Chapter 6 - The Protection Of A Syndicate Boss
Inside The Moretti SafehouseDante and two other operatives moved with terrifying, silent efficiency. Before I could even unbuckle my seatbelt, the three men in hoodies were pinned against the brick wall of my apartment building, disarmed and zip-tied before they even realized they were under attack.
I stared out the window, my medical hands trembling. "Who were they? Why are they at my building?"
Dominic adjusted Lily slightly on his lap, shielding her face from the view outside. "A rival faction. The Valenti family. They’ve been testing my boundaries in Queens and Manhattan. They knew Grace set us up on this date. They were looking for a way to pressure me through my weak spots."
My blood ran cold. "Weak spots? Dominic, my daughter and I are not your weak spots! We have nothing to do with your criminal war!"
"The moment Lily walked into Beluchi’s and I gave her hot chocolate, you became part of my world, Elena," Dominic said, his grey eyes burning with an intense, terrifying possessiveness. "And nobody touches what belongs to Dominic Moretti."
"I don't belong to you!" I hissed, anger overriding my fear. "I am an independent woman, and I can protect my own—"
"You were working a fourteen-hour shift while your five-year-old took a taxi across Manhattan," Dominic interrupted, his voice cutting through my defense mechanism like a scalpel. "You are drowning, Elena. And if you stay in that apartment tonight, the Valentis will try again. You are moving to my penthouse tonight. All of you."
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"Are you insane? I'm not moving into a mob boss's fortress!"
"It’s not a request," he said smoothly. He tapped on the glass partition. "Dante, bring the car around. We're going to the Upper East Side."
