Chapter 8 - The Shift in the Tide
The fallout from the dock incident was swift. Julian Moretti and his co-conspirators were permanently removed from the syndicate’s operations. The Moretti family’s holdings were restructured, secured, and placed under an ironclad encryption system designed entirely by Dakota Gallagher.
By Friday afternoon, Dakota was back in the library at the Lake Forest estate.
Her mother’s health had improved so drastically that Mary was now walking in the estate’s gardens every afternoon, accompanied by her private nurse. The weight of financial ruin that had crushed Dakota’s shoulders for five years was entirely gone.
Yet a new, far more dangerous problem had emerged: Gabriel Moretti.
He was no longer just her employer. He had become a constant, overwhelming presence in her life. He brought her coffee in the morning. He sat with her while she reviewed ledgers. He watched her with eyes that no longer saw a target or an employee, but a woman he was entirely, hopelessly obsessed with.
At six p.m., Gabriel walked into the library wearing a simple black sweater and dark jeans. He looked younger, less like a mob boss and more like a man who had finally found something worth keeping.
He set a small velvet box on her desk.
Dakota looked at it, then up at him. "What is this?"
"Open it," Gabriel said.
Dakota opened the box. Inside was a heavy platinum key card stamped with the Moretti seal, alongside a deed of trust.
"What is this property?" Dakota asked.
"It’s a brownstone in Lincoln Park," Gabriel said softly. "Registered in your name. Fully furnished. It has a ground-floor suite designed for your mother’s medical equipment, and a private office for you."
Dakota closed the box with a sharp click. "I can't accept this, Gabriel."
"Why not?"
"Because it’s too much," Dakota said, standing up from her desk. "I work for you, Gabriel. You pay me a salary. You don't buy me houses."
Gabriel stepped closer, closing the distance between them until he was standing inches from her. "It’s not a bribe, Dakota. It’s security. I want you and your mother safe."
"I was safe before I met you," Dakota said, holding her ground, her eyes flashing with her signature fire. "I don't need a golden cage, Gabriel. And I don't need a crime boss feeling sorry for me because I'm not the kind of woman he usually takes to his bed."
Gabriel’s expression darkened instantly. He grabbed her hand, placing it directly over his chest, right over his beating heart.
"You think I feel sorry for you?" Gabriel whispered, his voice dangerously low. "You think I give a damn about the women I used to know? They were ghosts, Dakota. You are the only real thing that has walked into my life in ten years."
"Gabriel..."
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"I don't want to change you," Gabriel said, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. "I don't want you to lose a single pound. I want every inch of you. I want your intelligence, your temper, your body, and your anger. I am obsessed with you, Dakota. And you know it."
Dakota’s breath caught in her throat. She looked into his dark eyes and saw no lies, no manipulation—only a fierce, terrifying devotion that made her own heart hammer against her ribs.
