Chapter 14
Her protective instincts rose instantly. “No.” Zo waited. “No, I can’t bring her here. This is your—” She struggled for words, terrified of insulting him and equally determined to protect her daughter. “This isn’t a place for a little girl, Mr. Rossi.” “My estate has state-of-the-art security, a private chef, and more square footage than she could run through in a week.” His tone remained matter-of-fact. “It is entirely safe.” “You run a criminal syndicate.” Tessa froze. Her own words seemed to shock her. Silence filled the room. She clamped a hand over her mouth. She had just said the unspoken truth directly to a man reputed to kill people for less. Zo did not blink. A dark, humorless trace of a smile touched his mouth. “I do.” Tessa stared. “Which means I employ some of the best private medical personnel in Illinois to patch up my men.” He continued calmly. “Dr. Evans works exclusively for me. He will manage Mia’s diabetes. He will check her pump. He will adjust her insulin.” Zo held her gaze. “And he will do it on my payroll.”
Tears gathered in Tessa’s eyes and spilled down her face. She was losing the fight against the overwhelming weight of his resources. “Why?” she asked. Her voice broke. “I’m just a maid. You don’t even know me.” “I know you glued your shoes together so your kid could survive.” Zo’s voice had lost its polished criminal authority. “I know loyalty when I see it, Tessa.” He walked behind his desk. “And I don’t let good loyalty go to waste.” He sat. “Your shift starts now. Cleaning supplies for this floor are in the hall closet.” A pause. “Go.” A week later, the Rossi estate felt subtly and permanently different. Its oppressive atmosphere had not disappeared. The guards still carried sidearms. Black SUVs still arrived and departed at strange hours. Zo still conducted brutal business behind the closed mahogany doors of his study. But a quiet anomaly had taken root at the center of the violence. Her name was Mia. She was 7 years old and shockingly small for her age, with dark, messy brown hair like her mother’s.
