Chapter 7 - The Only Person Who Didn't Fear Him
Six months later, the Aurelia Grand hosted one of Atlantic City's largest charity galas.
Hundreds of guests filled the ballroom.
Politicians.
Executives.
Celebrities.
And men who became noticeably quieter whenever Matteo DeLuca walked past.
Matteo stood near the balcony in a perfectly tailored black suit.
The tattoos along his hands disappeared beneath his cuffs.
Gabriel approached.
“She's late.”
Matteo checked his watch.
“She isn't late.”
“It's 8:02.”
Matteo looked at him.
Gabriel nodded solemnly.
“She's late.”
Then the ballroom doors opened.
Lena entered.
She no longer wore a coat-check uniform.
But she hadn't become some glittering mafia princess either.
She was simply Lena.
The same woman who had once been exhausted, broke and invisible behind a counter.
Matteo crossed the room toward her.
People moved aside.
Lena noticed.
“That's creepy.”
“What?”
“The Red Sea thing everyone does when you walk.”
“They're being respectful.”
“They're terrified.”
“Similar results.”
She smiled.
Matteo held out his hand.
“Dance with me.”
“You dance?”
“No.”
“Then why ask?”
“I'm trying normal hobbies.”
“Bowling was my suggestion.”
“I have limits.”
Lena laughed and took his hand.
Halfway across the dance floor, she noticed the watch on his wrist.
The same silver watch.
“You still wear it.”
Matteo looked down.
“Every day.”
“Aren't you worried?”
“About someone tampering with it?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Why?”
His eyes met hers.
“Because now I know someone who's willing to tell me when something isn't right.”
Lena became quiet.
Around them, the ballroom continued moving.
Music.
Crystal glasses.
Whispered conversations.
Matteo leaned closer.
“You know what bothered me most about that night?”
“The attempted murder?”
“No.”
“That's concerning.”
“You weren't afraid of me.”
Lena smiled faintly.
“I was terrified of you.”
“You hid it well.”
“I needed the tips.”
He laughed.
Then his expression softened.
“You could've looked away.”
“I know.”
“You almost did.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you?”
Lena looked at him for several seconds.
“Because nobody deserves to die while everyone else pretends they didn't see it happening.”
Matteo stopped dancing.
That answer had changed his life once.
It did again.
He touched her cheek gently.
Then kissed her.
Across the ballroom, Gabriel quietly turned away and pretended to become extremely interested in a chandelier.
Lena pulled back.
“One rule.”
Matteo sighed.
“You always have rules.”
“No tracking devices.”
“Agreed.”
“No men outside my bathroom.”
“That happened once.”
“Gabriel scared ten years off my life.”
From across the ballroom:
“I apologized!”
Lena laughed.
Matteo looked at her.
Six months earlier, she had been furniture to men like him.
Invisible.
Forgettable.
Safe.
Then she had seen something she wasn't supposed to see.
She had spoken when silence would have been easier.
And Matteo DeLuca had discovered something far more dangerous than betrayal.
Someone he trusted.
Someone who challenged him.
Someone who didn't want his money.
Someone who could look directly at the most feared man in Atlantic City and tell him when he was wrong.
Matteo took her hand again.
“Come on.”
“Where?”
“Dinner.”
“Where?”
“You'll complain regardless.”
“Probably.”
They walked from the ballroom together.
Outside, the vintage black Rolls-Royce waited beneath the hotel lights.
But this time nobody opened the door for Lena.
Matteo did it himself.
She stopped before getting inside.
“Matteo?”
“Yes?”
“If you ever put a five-hundred-thousand-dollar car outside my apartment as a gift, I'm selling it.”
He stared at her.
“I wasn't planning to.”
“Good.”
“I was considering a house.”
“Matteo.”
He smiled.
Lena shook her head and climbed into the car.
The door closed.
May you like
And for perhaps the first time in Matteo DeLuca's life, the most dangerous thing waiting for him wasn't an enemy.
It was a future he actually wanted.
