Chapter 9 - THE COLLAPSE OF RESOLVE
Exhausted beyond human measure, Nora lay back against the pillows, her chest heaving, her eyes heavy with sleep. She watched through a blur of tears as Dominic walked slowly over to the bed, holding the tiny, quiet infant against his broad, scarred chest.
The man who had executed a traitor in a cold parking garage six months ago was now rocking a newborn baby with a gentleness that defied human logic.
"You have to go," Nora whispered, her voice a weak rasp. "You promised yourself... you said you would protect him. Taking us back to your world isn't protection, Dominic. It's a death sentence."
Dominic stopped rocking. He walked closer, sitting down gently on the edge of the mattress, extending the baby toward her so she could hold her son. Nora gathered the infant into her arms, pressing her face against his soft, warm head.
"I am not taking you back to my world, Lena," Dominic said quietly, his gaze steady and absolute. "I am burning my world down."
She blinked, looking up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"While you were hiding in Maine, I spent six months restructuring every syndicate asset, handing off the violent enforcement divisions to the council, and liquidating our illegal holdings," Dominic confessed, taking her hand in his. "I was getting out, Lena. I was already planning to walk away before you saw what you saw in that garage. I wanted to be a man you could look at without fear."
Nora stared at him, the weight of his words sinking slowly past her defenses.
May you like
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked softly.
"Because men like me don't get happy endings," he answered, his voice cracking. "Until tonight. Until you."
