Chapter 1
The entire diner plunged into a suffocating, icy silence.
Victor Kael slowly turned his massive frame, his bloodstained hand dropping toward the heavy pistol holstered at his hip.
He looked at the little girl as if she were a hallucination.
No one spoke to Silas Thorne’s men like that, let alone a child in a dilapidated midnight diner.
Nora’s heart slammed against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She abandoned her rag and sprinted out from behind the counter, placing her fragile body entirely between the towering enforcer and booth number six.
"I am so sorry," Nora choked out, her voice trembling violently.
"She’s just a little girl, she doesn't know any better."
Victor sneered, taking a menacing step forward, the floorboards groaning under his weight.
"Maybe I should teach her some manners, then," Victor growled, his voice like grinding stones.
Before Victor could close the distance, a cold, sharp voice sliced through the tension.
"Stop."
Silas Thorne had not raised his voice, but the single word carried the weight of an executioner's blade.
He turned slowly, his dark, void-like eyes fixing on his enforcer.
"Did you drop the child's pencils, Victor?" Silas asked, his tone deathly quiet.
Victor swallowed hard, the color draining from his scarred face.
"Boss, I was just setting the bag down," Victor stammered.
"Pick them up," Silas commanded, his gaze never wavering.
The other two men in the crew shifted uncomfortably, staring in absolute disbelief.
Victor Kael, a man who had broken jaws for merely being looked at the wrong way, slowly dropped to his knees.
One by one, the giant enforcer began gathering the brightly colored wooden dowels from the greasy floor.
Silas stepped forward, his polished shoes stopping inches from Nora’s trembling sneakers.
May you like
He looked down at her, then shifted his gaze to the little girl peering out from behind her mother’s apron.
Lily was glaring right back at him, utterly unfazed by the darkness radiating from his soul.
