Chapter 7 - Don't Let Her Leave
The bullet had entered Elena's side.
Matteo rode with her in the ambulance.
He held pressure against the wound while paramedics worked.
“Stay awake.”
Elena's eyelids fluttered.
“You're bossy.”
“Yes.”
“Lucia?”
“Safe.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
She exhaled.
“Good.”
“Elena.”
Her eyes closed.
“Elena!”
At Northwestern Memorial Hospital, doctors rushed her into surgery.
Matteo stood in the hallway covered in her blood.
Daniel sat nearby.
Lucia arrived with Marco.
The little girl ran straight into Matteo.
“Is she going to die?”
“No.”
“You don't know.”
He hated that she was right.
Matteo knelt.
“No. I don't.”
Lucia started crying.
“She got hurt because of me.”
“No.”
“She came back for me.”
“Because she loves you.”
Lucia looked at him.
“Do you love her?”
Matteo froze.
Daniel raised an eyebrow from across the hall.
Six-year-olds had no respect for timing.
Matteo looked through the operating-room doors.
“I don't know.”
Lucia wiped her nose.
“You do.”
“How do you know?”
“You do your worried face.”
“I have one face.”
“No. Six.”
Despite himself, Matteo laughed.
It sounded strange.
Three hours later, the surgeon appeared.
Elena would live.
The bullet had missed major organs.
Daniel sat down and covered his face.
Matteo closed his eyes.
Lucia hugged his leg.
Two days later, Elena woke to find Matteo asleep in a chair beside her.
His expensive suit jacket was folded beneath his head.
His tie was gone.
His shirt was wrinkled.
She stared.
“You look terrible.”
His eyes opened instantly.
“So do you.”
“Charming.”
“I've been told.”
“By who?”
“Nobody.”
She smiled.
Then saw new shoes on the table.
Simple black leather.
Her expression changed.
Matteo noticed.
“They're not meant to replace yours.”
“Good.”
“I had your old pair repaired.”
She looked at him.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because apparently I'm learning that objects aren't always just objects.”
Elena's eyes softened.
Matteo handed her the repaired shoes.
The stitches remained visible.
He hadn't asked the cobbler to erase them.
“Why leave the scars?”
Matteo looked at her.
“I thought you'd want them remembered.”
She swallowed.
“Thank you.”
When Elena returned to the mansion two weeks later, Lucia had decorated the front hall with handmade signs.
WELCOME HOME MISS ELENA.
One was upside down.
Matteo didn't remove them.
Elena expected to return as an employee.
Instead Matteo called her into his office.
“You're fired.”
She stared.
“What?”
“You were shot because of my family.”
“So?”
“So you're not cleaning my house anymore.”
Anger flashed.
“You don't get to decide I can't work.”
“I didn't.”
“You just fired me.”
“From being a maid.”
He slid a folder toward her.
Inside was an employment offer.
Falcone Foundation.
Director of financial integrity and community grants.
Elena laughed.
“You've lost your mind.”
“You studied accounting for two years before leaving college.”
“How do you know?”
“I investigate people.”
“That's creepy.”
“Probably.”
She read the salary.
Her eyes widened.
“Matteo.”
“You're qualified.”
“I haven't finished my degree.”
“The position includes tuition.”
She stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because my family destroyed eleven years of your life.”
“You didn't.”
“My name did.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“To me it is.”
She closed the folder.
“I don't want charity.”
His gaze held hers.
“Good. Because I don't give charity to people who argue with me this much.”
She smiled.
“Then what is this?”
“A job.”
“And the ridiculous salary?”
“Hazard pay.”
She laughed.
Matteo stared.
Something about the sound made the mansion feel different.
Warmer.
Then Lucia burst through the door.
“Did she say yes?”
“Were you listening?”
“No.”
“You were.”
“Yes.”
Elena looked at Lucia.
“I haven't decided.”
Lucia climbed into the chair.
“You should.”
“Why?”
“Because Daddy needs somebody who tells him when he's being stupid.”
Matteo pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“Please take the job.”
She studied him.
Then signed.
That night, Daniel joined them for dinner.
For the first time in years, the Falcone dining room contained laughter.
But later, when Matteo walked Elena to the guest wing, she stopped.
“I'll move back to my apartment soon.”
“You can stay.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Why?”
She looked at him.
“Because I'm starting to like being here.”
Matteo's expression softened.
“That makes two of us.”
Neither moved.
For one dangerous second, Elena thought he might kiss her.
Instead Matteo stepped back.
“Goodnight, Elena.”
She hid her disappointment.
“Goodnight.”
Matteo watched her walk away.
Then Lucia's voice came from behind a statue.
“You should've kissed her.”
Matteo turned slowly.
“Go to bed.”
Lucia grinned.
“You're scared.”
May you like
Matteo Falcone had faced guns, betrayal, and death.
Unfortunately, his daughter was right.
