Chapter 5 - Healing and Guarded Hearts
The guest suite was quiet, illuminated only by the pale amber glow of a small ceramic nightlight shaped like an owl that Mrs. Carter had retrieved from Lily’s nursery.
I lay propped against the plush pillows, my body exhausted, every muscle aching from the violent adrenaline crash. But I couldn't sleep. Curled beside me, her small head resting directly against my ribs, was Lily. Her small fingers were tangled into the fabric of my cotton nightgown, her breathing rhythmic and soft, though every few minutes a small, hitching sob would tremble through her tiny chest.
The heavy oak door opened without a sound.
Luca stepped inside. He had changed into a soft charcoal sweater and dark slacks, his feet bare against the thick wool rug. He moved like a shadow, silent and massive, his gaze sweeping over the bed before his expression relaxed into something profoundly gentle.
He walked over to the edge of the mattress and stood looking down at his daughter.
“She wouldn't let go of you, would she?” he murmured, his voice a low vibration that seemed to calm the room even further.
“She was terrified,” I whispered, careful not to wake her. “She kept asking if the black car was still in the driveway. I told her that her father chased the monsters away.”
Luca let out a soft, self-deprecating breath through his nose. He reached out, his large, scarred hand gently smoothing down Lily’s messy brown curls. “I’m supposed to protect her from everything. That’s the bargain I made when her mother died. I built these walls, bought these guards, gathered all this power… and the threat was sleeping in the bedroom down the hall.”
He looked at me then. In the dim amber light, his gray eyes were stripped bare of the ruthless Don. He was just a father who had stared into the abyss of his worst nightmare and barely pulled back in time.
“I had your mother moved,” Luca said suddenly.
My heart seized in panic. “My mother? Mr. Moretti, please, she didn't know anything about—”
“Breathe, Hannah,” he interrupted gently, his hand shifting from Lily’s hair to rest lightly on the top of my bandaged wrist. The heat of his skin sent a sudden, startling jolt through my chest. “She’s safe. Two of my best men moved her out of that rundown rehab clinic in Cicero an hour ago. She’s currently in a private suite at Northwestern Memorial under an alias, guarded around the clock. The Bellinis know who you are now. If they can’t touch me, they would have gone after her.”
Tears sprang instantly to my eyes, hot and overwhelming. My mother had been my constant anxiety, the reason I swallowed Vanessa’s cruel insults for eleven months without complaint.
“Thank you,” I choked out, wiping my face with my free hand. “I didn't even think… with everything happening…”
“You didn't have to think,” Luca said, his thumb brushing a tear from my cheekbone with an astonishing tenderness that made my breath catch in my throat. “That’s my job now. You bled for my family, Hannah Collins. From this night forward, your family is under my shield. Permanently.”
We sat in the heavy, charged silence. His hand lingered on my face for a second longer than was professional, his thumb tracing the curve of my jaw before he slowly drew it back, as if catching himself.
“Why didn't you leave earlier?” Luca asked quietly. “When Vanessa threatened you with the knife in the kitchen… you could have walked out the service gate. You could have saved yourself.”
I looked down at Lily’s peaceful face against my side.
“Some things are worth more than safety,” I replied softly. “If I walked away, I would have had to live the rest of my life knowing what was going to happen to her. That’s not living, Mr. Moretti. That’s just hiding.”
Luca stared at me, his gaze so intense, so raw, that the air between us felt thick with something electric and terrifying. For eleven months, I had been the invisible girl who dusted his library and laid out his morning papers. But in this quiet, blood-stained night, the immense distance between a mafia prince and a maid had dissolved into ash.
“Get some sleep, Hannah,” Luca whispered, standing up reluctantly. “Tomorrow, this house goes to war. But tonight… you rest.”
May you like
He leaned down, kissing Lily’s forehead, then paused, his eyes meeting mine one last time before he turned and vanished into the shadows of the hallway.
***
