Chương 10 - THE UNKNOWN PROTECTOR
Roman turned his head slowly, looking away from the cowering manager toward Naen.
The dark, terrifying intensity in his eyes softened by a fraction of an inch as his gaze rested on her small, shivering frame. He looked at her exhausted face, her messy brown hair, her muddy sneakers, and the damp paycheck envelope she clutched in her small hand.
He reached into his inner jacket pocket, pulled out a heavy, leather-bound wallet, and extracted a sleek, unlisted black card bearing no bank logo—only a stamped gold crest.
He held it out to Naen.
"Take your purse," Roman said softly, his low voice filling the quiet kitchen. "Go home to your son."
Naen froze, her dark brown eyes wide with absolute, overwhelming shock. She looked at the sleek black card, then up into the sharp, scarred face of the powerful stranger she had found collapsed beside a dumpster twenty minutes ago.
"How..." Naen whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the refrigerators. "How do you know about my son?"
Roman didn't answer her question.
He stepped past her, his broad shoulder lightly brushing hers, his security detail falling into formation behind him as he walked toward the grand entrance of the main dining room.
At the doorway, Roman paused, turning his head slightly to look back at the trembling manager who was still pinned against the wall in terror.
"This restaurant," Roman said quietly, his dark eyes burning with absolute authority, "has a new owner as of ten minutes ago. Pack your things, David. You're done."
Without waiting for a response, Roman walked into the grand dining room of L’Étoile Royale, surrounded by his security, as every wealthy diner in the room stood up in silent, respectful awe.
Naen stood alone in the center of the kitchen.
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She looked down at her hands—at the dried, dark blood still covering her knuckles, the wet paycheck envelope in her fingers, and the heavy gold-crested card in her palm.
She looked toward the grand dining room doors where the stranger had vanished, realizing with a cold, breathtaking shiver that the man whose life she had saved in the rain was someone far more dangerous, powerful, and mysterious than she could ever have imagined.
