Chapter 5 - Safehouse Behind the Iron Gates
By 3:00 PM, the blood in the medical pavilion parking garage had been bleached away, the eight mercenaries neutralized, and the signed confessions secured.
Under the cover of a heavily armed, six-vehicle armored convoy, Arthur transported Chloe to the Romano Estate—a fortress of limestone and iron sitting on forty private, heavily forested acres along the shores of Lake Michigan.
The estate was an impenetrable sanctuary. High stone walls topped with razor wire and motion sensors encircled the perimeter. Armed guards with Belgian Malinois patrol dogs walked the grounds every quarter-hour, and the entire compound was equipped with its own off-grid power generator, medical bay, and satellite communications array.
Arthur carried Chloe up the sweeping marble staircase of the main house himself, refusing to let her feet touch the ground despite her quiet protests.
“Arthur, put me down, I can walk,” Chloe grumbled, her face flushed with embarrassment as dozens of maids, bodyguards, and staff members bowed their heads in deference as they passed.
“The doctor ordered strict bed rest,” Arthur said smoothly, not even breathing hard as he carried her through the double mahogany doors of the master bedroom. “Which means your feet don't touch the floor until Gabriel says so.”
He laid her gently in the center of a massive, king-sized four-poster bed draped in Egyptian silk and plush down comforters.
Chloe sank into the mattress, looking around the room in utter awe. The room was larger than the entire ground floor of her diner. A massive stone fireplace crackled with birch logs, casting a warm, amber glow over polished hardwood floors, antique oil paintings, and towering French doors that looked out over the grey, churning waves of Lake Michigan.
“This is your room,” Chloe stated, looking up at him.
“This is our room,” Arthur corrected softly, sitting on the edge of the bed and sliding off her shoes.
Chloe swallowed hard, looking away. “Arthur, having a baby together doesn't mean we are together. You can’t just sweep seven weeks of abandonment under the rug with silk sheets and an armed fortress.”
Arthur paused, holding her small, swollen foot in his large hand. He looked up at her, his expression raw with an honesty he had never shown to another living soul.
“I don't expect you to forgive me today, Chloe,” he said, his voice quiet. “Or tomorrow. Or next year. But I will spend every breath left in my body proving to you that you are the only woman who will ever hold my name, my heart, and this empire.”
He reached over to the nightstand, picking up a small velvet box that had been sitting there since before he left for the cathedral.
He popped the clasp open.
Inside sat a flawless, ten-carat emerald-cut diamond ring, flanked by two trilliant-cut sapphires, glowing fiercely in the firelight.
Chloe’s breath caught in her throat. “What is that?”
“I bought this five months ago,” Arthur said, his voice thick with emotion. “The day after you told me you were craving salted caramel ice cream at 3:00 AM. I had it custom-made in Antwerp. I was going to propose to you in the diner’s kitchen. And then the Croft family delivered a severed hand to my office with a map of your street.”
Tears welled in Chloe’s eyes. “Arthur...”
“I don't expect you to wear it yet,” Arthur whispered, setting the open box gently on her bedside table. “It stays right here. And when you are ready—if you ever decide that I am worthy of being your husband—you put it on. Until then, you and our son are the undisputed rulers of this house.”
Before Chloe could reply, a soft knock sounded at the door.
Leo Barnes stepped inside, holding a tailored black tuxedo and a leather dossier.
“It’s time, Boss. The Five Syndicates have assembled at the Continental. Malcolm Croft is already there with his capos.”
May you like
Arthur stood up, his jaw setting like concrete. He smoothed down his jacket, leaned down, and kissed Chloe softly on her temple.
“Rest, my love,” he whispered. “I have a kingdom to clean.”
