Chapter 2: A Promise Written in Blood
Chapter 2: A Promise Written in Blood
The cemetery fell into complete silence.
Even the rain seemed to soften.
Vanessa Caldwell stared at Damon Cross as though she had seen a ghost.
"You..." she whispered. "This... this is impossible."
Damon didn't answer.
His attention remained on Lena.
He removed his black wool coat and carefully draped it around her trembling shoulders, shielding both her and the small life growing beneath her heart.
His fingers brushed against the bruise already forming on her cheek.
For one terrifying second, the calm mask he always wore nearly cracked.
"Can you stand?" he asked quietly.
Lena nodded, though every part of her body protested.
"I'll manage."
"No."
His voice wasn't loud.
It was absolute.
He slipped one arm around her waist, helping her to her feet with a gentleness that shocked everyone watching.
The men behind him exchanged silent glances.
Few people had ever seen Damon Cross touch anyone with kindness.
Vanessa finally found her voice.
"She's lying to you."
Damon looked at her.
Only once.
It was enough to make her step backward.
"My husband told me everything."
"I doubt Caleb knows anything."
"She's pregnant!"
"I know."
Vanessa blinked.
"You... know?"
Damon's eyes never left hers.
"The child she's carrying is mine."
The words struck like thunder.
Vanessa's lips parted.
"No..."
"It can't be."
"It can."
The cemetery caretaker stopped trimming flowers.
Even the two police officers parked outside the gates looked toward the commotion.
Vanessa shook her head frantically.
"You're protecting her."
"I'm acknowledging my child."
The world seemed to tilt beneath Lena's feet.
She had never intended for Damon to reveal the truth.
Three months earlier, they had shared only one night.
A night born from grief.
She had gone to that quiet bar after learning her mother's cancer treatments had left nothing behind except debt and silence.
Damon had been there, hiding from a world that only wanted favors.
Neither of them had expected to meet again.
Yet here he was.
Claiming both her...
and their unborn baby.
Vanessa laughed nervously.
"You expect me to believe Boston's most feared man slept with a maid?"
Damon's expression never changed.
"I don't require your belief."
He turned toward one of his security men.
"Mr. Hale."
"Yes, sir."
"Retrieve Miss Harper's bracelet."
The bodyguard walked across the muddy grass, picked up the silver bracelet, cleaned it carefully with his handkerchief, and placed it respectfully into Damon's palm.
Damon knelt before Lena.
He fastened the bracelet around her wrist himself.
"It belongs with you."
Tears blurred Lena's vision.
No one had treated her with such care since her mother died.
Damon stood once more.
"As for today's assault..."
His eyes settled on Vanessa.
"...there will be consequences."
Without another word, he guided Lena toward the waiting SUV.
May you like
For the first time in years...
Someone was protecting her.
