Jace Mercer had been in this “business” for years, and his indifference was almost second nature. Being a hitman for Francesco Ardovino, the notorious crime boss, was just another line on the dark resume he’d cultivated with precision. There was no glamour, no passion, just pragmatism.

A job was a job, and that was how he’d earned Francesco’s trust so quickly.

Enough trust that now he was knocking on the door of a mediocre apartment in Chicago, tasked with a task that tested his patience like no other before.

Taking a child—Francesco’s child—AKA-his father in Alaska. It was a different kind of job, to be sure.

Laurence’s mother, a woman who’d made the mistake of getting involved with Francesco, had fled when she discovered she was pregnant. For years, she’d managed to keep the kid out of the father’s reach, until a fatal accident put her in the news. That was how Francesco discovered he had a son. But of course, the mobster didn’t bother to come looking for them himself. That was what Jace was for.

Jace Mercer already hated everything about this mission. Children,especially teens were not his area of expertise—too much noise, too many questions. He had no patience for them, and he didn’t care to hide it.

Knocking on the door of the small apartment, Jace crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on the weathered wood. He waited, listening for the muffled sound of footsteps on the other side, but no one answered.

“Come on,” he muttered to himself, now irritated. He knocked again, this time harder, his knuckles ringing in the narrow hallway. “Open the door.”

His voice was firm, not shouting, but full of authority, the kind of tone that could make even adults shrink. But Laurence probably was just scared, and Jace had no idea how to deal with someone like that.

To him, teens were as incomprehensible as people who left work half-done—he hated both.

As Jace waited, his patience, which was already short, began to disappear completely. He knocked one last time, taking a deep breath to restrain the urge to break down the door. He could hear the noise on the other sideAnd that only made him more impatient.

"I don't have all day," he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Jace knew that taking Laurence to Francesco was a simple job on paper. But deep down, he already had a feeling that this trip would be anything but easy.