There was still a faint streak from the diner on the cuff of his white shirt.
Isabella watched him pace.
‘You told half of Chicago she’s your wife.’
‘I told the people in that diner.’
‘Which means half of Chicago will know by breakfast.’
Vincent stopped.
‘That was the point.’
Isabella understood immediately.
The Morettis had failed to kill her.
Anyone involved in the attempt would now want to eliminate witnesses, especially the waitress who had seen Tommy’s face and survived the attack.
By attaching Chloe’s name publicly to his own, Vincent had created a warning stronger than any bodyguard.
Touch her, and answer to him.
Still, Isabella shook her head.
‘You could have simply said she was protected.’
‘Protection can be tested.’
‘And a wife cannot?’
‘Not mine.’
Isabella studied her son for a moment.
‘You don’t have a wife.’
Vincent looked toward the surgery doors.
‘I know.’
Five hours later, the surgeon entered.
Chloe had survived.
The shoulder wound would require months of rehabilitation.
Her abdomen had been repaired without catastrophic damage.
The rib injury was painful but manageable.
The thigh wound had missed the major artery by less than an inch.
Isabella closed her eyes in relief.
Vincent only asked one question.
‘When can she speak?’
The answer came the next afternoon.
Chloe woke to the hum of hospital equipment and the unfamiliar weight of bandages across her body.
The first person she saw was Isabella.
The second was Vincent.
He stood near the window in a dark suit, holding a paper cup of coffee that had clearly gone cold.
Chloe stared at him.
Then at Isabella.
Then back at him.
‘I had a strange dream.’
Isabella smiled gently.
‘Which part?’
‘The part where four bullets hit me.’
‘Unfortunately real.’
‘And the part where your son told a restaurant full of people I was his wife?’
Vincent set down the coffee.
‘Also real.’
Chloe’s eyes widened.
‘Why?’
‘Because the man who shot you works for people who don’t like unfinished business.’
The humor vanished from her face.
Vincent continued.
‘Tommy O’Connor was sent to kill my mother.
You saw him clearly.
He failed because of you.
That makes you a witness and a liability to whoever hired him.’
Chloe swallowed.
