Chapter 5 - The Boy and the Cleaner
Two days later, the storm outside had cleared, leaving the Greenwich estate blanketed in a pristine, blinding blanket of white snow under a brilliant winter sun.
Inside the west wing nursery, Leo Costa sat propped up against a mountain of plush pillows, clutching a stuffed green triceratops in one hand and a spoon of chicken soup in the other.
Sitting on the edge of the mattress was Maya.
“And then,” Maya said in a theatrical, hushed voice, “the brave little dinosaur roared so loud that the spooky shadow monsters ran away and hid under the bed forever.”
Leo giggled, a bright, musical sound that chased away the last lingering ghosts of the hospital trauma. He had the same dark hair as his father, the same long lashes, but his smile was entirely his own—wide, infectious, and entirely innocent.
“Did they come back?” Leo asked, his big gray eyes wide with suspense.
“Never,” Maya smiled, wiping a stray drop of broth from his chin with a napkin. “Because the brave little dinosaur had a very good guard watching over him.”
“You mean you,” Leo declared sagely.
“Me,” Maya agreed softly.
The door to the nursery clicked open, and Damian stepped inside. He had stripped off his suit jacket, wearing only a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Seeing his son sitting up, eating, and laughing with the woman who had saved his life, Damian paused in the doorway.
For thirty years, Damian Costa had believed that weakness was a sin, that love was a liability, and that home was nothing more than a heavily fortified compound designed to keep the world out.
Standing here now, watching Maya brush a lock of dark hair away from his son’s forehead, Damian realized how fundamentally wrong he had been.
“Daddy!” Leo cheered, dropping his dinosaur and holding out his arms.
Damian crossed the room in two strides, scooping his son up in a gentle embrace, pressing his face into the boy’s soft hair.
“How’s my boy feeling?” Damian asked, his voice thick with a tenderness he reserved exclusively for this child.
“Good! Li-Li gave me soup and told me stories,” Leo said brightly, pointing an energetic finger at Maya. “Can she stay forever, Daddy? Can she be my new nanny? Mrs. Higgins is nice, but she doesn’t know how to make dinosaur roars.”
Maya’s cheeks flushed a soft pink. She stood up quickly, smoothing down the front of her gray lounge pants.
“Leo, your father has a lot of things to take care of,” Maya said, her voice dropping into a polite, formal tone. “I should probably get my things together and—”
“You aren’t going anywhere,” Damian interrupted, setting Leo back down on the pillows with a gentle pat on the head. He turned his dark, unyielding gaze toward Maya. “Not until I say it’s safe. And right now, with Aegis Medical Supply and Vince Moretti still breathing, nowhere outside these gates is safe for you.”
Maya looked at him, seeing the absolute, unshakable authority in his face. She knew he was right. If she walked out those gates today, she wouldn’t make it two blocks before the pharmaceutical cartel’s enforcers picked up her trail.
“Mr. Costa—Damian,” she corrected softly, testing the name on her tongue for the first time. “I can’t just hide in your house forever. I’m a survivor, not a prisoner.”
“You are neither,” Damian said, stepping closer to her until the space between them hummed with an electric, undeniable tension. “You are a guest. And soon... you’ll be much more than that, if you’re willing to trust me.”
Leo looked between the two of them, his childish intuition picking up on the shift in the air.
“Are you guys doing a secret grown-up whisper?” Leo asked suspiciously.
May you like
Damian broke eye contact with Maya, a rare, faint smile touching the corners of his mouth. He turned back to his son.
“Eat your soup, hero. Your aunt Elena is coming by this afternoon to inspect your room, and you know how she gets if she finds a crumb.”
