Hannah looked out the window again. The car was still there. For days now, cars had been showing up and sitting in the parking lot of her apartment building. At work, she thought there was a strange car or two as well, though it was harder for her to keep a watch there. She pulled the curtain back down and grabbed her phone.

After the night with Anton when he’d been shot at, they hadn’t talked. This was how it had to be, but it didn’t make it easy. Melody was asking daily when she would see her father again. The night Anton showed up and took Hannah out was like a tease for Melody, who’d been missing her father. Now she asked when it was her turn to go out with Daddy. Hannah couldn’t tell her the truth—that her father was a dangerous mob boss and couldn’t be around them or they’d be in danger. This was a fact that had taken Hannah many days to let sink in, and she still wasn’t sure it had.

As much as things lined up with the truth, it was hard for her to line that mob boss image up with Anton. It didn’t seem like him at all. He was no Tony Soprano or Vito Corleone. He was Anton DeCalvo. Bad boy, maybe. Troublemaker, rabble rouser, punk. All those things made sense. But mob don? No way.

This was reality, though, off as it seemed to be. And after Hannah had left Anton behind in the car, after she’d told him that he couldn’t be around Melody or her if he was going to bring them into danger, she’d had to face the consequences of that decision. It was still the decision she needed to make. She would keep Melody safe at any cost. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t still pain involved, even if it was for the best.

Melody didn’t have her father again, after having him for a short time. That was the hardest part to take. Hannah hated seeing the look on Melody’s face when she had to tell her she hadn’t talked to Daddy and didn’t know when he would come again. It was hard for her, too. Hannah missed Anton. The Anton she knew, not this other version of him who now ran a mob family. She had just told him she loved him. He’d told her the same. And now, here they were, separated again.

All of the dreams of them as a family, having a long future together, had shattered. She was faced with being alone again. Having no father for her daughter again. They’d been fine before. They hadn’t needed him. But now that he’d come along and entered their lives, the absence of him was painfully vivid.

Now it seemed that him staying away wasn’t going to keep them safe after all. Hannah didn’t know if the cars were somehow Anton’s people, watching them to keep them safe. If that was the case, why didn’t he tell her so she wouldn’t be worried? It was much more likely that these cars belonged to the same people who tried to kill Anton. It was getting more troubling and it was time to do something about it.

She tried calling him first. No answer. She sent a text next. “There have been strange cars around the apartment and my work. Do you know anything about this?”

There was no response. Hours later, after she’d checked her phone many times, sent a follow up “??” text, she had gotten herself so angry she had to drink a glass of wine to calm down enough to be able to cook dinner for her and Melody. He could at least have the decency to respond to her.

The whole situation played through her mind as she fried the chicken. Why had she let herself fall for him again? Hadn’t she been afraid this whole time that he would vanish again? And now, it seemed that was happening. What a fool she’d been to think it would be different this time. Anton wouldn’t change. He was always going to be this type of man who could just leave behind two people he claimed to love. Maybe he was doing it to keep them safe. It didn’t change the fact that he was gone and they were missing him.

The added stress of her fear made it all worse. It was bad enough that he was gone, but now there was a menacing presence outside her home and work and she felt quite unprotected. Hadn’t he said he’d keep them safe? So where was he?

She looked outside again and the cars had changed. Now there were three replacing the one that had been there all day. She picked up her phone to try calling and texting him again. As it was ringing and his voicemail picked up, there was a knock on the door. She heard Melody run to answer it.

“Melody! Wait!” she called.

What if it wasn’t a friendly person on the other side? What if it was one of these guys in the cars coming for them?

Melody stood by the door, waiting. “Is it Daddy?”

“I don’t know who it is,” she said.

She squinted through the dingy peephole. She wasn’t completely sure, but it actually looked like Anton. She pulled the door open.

“Hey.” Anton stepped inside quickly and closed the door behind him. Two armed men stood in the hallway behind him and stayed outside the apartment.

“Daddy!” Melody was already scooped into his arms before Hannah could turn her attention from the men outside.

Her expression fell into a glare. Was this how it was going to be now? He’d show up whenever he felt like it? She would not allow this to go on.

“Sorry I haven’t been here lately,” Anton said to Melody. “I’m working very hard right now.”

“I have so much to show you!” Melody said.

“I only have a few minutes,” he said.

Melody’s face fell and Hannah growled under her breath. He’d shown up without any warning and now he was going to leave again? Anton looked at her, saw her angry expression, and turned back to Melody.

“Honey, why don’t you go in your room for a little while so I can talk to Mommy?”

