The Mafia Boss Followed the Sound of Laughter—And Found His Poor Maid Smiling for the First Time

"No!" Neil roared, losing his composure completely.

That single second of distraction was all Reed Ashford needed.

Before Neil’s shooters could adjust their aim, Reed fired three rounds in rapid succession. The lead mercenary on the left dropped instantly. Reed lunged forward, tackling Jolene down into the reinforced hull of the speedboat as a hail of suppressed gunfire shredded the wooden dock above them.

Reed hit the ignition toggle with his elbow. The twin inboard engines roared to life with a deafening surge of horsepower, throwing up a massive roostertail of river water as the boat tore away from the bank.

Bullets pinged off the armored fiberglass hull like angry hornets. Reed kept one hand on the throttle, steering blindly through the low-hanging willow branches, while his other arm pinned Jolene securely to the floorboards beneath him.

"Did you really throw it?" Reed yelled over the scream of the engine as they broke into the wide channel of the river.

Jolene sat up, coughing, spitting river spray from her lips. A fierce, triumphant grin broke across her soot-stained face.

She reached into her cleavage and pulled out the brass key, holding it up in front of his face.

"I threw my apartment key," she shouted over the wind. "You think I’m stupid enough to throw away five years of medical care and your father’s justice? It was the key to my deadbolt on 18th Street!"

Reed stared at the brass key in her hand, then looked into her defiant, sparkling green eyes.

In the middle of a high-speed river escape, with sirens beginning to wail along the distant shoreline and smoke rising over his family estate, Reed Ashford threw his head back and laughed. It was a roar of genuine, wild, untamed joy that shook his entire frame.

"You are completely insane," he shouted, his eyes blazing with admiration.

"I’m a waitress from South Side!" Jolene shouted back, leaning against his side as the boat banked hard around a bend. "We don't give away our leverage! Now where are we going?"