Chapter 2 - THE MAN OUTSIDE THE DOOR
Dean should not have known where I worked.
He should not have been inside the most guarded house in New York.
And he definitely should not have been standing outside the nursery at two in the morning.
“Mara,” he whispered again. “Open the door. We need to talk.”
Lorenzo turned toward me. Even in the dark, I could feel the suspicion returning.
“You know him?”
“He’s my ex.”
“The one who killed your child?”
The words hit hard, but I nodded.
Celeste began breathing too fast. “This is a setup. She brought him here.”
“I didn’t.”
The handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then something scraped against the lock.
Lorenzo crossed the room without a sound and placed himself beside the door. He handed me a small flashlight from his pocket.
“Keep Leo behind the crib,” he said.
“I’m not putting him down.”
He looked at the baby, then at me. “Fine. Stay low.”
The lock turned.
The door opened three inches.
Lorenzo caught the edge and pulled hard.
Dean stumbled into the nursery holding a screwdriver. He wore a black security jacket with the Rossi crest stitched over the chest.
For a second, all three of us stared at him.
Then Lorenzo drove him into the wall.
The screwdriver clattered across the floor.
Dean wheezed. “I’m here to help.”
“You locked me in my son’s room,” Lorenzo said.
“I was told to keep everyone inside until the doctor arrived.”
“By whom?”
Dean glanced at Celeste.
That was enough.
Lorenzo’s hand closed around his collar. “Who hired you?”
“The staffing company.”
“What company?”
Dean’s eyes moved to me. “Tell him to let go.”
I held Leo tighter. “Tell him the truth.”
Dean gave me the same crooked smile he used right before he hurt someone. “You always did love pretending you were brave.”
Lorenzo slammed him against the wall again.
“Do not speak to her,” he said. “Speak to me.”
Footsteps thundered down the hallway. Two of Lorenzo’s guards reached the nursery, followed by Dr. Adrian Hale, Leo’s private pediatric specialist.
Dr. Hale wore a wool coat over blue scrubs. He looked too prepared for a man supposedly called from bed.
“What happened?” he demanded.
“Test that bottle,” Lorenzo said.
Hale glanced toward the warming tray. “There’s no need. Leo has a rare feeding disorder. We’ve discussed this.”
“Test it.”
Celeste rushed forward. “The bottle has been sitting out. It’s contaminated.”
She grabbed for it.
I kicked the warming tray away from her reach.
The bottle rolled across the carpet and stopped against Lorenzo’s shoe.
He picked it up with a handkerchief.
Dr. Hale’s face went pale.
Lorenzo noticed.
“So did I,” I said.
Hale forced a laugh. “You’re taking medical advice from a housemaid?”
“No,” Lorenzo said. “I’m taking advice from the only person in this room who has managed to feed my son.”
Dean suddenly twisted free from the guard holding him. He lunged for the bottle.
The guard tackled him before he reached it.
Leo began to cry.
Not weakly this time.
Loudly.
Alive.
The sound froze everyone.
Lorenzo looked at Hale. “You have one chance. What is in this bottle?”
Hale swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
A guard entered carrying a portable testing case from the estate clinic. Under Lorenzo’s stare, Hale drew a sample.
Three minutes later, the test strip changed color.
Hale stared down at it.
“What?” Lorenzo asked.
The doctor did not answer.
Lorenzo stepped closer. “What is it?”
Hale’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“A sedative.”
May you like
Celeste backed toward the door.
And Leo’s monitor began screaming.
