Page 6 of Ivory Legacy

Ellie’s eyes darkened, a spark of anger flaring up in them. “That’s why Detective Rodriguez and I have been working on getting you out. You’re too good for Dante’s games, Jade. I mean, if he kidnapped you…”

“No. I could’ve left,” I said, except I couldn’t have, not really.

But I didn’t want to get into that right then.

My heart skipped at the mention of a plan. To be free of Dante’s smothering ‘protection’, to return to a life where my work was just work, devoid of mafia entanglements—it was a lifeline I hadn’t allowed myself to hope for.

But…there was another part of me that hated the idea. That I would be away from him.

That he would have taken a bullet for me only for me to slip out of his grasp.

“Really?” The word came out as a whisper, laden with a mix of relief and disbelief. “How?”

She hesitated for a second. “I don’t think you’re going to like it when I say this.”

“Say it anyway.”

“Testifying,” Ellie replied with a firm nod. “It’s the cleanest way to do it. You get immunity, witness protection if you need it, and Dante can’t touch you.”

I recoiled as if she’d slapped me. Testify? Against Dante—the father of my child? The thought alone made my stomach turn. I shook my head vehemently, the shadows of the early evening room seeming to close in around me. “I can’t. I won’t turn against him, El. There has to be another way.”

Ellie’s gaze softened but her voice remained steady, almost steel-like in its resolve. “Jade, you’re not seeing this clearly because of—“

“Because of what?” I cut her off, fire rising in my chest. “Because I have feelings for a man who lives in shades of gray? Because he’s the father of my baby?”

Because I love him?

I barely managed to hold myself back from saying that…but I still fucking didn’t, even though it felt like it rippled through me like electricity.

I shook it off. I had to shake it off.

“Okay, okay,” Ellie interceded, holding up her hands in a calming gesture. “There might be another option. But it’s risky, and it involves contacting a friend from the inside.”

“You have friends from the inside?”

“Not…exactly. A few years ago, my cousin got married to the best looking guy I’ve ever seen. Nathan Zhou.”

“Okay…”

“My cousin, Abby, is an FBI agent. Well, she was,” she said. “But things totally changed for her when Nathan came into her life. He’s part of this whole thing. But he’s not a bad guy. Just caught up in it all, like Dante. I think if I reach out to Abby, she might be able to get him to help us.”

I swallowed down the last sip of my tea. “Well, hopefully, I won’t need his help.”

“It’s either the police or the mafia, babe,” she said softly. “But at this point, you should know you can’t do any of this by yourself.”

I nodded, my mouth suddenly dry despite the hot liquid.

She was right, and I hated it.

But all my choices seemed bad…and I had no idea what the fuck I was supposed to do with that.

All I knew was that I had to make sure my baby was safe.

That I had to make sure Dante was safe.

And after that, everything would fall into place.

…It had to.

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