odies disappeared permanently into the dark waters of New York Harbor. Sofia arrived fifteen minutes early, using the

omano walked toward the end of the pier with his hands visible and empty, but Sofia knew he was too

se enough to speak without raising

a replied, keeping her good hand near the .22 pistol she'd taken from the Red Hook

ck the other without warning. "My father sent a twelve-man kill team to make sure you didn't survive the FBI

the dim light from the harbor, trying to rea

ries about my family's criminal operations based on evidence you've leaked to them." Dante's voic

to do with the harbor wind. "How d

e uploads triggered every alarm system we have." Dante almost smiled. "You used an int

probably been watching Sofia since she'd left the clinic. This meeting wasn't a

d wondering if she could survive a jump into the harbor with a broken arm

er, close enough that Sofia could see the exhaustion in his eyes and the tension in his shoulders

an offer to spare her life in exchange for information. She hadn't expected Dan

ntire operation. Also the most dangerous thing, because it made

eelings compromised your miss

driguez's lifeless body in the burning SUV and the three years she'd spen

res you for," she admitted. "I know that falling in love with someone doesn't automat

e yesterday. FBI duty or Romano family loyalty. You

es

d you a different

uickened. "What

eached into his jacket-slowly, carefully-and pulled out a thick envelope. "No FBI, no Romano family, no crim

she'd first gone undercover. Freedom from the moral compromises of hunting criminals, freedom from the vi

s the

act law enforcement again, and you never interfere w

you get out of t

he woman I fell in love with is alive somewhere, even if I never see her again. I get to sleep a

ia had any right to expect from someone she'd

cept," she

y n

troy his criminal empire, and he'll spend the rest of his life hunting me for revenge." Sofia met Dante's eyes directly. "And because I'm not the kind of

hardened. "So wha

ther Vincent Romano dies, or I do. There's no middle

about assassin

ls, and built a criminal empire on the suffering of innocent people." Sofia's voice grew stronger as she sp

oth. Killing my father means destroying

built on lies, not when it required me to betray everything I believe in, and not

away what we have for some a

vil because love makes it convenient." Sofia looked at the envelope still in Dante's hand.

him processing the implications of her refusal. No negotia

et you kill my fath

et him continue destroying lives just

t happe

round rather than at Dante. "Now we find out if love is strong enough t

their dinner conversations about his military training. Neither of them rais

nt to kill

on't let your father live to hurt more innocent

o'd fallen in love across an impossible divide, each committed t

ething that saves us both, stops my father, and doesn

do you

e it's time for me to choose what kind of man I want to be, inste

nd waited for someone to answer. When they

ss terms for my family's surrender in exchange for fed

g. Dante Romano, heir to one of the most powerful crime families i

phone. "And yes, I have access to evidence that will support

changed him-not into someone who would ignore justice for personal happiness, but into someon

d at Sofia with an expression that

lty. The question is whether we destroyed everything we cared abou

d to stand with her, and realized that their story wasn'