Chapter 2 - Wolves at the Gate
“Do not let them through the gate,” Matteo commanded into the intercom, his voice dropping into a cold, terrifying frequency that made the speaker vibrate. “Lock down the estate. Activate the perimeter grid now.”
“Understood, boss,” Marco’s voice replied before cutting out.
Matteo turned to Nina. The momentary tenderness in his eyes was instantly locked behind steel doors, replaced by the calculating precision of a general entering a war zone. He reached into the top drawer of his mahogany desk, pulled out a sleek silver handgun, and checked the magazine with a practiced, fluid flick of his wrist.
“Listen to me very carefully, Nina,” Matteo said, stepping close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his chest. “My bedroom is on the top floor. It is reinforced with three-inch steel lining inside the walls and has an independent air supply. Take Maya there now. Do not open the door for anyone except me or Marco.”
“Matteo, wait,” Nina panicked, her hands reaching out to clutch his dark suit jacket. The soft cotton felt expensive under her fingers, but the hard body beneath was like iron. “If Moretti is here, that means he knows! He knows Maya is alive!”
“He suspects,” Matteo corrected, his fingers brushing against hers to reassure her. “Dante Moretti is a scavenger. He creeps around edges waiting for weakness. He saw you move into this mansion two weeks ago. He’s been tracking hospital records from Chicago for years, trying to find Valeria’s missing child to make sure my bloodline is dead.”
Matteo slid the gun into his shoulder holster, his eyes burning into Nina’s.
“He thinks I am still the grieving widower who doesn't know his child survived,” Matteo whispered, his lips hovering inches from hers. “He doesn't know that my daughter is upstairs. And he certainly doesn't know what I am willing to do to protect the woman who saved her.”
Nina’s heart leaped into her throat at his words. The woman who saved her.
Without another word, Matteo unlocked the study door and escorted Nina down the dimly lit hallway. Two heavily armed guards in sharp black suits fell into step behind them immediately, their submachine guns lowered but ready.
“Escort Nina to the master suite,” Matteo ordered the guards. “If a single scratch appears on her or the child, I will skin both of you alive.”
“Yes, Don Matteo!” the guards answered in unison, bowing their heads respectfully.
Nina sprinted up the grand marble staircase, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She rushed into the third-floor nursery, where little Maya was fast asleep in her white wooden crib, her tiny fist tucked under her chin, her little legs curled up like a caterpillar.
Nina felt a fresh wave of tears fill her eyes. She scooped the baby into her arms, pressing her face into the sweet, powdery scent of Maya’s neck.
“You’re safe, baby,” Nina whispered frantically, rushing down the hall toward Matteo’s private master bedroom. “Your daddy is here now. He’s going to protect us.”
She stepped inside the massive bedroom—a masterfully designed suite of black marble, dark leather, and expansive glass windows overlooking the estate grounds. The guards immediately closed the thick, heavy door behind her, and Nina heard the electronic deadbolts slide shut with a series of heavy THUDS.
She ran to the floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking the main driveway.
Down below, past the manicured lawns and floodlit fountains, the massive iron front gates of the estate stood tall. Parking directly outside the iron bars was a matte-black SUV with tinted windows.
Standing under the glare of the security floodlights was a tall, thin man in a costly tailored coat. Dante Moretti.
Even from three stories up, Nina recognized the man from the dark news articles she had obsessively read over the last five years. He was the head of the rival syndicate—a ruthless predator who had spent a decade trying to seize control of the city’s ports from the Corvino family.
The front doors of the mansion swung open, and Matteo stepped out onto the wide stone driveway.
He wore no heavy coat, no armor, and carried no visible weapon. He walked down the driveway alone, his long, confident strides radiating absolute, terrifying authority. Ten of his top lieutenants followed a few paces behind, but Matteo walked at the point of the spear.
Nina pressed her hand against the cool glass, her heart in her throat as she watched Matteo reach the iron gates.
Through the iron bars, Dante Moretti grinned—a sickening, yellowed smile that made Nina’s blood run cold.
Dante held up a small wooden box. He said something through the gate that Nina couldn't hear over the glass.
Matteo didn't move an inch. He stood towering over the gate, his jaw set like granite.
Suddenly, Dante snapped his fingers. One of his henchmen opened the rear door of the black SUV and pulled out a young man—a Corvino border guard, beaten bloody, his hands tied behind his back.
Nina gasped, clutching Maya tighter against her chest.
Dante pulled a gun from his coat, placed it against the guard’s head, and looked directly at Matteo, uttering what looked like a demand.
Up in the bedroom, Nina held her breath, praying Matteo wouldn't give in.
Matteo didn't blink. He didn't flinch. Instead, he reached into his jacket, pulled out his phone, and raised it to his ear.
Two seconds later, down on the street behind Dante’s SUV, three unmarked black armored trucks tore around the corner, instantly pinning Moretti’s vehicle against the concrete wall! Dozens of Corvino mercenaries poured out of the vehicles, lasers painting red dots over Dante and his men!
Dante’s cocky smile instantly vanished. He backed away, realizing he had walked directly into a trap.
Matteo stepped right up to the iron bars, leaning close to Dante’s ear as he spoke through the metal. Nina couldn't hear the words, but she saw the absolute terror that suddenly washed over Dante Moretti’s face. Dante dropped his gun, scrambled back into his SUV, and his driver reversed frantically, slamming into the curb before speeding away into the rain.
Down on the driveway, Matteo watched the rival SUV vanish into the dark.
Then, he turned slowly and looked up at the third-floor window.
His dark eyes found Nina standing behind the glass. Through the rain and the distance, his gaze locked onto hers with an unspoken promise.
He turned and walked back toward the mansion.
Ten minutes later, the electronic deadbolts on the master suite door disengaged. The heavy door swung open, and Matteo stepped inside.
He looked around the room, his eyes softening the moment he saw Nina sitting on the edge of his king-sized bed, holding Maya safely in her arms.
“He came to test me,” Matteo said softly, closing the door behind him and tossing his gun onto the nightstand. “He brought the watch belonging to the nurse who died in Chicago five years ago. He wanted to see if the name would make me break.”
Nina looked up, her lower lip trembling. “And did you?”
Matteo walked over to the bed. He dropped to one knee in front of her, placing his massive, warm hands over Nina’s trembling ones.
“Five years ago, I would have burned the city down in rage,” Matteo murmured, looking up into Nina’s eyes. “Tonight, I stayed calm. Because for the first time in five years... I have something real to protect.”
May you like
He leaned forward, pressing a soft, reverent kiss against Maya’s tiny forehead, before shifting his gaze to Nina.
“You’re not staying in the maid quarters anymore, Nina,” Matteo declared softly, his fingers gently tightening around hers. “You belong here. At my side.”
