Chapter 7 - The Woman Who Walked Through the Black Doors
Six months later, Emily Parker stood outside Carmine's at 11:30 at night.
The street looked almost exactly the same.
Chicago wind.
Traffic in the distance.
Cold light reflecting from the windows.
But everything else had changed.
Victor Hale had pleaded guilty after federal prosecutors confronted him with Thomas Parker's records, Marcus Bell's testimony and evidence connecting Hale to Parker's death.
The restitution process had begun.
Emily had received enough to eliminate the debts her family had carried for years.
She had not quit Carmine's immediately.
Luca couldn't understand why.
"You hate double shifts."
"I hate being broke more."
"You're not broke anymore."
"My bank account hasn't informed my personality yet."
Eventually, she reduced her hours.
Then she enrolled in classes again.
Maya transferred to a four-year university.
Mrs. Kowalski received a new apartment lock, paid for anonymously.
Emily knew exactly which annoying Italian man had done that.
And Luca Romano?
He changed too.
Not overnight.
Men like Luca did very little overnight.
But Meridian changed.
Several questionable business relationships quietly disappeared.
His legitimate companies expanded.
He established a legal defense fund for city employees who reported corruption.
When Emily accused him of trying to repair his family name, he didn't deny it.
"My father spent years carrying accusations that belonged to Hale," he'd said.
"So this is for him?"
"Partly."
"And the rest?"
"For me."
Emily respected that answer.
Tonight, she finished her final shift before beginning a management internship at a major downtown hotel.
She stepped outside Carmine's.
A black sedan waited at the curb.
Emily smiled.
Luca leaned against it.
"No driver?"
"He has the night off."
"No security?"
"They're around."
"Of course they are."
Luca opened the passenger door.
Emily didn't get in.
"What?"
"Walk with me."
Luca looked at the car.
"We have a perfectly functional vehicle."
"Six months ago, I couldn't walk six blocks without looking behind me."
His expression softened.
"So tonight I'm walking."
Luca closed the door.
"Then we walk."
They headed down Michigan Avenue together.
At the second intersection, Emily looked behind them.
Nobody.
At the fourth, she stopped looking.
By the fifth, Luca said, "You know, the first night we met, you argued with me approximately forty times."
"Forty-three."
"You counted?"
"I had a long night."
"You refused protection."
"You were bossy."
"You walked into a criminal organization's private club without permission."
"I was being followed."
"You insulted my house."
"Maya did that."
"You supported her."
"That's what sisters do."
Luca shook his head.
Emily smiled.
Then he became serious.
"When you entered Meridian that night, did you know who I was?"
"No."
"Would you have walked in if you had?"
Emily considered it.
"Probably."
"That's concerning."
"I was desperate."
"Better."
They reached the corner where she'd first seen the building six months earlier.
Meridian's black doors stood across the street.
Emily stopped.
Luca followed her gaze.
"What are you thinking?"
"That I almost kept walking."
"But you didn't."
"I was scared."
"I know."
Emily looked at him.
"I spent years thinking being strong meant never being afraid."
Luca didn't interrupt.
"But that night I was terrified. I couldn't stop the man following me. I couldn't protect Maya by myself. I couldn't even get anyone to answer their phone."
She smiled faintly.
"So I asked a stranger for help."
"A questionable stranger."
"Extremely questionable."
Luca stepped closer.
"And?"
"And maybe strength isn't doing everything alone."
Luca's expression softened.
"Careful."
"Why?"
"You sound like you're developing emotional maturity."
"Don't ruin it."
He laughed.
It was still strange hearing Luca Romano laugh.
Emily reached for his hand.
He looked down at their fingers.
Then at her.
"There's something I want to ask you," he said.
Emily narrowed her eyes.
"If there's a ring involved, I'm running."
His eyebrows rose.
"I was going to ask if you'd have dinner with me."
"Oh."
"Interesting reaction."
"Shut up."
"So that's a no?"
Emily started walking.
"It's a yes."
Luca caught up.
"But for the record, if you ever propose, you are not doing it in front of twenty armed men."
"I'll make a note."
"No restaurant full of people."
"Very demanding."
"No helicopter."
"I wasn't considering one."
"You are now."
He smiled.
"Maybe."
Emily shook her head.
They reached her new apartment building.
Maya had moved into a dorm three weeks earlier, meaning Emily lived alone for the first time in her life.
Luca stopped outside.
"Dinner tomorrow?"
"Seven."
"I'll pick you up."
"No convoy."
"One car."
"Two guards maximum."
"Four."
"Two."
"Three."
Emily stared at him.
"Fine."
Luca smiled.
She started toward the door.
"Emily."
She turned.
He stood under the streetlight, hands in his coat pockets.
Six months earlier, she had seen him as the most dangerous man in the room.
Maybe he still was.
But danger wasn't the only thing a person could be.
"You never asked me something," Luca said.
"What?"
"That first night. You asked why I helped you."
"I remember."
"But you never asked what I thought when you walked through those doors."
Emily smiled.
"Okay. What did you think?"
Luca looked at her.
"I thought somebody had made a very serious mistake."
"The man following me?"
"No."
She waited.
"I thought whoever had convinced you that you had to survive everything alone had made the mistake."
Emily went quiet.
Luca continued.
"Turns out I was right."
Her eyes stung.
She immediately pointed at him.
"Don't get sentimental."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"And don't look pleased with yourself."
"Impossible request."
Emily walked back toward him.
Then kissed him.
Brief.
Unexpected.
Enough to finally make Luca Romano look surprised.
She stepped away.
His eyebrows rose.
"What was that?"
Emily smiled.
"Something surprising."
"You've been waiting six months to do that?"
"Maybe."
"Do it again."
"No."
"Emily."
She backed toward her apartment door.
"Good night, Mr. Romano."
Luca laughed.
"Good night, Miss Parker."
Emily entered the building.
For years, she had believed survival meant keeping her head down, working harder than everyone else and never needing anyone.
Then one cold October night, a stranger followed her through downtown Chicago.
She ran through a pair of black doors.
She asked the most dangerous man in the room for help.
And instead of finding another person who wanted something from her, Emily found someone willing to stand beside her.
Her father finally received justice.
Maya was safe.
Luca's father got his name back.
And Emily got something she had stopped believing she could afford.
A future that wasn't built around fear.
Six months earlier, she had run down Michigan Avenue because someone was following her.
Tonight, she walked home knowing someone was watching her leave.
But this time, she smiled.
May you like
Because she knew Luca Romano would never follow her where she didn't want him.
He would simply be there when she turned around.