“Okay.” Melody hung her head and shuffled off to her room.

Hannah opened her mouth to scream at him, but he stopped her with a quick kiss.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know it’s terrible that I haven’t been here or called. I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt Melody or you. I want to be here with you both, but I have to make sure it’s safe. If I could avoid this, I would. But I’m the boss and there’s nothing I can do to change that.”

Hannah gritted her teeth and continued to glare. He wasn’t making it any better. “You can’t just show up here whenever you want. It’s not fair to Melody.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Look, you and her are my top priority. It may not seem that way right now, but me staying away is necessary to make things safe for you.”

“You keep saying that. How exactly are you going to make us safe?”

“It’s better if I don’t say. Just know that I don’t care about anything else. I only care about you two. I have a plan to fix this mess. And I just wanted you to know that I do love you. After today, things will be different. Whether I make it or not, you won’t need to worry anymore.”

“What… does that mean?”

“What I have to do is dangerous,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. But it will end this. I’m sorry about the cars. I’m going to have my people watching your apartment and work until this is over.”

“Thanks.” She didn’t know what else to say.

He pulled her in for a hug. At first, she wanted to resist, but she missed him and wanted him too badly. She relaxed in his arms and tears came to her eyes.

“Please be careful,” she said. “I can’t imagine, after all we’ve been through, what it would be like to lose you now. I can’t stand the thought of having to tell Melody that her father is dead.”

“I don’t want that, either. Believe me. I just got you back and just became a father. I’m not going to lose either of you now.”

“Isn’t there some other way? Can’t we go into hiding or something?” She heard the pleading in her voice.

“This isn’t the type of thing I can run from. Doing that would mean looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. And it would mean putting the whole rest of my family in danger.”

“Can’t the mobsters take care of themselves?” She couldn’t help the sharp tone in her voice.

“They can,” he said. “But it’s not fair for me to bring a war on them by ditching town. I have responsibilities, whether I like it or not.”

She could only argue so much with a man who was intent on taking care of that which he was responsible for. She just nodded instead.

He put his hand to her cheek. “You’ll be okay. No matter what happens.”

She pressed her lips together. She wouldn’t allow herself to picture what life would be like if something happened to him.

“I have to go now,” he said.

“Wait. How will I know if you’re okay?” she asked.

“I’ll call.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes.”

“And if you… can’t?”

“I’ll have someone call you, I promise.” He took a step back from her. “I’m going to say goodbye to Melody.”

Hannah stood by the door, waiting. Anton took only a few minutes and Melody’s voice could be heard complaining as he left her room.

“Make sure she knows how much I love her,” he said.

“No.” She shook her head. “You’ll just have to stay alive to tell her yourself.”

“Okay.” He kissed her again and opened the door. “I love you.”

“I love you. Come back soon.”

He nodded once and turned.

She watched him walk down the stairs, his two guards following him. She hoped they would keep him safe somehow. Inside her apartment, she went to the window and saw the men getting into one of the cars. She watched Anton’s car drive off while one of the cars stayed. That must be the one watching the building.

Anton’s car turned down the road and out of sight. Would that be the last time she saw him? Her stomach turned with the thought and her tears returned.

Whatever she’d tried to tell herself in the days she hadn’t heard from him, she knew she loved him deeply. The ache in her heart for him told her so. She wanted their future. She wanted him to be okay and to call her later and say he loved her and that everything would be fine from then on.

She could barely breath at the thought of him not calling. Of answering and having someone else’s voice on the other end. She also didn’t know what was planned for that night. What was he going to do? Go kill a bunch of people? She turned on the news, though she didn’t watch it closely. If there was some sort of crazy action going on, maybe she’d find out about it on the TV.

She managed to keep her feelings from Melody. It would help nothing if her daughter had any idea that her father might not live through the night because he was about to get into a gun fight. If that’s what he was doing. She didn’t really know, but that was her best guess. Wasn’t that what all those mob guys were always doing? Going into places with machine guns and shooting everything and everyone up?

Picturing it made her shiver. What a horrid image. Even if this would make them safe and make it so Anton could be with them and he would be safe, too, she didn’t like the idea of a bunch of people having to die for it to happen. Though, she also selfishly hoped that whoever died, Anton wasn’t one of them. She wondered how many women would get calls tonight that their husbands were gone.

This would be a terrible night no matter what the outcome was. People would die and people would be mourning tomorrow. Would she be one of them? She put her hand to her chest and stuffed her fist in her mouth to stifle a cry.

She poured another glass of wine and forced herself to drink it and then another. She wouldn’t be sleeping until she got the call.