Chapter 6 - The Dinner TableThat evening, Mara and Eli found themselves sitting in a dining room that looked like it belonged in a penthouse magazine. A chef in a crisp white jacket quietly served roasted duck and wild mushroom risotto, leaving them alone behind sliding glass doors that overlooked the Philadelphia skyline at dusk.
Eli was practically vibrating with excitement. "Mara, do you realize what this means? My tuition is paid for. My textbooks are covered. I don't have to work thirty hours a week anymore."
"We don't know anything about this man, Eli," Mara warned, keeping her voice low. "He’s... he’s dangerous."
"He bought us a future, Big Sis. What has Russ Danner ever done for us except give you carpal tunnel?"
Before Mara could answer, the glass door slid open, and Julian entered. He had removed his suit jacket, wearing only a crisp white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing the lean, corded muscle beneath.
He sat down at the head of the table, pouring water into a crystal glass.
"Your living arrangements are being handled," Julian said calmly, looking at Eli. "A secure penthouse three blocks from the hospital. You start your internship on Monday, Eli. Your room is already furnished."
Eli stared at him, grinning. "Man, if I knew getting kidnapped by mob bosses came with a scholarship, I would’ve dropped out of community college sooner."
"Eli," Mara warned, her face burning.
Julian chuckled—a low, genuine sound that crinkled the corners of his dark eyes. "He’s smart, Mara. You raised him well."
"Why are you doing this?" Mara asked, setting her fork down. The food tasted like ash in her mouth as the weight of reality settled back in. "People like you... you don't do things out of the goodness of your heart. What's the catch?"
Julian’s smile faded. He set his glass down, the silence in the room suddenly stretching tight.
"There is no catch, Mara," he said softly. "For two months, the only real part of my day—the only hour where I didn't have to look over my shoulder, calculate betrayals, or decide who lives and dies—was the forty minutes I spent sitting in booth six, watching you laugh when Trish called me Jason."
Mara’s breath caught in her throat.
"You are the only person in this city who looked at me and saw a man instead of a monster," Julian continued, his voice dropping into a register that made her skin tingle. "I am protecting you because I choose to. And because without you, I don't have a home to go back to."
May you like
Before Mara could formulate a reply, the heavy security doors at the front of the compound echoed with a deafening, metallic crash.
Alarms wailed through the pristine hallways in a shriek of crimson emergency light.
