Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN WHO STOLE HIS NEPHEW BACK
“With those injuries?”
Mason Reed looked toward the sleeping woman on the sofa.
“She had no choice.”
Gabriel Kane said nothing.
He studied Claire Bennett as though seeing her for the first time.
Rainwater dripped from the hem of his coat onto the polished floor.
“Get the doctor.”
“Already here.”
Dr. Elias Morgan stepped from the adjoining room, carrying a medical bag.
He was one of the few men in Chicago who could tell Gabriel Kane what to do without worrying about the consequences.
“She needs stitches on her cheek. Her ribs are badly bruised. Her wrist is sprained, and she has mild hypothermia.”
Gabriel’s eyes remained on Claire.
“And the baby?”
“Perfectly healthy.”
Those two words released something inside Gabriel's chest.
He reached down and gently touched Eli’s blanket.
The baby stirred.
Claire immediately tightened her arms around him.
Even unconscious, she refused to let go.
Gabriel froze.
“She thinks someone is taking him,” Mason whispered.
Gabriel looked at Claire.
Something about the way she held Eli unsettled him.
Not because she was protecting his nephew.
Because she looked like someone who had already lost everything once.
“Wake her.”
Mason immediately shook his head.
“No.”
Gabriel turned.
Mason swallowed.
“She needs sleep.”
“I need answers.”
“You can have answers in the morning.”
Silence filled the room.
Nobody spoke to Gabriel that way.
Yet Mason didn't move.
Finally, Gabriel nodded.
“Fine.”
He removed his coat.
Then he placed it over Claire's sleeping body.
Mason raised an eyebrow.
“You're staying?”
Gabriel ignored him.
He pulled a chair across from the sofa and sat down.
For the next two hours, he watched Claire sleep.
And somewhere around three in the morning, her fingers moved.
Her eyes opened suddenly.
She bolted upright.
“Eli!”
The baby startled.
Claire immediately pulled him against her chest.
“He's here.”
Gabriel spoke quietly.
Claire looked at him.
Recognition flashed across her face.
Then fear.
She scrambled backward.
“You.”
Gabriel frowned.
“You know me.”
“Everyone knows you.”
Her voice trembled.
“Mr. Kane.”
Gabriel noticed the distance she put between them.
“You're safe.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“People like you don't make anyone safe.”
Mason stiffened.
Gabriel didn't.
“People like me?”
“You're Gabriel Kane.”
“Yes.”
“The man everyone is afraid of.”
“Yes.”
Claire looked down at Eli.
“Then why is he here?”
“Because he's my nephew.”
“No.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“What?”
Claire looked directly into his eyes.
“He isn't safe with you.”
The room went silent.
Mason slowly turned toward Gabriel.
Gabriel's voice dropped.
“Explain.”
Claire's hands shook.
“They were asking about you.”
“Who?”
“The men who took us.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Gabriel leaned forward.
“Claire.”
She flinched at the sound of her name.
“You work for me.”
“Yes.”
“You've been inside my company for two years.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my nephew was being transported.”
“No.”
“Then how did you know which vehicle to take?”
“I didn't.”
Gabriel watched her carefully.
There was no obvious lie in her face.
Only exhaustion.
Fear.
And something else.
Hurt.
Claire finally whispered, “I didn't choose your nephew.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“He chose me.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
“He was crying,” Claire continued. “Everyone was shouting. Someone dropped him. I picked him up.”
Her voice cracked.
“And then I couldn't put him down.”
Gabriel looked at Eli.
The baby was already falling asleep again.
Claire stroked his tiny cheek.
“I thought if I gave him back, they'd hurt him.”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“They would have.”
Claire looked at him sharply.
“What?”
“They weren't there to negotiate.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Then why did they take him?”
Gabriel stood.
“That is what I'm going to find out.”
Claire watched him move toward the door.
“Mr. Kane?”
He stopped.
“Thank you.”
Gabriel turned.
“For what?”
“For letting me sleep.”
Something softened behind his eyes.
“You saved my family.”
Claire looked away.
“I just did what anyone would do.”
“No.”
Gabriel's voice was quiet.
“Not anyone.”
He left the room.
Mason followed.
The moment the door closed, Mason lowered his voice.
“You believe her?”
Gabriel stared through the rain-streaked window.
“Yes.”
“You don't usually trust people this quickly.”
“I don't trust her.”
Mason frowned.
“Then what?”
Gabriel looked back toward the room.
“I trust the way she held that baby.”
Mason hesitated.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“The warehouse.”
Gabriel turned.
“Our people searched it.”
“And?”
Mason pulled out his phone.
“We found a security camera.”
He pressed play.
Grainy footage appeared.
Claire was running through a dark corridor.
Eli was pressed against her chest.
Three armed men chased her.
Then the screen went black.
Gabriel watched the final seconds again.
One of the men stopped.
He didn't chase Claire.
Instead, he looked directly into the camera.
Then he raised two fingers.
A signal.
Gabriel recognized it immediately.
His face changed.
“Mason.”
“Yes?”
“Who knew Eli was being moved tonight?”
Mason hesitated.
“Only six people.”
Gabriel's eyes became cold.
“Name them.”
Mason began listing them.
Gabriel listened.
Then he stopped him.
“That's five.”
Mason looked confused.
“You forgot someone.”
“Who?”
Gabriel stared at the hospital room door.
“Me.”
Mason frowned.
“You knew.”
“No.”
Gabriel's voice became almost a whisper.
“I knew the route.”
He looked toward Chicago's glittering skyline.
“But I never told anyone.”
A long silence followed.
May you like
Then Gabriel said the words that would change everything.
“Someone has access to my private security network.”
