Chapter 4 - The Golden Cage
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The gravity of Dante's words settled heavily in the quiet room.
I stood up slowly from the marble floor, my knees trembling beneath my worn skirt.
"I need to leave," I whispered, backing toward the elevator doors.
"I have a shift at noon, rent due in four days, and a life that doesn't involve mafia wars."
The moment my foot touched the edge of the hallway, a deep, rumbling growl echoed through the penthouse.
It didn't come from Dante.
It came from Orion.
The massive beast was on his feet in an instant, cutting off my path to the elevator with immovable authority.
He didn't bare his teeth at me, but his broad black body pressed firmly against my legs, refusing to let me take another step.
When I tried to sidestep him, he let out a low, pathetic whine and blocked me again with his shoulder.
"He won't let you leave," Dante observed, walking back over to his desk with measured steps.
"Call him off, Mr. Moretti," I demanded, crossing my arms defensively.
"He doesn't obey commands when it comes to you," Dante replied without looking up from his papers.
"Last night, after you walked out of that dining room, Orion went into a state of severe depressive withdrawal."
"He refused raw steak, wouldn't drink water, and attacked two of my best handlers when they tried to move him."
"His heart rate was dangerously elevated, and the veterinarian warned me he could suffer organ failure from stress."
I looked down at the hound, whose amber eyes were locked onto mine with heartbreaking devotion.
"You can't keep me here against my will," I said, trying to project a confidence I did not feel.
"This is kidnapping."
Dante smiled faintly, a chilling expression that held zero warmth.
"I don't need to kidnap you, Elena."
"I am offering you the only thing that can keep you alive: a fortress."
He picked up an iPad from his desk and swiped the screen toward me.
On the display was high-definition surveillance footage taken outside my cramped Brooklyn apartment building earlier this morning.
Two black sedans with blacked-out license plates were parked on the opposite side of the street.
Four men in heavy coats were loitering near my front stoop, checking doorbells and peering through the ground-floor windows.
"Victor Romano's scouts," Dante said quietly, his tone dropping an octave.
"The moment word leaked that Orion allowed a stranger to pet him, Romano grew suspicious."
"He knows Orion's temperament better than anyone because Romano was there the day Julian Valenti died."
A cold dread pooled in the pit of my stomach as I watched the men on the screen test my apartment building's front lock.
"If you walk out those elevator doors right now, you won't make it three blocks before they throw you into a trunk."
"They will question you, they will figure out who you are, and you will vanish into the East River."
I swallowed hard, the harsh reality stripping away every illusion of safety I possessed.
"So what are you proposing?"
Dante set the iPad down and folded his large hands on the mahogany desk.
"You stay here under my personal protection as Orion's designated caretaker."
"You will have your own private suite on this floor, access to whatever you need, and complete security."
"In return, you will help me keep Orion stable while my investigators trace the leak and locate Romano's safehouses."
"And to compensate you for the inconvenience, I will deposit one hundred thousand dollars into an account under your new legal name every month."
My jaw dropped slightly at the staggering sum.
"One hundred thousand a month?"
"Your life is worth infinitely more than that to me," Dante said softly, his gray eyes piercing straight into mine.
"Do we have an agreement, Elena?"
Orion gave another soft whine, nudging my hand until my fingers curled into his thick fur.
I took a deep, shaky breath and looked at the most dangerous man in New York.
May you like
"Call me Olivia until I remember Elena," I said firmly.
"And we have a deal."
