Chapter 10 - The Last Poke
They walked side-by-side down the winding stone path of the quiet garden, surrounded by bare oak trees and crisp autumn air. The silence between them was no longer heavy with fear or gunfire; it was warm, comfortable, filled with an electric, unsaid tension.
“Vance accepted a plea deal this morning,” Matteo said quietly, keeping his hands in his trouser pockets as they walked. “He gave up Salvatore Rossi and three corrupt police captains in exchange for forty years without parole. The task force has been purged. The threat to you is completely neutralized.”
Penny took a deep breath of the clean air, stopping near a stone fountain in the center of the garden. “So... I’m officially free.”
“You are officially free,” Matteo agreed, stopping beside her, turning to face her. “Your mother’s care is secure. A cashier's check for two hundred thousand dollars has been deposited into your bank account—a consultant fee for assisting the grand jury.”
Penny gasped, her eyes wide. “Two hundred thousand?! Matteo, I can’t take that!”
“You can, and you will,” he said smoothly, a tiny smirk twitching at his lips. “Consider it reimbursement for your ruined apron, your broken glasses, and your forty dollars of short rent.”
Penny stared at him, feeling a sudden, heavy ache in her chest—a strange, painful realization that this was the end. The madness was over. She was safe. She had her money, her mother was secure, and she could walk away and never see a mobster again.
So why did the thought of leaving him make her feel so completely hollow?
“I guess... this is goodbye, then,” she said softly, looking down at her sneakers, hiding her eyes. “Back to normal life.”
Matteo didn't answer immediately. He took a slow step closer to her, closing the distance until his shadow fell completely over her frame. He reached out, placing two blunt fingers under her chin, gently lifting her head up until her hazel eyes met his piercing amber ones.
“You think you can go back to a normal life, Penny?” he asked softly, his voice a low, magnetic hum. “After poking Boston’s most feared crime boss in the chest? After fighting hitmen with ice buckets? You think serving drinks to college kids is ever going to satisfy you again?”
Penny swallowed hard, her heart pounding wild against her chest. “Are you telling me I don't have a choice, Mr. Conti?”
“I’m telling you that you always have a choice,” Matteo murmured, his gaze dropping down to her lips, his warm thumb gently stroking her jawline. “You can take the money, take your mother, and move to Florida. Or...”
“Or?” she whispered, leaning into his touch despite herself.
“Or you can stay in Boston,” Matteo said, his voice dropping into a rough, honest register. “You can let me take you out to dinner—a real dinner, where no one shoots at us, where no glass breaks, and where I pay for everything. You can let me show you what it’s like when I’m not carrying you over my shoulder.”
Penny looked at his handsome, battle-scarred face, seeing the raw sincerity and fierce protectiveness shining behind his amber eyes.
A slow, mischievous smile slowly spread across her lips.
She raised her hand, flattened her finger, and jabbed him directly in the center of his broad, immaculate chest.
Hard.
Matteo didn't flinch. He didn't blink. He just stared at her, a dark, thrilled grin spreading across his face.
“First of all,” Penny said, her voice ringing with pure confidence and sass, “you are going to let me pick the restaurant.”
“Done,” he growled out softly.
“Second of all, if anyone knocks into my chair, you are going to let me handle it.”
“Unlikely,” Matteo chuckled, stepping even closer, his arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her flush against his broad body. “But I will stand by and watch with great admiration.”
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“And third of all...” Penny murmured, resting her hands against his lapels, looking up into his dark eyes with a fierce, radiant smile. “You are twenty minutes late for my birthday dinner.”
Matteo let out a rich, deep laugh that echoed through the quiet winter garden. He bent his head down, capturing her lips in a deep, fiery, possessive kiss that wiped away every memory of fear, tequila, and violence—promising her a future far more dangerous, thrilling, and beautiful than she had ever dared to dream.
