Tipsy Waitress Poked the Mafia Boss’s Chest—Then He Slung Her Over His Shoulder and Took Her
Chapter 15
Two years later, Mia stood outside Saint Mary’s Church.
The building had been restored.
A small plaque now honored the victims of the old corruption network.
Her father’s name was there.
Her mother’s too.
Luca stood beside her.
He reached for her hand.
“You ready?”
She nodded.
Inside, a small gathering waited.
Detective Reed.
Sofia.
Friends from the foundation.
People whose lives had been changed by the scandal.
At the front stood Mia.
She held a photograph of her parents.
“My father spent years believing he had to disappear to protect me,” she said.
Her voice trembled.
“My mother believed the truth would eventually find its way out.”
She looked around the room.
“They were both right.”
Luca watched her from the back.
She smiled at him.
“But there’s something else I learned.”
She paused.
“Fear can make you hide.”
Her fingers tightened around the photograph.
“Love can make you stay.”
After the ceremony, Mia and Luca walked outside.
The rain had stopped.
The pavement glistened beneath the streetlights.
Mia leaned against him.
“Do you ever regret saving me?”
“Never.”
“Even after I poked you?”
“Especially after.”
She laughed.
Then her expression became thoughtful.
“Do you remember what you said that night?”
Luca looked at her.
“You said someone wanted me dead.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You said you were taking me somewhere I wouldn’t be killed.”
Luca smiled.
“I remember.”
“You were right.”
He looked at her.
“But not because you were the most dangerous man in Blackwood.”
She touched his chest.
“You were right because you were the first person who stayed.”
Luca covered her hand with his.
“I’ll keep staying.”
Mia rested her head against him.
Years earlier, she had entered a private dining room as an exhausted waitress who had made one reckless decision after too much champagne.
She had poked the chest of the most feared man in the city.
He had thrown her over his shoulder.
He had carried her away.
And she had thought her life was ending.
She never imagined it was beginning.
Because sometimes the person who looks like your greatest danger is the person who becomes your safest place.
And sometimes, one foolish little act of courage is enough to change everything.
