Chapter 6
The hours crawled.
Tessa sat on the velvet sofa, knees pulled to her chest, staring at her phone.
No calls. No texts.
Wyatt stood by the door like a statue, earpiece blinking red.
The other two guards patrolled the perimeter in silent rotations.
The city lights below flickered through the rain-streaked windows.
Every car horn, every siren made Tessa’s heart lurch.
She kept seeing Gary’s face.
His nervous smile. The way he’d flinched when Dominic had walked into the pharmacy.
He’d been collateral damage in a war he didn’t even know existed.
Because of her.
“He’ll be fine, miss.”
Wyatt’s voice startled her.
She looked up. The scarred guard’s expression was still impassive, but there was something almost kind in his eyes.
“The boss has walked into worse situations and walked out without a scratch. This Arthur Moretti is a coward. Cowards don’t stand their ground when the devil comes knocking.”
“What if there are more of them? What if it’s a trap?”
“Then he’ll burn his way out.”
Wyatt said it with such absolute certainty that Tessa almost believed him.
Almost.
Her phone buzzed.
She lunged for it, heart in her throat.
Unknown number: He’s alive. For now.
A photograph loaded below the text.
Dominic, sitting in what looked like a warehouse, hands resting calmly on a metal table. Blood spattered across his white shirt.
Not his blood.
Behind him, blurred but visible, a man was slumped in a chair.
Tessa’s stomach turned.
Another text arrived: Tell your boyfriend to back off, or next time it’s his blood.
Wyatt was at her side in an instant, taking the phone from her shaking hands.
He read the messages, jaw clenching.
“It’s a bluff. They’re trying to rattle you.”
“They’re succeeding.”
Wyatt handed the phone back.
“The boss can handle Arthur Moretti and his entire crew with one hand tied behind his back. Trust me, miss. I’ve seen him do worse.”
Tessa looked at the photograph again.
Dominic’s face was calm. Not a flicker of fear or doubt.
He looked like a man who’d already won.
She thought about the way he’d kissed her. The way he’d promised to come back.
She believed him.
She had to.
At 11:47 PM, the elevator chimed.
Tessa shot to her feet, heart hammering.
Wyatt moved in front of her, hand inside his jacket.
The doors opened.
Dominic stepped out.
He was alive. Whole.
But he looked like he’d walked through hell.
His white shirt was ruined—blood spattered across the front and sleeves. His knuckles were split and bruised. There was a dark bruise forming along his jaw.
But he was walking. He was breathing.
He was here.
Tessa didn’t think.
She ran across the room and threw herself into his arms.
Dominic caught her, stumbling back slightly, then wrapped his arms around her and held her so tightly her ribs ached.
“I’m okay,” he murmured into her hair. “I’m okay, mia. I’m here.”
Tessa pulled back just enough to look at his face.
She cupped his bruised jaw carefully, eyes searching his.
“Did you kill him?”
“No.”
Tessa’s stomach dropped. “Dominic—”
“I didn’t kill him because he’s going to spend the rest of his miserable life in a federal prison.”
Dominic’s mouth curved into a cold, dangerous smile.
“I gave the FBI everything. Financial records, witness testimony, locations of bodies. Arthur Moretti will be arrested before sunrise. His entire operation will collapse. And when he’s rotting in a cell, wondering how it all fell apart, he’ll know it was because he touched what was mine.”
Tessa stared at him.
“You didn’t want revenge. You wanted him destroyed.”
“Revenge is fast. Destruction is permanent.”
He kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then her mouth—soft, tender kisses that tasted like rain and copper.
“It’s over, Tessa. You’re safe. Gemma’s safe. No one is coming for you.”
Tessa’s knees buckled.
The adrenaline, the fear, the crushing weight of the last four days finally collapsed.
Dominic caught her, lifting her into his arms like she weighed nothing.
“I’ve got you.”
He carried her to the guest room, laying her gently on the bed.
He sat beside her, brushing her hair back from her face.
“Sleep. I’ll be right here.”
“You’re hurt,” Tessa whispered, eyes already heavy. “You need to clean up.”
“Later. Right now, I need to make sure you’re okay.”
Tessa reached for his hand, lacing her fingers through his.
“I was so scared.”
“I know.”
“Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“No more wars. No more blood. I can’t—I can’t lose you, Dominic. I can’t.”
His expression softened into something achingly vulnerable.
“I promise. No more wars.”
He leaned down, pressing a long, lingering kiss to her forehead.
“Sleep, mia. When you wake up, we’ll start over. Just you and me.”
Tessa’s eyes drifted closed.
The last thing she felt was Dominic’s thumb tracing gentle circles on the back of her hand.
The last thing she heard was his voice, low and rough and filled with something that sounded like a prayer.
“I love you, Tessa. I’ve loved you from the moment you looked at me in that dark apartment and didn’t flinch. I’ll love you until the day I die.”
She wanted to say it back.
She wanted to tell him that she loved him too—desperately, completely, irrevocably.
May you like
But exhaustion dragged her under.
And for the first time in days, she slept without nightmares.
