Chapter 10 - The Promise of Protection
Megan’s breath hitched. Her hand instinctively drew back, reaching down to pull Leo closer against her chest, her protective maternal instincts flaring instantly.
"It was his father's," Megan replied cautiously, her brown eyes locking onto Dominic with fierce defiance. "Why does that matter to you?"
Dominic slowly closed the leather file, laying it down on the mattress beside him. He reached over to his matte-black wheelchair parked at the foot of the bed, his broad arms pushing his upper body forward with smooth, practiced strength as he transferred himself out of the bed and into his seat.
He spun the wheelchair around, moving until he was positioned directly in front of Megan, sitting at eye level with her and the little boy.
Dominic reached out his large, tattooed hand. For the first time, his touch was impossibly soft as he gently touched the frayed edge of the faded yellow blanket wrapped around Leo.
"Because," Dominic whispered, tears finally glistening in the corners of his dark eyes, "my mother made that blanket for my brother Julian when we were children."
Megan froze. The color drained from her face as if she had been struck by lightning. She looked from Dominic’s tattooed shoulder to his face, then down at the file resting on the bed, realization dawning upon her like a thunderclap.
"You..." Megan gasped, her voice breaking. "You're... Julian's brother..."
"I am," Dominic said softly, his voice firm, unshakeable, and ringing with absolute truth. "And you don't have to hide anymore, Megan. You don't have to clean houses or fear the people who took Julian from us."
Dominic looked down at little Leo, who reached out his small hand from beneath the blanket, his tiny fingers touching Dominic's tattooed wrist. A tear spilled over Dominic's cheek as he gripped his nephew's tiny hand gently.
Dominic raised his eyes to Megan, his cold, controlling world forever transformed into a fortress of protection and family loyalty.
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"You are home now," Dominic declared softly. "And I will burn this city to the ground before I let anyone hurt either of you again."
The first rays of the morning sun broke over the Buckhead forest, casting a warm, golden light through the glass windows, illuminating the beginning of a new chapter for the Mason family.
