The hidden microphone clicked twice.

Dante heard it. So did Lily.

But while Dante's men immediately searched the ceiling, the little girl simply pointed at a ventilation grille.

“That one.”

Luca raised his flashlight. A small black device was concealed behind the metal slats. It was not part of the War Room's official security system.

Dante's expression went deadly still.

“Marcus.”

“Yes, boss?”

“Did you authorize additional surveillance equipment in my private conference room?”

“No, sir.”

“Then somebody has been listening to my meetings.”

Luca moved toward the grille. “Want me to remove it?”

“No. Leave it.”

Dante looked back at Lily. “How did you know?”

She held Mr. Fluffington against her cheek. “He heard a bad noise.”

Dante studied the rabbit. The missing eye. The unusual stitching. The faint red light. He knew enough about electronics to recognize that the battered toy was not what it appeared to be.

He also knew something else. Elena Bennett had once built a miniature surveillance detector inside a coffee mug because she considered conventional security equipment “boring.”

He remembered laughing at her. He was no longer laughing.

“Who taught you to use that thing?”

“Mommy.”

“Where is your mother?”

Lily's smile faded. “Can I have some milk first?”

Dante blinked. “What?”

“My tummy's empty.”

She pressed one small hand against her stomach. It growled. Loudly. Every man heard it.

Luca cleared his throat. “Boss, maybe we should get her something to eat.”

Dante glanced at the muddy footprints covering his floor. Then at the soggy rabbit. Then at the little girl's dripping raincoat. A muscle jumped in his jaw.

“Get this germ-factory out of my sight.”

Lily gasped. Her little mouth formed a perfect circle.

“Germ-factory?”

“Yes.”

“That's not my name.”

Dante pinched the bridge of his nose. “I noticed.”

“My name is Lily.”

“I know.”

“And I'm not a factory.”

“Congratulations.”

She considered him for a moment. Then delivered her verdict.

“You're not very nice.”

Luca made the terrible mistake of smiling.

Dante turned toward him. “Something amusing?”

“No, boss.”

“Then stop showing your teeth.”

Luca immediately looked serious.

Dante pointed toward the entrance. “Take her upstairs. Find a clean room. Bring her food. And have someone disinfect this entire floor.”

Lily folded her arms. “I'm not leaving.”

“That wasn't a request.”

“I haven't got my money.”

“You are three years old.”

“Three and a half.”

“Wonderful.”

“And Mommy said I shouldn't leave until you listen.”

Dante's patience snapped.

“Marco.”

A massive bodyguard stepped forward. Marco Russo weighed nearly two hundred and fifty pounds. He had shoulders like a refrigerator and a scar running from his left eyebrow to his jaw. Men twice Lily's size had cried when Marco approached them.

Lily looked up at him. Then up some more.

“Wow.”

Marco stopped. “Wow what?”

“You're a big potato.”

Luca turned his face toward the wall.

Marco's expression tightened.

Dante spoke sharply. “Take her upstairs.”

Marco approached the chair. “Come on, little one.”

Lily backed away. “No touching.”

“It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you.”

His voice was surprisingly gentle. But his enormous hand reached toward her arm.

Lily's eyes narrowed. “Mr. Fluffington doesn't like grabbing.”

Marco smiled. “That's a cute bunny.”

He reached again.

Lily opened her backpack. “Last warning.”

Dante sighed. “Oh, for God's sake.”

She pulled out a pink plastic wand. A glittering star decorated its tip.

Marco stared. “What's that supposed to be?”

“My princess wand.”

“Very nice.”

“It makes bad boys dance.”

Marco chuckled. Then his fingers closed around Lily's sleeve.

A sharp electric crack split the room.

SNAP!

Marco jerked backward. His knees buckled. The enormous man dropped to the marble floor with a thunderous crash.

For one horrifying second, nobody moved. Then Marco groaned.

“Mother of—”

Lily pointed the wand at him again. “Bad word!”

Marco raised both hands. “Okay! Okay!”

Luca drew his pistol. Three guards followed.

Dante's voice cut through the room.

“WEAPONS DOWN!”

Every gun lowered.

Dante crossed the distance in two strides. He looked at Marco, who was conscious but struggling to regain his balance. Then he looked at the tiny pink wand in Lily's hand. Then at Lily.

“What did you do?”

She blinked innocently. “Magic.”

Dante crouched. It was an extraordinary sight. The Ghost of New York, a man who refused to shake hands without gloves, was now kneeling on a floor covered with muddy footprints. His face was level with a preschooler's.

“Lily.”

“Yes?”

“That is not magic.”

She glanced at the wand. “Mommy said it's a consequence stick.”

