Chapter 7 - The Unbroken Bond
Upstairs, the heavy oak door of the study finally clicked open.
Skylar jumped up from the desk, clutching a heavy brass paperweight like a weapon, her eyes wide with adrenaline.
Dominic stood in the doorway. His tactical turtleneck was torn at the shoulder, a faint graze of blood staining his skin, but his posture was upright, his dark eyes clear and steady.
"It's over," Dominic said quietly, dropping his empty weapon onto the sofa.
Skylar dropped the paperweight, letting out a ragged, shaky breath. "Are you... are you okay? Are there injuries?"
"Nothing that requires Dr. Vance," Dominic replied, walking slowly toward her. He stopped just a few inches away, looking down at her with a gentleness that seemed entirely at odds with the man who had just dismantled an entire hit squad downstairs. "You locked the door?"
"I did," Skylar whispered.
"Good girl."
The casual praise sent a sudden, electric shiver down Skylar’s spine. She looked up into his dark, intense eyes and realized how far they had come in less than forty-eight hours. From a sneering master and a clumsy maid to two people bound by fire, blood, and unspoken trust.
"What happens now?" Skylar asked softly.
"Now, Salvatore Moretti is out of the picture permanently," Dominic said, reaching out to gently touch the edge of the fading bandage on her cheek. His thumb brushed her skin with incredible tenderness. "The syndicate is secure. The household is clean. And tomorrow... tomorrow, my mother wants to take you shopping in Manhattan."
Skylar let out a breathless, disbelieving laugh. "Shopping? In Manhattan? Mr. Rossi, I don't fit into designer clothes."
"Then we will have them custom-made," Dominic said without a hint of hesitation. "Because nobody in this city—or any other—will ever look at you and treat you like you don't belong again."
Carmela shuffled into the study just then, wearing her floral dressing gown, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Is the noise over?" Carmela asked, squinting at the broken glass near the window. "Did someone drop another tray?"
Dominic and Skylar exchanged a shared, knowing smile.
May you like
"No, Mother," Dominic said, wrapping one arm around Carmela’s shoulders and keeping the other hand resting gently on Skylar’s waist. "Nobody dropped anything. Everything is right where it belongs."
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