Chapter 5 - The Shadow Over the Port
The warmth of the balcony vanished instantly.
Ronan stood up, his posture transforming back into the cold, ruthless leader of the Callahan empire. He buttoned his coat, his expression locking down into iron.
"Diego, mobilize the eastern flank," Ronan ordered coldly. "Tell Dominic if he sets one foot on my concrete before paying his dues, his ships will be sunk at the mouth of the river."
"Yes, Boss," Diego turned and sprinted toward the stairs.
Ronan looked back at Tessa. The gentle man who had just laughed over a dish of crab and grits was gone, replaced by a dark sovereign preparing for war.
"Go back to your apartment tonight, Tessa," Ronan said, his tone authoritative. "Take two of my men with you. Do not leave your home until I call you."
"Are you going to fight them?" Tessa asked, stepping forward, a spike of genuine worry catching in her throat.
Ronan looked at her, noticing the anxiety written across her face. A subtle softness touched his eyes for a fraction of a second. "I am going to remind Dominic Moretti who owns this city. Do not worry about me. Worry about my dinner tomorrow."
He turned and swept out of the room, his long coat trailing behind him like a dark cloak.
That evening, the city was hit by a violent late-summer thunderstorm. Rain lashed against the glass windows of Tessa’s small, modest apartment in the Garden District. Outside, a black SUV sat parked at the curb, its headlights dim, keeping watch over her building.
Tessa couldn't sleep. She walked back and forth in her small kitchen, stirring a pot of herbal tea, her mind consumed by thoughts of Ronan. She had spent six years trying to remain invisible, trying to avoid danger, and in forty-eight hours, she had thrown herself straight into the inner circle of the most dangerous man in the state.
At 2:00 AM, her phone buzzed on the counter.
An unknown number. She picked it up instantly. "Hello?"
"He's hit," a raspy, panicking voice came over the speaker. It was Diego.
Tessa’s heart dropped into her stomach. "What? Is he—"
"The ambush at Dock 14," Diego gasped, the sound of heavy rain and screaming sirens echoing in the background. "Moretti had a sniper on the crane. Ronan took a round to the shoulder. He’s bleeding bad, but he refuses to go to a hospital. The feds have monitored every ER in the county."
"Where are you?" Tessa demanded, already reaching for her jacket.
May you like
"We’re bringing him to the safehouse beneath The Bowmont. But Tessa... he’s delirious. He’s running a hundred-and-three fever. He keeps calling for Maman. He won't let the medic touch him. He thinks they're trying to poison his IV."
Tessa grabbed her tin box of spices from the counter, snapping her purse shut. "I’m coming down now. Tell your driver to open the back gate."
