Chapter 4
The morning sun filtered through the heavy velvet drapes of the guest suite, casting long, dusty beams across the luxurious room. Lena stood in front of the ornate vanity mirror, staring at her reflection. She was no longer wearing the fitted black maid dress. Instead, she wore a soft, charcoal-grey cashmere sweater and fitted trousers that Emmett had ordered his staff to bring her. Her hair was brushed and neat, entirely devoid of the crooked ruffled headband.
She looked like a different person, but inside, she felt like an imposter waiting for the executioner's axe to fall.
A sharp knock broke her concentration. Emmett entered without waiting for a reply. He was dressed in a black turtleneck that clung to his muscular frame, a shoulder holster strapped over his chest holding a heavy, matte-black pistol. The air of a businessman was gone; the mafia boss had stepped into the light, preparing for war.
"Did you sleep?" Emmett asked, his eyes sweeping over her new attire with undeniable approval.
"A little," Lena replied softly. "Where is Theo?"
"Eating breakfast in the kitchen with my top lieutenants guarding the doors," Emmett said, stepping further into the room. "The mansion is on complete lockdown. Nobody goes in, nobody goes out. The Voss family has formally declared a vendetta against the Crowne syndicate."
Lena’s breath hitched, and she gripped the edge of the vanity. "I told you this would happen. You have to tell them I ran away. Tell them you fired me. Let them direct their anger at me, not your empire."
Emmett crossed the room in three long strides, stopping right in front of her. His hands shot out, gripping the edge of the vanity on either side of her hips, effectively trapping her between the furniture and his massive body.
"Do you really think this is just about you, Lena?" Emmett asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Natalie's father has been looking for an excuse to strike at my territory for years. The marriage was a band-aid on a bullet wound. This war was inevitable. You just moved the timeline up."
"But they will target you," Lena argued, looking up into his dark, relentless eyes. "They know I am the reason she was humiliated. They will come for me to hurt you."
"Let them try," Emmett murmured, leaning closer until she could feel the heat radiating from him. "I have five hundred armed men forming a perimeter around this estate. The Voss family can bring their entire army, and they will drown in their own blood on my front lawn before they ever see your face again."
"Why are you doing this?" Lena whispered, her voice breaking. "I was just the girl who cleaned your floors."
Emmett’s gaze dropped to her lips for a fleeting, agonizing second before meeting her eyes again.
"You haven't been just a maid since the day I watched you sing Theo to sleep three months ago," Emmett confessed, the raw honesty in his voice making her heart hammer wildly. "I was a coward for agreeing to marry Natalie for peace. I was a fool for leaving you alone with her. But I am not a fool anymore."
He lifted a hand, his tattooed fingers brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
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"You are under my absolute protection, Lena. But more than that... you are mine. And the Crownes do not surrender what belongs to them."
A loud, shattering explosion suddenly rocked the mansion, rattling the windows in their frames and sending a shower of plaster falling from the ceiling. The war had arrived.
