The rain in Boston never just fell; it drove against the grease-stained windows of Sullivan’s Diner like gravel.

I was wiping down the laminate counter, eager to lock up and head to my small apartment.

The clock on the wall read five minutes past midnight.

Then the glass on the front door rattled, and the bell chimed.

A man stumbled inside, clutching his side.

Under his heavy wool coat, he held a double infant car seat.

He collapsed against the counter, leaving a smear of dark red across the yellow formica.

“Help me,” he rasped.

I dropped my rag.

I was a nursing student before my mother died and the tuition money ran out, so my instincts took over.

I locked the front door first, turning the sign to ‘Closed.’

“You’re bleeding,” I said, rushing to his side.

“Pantry,” he groaned, his face pale and slick with sweat. “Get us out of sight.”

I helped him stand, carrying the weight of his heavy frame as we shuffled toward the back.

The metal infant carrier was heavy, containing two tiny, quiet babies wrapped in thick fleece.

We squeezed into the narrow pantry, surrounded by industrial cans of peaches and sacks of flour.

I pulled his coat open and saw the gunshot wound in his abdomen.

“I’m Clara,” I said, pressing a clean apron against the wound.

“Dominic Romano,” he whispered, grimacing as I applied pressure.

The name made my chest tighten.

Everyone in Boston knew the Romano syndicate.

“Why are you here, Dominic?” I asked.

“My brother, Leo,” he panted, his hand gripping my wrist with surprising strength. “He wants them dead.”

He looked down at the carrier.

“Luca and Liana,” he said. “They are the heirs to everything. Leo wants the throne.”

One of the babies let out a soft, whimpering cry.

I rocked the carrier gently with my foot while holding the apron to Dominic’s side.

“You need a hospital,” I said.

“No doctors,” he muttered. “Leo has eyes everywhere. I came here for you, Clara.”

I stared at him, my heart hammering.

“Me? I’m just a waitress.”

“Your mother was Martha, wasn’t she?” he asked, his dark eyes searching mine.