Chapter 8
Three days passed in quiet comfort at the Highland Park safehouse.
With Caleb’s faction completely dismantled and the Syndicate’s local leaders arrested or driven out of Chicago, the immediate danger had passed. Yet, Emily found herself reluctant for this strange, peaceful interval to end.
For the first time in three years, she wasn’t treated like a background ghost scrubbing floors. Dominic visited the safehouse every evening after managing his business affairs.
They ate dinner together at the long mahogany table, talking for hours about things that had nothing to do with crime or money—her love for classic literature, his childhood growing up near the lakeshore, and the small dreams they both kept hidden from the world.
On the fourth evening, Emily was walking without her brace, her ankle almost completely healed.
She stood by the large glass window in the living room, watching the snow fall over the silent pine forest, when she felt a warm presence step up behind her.
Dominic stood a few inches away, looking out at the snow.
“The city is quiet tonight,” Dominic said softly. “My legal team cleared the final paperwork regarding the incident. Your apartment has been fully restored, the door replaced, and new security cameras installed.”
Emily looked down at her hands. “So... I can go back to work tomorrow?”
Dominic turned to face her, his sharp gaze searching her eyes. “Do you want to go back to being a maid, Emily?”
She looked up, surprised by the question. “It’s my job, Dominic. It’s how I pay my bills.”
“It was your job,” Dominic corrected gently. “Before you saw what this world is really like. Before I realized how much I rely on your presence every morning.”
Emily felt her heart skip a beat. “Dominic...”
“I spent ten years surrounding myself with people who only care about power, money, or fear,” Dominic said, stepping closer until only a few inches separated them. “When you dropped that tray on Thursday morning, your first thought wasn’t to protect yourself. It was to clean up the mess and do your job. You have more courage and integrity than anyone I’ve ever met.”
May you like
He reached out, his hand gently brushing a strand of dark hair away from her cheek. His fingers were warm against her skin.
“I don’t want you cleaning my floors anymore, Emily,” he whispered, his eyes dark with an emotion he had hidden for years. “I want you by my side.”
