Gemma’s POV

The day had started like a beautiful dream. Don Caleb had given me the afternoon off from my duties at his legitimate front, knowing I had plans with Dominic. We spent those precious hours shopping for our fortified safe house, laughing and debating over security equipment and furnishings for our heavily guarded home. But the moment Dominic’s armored vehicle dropped me at my apartment building in the dangerous territory, my perfect day shattered like glass under a sledgehammer.

The building’s security guard, one of Dominic’s men stationed there, greeted me with a respectful nod and handed over my mail. Among the usual bills and advertisements lay an envelope that made my blood turn to ice in my veins. That handwriting. I recognized it immediately.

The street rat had found me again. But how was that even possible with all of Dominic’s surveillance networks?

I stumbled into my apartment, the envelope clutched in my trembling fingers like a live grenade. I couldn’t bring myself to open it. Instead, I collapsed onto my couch, staring at it as if it might explode. Tears streamed down my face without my awareness, the terror building inside me like a gathering hurricane.

When the doorbell rang, I nearly jumped through the ceiling. Peering through the reinforced peephole, I saw Dominic’s familiar face. Relief washed over me as I disarmed the multiple locks and threw myself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably against his bulletproof vest.

"Gemma! What happened? Talk to me!" His voice carried that dangerous edge that made enemies flee, but his arms were protective steel around me.

Words failed me completely. All I could do was thrust the envelope into his hands with shaking fingers.

Dominic guided me to the couch, pulling me onto his lap as he opened it with the careful precision of a man accustomed to handling explosive devices. Though he read silently, I felt every muscle in his powerful body turn to granite beneath me.

"We’re getting out of this death trap, Gemma," he said, his voice carrying the deadly calm that preceded bloodshed as he stood, setting me on my feet. "Let’s go to the compound."

"Dominic..." I struggled to compose myself. "I need my things."

"When did this piece of garbage arrive?" His jaw was clenched tight enough to crack teeth.

"Just now. Your man downstairs gave it to me when I came in."

"Why didn’t you call me immediately?" There was no accusation in his tone, only the protective fury of a predator whose mate was threatened.

"I froze up. I’m terrified, Dominic." I swallowed hard. "What does that animal say?"

"You don’t need to read this poison."

"Yes, I do. I need to know what I’m facing from this street scum."

Dominic reluctantly handed me the envelope. That familiar scrawled handwriting on the outside, the post office box I’d hoped never to see again. With trembling fingers, I unfolded the paper:

"Do you really think you can run away from me, little Gemma? You can’t hide behind your Mafia boyfriend forever! I already know you’ve moved addresses and changed jobs, but I also know where you live now and where you’re working. My connections tell me I’ll be out soon. Wait for me, kitten, because when I get out, the first thing I’m going to do is make up for lost time with that sweet little body of yours. Your boyfriend’s money can’t protect you from everyone. Nick."

Terror paralyzed me. Nick was truly a rabid animal, and somehow, he was still controlling my life from behind bars through his network of street criminals. Would I ever escape this nightmare?

"Gemma!" Dominic’s voice cut through my panic like a blade. "Let’s grab what you need and leave. Tomorrow, make a list of everything else, and I’ll send my crew to collect it. You’re never coming back to this exposed position."

"But Dominic, it’s my apartment. I can’t just abandon it." Even as I said it, I knew it was foolish thinking in our world.

"Gemma, listen to me. We’ll do this my way. This weekend, we bring your mother into the family’s protection. She needs to know what we’re dealing with, and you two can decide what to do with this place. But I won’t let you take unnecessary risks with street vermin hunting you."

I nodded weakly. "You’re right. Will you help me pack some things?"

"Of course, nightingale." He embraced me tightly before leading me to the bedroom with the efficiency of a military operation.

I threw open a reinforced suitcase and filled it with clothes and essentials, just enough to last until Dominic could arrange for his soldiers to move the rest. We left quickly for our compound—our fortress. Even in my distress, that thought brought comfort. This place where we were building our empire together felt increasingly like an impenetrable home.

After a scalding shower and changing into clean clothes, I felt somewhat restored. The security of our heavily armed sanctuary enveloped me like an armored shield.

"Feeling better?" Dominic asked, his calloused hands tenderly framing my face.

"Yes. I feel protected here. I feel safe with you and your family’s power."

His answering smile held the warmth of a man deeply in love and the cold promise of death to any who threatened what was his.

"You are safe. Do you want to stay in tonight? I can tell Don Caleb we’re not coming to the family dinner."

"No, I want to go. Being with the inner circle will help. And we need to show this threat to Daniel." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Leave that to me. Shall we?"

I took his hand, drawing strength from his lethal touch as we headed to dinner with our crime family.

After the meal at the private dining room of Caleb’s restaurant front, Dominic decided to address the letter situation with everyone present. We were among the most trusted members of the organization, and they would find out eventually. Still, I hated darkening the mood and involving others in my problems—especially Lila, who had defended me against Nick multiple times when we worked in the dangerous shopping district under family protection.

Dominic passed the letter to Daniel, the corrupt detective whose expression hardened like concrete as he read.

"Another threat from this cockroach," he growled. "And now he knows your new safe house location. We need to find who’s feeding him information. We’ve pressured his entire crew, but they seem genuinely clueless about his intelligence sources. Only his mother visits him in prison occasionally."

"Yes," I confirmed. "Nick never had good relationships with his father or brothers in their petty crime ring. And his mother would never be involved in this."

"Well, regardless," Dominic announced with the finality of a death sentence, "Gemma is moving permanently to the family compound. We’ll decide with her mother what to do with the apartment."

"Smart move," Daniel nodded approvingly. "The compound has military-grade security, cameras covering every angle. But..."

"There’s always a complication," Lila muttered darkly.

"But Roman managed to breach the perimeter once. We can’t forget that professional hit," Daniel pointed out, looking meaningfully at Lila.

"Roman probably had inside connections and used those somehow," Xavier suggested, referring to the rival family’s assassin.

"Yes, but we never identified exactly how he penetrated our defenses," Daniel added grimly.

"I’ll triple the security detail," Dominic stated with absolute authority.

"How long will I have to live like I’m in witness protection?" Tears welled in my eyes again as Zoe wrapped a comforting arm around me with surprising gentleness for the family’s ruthless information broker.

"It’s going to be handled, Gemma," Nora squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"Company security has already been enhanced since the Roman assassination attempt," Don Caleb explained with the calm authority of a man who controlled life and death. "But I’ll assign a bodyguard to accompany you inside and outside the building, Gemma. Same protection level for you, Lila."

"I’ll handle everything beyond the legitimate business, Caleb," Dominic interjected. "I just need your security inside the building. I’ll station two armed men at the building entrance to escort her everywhere, plus an armored vehicle with a trained driver at her disposal."

"Perfect. I’ll designate a secured parking space for your driver so Gemma won’t need to exit the building in the open to reach the car," Caleb replied.

It struck me that no one had bothered asking for my opinion on any of these arrangements.

"Does this mean I can’t leave the compound? Am I becoming a prisoner of my own protection now?" I protested.

"Gemma, it’s not imprisonment," Dominic said gently, though his eyes held the steel of absolute determination. "When you leave, you’ll have armed protection with you. I won’t risk anyone hurting you—and I don’t just mean Nick and his street crew. Please, give me this peace of mind."

"Fine," I conceded with a frustrated sigh. "Do whatever you think is necessary."

I glanced at Lila, who nodded absently, seemingly lost in her own dark thoughts about the dangerous world we’d all been drawn into, far away from our conversation.