Chapter 10 - The Vow in the DarkSilence returned to the cottage, heavy, suffocating, and thick with the metallic tang of fresh blood.
Damian stood up slowly over the body, his chest heaving, his dark hair falling across his forehead. His face was a mask of pure, unadulterated savagery—the monster the entire city feared, fully unmasked in the dark room.
He turned slowly to look at Tessa.
She stood frozen against the kitchen counter, the chef's knife still held tightly in her trembling hand, her eyes wide with absolute shock and terror. She was looking at the dead man on her floor, then up at the blood dripping from Damian's hands.
Damian stepped back, raising both hands slightly, his voice dropping into a desperate, surprisingly gentle register. "Tessa..."
Tessa’s breathing was fast and frantic. She let the kitchen knife drop from her fingers. It clattered against the floorboards. "He... he came through the back..."
In two swift strides, Damian crossed the room. He didn't touch her with his bloodied hands, but he stepped directly between her and the horrific scene on the floor, blocking her view entirely with his broad frame.
"Look at me," Damian commanded softly, his dark eyes burning with an intense, fierce light. "Tessa, look at me."
Tessa raised her eyes to his. She was shaking violently, her skin paper-white.
"You're safe," Damian breathed, his voice thick with an emotion he hadn't felt in twenty years—sheer, unadulterated terror at the thought of losing her. "I have you. You're safe."
Two seconds later, Paul Ferrell and four armed security guards burst through the shattered front door, weapons drawn.
"Clear the room!" Paul barked, then stopped dead when he saw the body on the floor and Damian standing in front of Tessa.
"Get this filth out of her house," Damian ordered over his shoulder, his voice cold as arctic ice, never taking his eyes off Tessa’s face. "And tell the captain to prepare the vehicles. We are going to pay Gianna Moretti a personal visit."
Paul nodded grimly. "Understood, boss."
Damian finally reached out, taking Tessa's trembling hands gently into his own, ignoring the blood smudging his cuffs. "You are coming to the main house tonight. You will stay in the private wing next to my suite."
Tessa looked into his eyes, seeing the ruthless mob boss who had just taken a man's life without a second thought, but also seeing the man who had torn through a solid oak door to save her.
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"Damian..." she whispered, her voice cracking.
"I promised you that no one on this estate would harm you," Damian whispered back, pressing his forehead lightly against hers, his voice ringing with a terrifying, absolute vow. "And tomorrow, I am going to erase every single person who ever made you feel unsafe."
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