Chapter 6 - The Shadow at the Door
Morning sunlight cut through the bay mist, painting the master bedroom in warm gold.
Norah woke up wrapped in the scent of bergamot and heavy sheets.
For a terrifying second, she thought the past month had been a fever dream—that she would wake up in her drafty 2-bedroom apartment with the smell of medicine and hospital disinfectant.
Then she felt the heavy arm draped securely across her waist.
She turned her head.
Dominic was sleeping beside her, his face relaxed, the harsh lines of the ruthless syndicate boss softened by sleep.
A stray lock of dark hair fell across his forehead.
Norah smiled—a small, genuine smile that she hadn't felt in years.
She reached out, gently brushing the hair away from his eyes.
Dominic’s eyes opened instantly, cold and alert, before softening as they locked onto her face.
“Good morning,” he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.
“Good morning,” Norah replied, her cheeks flushing.
Before Dominic could pull her back into his arms, a sharp, frantic knock echoed at the heavy double doors of the suite.
Dominic’s expression hardened in a fraction of a second. The relaxed lover vanished, replaced instantly by the mafia boss.
“Enter,” he commanded coldly.
The door clicked open, and Marcus, his chief enforcer, stepped inside, looking pale and agitated.
“Boss,” Marcus said, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the floor, avoiding looking at Norah tangled in the sheets. “We have a problem. A major 1.”
Dominic sat up, pulling a sheet over his waist.
“Speak.”
“Vance’s crew,” Marcus muttered. “They found out about the offshore accounts Frank was leaking to. They know an auditor from Miller & Associates reconciled the books and is staying here.”
Norah’s breath hitched.
Julian Vance was Dominic’s fiercest rival in the city’s criminal underworld—a ruthless syndicate leader who dealt in human trafficking and drug running, unlike Dominic’s strictly controlled enterprises of high-end clubs, real estate, and ports.
“How did Vance find out?” Dominic asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
“Frank talked before we finished with him at the warehouse,” Marcus admitted, swallowing hard. “He leaked her name and her firm before he flatlined.”
Dominic’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked in his cheek.
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He looked at Norah, his gaze fierce and protective.
“They’re coming for her, boss,” Marcus warned. “Vance knows she’s the key to tracking every dime of our secondary syndicate holdings. If he takes her, he takes the entire empire.”
