Chapter 6
"I am fine, Mr. Ashcombe," Adelia whispered, her voice trembling as she kept her hands folded over her apron. "I just... I didn't know what else to do."
"Do you know that you just saved my life, and my empire?" Leonidas asked, his voice losing the cold, metallic edge it had held moments before.
He slowly reached out with his heavily tattooed hand. The movement was agonizing, pulling at his fresh surgical incisions, but he ignored the pain. He gently touched her arm, the brief contact sending a jolt of electricity straight to Adelia's core.
She looked up into his dark, hooded eyes and found them entirely devoid of the malice he had directed at his cousin. Instead, they burned with a quiet, profound intensity that left her breathless. The bright, cinematic lighting illuminated the stark contrast between them—the towering, dangerous mafia boss confined to a chair, and the delicate, beautiful housemaid who had just crippled his attacker.
"I couldn't just watch him take you away, sir," Adelia whispered, her expressive eyes locked onto his. "You didn't deserve that."
"Do you believe anyone in this room cared about what I deserved, Adelia?" Leonidas asked softly, his thumb gently tracing the fabric of her sleeve. "Did you not see them stand idly by while my own blood tried to erase me?"
"I saw them," Adelia admitted, a flicker of anger tightening her delicate features. "They are cowards. All of them."
Leonidas’s sharp jaw relaxed into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "And yet, the only person with the courage to strike a made man was a woman in a maid's uniform."
He looked toward Nurse Evelise, who was standing a few feet away, her face pale but her posture resolute.
"Nurse Grant," Leonidas said, his deep voice carrying across the quiet space. "I require an immediate transfer back to the secure medical wing of my estate. Will you accompany us to oversee my recovery?"
Evelise swallowed hard, looking at the heavily armed men surrounding the wheelchair. "Mr. Ashcombe, you are in no condition to be moved. The surgical risk..."
"Is the risk of infection greater than the risk of another assassination attempt in this building?" Leonidas countered smoothly. "I will triple your salary, and you will have full access to my private medical facilities. We leave in ten minutes."
Evelise knew better than to argue with a man who had just crushed a coup from a wheelchair. She nodded sharply. "I'll prepare the transport medications."
As the nurse hurried away, Leonidas turned his attention back to Adelia.
"Are you prepared to leave this hospital, Adelia?" Leonidas asked, his gaze lingering on her softly contoured face. "Do you think I trust anyone else in my house right now?"
"I will come with you, sir," Adelia said softly, the reality of her new position settling heavily upon her. She was no longer just a housemaid; she was the woman who had saved the king.
The journey back to the Ashcombe estate was a tense, heavily guarded affair. An armored medical transport navigated the city streets, flanked by three black SUVs filled with tactical enforcers. Inside the transport, the lighting was dim and functional. Leonidas lay on a secure gurney, the heavy narcotics finally pulling him back into an exhausted, restless sleep.
Adelia sat in a small jump seat beside the gurney, her black dress blending into the shadows. She watched his chest rise and fall, her heart aching for the pain etched into his handsome face even in sleep. She gently reached out, her fingers hovering over the artistic tattoos on his hand before finally resting lightly against his skin.
He didn't wake, but his fingers reflexively curled around hers, holding her hand in a warm, protective grip.
When they arrived at the estate, the atmosphere was chaotic but strictly controlled by Marcus. The compound was on full lockdown. The medical team quickly transferred Leonidas into the sprawling, luxurious master suite, which had been converted into a state-of-the-art recovery room.
Evelise immediately hooked him up to the monitors and adjusted his IV fluids, ensuring he was stable after the stressful transport.
"He needs uninterrupted rest," Evelise told Adelia, packing up her supplies. "The stress could cause the incisions to rupture. Do not let anyone disturb him."
"I won't," Adelia promised, taking up a position near the massive oak doors of the suite.
May you like
The night stretched on, long and quiet. Adelia refused to leave the room, terrified that Domenic's loyalists might try another desperate attack. She sat in a plush armchair near the bed, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, jumping at every creak of the floorboards.
Around three in the morning, a soft groan broke the silence.
