down at Lily for a long moment before glancing up at Chloe. "She has a concussion, but she'll recover."

Chloe stood up, walking silently toward the balcony doors, looking out into the dark, misty expanse of the mountain pines. Dante followed her out into the cool night air.

"Marcus Vance," Chloe said, her voice trembling slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He’s the one who sent those men."

"Marcus was my second-in-command before he tried to orchestrate a coup within the syndicate five years ago," Dante explained, leaning against the stone balustrade beside her. "I thought I settled that score at the shipping yards before you disappeared. I was wrong."

Chloe turned to look at him, her amber eyes burning with anger and fear. "And because of your war with him, my daughter was nearly killed tonight! You brought us here thinking we'd be safe, Dante, but we aren't safe anywhere near you!"

"If you had stayed dead, Chloe, Marcus wouldn't have known you existed," Dante said coldly, though the harshness in his voice faded as he saw the hurt flash across her face. He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "I didn't mean that. What I mean is... you can't run from him anymore. And you can't run from me."

"So what do we do?" Chloe asked, her voice dropping into a desperate whisper. "Just wait here until the next hit squad finds us?"

Dante turned to face her, stepping close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He reached out, taking her trembling hands in his.