Chapter 5: THE ATTACK

Three nights after the family dinner the house felt off.  

Quieter. Like everyone was holding their breath waiting for something bad to happen and pretending they weren’t.  

Sal was cold again. Back to one word answers and that Don face.  

But he still pulled my chair closer at dinner. Two chairs away now.  

And he still knocked on my door before bed and peeked in like he had to see me with his own eyes.  

I pretended not to notice because if I noticed it meant something and I couldn’t handle something right now.  

My side was better. The new pills actually worked and I was drawing more. Little sketches of the garden, the kitchen, his hand holding mine that one night.  

I hid those under the mattress like they were illegal.  

It was 2am when I woke up.  

Not from pain.  

From sound.  

Glass breaking downstairs.  

I sat up and my heart was already pounding before my brain even caught up and my first thought wasn’t about me it was Sal is he okay.  

Another sound. Footsteps. Fast.  

"Stay down" one of the guards yelled.  

Then I started hearing gunshots  

I scrambled out of bed and my feet hit the cold floor and my hands were shaking so bad I could barely stand.  

Don’t think. Just move.  

I opened my door and there was smoke in the hall and men in black running with masks and guns and one of them saw me.  

"There"  

I ran. No plan. Just ran.  

Down the hall toward Sal’s room because where else was I supposed to go.  

Another gunshot and it was so close something hit the wall right next to my head and I screamed.  

A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me hard.  

Sal.  

No shirt. Just pants. Gun in his hand. Hair wild and eyes furious and scared all at once.  

"Get in," he growled and shoved me into his room. "Stay down Do not move."  

"Sal"  

"Down Maya Now."  

I dropped behind the bed and he slammed the door and locked it and dragged the dresser in front of it like that would actually help.  

Boom. Something hit the door.  

He turned to me and his hands were on me checking fast. "Are you hit Are you bleeding"  

"No I’m okay."  

"Liar."  

He saw my hands shaking and pulled me into his chest. "Shh It’s okay I’ve got you."  

More shots. Closer this time.  

"Stay here," he said and kissed my forehead quick like he didn’t have time. "To end this."  

He opened the window and climbed out onto the balcony and then he was gone.  

And I was alone with the sounds of fighting and my own breathing.  

I pulled my knees up and tried to breathe. One. Two. Three.  

My side hurt from the fear of it.  

Ten minutes. Maybe more. I don’t know.  

Then the door crashed open and I screamed but it was Sal.  

Bloody shirt in his hand but not his blood. Breathing hard like he’d been running.  

He slammed the door and dropped to his knees in front of me. "It’s over," he said and pulled me to him so tight I couldn’t breathe. "They’re gone It’s over."  

I was crying and I didn’t even realize it until he was wiping my face.  

"You’re okay," he murmured into my hair. "Nothing happened to you I’m here."  

"Sal" I sobbed. "I thought"  

"I know I know."  

He held me until I stopped shaking. Until my teeth stopped chattering.  

Then he pulled back and wiped my face with his thumb. "Come on Let’s get you out of here."  

The house was a mess. Broken glass everywhere and guards standing around looking pale and Mrs Delaney was crying in the kitchen.  

Sal carried me past all of it and didn’t put me down until we were in the car.  

"Where are we going" I asked.  

"Safe house Just for tonight."  

The safe house was small. Two rooms. Clean. No cameras.  

He made me tea even though his hands were shaking and sat on the floor next to the couch where I was curled up.  

"Talk to me," he said.  

"I’m scared."  

"I know."  

"What if they come back"  

"They won’t I made sure."  

He looked exhausted. Really exhausted. Blood on his knuckles.  

"Are you hurt"  

"It’s not mine."  

"Let me see."  

He let me. Small cut on his arm and I cleaned it with water from the bathroom and my hands were steady now weirdly.  

"Thank you," he said.  

"For what"  

"For not screaming For running to me."  

"I was scared you’d die."  

He was quiet for a long time. "I was scared too."  

I looked at him. "You The Don"  

"Especially me."  

He ran a hand through his hair and he looked so young. "If anything happened to you tonight I don’t think I would’ve made it."  

My chest hurt. "Why do you care so much"  

"Because you’re the first thing in years that made this house feel like a home."  

He looked down at the floor. "And because I’m in love with you Maya."  

The words just hung there.  

I couldn’t breathe.  

"What" I whispered.  

"You heard me."  

He looked up and his eyes were honest and scared. "I’ve tried not to I’ve tried to be cold To keep you safe But I’m done pretending I’m in love with you."  

Tears fell again. "Sal I’m sick I’m a maid I have nothing."  

"I don’t care."  

He moved to sit next to me and took my hand. "I have enough for both of us I have a name that scares people And I have you That’s all I need."  

I shook my head. "This is dangerous For you For me."  

"Everything is dangerous."  

He squeezed my hand. "But I’d rather be dangerous with you than safe without you."  

He leaned in slow like he was giving me every chance to pull away.  

I didn’t.  

His lips touched mine, every spine in me had chills His lips were soft and he took it slow and steady so careful like he thought I’d break

It felt so real like we've been looking forward to this day

He pulled back first. Forehead against mine. "Was that okay"  

I nodded because I couldn’t talk.  

He let out a little smile. "I’ve been wanting to do this since the day you fell in the west wing."  

"Me too," I whispered shyly

He laughed. Soft. "I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say that."  

We sat there with his arm around me and my head on his shoulder and outside it was starting to get light.  

"So what now" I asked.  

"Now we go home And I fire half my security team And I tell my mother you’re not the maid anymore."  

"What am I then"  

He looked at me. "You’re mine."  

That word made me shiver,at this point my heart was beating, I could literally feel butterflies in my belly. Best feeling ever

Back at the house in the morning it was chaos. Cleaners and guards everywhere and his mother was waiting in the living room with her arms crossed.  

"What is the meaning of this Salvatore"  

"Mom This is Maya She’s not staff anymore She lives here With me."  

The silence was so loud.  

"She’s a maid," his mother said.  

"Was," Sal said. "Now she’s family."  

His mother looked at me up and down like I was dirt and then walked away without another word.  

Marco came up and hugged me. "About time bro."  

I didn’t know what to say so I just stood there.  

That night we had dinner again but this time I sat right next to him. No space.  

And after in my room there was a new dress on the bed. It was black and simple.  

And a note.  

_For my girl  

Wear it tomorrow  

-S_ 

I held it to my chest and cried.  

But different this time.  

Not from fear but from hope.  

Because the Don said he loved me and for tonight  

that was enough