And I believed him.
“Everything I do, I do for him.”
The words hung in the air between us, loaded with implications I did not want to contemplate.
I stood again.
“I should go.”
This time, he did not stop me.
“Nicholas will drive you home.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It’s late. Your neighborhood isn’t safe after dark.”
His tone brooked no argument.
“The car will take you home.”
I nodded, knowing it was pointless to protest.
As I turned to leave, he spoke again.
“Keep the money, regardless of your decision about the job.”
I looked back at him, this enigmatic, dangerous man who seemed to command the very air around him.
“Why are you being so generous to a stranger?”
His blue eyes held mine for a long moment.
“Because in my world, Ellie Morgan, loyalty and kindness are rare commodities. When I find them, I reward them.”
I did not know how to respond to that, so I simply nodded and left the room.
Nicholas was waiting in the hallway as if he had known exactly when our conversation would end.
“Ready?”
I nodded and followed him back through the grand house. As we passed the living room, I glimpsed Marco sitting on a plush rug, showing his dinosaur backpack to an older woman who must have been the retiring nanny.
He looked up and waved enthusiastically.
I waved back, feeling a strange tug in my chest.
The drive back to my apartment was silent, giving me plenty of time to think about Dante Russo’s offer. It was absurd. Overwhelming. Completely out of the blue.
And yet, my current life was a constant struggle: working endless shifts to make rent, sending whatever I could spare to my sister, falling into bed each night too exhausted even to dream of the future I had once planned.
Dante’s offer would change everything.
