Chapter 5 - Shadows of the PastThe safehouse wasn't a grimy basement or a secluded cabin in the woods; it was a heavily fortified estate in the hills of Bedford, New York, surrounded by twelve-foot stone walls, motion sensors, and a dozen heavily armed security personnel wearing tactical gear.
For three days, I was trapped inside the gilded cage.
Dominic had locked down his entire network. The news was filled with reports of violent clashes across the city—mysterious warehouse fires, sudden police raids on illegal casinos, and high-speed chases on the West Side Highway. Dominic was systematically eradicating Moretti’s infrastructure, burning the cartel out of New York brick by brick.
I spent my evenings in the library, reading through corporate documents and trying to keep my mind off the fact that people were trying to kill me.
On the fourth night, the heavy double doors of the library creaked open. Dominic walked in. He looked exhausted. His tie was loosened, his hair slightly disheveled, and the scent of gunpowder and faint bourbon hung around him.
“You’re back,” I said, rising instantly from the armchair.
“Moretti is handled,” Dominic said, his voice raspy. He poured himself a glass of water, drinking it down in one long gulp. “He left the country an hour ago on a cargo flight. His network in New York is dead. You are safe, Nora.”
I let out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for days. “And Nathan?”
“Nathan and his father pleaded guilty to corporate fraud and money laundering this afternoon,” Dominic said, sitting down heavily on the leather couch. “They will be spending the next fifteen years in a federal penitentiary. Your stepmother and sister have sold their house to pay off their legal fees. They are moving out of state.”
It was over. Everything was finally resolved. My company was safe, the people who hurt me were punished, and the threat to my life was gone.
So why did my chest feel so heavy?
“I suppose... that means I can go back to my life tomorrow,” I said quietly, looking down at my hands.
Dominic stayed silent for a long moment. When I looked up, he was staring at me, his grey eyes filled with a heavy, intense darkness.
“Is that what you want, Nora?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous. “To go back to your quiet apartment? To managing logistics? To pretending that nothing happened between us?”
“I... I don't know,” I confessed, my heart beginning to race. “Everything happened so fast, Dominic. You rescued me, you protected me... but I don't even know who I am to you. Am I just a project? A debt you owed to my father?”
Dominic stood up from the couch and crossed the room in three long strides. Before I could take a breath, he reached out, gripping my waist and pulling me flush against his chest. The raw power and heat off him was overwhelming.
“Do not insult me by thinking you are a debt,” he growled softly, his fingers digging into my hips. “I haven't cared about a woman in twenty years, Nora. I built my life out of steel and solitude. I thought I was dead inside.”
His face leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear, making me shiver violently.
“You walked into my life three nights ago and asked me to pretend to be yours,” Dominic whispered, his voice dark and thick with emotion. “The moment I touched you in that ballroom, I stopped pretending.”
My breath hitched. “Dominic...”
“If you walk out of that gate tomorrow, I will let you go,” he murmured, his grey eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that burned. “I will protect you from afar for the rest of your life. But if you stay... if you choose me... you step into a world where I will never let you go.”
My mind screamed at me to be cautious. He was a former crime boss, a man with a dangerous past, a man twice my age. But my heart—my heart was pounding with a wild, uncontrollable fire that I had never felt with Nathan. Nathan had made me feel small and weak. Dominic made me feel like I could conquer the world.
May you like
I didn't answer him with words.
Instead, I reached up, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled his lips down to mine.
