She had said no to harder things than him. She told herself that. She almost believed it.

She didn't have the luxury of being afraid anymore. Fear was something she'd burned through in the first year of doing everything alone — every bill, every nightmare, every 3am when her child cried and there was no one else in the house.

She was a single mom. Tired. Stubborn. Unbreakable.

And completely unprepared for him.

The most feared mafia boss in the city didn't knock. Men like him don't knock. He simply appeared in spaces — filling them, owning them — the way powerful men own everything without ever signing a paper.

He looked at her like she was already decided.

She crossed her arms.

"No."

One word. Clear. Final.

The room ...