Chapter 6 - THE MORNING AFTER
The sun rose over Boston, burning off the remnants of the midnight storm.
Golden light poured through the tall arched windows of the Blackwell estate, illuminating dust motes dancing in the grand foyer.
The federal SUVs were gone.
Senator Caldwell had left an hour earlier, broken and empty-handed, carrying his whimpering son out the side door like a whipped dog.
Kate sat in the sunroom, sipping a fresh cup of chamomile tea.
Her arm throbbed dully beneath the cast, but the heavy, suffocating terror of the past twenty-four hours had lifted.
The door opened, and Damon walked in.
He looked as though he hadn't missed a wink of sleep.
His black hair was neatly combed, his dark suit immaculate.
"How is the arm?" he asked, pulling out a chair across from her.
"It's better," Kate said, looking down at the rim of her teacup.
"Dr. Vance said the healing process has started."
"Good."
Damon leaned back, crossing one long leg over the other.
"Your mother called the nurse's station at five a.m. She said she slept better last night than she has in three years."
Kate looked up, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
"Mr. Blackwell... I don't know how to thank you."
"You don't need to thank me, Kate."
"You saved my life. And you took care of my mom."
"I protected my house," Damon corrected gently.
"And Preston Caldwell will never set foot in this city again."
"What about the fifteen men?" Kate asked, her voice dropping to a nervous whisper.
"What happened to them?"
Damon took a slow sip of his black coffee.
"They found new employment," he said smoothly.
"In South America. Under very different names."
Kate let out a long, shaky breath.
She knew the truth, and he knew she knew, but the unspoken agreement between them was ironclad.
"I want to go back to work," Kate said, setting her cup down.
"My shift started at six."
"Your shift as a maid is finished, Kate."
She froze.
"What? Are you firing me?"
"Not firing you," Damon corrected, standing up and walking over to the window.
"Promoting you."
"Promoting me to what? I don't know anything about running a criminal empire."
Damon turned around, a faint, genuine smile touching his lips for the very first time.
"You know courage, Kate. And in my line of work, courage is the rarest commodity on earth."
He walked back toward her, stopping just inches away.
"I need someone I can trust to manage my personal accounts and oversee the charitable foundation I'm setting up for families like yours."
Kate stared at him, her heart doing a strange, unfamiliar flip in her chest.
"Why me?"
"Because when I stood in that doorway last night," Damon said quietly, "you didn't beg for mercy."
"You protected your dignity with a broken arm."
He held out his hand—not to command her, not to threaten her, but to invite her.
"What do you say, Kate?"
Kate looked at his hand, then up into those dark, intense eyes.
The fear was gone.
In its place was a fierce, burning spark of a new beginning.
She slowly placed her good hand in his.
"I say yes, Mr. Blackwell."
Damon’s grip tightened, strong and steady.
"Call me Damon."
May you like
And as the morning sun flooded the room, Kate Bennett realized her old life was truly dead, and her new one had just begun.
THE END OF CHAPTER 6
