Chapter 6 - The Sanctuary of the Wolf
After the explosion at the Chelsea docks, Dante refused to let Anna return to her apartment. Despite her fierce protests about her independence and her daughter’s routine, Silas was dispatched to collect Lily from school in an armored limousine, moving both mother and child into the absolute fortress of the main Russo estate in Brookline.
The estate was a sprawling, historic stone manor surrounded by twenty acres of private woodland, guarded by an intricate network of biometric security lasers and forty heavily armed men.
For Lily, however, it wasn't a fortress; it was a fairy-tale palace.
Within two hours of their arrival, Leo Russo—now fully recovered and looking healthy, his dark hair neat and his cheeks rosy—had dragged Lily into the grand conservatory to show her his massive collection of old-fashioned tin soldiers and model trains.
"She likes the trains, Leo," Anna said, standing in the doorway of the conservatory, her arms crossed as she watched her daughter laugh. The sight of Lily playing safely with the heir to the city’s largest syndicate was surreal, a reality she never could have imagined when she woke up for her delivery shift on Tuesday.
"She can have the blue train if she wants," Leo said seriously, his silver-gray eyes—so like his father’s—looking up at Anna with a deep, childhood gratitude. "Thank you for fixing my chest, Anna. The bad dreams went away when you gave me the medicine."
Anna smiled, a soft, genuine warmth filling her chest as she stepped into the room and ruffled Leo’s hair. "You're very welcome, Leo. Just make sure you eat your vegetables from now on."
"He will," a deep voice said from the shadows of the hallway.
Dante stepped into the light of the glass dome. He had changed into a comfortable black cashmere sweater and trousers, looking relaxed but no less formidable. He walked over to Anna, standing close enough that his arm brushed against her shoulder.
"They look good together," Dante murmured, watching the children build a track across the marble floor.
"They're children, Dante," Anna said softly, her eyes tracking Lily’s movements. "They don't care about syndicates or territories. They just want a friend."
"In my world, friends are a luxury we cannot afford," Dante said, his jaw tightening slightly. "But for Leo... I want something different. I want a world where he doesn't have to look under his car for a bomb before he goes to school."
He turned to look at Anna, his slate-gray eyes softening into an expression of intense, quiet devotion that made her heart skip a beat.
"I had a meeting with the Commission this afternoon," Dante said. "The Wellingtons have denied any involvement with the greenhouse. They're blaming a rogue faction within their own ranks. But I know the truth. Charles Wellington is trying to clear me out so he can take the northern transport lines."
"What are you going to do?" Anna asked, a sudden fear tightening her throat—not for herself, but for the man standing beside her.
"I’m going to cut the supply line at the source," Dante said smoothly, his voice dropping into a determined vow. "There is a private charity gala at the Plaza Hotel in New York this Friday. Charles Wellington is the guest of honor. I’ve secured two invitations. I want you to go with me, Anna. As my guest. And as the expert who will identify the broker who sold them the chemical stabilizers."
Anna looked from Dante to her daughter, then back to the mafia boss who had rewritten the geometry of her life in less than a week. She was a delivery girl from East Boston, but looking into his silver eyes, she knew she had already crossed the border into his territory.
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"I don't have a dress for a New York gala, Dante," she said softly.
Dante smiled—a rare, brilliant smile that transformed his hard features into something breathtakingly handsome. "That, piccola, is the easiest problem I’ve had to solve all week."
