Elena slowly stood behind the counter.
Matteo remained concealed.
The man smiled when he saw her uniform.
“There she is.
The helpful waitress.”
“I called the police,” Elena said.
“No, you called somebody.
The police have not been notified.”
He was too confident.
That meant they had someone monitoring emergency dispatch or had disabled the diner’s landline before cutting the power.
“What do you want?”
“Our employer.”
“You said he was sick.”
“He is.” The man’s smile widened.
“Sick men sometimes say dangerous things.”
His partner moved toward the kitchen.
Elena stepped into his path.
“You need a warrant.”
The broad man laughed.
“You really think this is that kind of night?”
He reached across the counter and gripped her chin.
“You serve coffee for tips.
Do not mistake kindness for power.”
Elena stared at him.
Then she pressed the hidden button beneath the register.
The old jukebox roared to life on its backup battery.
Music blasted through the diner, startling both men.
At the same moment, Elena threw the metal coffee pot.
It struck the broad man’s wrist.
His gun clattered across the counter.
Matteo rose from behind the booth and drove his shoulder into the second man as he turned.
They crashed into a table, sending silverware across the floor.
The broad man lunged for his weapon.
Elena grabbed it first and slid it beneath the pie display.
She had never held a gun.
She had no intention of starting now.
The man seized her hair and pulled her backward.
Matteo tried to reach her, but the second attacker punched him directly in the wound.
Matteo collapsed with a strangled gasp.
“Enough,” a voice said from the doorway.
A third man entered.
He was younger than Matteo, perhaps thirty-five, with the same dark eyes and sharp cheekbones.
Unlike the others, he wore no coat despite the cold.
His charcoal suit was immaculate, and a small silver wolf gleamed on his lapel.
Nico DeLuca surveyed the broken door, overturned table, and spilled coffee with visible disgust.
“You always did choose dramatic places to disappoint the family,” he said.
Matteo pushed himself onto one elbow.
“You murdered my driver.”
“He stayed loyal to the wrong man.”
Nico’s gaze moved to Elena.
“And this must be Sofia’s daughter.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“You remember her?” Elena asked.
“Of course.
Your mother was very brave when she realized her brakes were gone.”
