Chapter 3 - The Safehouse Sanctuary
The penthouse was less of an apartment and more of a fortress disguised in dark marble, floor-to-ceiling glass, and minimalist luxury. The city of Boston sprawled out below them in a sea of rain-slicked lights, but Penny was too exhausted to appreciate the view.
Matteo carried her straight into a spacious guest suite, setting her gently down on an oversized sofa upholstered in charcoal velvet.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
“Is that your only setting?” Penny asked, rubbing her sore ankles. “‘Stay here’? ‘Don’t move’? Do you talk to your dates like this?”
Matteo paused at the doorway, looking back over his shoulder. “I don't have dates, Miss Hayes. I have liabilities and business partners. Currently, you are a hybrid of both.”
He disappeared down the hallway. A moment later, a quiet, older woman wearing a warm woolen sweater entered the room carrying a silver tray with tea, fresh fruit, and a medical kit.
“I’m Elena,” the woman said warmly, setting the tray on the glass coffee table. “Mr. Vale asked me to check you for cuts or bruises.”
“I’m fine,” Penny said, though her hands were still shaking slightly. “Just... confused. And missing a heel.”
“Mr. Vale’s men are already retrieving your belongings from your apartment,” Elena explained as she poured a cup of steaming chamomile tea. “Your place is no longer safe. Vance’s associates will have checked your home address five minutes after the club went down.”
Panic surged back into Penny’s throat. “My apartment? What about my mother? Her facility—”
“Is already secured,” a deep voice rang out from the doorway.
Matteo stepped back into the room, having changed out of his ruined suit into a dark crewneck sweater and trousers. He looked somewhat less like a crime lord and more like a lethal predator at rest.
“I placed two of my private security detail at your mother’s care home ten minutes ago,” Matteo said, walking over to stand near the fireplace. “They are posted outside her room disguised as medical staff. Nobody gets near her without my personal authorization.”
Penny stared at him, her chest tightening with an overwhelming mixture of anger, relief, and confusion. “Why are you doing this? You don't know me. I’m nobody to you.”
Matteo stood silent for a moment, watching the firelight dance across her face. “Your father helped my uncle twenty years ago, Penny. When the Morettis tried to burn down our family transport hub, Arthur Hayes leaked the route schedules that saved six of my family members’ lives. I owe the Hayes family a debt.”
Penny lowered her tea cup. “My father was a good man?”
“He was a man trapped in a bad system who tried to do one right thing before he died,” Matteo said softly. “I don't leave debts unpaid.”
Leo knocked gently on the open doorframe, holding a tablet. “Boss. Federal agents are at the Velvet Room. Gordon Pike is singing like a canary, telling them Vance was targeting you, not the girl.”
“Let Pike talk,” Matteo replied coldly. “He’s useless anyway. Did you secure the safety deposit box?”
Leo hesitated, looking from Matteo to Penny. “That’s the problem. The bank requires the account holder’s primary heir to present physical biometric verification at the branch. We can’t open it without her.”
Matteo turned his eyes toward Penny. “It seems our partnership is officially activated.”
Penny stood up, wincing slightly as her bare feet hit the cold floorboards. She straightened her spine, smoothing down her wrinkled apron. “If I agree to go to that bank and give you this ledger, I have conditions.”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Conditions? Kid, you’re in a safehouse.”
“I don't care if I’m in the Vatican,” Penny snapped, her inner fire blazing back to life. She looked directly into Matteo’s dark, unreadable eyes. “First: my mother’s medical bills are paid through the end of the year. Second: Gordon Pike fires me officially so I can collect unemployment if this all goes sideways. Third: you never, ever throw me over your shoulder again.”
Leo snorted, ducking his head to hide a grin.
May you like
Matteo didn't laugh. He slowly walked across the marble floor until he was standing directly in front of her, his imposing height looming over her small frame. He reached out, his thumb gently catching a stray lock of her dark, curly hair and tucking it behind her ear. His touch was surprisingly soft, sending a strange, warm shiver straight down her spine.
“First and second conditions accepted,” Matteo murmured, his voice low and raspy. “As for the third... that depends entirely on how well you follow directions.”
