Chapter 4 - THE DAWN OVER BOSTON HARBOR
By 6:00 AM, the harbor was bathed in the pale, beautiful gold of a new autumn sunrise.
The docks were quiet again. The police would eventually arrive to collect the detained conspirators, but everyone in the city knew that whatever happened in the harbor belonged exclusively to the Moretti family.
I stood on the observation deck of Dante’s private waterfront estate overlooking the harbor, rocking Sofia gently in my arms as she cooed softly. The salty breeze whipped my hair around my face, carrying the scent of the ocean and roasted coffee.
Footsteps approached behind me, slow and steady.
An oversized wool coat draped over my shoulders, heavy and warm, smelling faintly of cedar, rain, and expensive cologne.
“You’ll catch cold,” Dante’s voice murmured near my ear.
I turned my head to look at him. The bandages beneath his shirt were secure, and though he still moved with a slight stiffness, the terrifying aura of the Devil of the Harbor had softened into something entirely different when he looked at me and the babies.
“I’m fine,” I said, pulling the coat tighter around myself. “Though I have to admit, your version of a Tuesday night is a little more eventful than mine usually are.”
A genuine, warm laugh escaped Dante’s lips—a sound that probably few people in Boston had ever been privileged to hear.
He stepped closer, standing beside me at the railing. He reached out, his finger gently tracing Sofia’s tiny cheek before his hand moved to cup my jaw, tilting my face up to meet his dark, intense gaze.
“Julian is gone,” Dante said quietly. “The family council has ratified my leadership, and the traitors have been purged. My home is secure. My children are safe.”
“Then why do you still look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?” I asked softly.
Dante stared down at me, his thumb brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
“Because when I look at you, Ella, I realize how close I came to losing everything before I even knew what I had.” He paused, his eyes searching mine with a vulnerability that took my breath away. “Sullivan’s Diner is gone. The storefront was collateral damage in the raid last night.”
My heart sank a fraction. Even though I knew my life had changed forever, the diner had been my last connection to my mother, to my old, quiet existence.
“I know,” I whispered, looking back out at the harbor. “I guess I’ll have to find a new job.”
“You won’t need a job,” Dante said smoothly.
I frowned, pulling back slightly. “Dante, I told you, I didn’t help you for money—”
“I didn't offer you money,” he interrupted, a wicked, charming glint appearing in his eyes. “I offered you a partnership.”
“A partnership in what?”
“In everything,” he said, his voice dropping into a low, hypnotic register. “I need someone I can trust, Ella. Someone with a mind like a steel trap and a heart fierce enough to stand up to the Devil of the Harbor in a greasy diner pantry. I am rebuilding my empire from the ground up, and I want you beside me. Not as an employee. Not as a guest.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, opening it to reveal a ring set with a deep, flawless emerald surrounded by vintage diamonds—a ring that looked like it belonged to a queen.
“Be my wife, Ella,” he said, his voice steady, absolute, and completely undeniable. “Help me raise my children. Take half of everything I own. Rule Boston by my side.”
I stared at the ring, then up at the most dangerous, magnetic man in the city. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I had been a broke waitress hiding a bleeding stranger behind stacks of flour bags. Now, the entire underworld of Boston lay at our feet.
I didn't hesitate.
“Only if I get to keep the old freight tunnel,” I said with a smile. “Just in case you ever get on my nerves.”
May you like
Dante chuckled, sliding the heavy emerald ring onto my finger and pulling me against his chest in a fierce, protective embrace as the morning sun broke fully over the Boston skyline.
“It’s yours,” he whispered against my lips. “Along with everything else.”
