Chapter 9 - The Dawn of Beacon Hill
I floated on my back, coughing violently, gulping in massive lungfuls of the sweet, crisp night air.
Julian was right beside me, holding my head above the dark water with one strong arm while his other hand stroked my wet hair away from my face.
"I've got you," he panted, his chest heaving. "I've got you, Sadie. Breathe."
Fifty yards away, near the wooden pilings of the public marina, Thomas was already hauling himself onto a low dock, coughing up harbor water but alive.
Behind us at Pier 4, the old cold-storage warehouse was engulfed in a chaotic nightmare. Sirens wailed across the city as four sleek, black Corsini security boats rounded the harbor point, their high-powered spotlights cutting through the night.
Martin Doyle and his traitors had been trapped inside the rapidly flooding vault. As we watched, dozens of heavily armed Corsini men—loyal to Julian—boarded the pier, securing the area and pulling Doyle and his surviving men out of the water in handcuffs.
"Doyle didn't realize that my personal phone had a automatic heart-rate transmitter," Julian revealed softly, watching the security team secure the pier. "When my pulse spiked during the steam breach, my entire secondary fleet was summoned automatically. It was over before it began."
He looked back down at me, floating with me in the gentle swells of the harbor. "Are you alright?"
"I'm freezing, my lungs taste like salt, and I lost my favorite shoes," I gasped, a shaky, hysterical laugh bubbling up from my throat. "Other than that... I think I'm officially ready to submit my two weeks' notice."
Julian smiled—a real, breathtaking, genuine smile that transformed his sharp, intimidating face into something impossibly handsome. "Your resignation is denied, Ms. Quinn."
He kicked toward the marina dock, swimming us toward safety.
Two hours later, we were back at the Beacon Hill estate.
The mansion was warm, quiet, and peaceful. The traitors had been purged from the security staff, Doyle was in federal custody facing charges that would keep him behind bars for three lifetimes, and Thomas Miller was resting comfortably in a private medical facility, fully pardoned by Julian for his past mistakes.
I sat on the soft velvet sofa in the drawing room, wrapped in a thick cashmere blanket, sipping a cup of hot tea spiked with honey and bourbon.
Julian walked into the room wearing a clean, dark blue sweater and dark trousers. He walked over to the antique record player, lifted the chrome arm, and carefully placed a record on the turntable.
The soft, rich vinyl crackle filled the quiet room, followed by the smooth, sultry opening chords of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good.
I smiled up over my teacup. "Really? That song?"
Julian walked over, holding two crystal glasses of aged amber bourbon. He set the glasses on the side table, reached down, and took my tea cup, setting it aside.
"You ruined this room for me four nights ago, Sadie," Julian said softly, holding out his hand.
"I ruined it?" I laughed, letting the cashmere blanket fall to my shoulders.
"You turned a house of ghosts into a place of life," Julian corrected, taking my hand and gently pulling me to my feet. "Now, show me how you danced."
I stepped into his arms, barefoot once again on the dark, polished hardwood floor. But this time, I didn't slide across the floor alone with a wooden spoon. I wrapped my arms around Julian Corsini’s neck, swaying softly with him beneath the crystal chandelier, our bodies moving as one to the warm, beautiful music filling the grand estate.
"You know," I whispered into his collarbone, feeling the steady, strong beat of his heart beneath my cheek, "your house still has terrible security."
"Is that so?" Julian murmured, his hands wrapping warm around my waist, pulling me impossibly close.
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"Yes," I teased, looking up into his dark, devoted eyes. "A barefoot housekeeper walked right in and stole the boss’s heart, and nobody did a thing to stop her."
Julian leaned down, resting his forehead against mine. "She can keep it," he whispered softly. "It belongs to her now anyway."
