Chapter 5 - THE PENTHOUSE SANCTUARY
That evening, a black town car picked me up outside my apartment building.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in the lobby of Boston’s most exclusive residential tower—The Sovereign.
The private elevator whisked me up to the penthouse floor.
When the doors slid open, Daniel was waiting.
He wore a simple black cashmere sweater and dark trousers.
“I heard about your visitor at the bookstore today,” Daniel said, pouring two glasses of sparkling water at his marble kitchen island.
I took the glass from his hand, my brow furrowing slightly.
“Your surveillance is impressively intrusive, Daniel.”
“My security team is thorough,” he corrected gently, leaning against the counter.
“Jason was out of line.”
“Jason is an idiot,” I sighed, taking a sip of the water.
“Who clearly doesn't know how lucky he was to have you,” Daniel added, his gray eyes holding mine.
I felt a warm flush creep up my neck.
I looked around the penthouse.
It was vast, minimalist, and breathtaking.
Floor-to-ceiling glass walls offered a panoramic view of the Boston skyline glittering beneath the night sky.
Bookshelves lined an entire wall of the living room, filled with rare leather-bound volumes.
“You read first editions?” I asked in surprise, walking over to the shelves.
“I collect them,” Daniel answered, joining me by the wall.
“Mostly 19th-century poetry and philosophy.”
“You surprise me, Daniel Brooks.”
“Most people only see the title, Emily,” he said softly, standing close enough for me to feel the warmth radiating from him.
“They never bother to open the book.”
Before I could answer, a sharp alarm chimed from the security console near the entryway.
Daniel’s expression shifted instantly.
The gentle, attentive man vanished, replaced by the ruthless syndicate boss.
“Marcus,” Daniel commanded into his encrypted lapel mic.
“Status.”
“Boss, we have an uninvited guest in the private lobby downstairs,” Marcus’s voice crackled through the speaker.
“Morena’s enforcers.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened into a lethal line.
May you like
“Lock down the penthouse,” Daniel ordered coldly.
“And do not let them leave the building alive.”
