Chapter 10 - The Dragon’s QueenThree months later.
The rain hammered against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the penthouse suite, washing away the city grime and leaving behind a glittering expanse of neon lights that stretched out toward the horizon.
The trial of Julian Vance and Marcus Vance had lasted all of two weeks, resulting in unappealable, maximum-security life sentences in a federal black-site prison. The corrupt municipal union had been completely dismantled, and every penny of illicit assets they had stolen from my husband’s construction firm had been transferred directly into a trust fund bearing Ellie’s name.
I stood by the grand piano in the center of the penthouse, wearing a simple, elegant cashmere sweater, watching the rain outside.
Footsteps approached softly behind me. A pair of warm, strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back against a familiar, solid chest.
“You’re thinking about the restaurant,” Dante murmured, resting his chin gently on my shoulder.
I leaned back into his embrace, smiling slightly as I felt his steady heartbeat against my spine. “I was actually thinking about how insane it is that I ever smuggled my baby into the most dangerous restaurant in the city.”
Dante chuckled, a rich, warm sound that vibrated through my whole body. He turned me around slowly in his arms, his dark eyes sparkling with affection.
“If you hadn't,” Dante whispered, lifting his hand to brush a stray lock of hair from my forehead, “I would have gone the rest of my life living in the dark, believing I was nothing more than a monster destined to destroy everything I touched.”
“You’re not a monster, Dante,” I whispered back, resting my hands against his chest, right over his heart. “You’re just a dragon who finally found his hoard to protect.”
From the nursery down the hall came the soft, familiar sound of Ellie waking up from her nap, letting out a cheerful little coo.
Dante smiled—a real, genuine, unguarded smile that made him look less like the most feared mafia boss in the city and more like the man I was falling hopelessly, irrevocably in love with.
May you like
“Come on,” Dante said, taking my hand in his calloused grip. “Let’s go check on our daughter.”
As we walked down the hallway together toward the warm light of the nursery, hand in hand, I knew the past was finally buried, the debt was paid, and our new life had just begun.