Luca whispered, “A what?”

“A consequence stick,” Lily repeated patiently. “For people who don't listen to no.”

Dante held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

Lily immediately pulled the wand against her chest. “No.”

“That device is dangerous.”

“So are your guns.”

“That is different.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm an adult.”

Lily looked him straight in the eyes. “Mommy says that's not a good excuse.”

For the second time that evening, Dante had no immediate response.

He took a slow breath. “Listen carefully. Nobody here is going to grab you again. But you cannot use that thing on people.”

Lily hesitated. “Promise?”

“Yes.”

She examined his face. Then she nodded. “Okay.”

She placed the wand in his palm.

Dante turned it over carefully. The device was disguised as an ordinary toy, but its construction was remarkably sophisticated. A concealed safety switch. Custom circuitry. A miniature rechargeable power source. Someone had engineered it specifically for small hands.

Elena. Of course.

He could practically hear her voice.

If a man twice my size thinks he can put his hands on me, Dante, I believe he deserves an educational experience.

Dante swallowed.

“Get Marco checked by the medic,” he ordered.

Two guards helped the groaning bodyguard to his feet.

Lily watched them go. Then she whispered, “Is Big Potato okay?”

Dante looked at her. There was genuine concern in her face.

“He's going to be fine.”

She nodded. “Good. I didn't want him broken.”

Luca finally lost the battle. A laugh escaped.

Dante slowly turned. “Romano.”

“Sorry, boss.”

“One more sound and you're cleaning every footprint in this room with a toothbrush.”

Luca pressed his lips together.

Lily giggled.

Dante looked at her. Something strange happened. For a fraction of a second, he forgot about the blackout. The missing eleven million dollars. The listening device. Even the possibility of an assassination attempt.

He saw only a little girl with dark curls, muddy boots, and a gap between her front teeth. Her smile was familiar. Painfully familiar.

Elena used to smile like that when she won an argument.

Dante looked away.

“Where did your mother get the materials to build these devices?”

Lily swung her legs. “From her special box.”

“What special box?”

“The one with the shiny tools.”

“Where is it?”

“At home.”

“And where is home?”

Lily stopped swinging. She looked down at Mr. Fluffington.

“Not there anymore.”

The words were quiet.

Dante felt the temperature of the room drop.

“What does that mean?”

Lily picked at the rabbit's torn ear. “Mommy said we had to go.”

“Go where?”

“To Daddy.”

Dante leaned closer. “Why?”

Lily's eyes filled with tears. For the first time since entering the mansion, her courage faltered.

“Because the bad lady found us.”

Dante's blood turned cold.

“What bad lady?”

Lily shook her head. “Mommy said not to say.”

“Is your mother in danger?”

Lily squeezed the rabbit so tightly its remaining ear bent sideways.

“She told me to run.”

Dante stood so abruptly his chair struck the table.

“Luca. Lock down every exit. Nobody enters or leaves without my authorization.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Marcus, I want the last seventy-two hours of external surveillance from every road surrounding this property.”

“Understood.”

Dante turned back toward Lily. He intended to ask another question. Instead, he saw her shivering. Her little fingers had gone pale. Water dripped from her raincoat onto the marble.

She had walked through a storm to reach him. Alone. A three-year-old child.

Dante stared at her wet clothes. His obsession with cleanliness screamed at him to keep his distance. But another instinct, older and stronger, had begun to wake.

He removed his expensive suit jacket.

Luca's eyes widened. “Boss?”

Dante ignored him. He wrapped the jacket around Lily's shoulders. The fabric swallowed her entire body.

She blinked. “That's big.”

“You're small.”

She smiled faintly. “You're warm.”

Dante went rigid. Nobody had ever described him that way.

Then Lily reached up. Her little hand touched his cheek. There was mud on her fingers. A small brown streak appeared against his skin.

Luca stopped breathing. Dante Moretti did not allow anyone to touch his face. Ever.

But Dante did not move away.

Lily studied him carefully. “Your heart is going boom-boom really fast.”

He swallowed. “That's none of your business.”

She leaned closer. “Are you scared, Daddy?”

Dante opened his mouth. No words came.

And then, from somewhere inside the rabbit, a woman's recorded voice whispered:

“Lily-Bug, if you're hearing this, remember our rule.”

Dante froze. He knew that voice. He would have recognized it in a thousand lifetimes.

Elena.

The recording continued.

“Never trust the woman with the diamond snake.”

A sharp burst of static followed. Then the rabbit's remaining eye flashed red.

And Dante heard a final sentence.

“If Dante is listening, tell him I'm sorry I couldn't come home.”