Chapter 3 - THE ENVELOPE AT BREAKFASTDr. Aris reset Norah’s wrist shortly before two in the morning.
By sunrise, her arm rested inside a white fiberglass cast.
She woke in a guest room larger than her apartment.
Panic followed immediately.
She had missed work.
Norah dressed with one hand and rushed downstairs.
Mrs. Gable looked up from the kitchen island.
“There you are.”
Norah braced herself.
“Sit.”
“What?”
“Chef made oatmeal.”
“I’m not fired?”
Mrs. Gable looked offended.
“For having your arm broken?”
Norah said nothing.
“Light duty for six weeks. Eat.”
Norah sat.
Ten minutes later Vincent entered.
The kitchen became quieter.
He placed a manila envelope beside her bowl.
“From Mr. Rossi.”
Inside were three things.
Her apartment keys.
Including the spare Ray had stolen.
A rewritten lease.
Her rent marked paid for twenty-four months.
And a small velvet box.
Norah opened it.
Ray’s gold horseshoe ring lay inside.
A dark stain remained near the edge.
She dropped it.
“What happened?”
Vincent leaned against the table.
“Ray owed a bookmaker almost fifty grand.”
Norah felt sick.
“Mr. Rossi bought the debt.”
“Why?”
“Leverage.”
“What did he do?”
Vincent’s expression gave nothing away.
“He explained that returning to your apartment would be unhealthy.”
“Is Ray alive?”
Vincent paused.
“Last I saw him.”
Norah looked sharply at him.
Vincent almost smiled.
“Contrary to rumor, we do not murder every idiot before breakfast.”
Relief arrived strangely.
“He signed away any claim to the apartment. Returned your keys. Then left Chicago.”
“Why is there blood on the ring?”
“He objected to returning it.”
Norah stared.
Vincent straightened.
“Mr. Rossi also had your landlord change the locks.”
“I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“No.”
“I can’t owe him.”
“You’ll have to discuss that with him.”
The kitchen doors opened.
Gabriel entered wearing a navy suit.
His gaze moved over the keys.
The lease.
The ring.
Then Norah.
He expected fear.
Perhaps anger.
What he received was both.
“You paid two years of rent?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“So you don’t choose between safety and housing.”
“You bought Ray’s debt?”
“Yes.”
“You threatened him.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hurt him?”
Gabriel considered the question.
“I made it clear he was not permitted near you.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
Norah stood.
“Then give me one.”
For the first time, several staff members stopped pretending not to listen.
Gabriel’s expression remained calm.
“He left Chicago on his feet.”
Norah breathed again.
Then Gabriel nodded toward her oatmeal.
“Eat.”
Her anger returned instantly.
“Stop telling me to eat.”
“You’re taking pain medication.”
“That is not the point.”
Gabriel almost smiled.
It infuriated her.
Norah realized then that Gabriel Rossi was dangerous.
But perhaps not for the reason everyone assumed.
May you like
He solved problems without asking whether anyone wanted the solution.
And one day, she suspected, that would become a problem between them.
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