Chapter 3

The nightclub pulsed with bass and glittered with cheap glamour. It was Caleb' s idea of a welcome-home party for Ethan Scott. He stood beside me, his hand resting a little too low on my back, a constant, physical reminder of his presence.

Then I saw him.

Ethan.

Five years. It felt like a lifetime. He stood across the room, talking to one of the old captains. He wasn' t the boy I remembered. He was harder, broader in the shoulders, with a scar tracing his left eyebrow. He had gone to the West Coast to build an empire for the family, and he had succeeded. He was a Capo now, a power in his own right.

Our eyes met across the crowded room. The noise, the people, it all faded away. For a second, we were just two kids again, on a rooftop in Queens, planning a future that was stolen from us. He had promised he would come back for me.

Later, the music died down. Caleb was holding court, laughing, a drink in his hand. Ethan walked through the crowd and stopped in front of us. He looked directly at my brother.

"Caleb," Ethan said, his voice calm and clear, carrying across the silent room. "I' ve been away a long time. I've done what was asked of me. Now I' m back, and I want to ask for your blessing to marry your sister."

The air went ice-cold.

Caleb' s friendly smile evaporated. His face became a mask of pure fury. The hand on my back tightened, his knuckles digging into my spine.

"You want what?" he whispered, his voice dangerously low.

Before Ethan could answer, Caleb smashed the whiskey bottle in his hand against a nearby table. Glass exploded. Men reached for their guns.

"She' s not for you," Caleb snarled, stepping forward.

I moved instantly, placing myself between them. I put a calming hand on Caleb' s chest.

"Caleb, stop," I said, my voice gentle but firm. "He's just being traditional." I turned to the room, my expression serene. "Ethan is an old friend. I agree to the marriage."

I looked back at my brother, my eyes soft, framing his rage as something else entirely. "You're just being an overprotective big brother. I appreciate it, but it' s okay."

Caleb stared at me, his chest heaving. He was trapped by my words, by the public setting. He couldn't expose his true obsession here.

He let out a shaky breath and forced a tight, ugly smile.

"Right," he said through gritted teeth. "Overprotective. Welcome home, Ethan."

The tension broke, but I knew this was far from over. I had just walked into a cage.