Chapter 10
The warm, muted light of the master suite cast intimate shadows across the room. Cora looked up into Elliot’s cold, perceptive eyes, finding a surprising depth of warmth hidden beneath their icy surface. She was a housemaid, a woman paid to clean and serve, yet the mafia boss was looking at her with a level of respect he usually reserved for his most trusted lieutenants.
"I know Viviana's family is very powerful, Mr. Crowne," Cora answered honestly, her expressive brows drawing together. "I know they will come looking for her. I know this means war."
"Do you believe I fear a war with the men who murdered my wife?" Elliot asked, stepping closer to her.
"No, sir," Cora replied softly. "I think you are going to destroy them."
Elliot stared at her, captivated by the movie-star beauty of her delicate cheekbones and the quiet courage in her eyes. The sophisticated black maid dress cinched at her waist highlighted the feminine perfection of her silhouette, but it was her unwavering loyalty that truly drew his attention.
"Will you accept a change in your employment, Cora?" Elliot asked suddenly, shifting the topic with whiplash speed.
Cora blinked, her softly oval face registering confusion. "A change, sir?"
"Do you believe your talents are best utilized dusting mirrors and serving dinner?" Elliot asked, taking a slow step toward her.
Cora’s breath hitched in her throat. The imposing frame of the mafia boss filled her vision as he stepped closer. The warm golden light of the bedroom caught the extremely short, neatly trimmed stubble on his jawline.
"What kind of change, Mr. Crowne?" Cora asked, her heart racing against her ribs.
"Would you prefer to assume the role of Noah’s personal governess, answering to absolutely no one in this house but me?" Elliot asked.
Cora stared at him, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the offer. A personal governess was a position of high respect and immense trust, offering security that far exceeded her role as a housemaid. It meant she would no longer be invisible; she would be a central figure in the life of the mafia boss's family.
"Are you serious, sir?" Cora asked, a radiant, beautiful smile breaking across her fair, rosy face.
"Have I ever joked about the welfare of my child?" Elliot asked, stopping just inches from her.
"I would be honored," Cora whispered.
"Will you trust me to keep you safe when the war begins tonight?" Elliot asked, his voice a low, gravelly promise.
"Always," Cora replied without hesitation.
Elliot raised his tattooed hand, his knuckles gently brushing against the soft curve of her jawline. It was a fleeting, electric touch that promised a future far more complicated than employer and employee.
Before either could speak again, the quiet of the master suite was broken by the distant, high-pitched wail of the estate’s security sirens. The red emergency strobe lights flickered outside the tall windows, casting a bloody, chaotic glow over the sprawling grounds.
Cora gasped, instinctively taking a step back as the alarms wailed.
Elliot’s demeanor changed in a microsecond. The gentle protector vanished, replaced instantly by the cold, lethal mafia king. His powerful shoulders squared, and his observant eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
He strode quickly to a reinforced steel safe embedded in the wall paneling and punched in a rapid code.
"Are the perimeter guards engaging hostiles?" Elliot demanded into a secure radio sitting inside the safe.
"Boss!" his underboss's frantic voice crackled back over the speaker. "The Shaw syndicate didn't wait for morning! They hit the eastern gates with heavy explosives! We have multiple hostiles on the grounds!"
Elliot released the radio button. He pulled a heavy, customized automatic weapon from the safe, racking the slide with a sharp, metallic clack. He turned and looked at Cora.
"Are you prepared to lock these heavy oak doors behind me?" Elliot asked, walking toward her.
"Are you leaving us?" Cora cried out, panic finally lacing her American accent.
"Do you think I would let them take me away from you now?" Elliot asked, offering a faint, terrifying smile that promised absolute devastation to his enemies.
May you like
He didn't wait for her to answer. He turned and strode out of the master suite, stepping into the chaotic, flashing hallway. The true war for the city had only just begun. Arthur Shaw thought he was attacking a man who had broken an engagement; he was about to discover he had awakened a monster protecting his family.
"Shall we show them exactly what it costs to threaten my home?" Elliot asked the empty air, stepping into the line of fire, ready to burn the world to ash.
