Chapter 10
The soft, elegant warmth of the secure suite wrapped around them like a cocoon. Nina stared up into Conrad’s incredibly handsome, angular face, feeling the rough texture of his thumb against her fair skin. The boundary between employer and employee had been completely obliterated by gunfire and blood.
"Are you afraid of this life, Nina?" Conrad asked, his deep, low voice vibrating in the quiet room.
"I am terrified," Nina admitted honestly, her expressive eyes wide. "People died today. People are going to keep dying."
"Do you believe I cannot end this war by tomorrow morning?" Conrad asked.
He didn't wait for her to answer. He leaned down, his face hovering mere inches from hers. The scent of his expensive cologne, mixed with the faint, harsh smell of gunpowder from his dark three-piece suit, was intoxicating.
"Will you trust me to finish what Victor Price started?" Conrad asked softly.
"What are you going to do?" Nina whispered, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"Is it not time I reminded the eastern syndicates why they fear my name?" Conrad asked, his cold eyes flashing with a ruthless, predatory light.
He slowly pulled his hand away from her face, though the loss of his touch left a lingering, electric heat on her skin. He turned toward the heavy reinforced doors of the suite.
"Will you stay in this room until I return?" Conrad asked, pausing with his hand on the brass doorknob.
"How long will you be gone?" Nina asked, glancing back at the sleeping form of Molly on the bed.
"Does it take long to cut the head off a snake?" Conrad asked, a dark, lethal smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
He opened the door and stepped out into the brightly illuminated hallway. The tactical teams waiting outside immediately snapped to attention. Nina watched as the men fell into formation behind his powerful, broad shoulders. He was marching out to execute a rival mafia boss, plunging the city into absolute, bloody chaos to secure the safety of the woman standing in the doorway.
"Will you be waiting for me when the blood dries?" Conrad asked, looking back over his shoulder one last time.
Nina stood in her sophisticated black maid dress, her hands clasped together. She looked at the man who had torn his empire apart for her, and she knew she could never go back to the simple life she had known.
"Yes," Nina answered, her voice clear and resolute.
May you like
Conrad nodded once, his perceptive eyes locking onto hers with an unbreakable promise. He turned and disappeared down the marble corridor, the heavy doors of the safe room sliding shut, sealing Nina and Molly inside the luminous, warm bunker.
The silence returned, thick with anticipation. The war for the city had reached its violent climax, and Nina sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the king to return and claim his new queen.
