Chapter 9 - Eyes on the Guard
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The chemistry between them, long buried under professional boundaries and formal titles, suddenly erupted into the open air.
Marin felt her breath catch as Elias’s dark eyes locked onto hers. He was a dangerous man—a king of shadows who ruled a violent underworld—yet standing beside him, she felt an unsettling sense of complete safety.
"You shouldn't stand so close to me, Mr. Ferrante," Marin murmured, though she didn't step back.
"Elias," he corrected softly, his fingers trailing down her neck to rest against the collar of her shirt, right over her thumping pulse. "And why shouldn't I?"
"Because people who get close to me usually end up dead," she said.
"People who get close to me usually end up rich or in prison," Elias replied, his voice a dark, velvety caress. "I think we balance each other out."
Before Marin could answer, Marco stepped onto the balcony, coughing loudly to announce his presence.
"Boss," Marco said, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. "The girl in the basement broke. She didn't talk to us, but she talked when we showed her the wire transfers."
Elias immediately pulled his hand back, his warm demeanor instantly hardening into cold steel. "Who cleared the payment?"
"It wasn't an outside syndicate, Elias," Marco said grimly. "The offshore account belongs to Valenti."
Marin saw Elias’s knuckles turn white against the stone railing. Valenti was Elias’s underboss—his right-hand man for twelve years, a man who had eaten dinner at the Ferrante family table every Sunday.
"Valenti..." Elias whispered, his voice dangerously soft. "He didn't just want my mother dead. He wanted her gone so I would lose my focus and step down from the family council."
"He's moving tonight," Marco added. "We got word that Valenti's men are staging a meeting at the docks on Ocean Drive in an hour. They think the poison worked."
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"Then let's not keep him waiting," Elias said coldly. He turned to Marin. "Stay here. Protect my mother."
"No," Marin said, stepping forward. "Valenti knows the layout of this estate better than Marco. If he realizes the poison failed, he won't send three contractors next time. He'll send thirty. The only way to keep Adelaide safe is to cut off the head of the snake tonight."
