The Chicago skyline glittered through the windows of La Notte, an upscale Italian restaurant in the West Loop, its candlelit tables casting a warm glow over polished wood and crisp linens. Sayrn Sauns sat at a corner booth, her chestnut hair loose and catching the light, her black dress—the one she’d bought with Mia—hugging her curves with quiet confidence. At twenty-eight, fresh from nursing school graduation earlier this year, she was used to holding her own in the chaos of Chicago General’s ER. But tonight, her nerves buzzed with a different kind of tension, one tied to Daniel Isiah, the mafia boss whose world both repelled and drew her in.
After confiding in Mia about their intense shower encounter two days ago, Sayrn had wrestled with Daniel’s invitation for dinner. His text—“I can s
