Chapter 5 - Under His Roof, Under His Name
The rain had lessened to a misty spray by the time they reached Pier 42 at four in the morning.
The old shipping terminal smelled of salt water, diesel fuel, and wet rust. Inside the cavernous, dimly lit warehouse, a single high-powered lamp hung from the steel rafters, casting a harsh yellow circle of light onto the concrete floor.
Kneeling in the middle of that circle was Mick O’Shea.
His hands were tied behind his back with thick zip-ties. His face was bruised and bloody, his expensive trench coat ruined. Dominic stood behind him, resting his heavy hand on his pistol grip.
When the heavy steel doors of the warehouse rolled open and Victor stepped inside with Sadi beside him, Mick gasped, squirming on his knees.
"Costello!" Mick yelled, his voice echoing off the high tin ceiling. "Costello, this is crazy! You can't do this! I'm connected with the Valenti family! You kill me, you start a war!"
Victor walked slowly into the ring of light, his leather shoes clicking sharply against the concrete. He didn't rush. He didn't look angry. He had the cold, terrifying presence of an executioner arriving for work.
Sadi stood a few feet behind Victor, her heart beating fast, but she didn't hide. She stood tall, her chin raised, looking down at the man who had tormented her for eight months.
Victor stopped two feet from Mick.
"You threatened a child in an oncology ward, Mick," Victor said softly. "The Valenti family won't start a war over a dog like you. In fact, Don Valenti personally gave me permission to eliminate you twenty minutes ago."
Mick’s face went completely ghostly pale. "No... no, Don Valenti wouldn't—"
"You're bad for business," Victor interrupted flatly. "You bring federal attention with your sloppy extortions. You use street violence in my district. And worst of all..."
Victor reached out, taking Sadi by her wrist and pulling her gently to his side, wrapping his arm securely around her waist.
"...you put your dirty hands on a woman who lives under my roof."
Mick looked at Sadi, his eyes wide with desperate disbelief. "Sadi! Sadi, tell him! I gave you time! I helped you when nobody else would give you a loan!"
Sadi looked into Mick's bloodshot eyes. For months, this man's voice had made her knees buckle in terror. She had nightmare visions of him tearing Sam away from her.
Now, standing inside the circle of Victor Costello's shadow, she felt no fear at all.
"You took forty-five thousand dollars of my blood money, Mick," Sadi said, her voice steady and razor-sharp. "And you tried to murder my brother anyway. You deserve whatever Mr. Costello gives you."
Mick opened his mouth to scream, but Dominic stepped forward, shoving a heavy rag into Mick's mouth and forcing him down onto the floor.
Victor didn't draw his gun. He looked at Dominic.
"Put him on a cargo ship to South America," Victor ordered coldly. "Let him work off his own debt in the copper mines. If he ever steps foot on North American soil again, put a bullet in his spine."
"Got it, Boss," Dominic spat, dragging Mick away into the dark shadows of the warehouse.
The warehouse fell quiet again, save for the lapping of the harbor waves outside.
Victor turned to face Sadi. He looked down at her, his dark eyes searching her pale face in the yellow light of the lamp.
"Are you satisfied?" Victor asked quietly.
Sadi looked at him, feeling a sudden surge of emotion so powerful it made her eyes burn. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and rested her bandaged hands against the hard plate of his chest.
"You saved my brother's life," she whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. "You gave me back my sanity. I don't know how I will ever repay you, Victor."
Victor covered her bandaged hands with his own massive palms, his dark eyes softening into something rich, warm, and deeply possessive.
"I told you, Sadi," Victor murmured, leaning down until his lips were inches from hers. "You don't owe me money. But from tonight on, you don't live in the servant quarters anymore."
"I don't?"
May you like
"No," Victor whispered, his lips lightly brushing against hers, sending a jolt of pure electricity straight to her core. "You move into the master suite in the east wing. As my guest. As my priority."
Sadi gasped softly as his mouth covered hers in a slow, deep, devastatingly gentle kiss that wiped away eight months of pain, blood, and tears in a single heartbeat.
