Chapter 5 - The Reckoning
Brett Mallory had never looked so small.
When Caleb dragged him out of the elevator into the penthouse, the shift manager’s usual smug confidence was entirely gone. He was shaking, his expensive suit wrinkled, his eyes darting around the luxurious apartment until they landed on Tessa.
"Tessa!" Brett gasped, reaching toward her. "Tessa, tell him! Tell him I didn't know they were going to hurt you! I just... I just told them where you lived because they offered me twenty thousand dollars! I have a gambling debt, Tessa! Please!"
Tessa felt a cold sickness wash over her. The man who had made her life miserable for four years, the man who had laughed at her shoes and her red hair, had sold her life for twenty thousand dollars.
Salvatore walked slowly toward Brett. He did not say a word, but the sheer, silent menace radiating from him made Brett drop to his knees on the marble floor.
"Please, Mr. Marquette," Brett whimpered, staring at Salvatore’s polished shoes. "I can help you. I know where Valetti’s men are meeting tonight. They’re going to the docks. They’re planning to hijack your shipment. I can give you the warehouse number!"
Salvatore stood over him, his gray eyes dead and empty. He looked down at Brett as if he were a bug on the sidewalk.
He lifted his hands and signed to Caleb.
Take his phone. Verify the warehouse. Then, throw him out of the city. If he ever returns to Chicago, bury him.
Caleb grabbed Brett by the collar of his suit, dragging him back toward the elevator. Brett screamed, begging Tessa for forgiveness, until the steel doors slid shut, cutting off his voice.
The penthouse fell silent again.
Tessa stood by the counter, her hands trembling. She looked at Salvatore, who was standing by the window, his back to her. The dark silhouette of his body against the city looked so lonely, so isolated in his power.
She walked over to him, stepping into his space until she could smell the rain and cedar on his skin.
Are you going to the docks tonight? she signed.
Yes, he signed back, not looking at her. It is the only way to end this.
Then I am coming with you, she signed.
Salvatore spun around, his eyes wide with disbelief. No. It is too dangerous. You stay here with Danny.
You told me being invisible isn't safety, Tessa signed, her gray eyes fierce and unyielding. I spent my whole life being afraid of men like Brett, men like Valetti, men who think they can buy and sell people like me. I am done being afraid, Salvatore. If you are going into the storm, I am going with you.
Salvatore stared at her, his chest rising and falling in deep, ragged breaths. He looked at her copper-red hair, her stubborn jaw, her gray eyes that held no fear—only an absolute, beautiful loyalty.
He reached out, his hand closing around the back of her neck, and pulled her into a deep, desperate kiss.
It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was a promise, a claim, a joining of two lonely souls who had finally found their harbor in the middle of a war. Tessa kissed him back with everything she had, her hands gripping his shoulders, her heart finding its rhythm in his.
May you like
When he pulled back, his eyes were soft with an emotion he had never allowed himself to feel.
We go together, he signed.
