Chapter 5 - Shadows and Scars
Upstairs in the recovery suite, Elena had watched the entire confrontation from behind the heavy velvet curtains of the arched window.
She had seen the guns. She had seen the tactical trucks. She had seen Dominic Ashford stand toe-to-toe with one of the most ruthless mob bosses in America without flinching an inch.
When the heavy oak door opened and Dominic walked into the room, she was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed, her hands wrapped tightly around a cold mug of tea she hadn't touched.
“You let him leave,” she stated, her voice tight with disbelief.
“Leaving him alive panics him,” Dominic said, shrugging off his coat and tossing it over the back of the chair. He walked over to the minibar, poured a finger of bourbon into a crystal glass, and took a slow sip. “A desperate man makes mistakes. Vincent Caldwell just realized he can't buy me, and he can't bully me. Now he’s going to try to kill me.”
“And I’m the target painted on your back,” Elena whispered, her head dropping, her hair falling forward to shadow her bruised face. “If I leave... if I just walk out the back gates and take the microchip with me... he’ll follow me. You and your family won't have to pay for my mistakes.”
Dominic set his glass down on the table with a sharp clink. He crossed the room in three long strides, grabbed her chin gently with his fingers, and forced her to look up at him.
“Look at me,” he commanded, his voice deep and unyielding.
Her dark brown eyes met his, wide and trembling.
“You think you’re a burden, Elena?” Dominic asked, his face inches from hers. “You think I protect people out of charity? Nobody leaves this house until I say so. And nobody hunts people who are under my roof without paying in blood.”
She swallowed hard, her breath catching in her throat as she stared into his dark, intense eyes. For the first time since she had been chained to that pillar in the dark warehouse, the shivering terror inside her chest began to give way to something else—something warm, heavy, and terrifyingly real.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice barely audible. “You don't even know my real name.”
“I know enough,” Dominic murmured, his thumb brushing lightly across her cheekbone, careful to avoid the fading bruise. “I know you fought back against a monster who had every advantage over you. I know you didn't break. And I know you’re the bravest, most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”
A tiny, fragile tear slipped from her eye, tracking down her cheek. She reached up slowly, her bandaged fingers resting hesitantly against the back of his hand.
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“If Caldwell finds out about us... about what we are to each other... he will use it to destroy you,” she whispered.
“Let him try,” Dominic replied, leaning down until his lips brushed her forehead in a slow, lingering promise. “Because the moment he tries to touch you again, I’ll burn his entire world to ash.”
