CHAPTER 5
A agonizing three seconds of absolute silence stretched over the wet pier, heavy enough to choke on. Red laser dots suddenly appeared through the foggy rain, centering precisely on the foreheads of the three armed guards standing before us.
Corcelli looked up from the wet concrete, his face pale with pain as he clutched his broken wrist against his chest. He waved his good hand frantically at his men, ordering them to lower their weapons immediately.
"Put them down!" Corcelli coughed out, his voice trembling with sheer terror. "Put them down right now!"
The guards lowered their guns, stepping back into the shadow of the shipping containers with their eyes glued to the dark cranes above.
Ronan released his hold on Corcelli, taking the waterproof manifest folder from the hood of the truck with complete, unbothered composure. He turned around, wrapping his heavy overcoat over my shivering shoulders before leading me back toward the sports car.
"Get in," he commanded gently, his tone completely shifting from cold killer to protective guardian in a fraction of a second.
I slid into the leather seat, my entire body shaking uncontrollably from the adrenaline surge washing through my bloodstream. Ronan closed the door, walked around the front of the vehicle, and slid into the driver's seat beside me.
He started the engine, pulling out of the pier yard without looking back at the kneeling men in the rearview mirror.
"Are you alright?" Ronan asked softly, turning the vehicle's heating system up to warm my freezing hands.
"Are you insane?" I yelled, my voice cracking as tears of pure shock finally broke free and ran down my cheeks. "Those men had guns pointed at us! You brought me to an armed mob standoff on my first day of work!"
Ronan reached across the console, his warm, heavy hand covering my trembling fingers where they clutched the seatbelt.
"They were never going to shoot, Lena," Ronan said, his voice dropping into that deep, steady register that grounded me. "Because they know that hurting me means the entire city of New York burns down around them."
"And what about me?" I sobbed, looking into his steady grey eyes. "What if they had shot me?"
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A dark, intense fire ignited behind his eyes, breathtaking in its raw, terrifying sincerity.
"Nobody touches what belongs to me," Ronan promised softly, his thumb gently wiping a tear from my cheek. "And from the moment you walked into my boardroom, Miss Carter, you became my responsibility."
