Chapter 4 - Nolan Tried To Come Back—And Dante Showed Me How He Protected What Was His**
I had been working for Dante for almost a month when Nolan found me.
I was walking to my car after work one evening.
The parking garage was dimly lit, quiet.
I had almost reached my car when I heard his voice.
“Elena.”
I froze.
That voice.
I would know it in my nightmares.
I turned around.
Nolan was standing a few feet away, leaning against a concrete pillar.
His face was pale, his eyes wild.
He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.
“Stay away from me, Nolan,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
My hand went to the small pepper spray Dante had insisted I carry.
He laughed, a harsh, bitter sound.
“Or what? You’ll call your new boyfriend? That old gangster? He can’t protect you forever, Elena. No one can.”
He started walking toward me.
“You embarrassed me in front of everyone,” he said, his voice low and angry.
“You made me look like a fool. And now you’re working for him? Living in his house? You think he cares about you? He just wants something to play with until he gets bored.”
“Get away from me,” I repeated, pulling the pepper spray from my bag.
Nolan’s face twisted with rage.
He lunged at me.
I raised the pepper spray, ready to fire.
But before I could, two figures stepped out from behind a nearby car.
Dante’s men.
They moved faster than I could blink.
One of them grabbed Nolan from behind, pinning his arms behind his back.
The other stepped between us.
Nolan struggled, cursing and screaming.
“You’ll pay for this, Elena! You’ll both pay!”
Then I saw Dante.
He walked out of the shadows at the end of the garage, his face like stone.
He moved slowly, deliberately, toward Nolan.
“I warned you,” Dante said, his voice cold enough to freeze the blood in my veins.
“I told you to stay away from her.”
Nolan stopped struggling when he saw Dante.
The fear returned to his eyes, just like it had at the gala.
“Moretti, this is a misunderstanding—”
“Shut up,” Dante said.
He stopped right in front of Nolan.
“You touched her. You threatened her. You came after someone under my protection. That is not a misunderstanding. That is a death sentence.”
Nolan went pale.
“Please—”
Dante leaned in close, his voice so low only Nolan could hear.
I couldn’t make out the words, but whatever he said made Nolan’s whole body tremble.
Then Dante stepped back.
“Get him out of my sight,” he said to his men.
“Make sure he never comes within a hundred miles of Chicago again. And if he ever so much as breathes in Elena’s direction, you have my permission to do whatever you see fit.”
They dragged Nolan away, still screaming and begging.
The garage went quiet again.
Dante turned to me.
His expression softened immediately when he saw my face.
He walked over and put his hands on my shoulders.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head, my eyes filling with tears.
“I’m fine. He didn’t touch me. Your men got there just in time.”
He pulled me into his arms.
I froze for a second, then melted against him.
He held me tight, his hand rubbing gentle circles on my back.
“I’m sorry,” he said into my hair.
“I should have had more men watching you. This will never happen again. I promise you.”
I closed my eyes, breathing in his scent.
Cedar and rain and something uniquely him.
For the first time since Nolan had appeared, I felt truly safe.
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And I knew then that I wasn’t just falling for Dante Moretti.
I was already in love with him.
