Chapter 3 - The Threat from South Boston
Mason’s face drained of every drop of color, looking up at his cousin with wide, frantic eyes.
"You can't strip my port shares! My father has forty percent of the logistics votes! He'll pull his container ships out of your waters!"
"Let him try," Adrian said calmly, waving his hand toward Dante.
"Put him on the ferry to Boston with nothing but the shirt on his back. If he steps foot within twenty miles of this coastline again, shoot him on sight."
Two guards hauled the screaming, thrashing Mason down the corridor, his frantic curses echoing against the stone walls until the heavy doors slammed shut.
Silence returned to the damp cellar, broken only by the sound of Atlantic waves crashing against the cliff outside.
Adrian walked back to where I stood trembling by the doorway.
"Your father's debt is cleared, Isla," he said softly, handing me a slip of certified bank paper.
I looked down at the receipt bearing the stamp of the Harbor Trust Bank, my hands shaking so violently the paper fluttered like a leaf.
"Why would you do that, Mr. Vale?" I asked, tears stinging my eyes.
"Forty-eight thousand dollars is a fortune. I could work here for ten years and never pay you back."
"I don't want your money, Isla," Adrian replied, his thumb gently reaching out and finally brushing the soft skin right beside my bruised cheek.
His touch was warm, surprisingly gentle, and sending an electric current through my entire body.
"Then what do you want?" I whispered, looking into those dark, bottomless eyes that held so much danger and unspoken sorrow.
"I want you out of that maid's uniform," he murmured, his thumb lingering against my cheek.
"Starting tonight, you move into the east wing suites. You will have a private security detail, and your brother Caleb will be enrolled in the university's private honor dorms tomorrow morning."
"People will talk," I stammered, my heart racing against my ribs. "They will say I am your mistress."
May you like
"People can say whatever they wish in the dark," Adrian said with cold, regal authority.
"In the light, they will address you with the same respect they give me. Because before this month ends, Julian Vale is coming for my throat, and I need you where I can see you."
