INTRODUCTION
She was my first love—the girl who shattered me.
And now she’s keeping a secret that calls me Daddy.
Emma Reyes crashes back into my world the night a baseball bat caves in my ribs.
My sunshine.
My childhood best friend.
The girl who vanished six years ago… now a nurse with secrets in her eyes.
I should stay away.
‘Cuz I’m neck-deep in my father’s mafia debt.
The Irish want blood payment—and mine’s at the top of their list.
But one look at Emma and I’m seventeen again… stupid enough to beg fate for one more chance.
Then I see her little boy.
Hazel-green eyes.
My goddamn eyes.
And the truth hits harder than any Browning bat.
Now the mob is circling her.
Her sister.
Our son.
All because of me.
I’ll raze Chicago before I let them touch what’s mine.
But she doesn’t know the whole truth yet.
And when she does…
Will she still choose the man who almost destroyed her world?
1
LIAM
The phone ringsbefore I’ve even finished my first sip of coffee.
“Liam,” a tired voice says on the other end. “It’s Janet, from Lakeside Care.”
My stomach tightens. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” Janet says quickly, that clipped nurse tone that meansshe’s not fine, but she’s stable.“Your mom’s blood pressure spiked again last night. We got it under control, but she’s refusing the medication this morning.”
Of course she is.
