Page 84 of Ruthless Royalty

We pull away from the estate, the convoy following behind, and I feel the weight of everything pressing down on me. I can’t let her down. I can’t fail.

Because if I do, there will be nothing left for me.

CHIARA

My head is pounding, a dull, insistent ache that makes it hard to think, hard to focus. My mouth is dry, and there’s a strange metallic taste on my tongue, like I’ve bitten down on something too hard.

I try to move, but my body feels heavy, sluggish, like I’m wading through molasses. It takes me a moment to realize that my wrists are bound, tied tightly to the bedposts above my head.

Panic starts to bloom in my chest as I struggle against the restraints, but it’s no use. The ropes are too tight, biting into my skin every time I try to pull free.

I blink against the harsh light, my vision swimming as I try to make sense of where I am. The room is unfamiliar—bare walls, no windows, just a single door on the far side that’s closed.

Dread coils in my gut and my skin crawls when I realize I’m inside a shipping container.

Where am I? How did I get here?

I’m hyperventilating when I see him, sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed, watching me with a calm, almost bored expression.

Leo.

The sight of him jolts me fully awake, the fog in my brain clearing just enough for me to remember. I went to his gallery opening. I was nervous, but I wanted to support him, to show him that I still cared, even after everything that had happened between us. He handed me a glass of champagne, we toasted … and then nothing.

“Ah, you’re awake,” he says, his tone almost casual, like we’re just having a normal conversation. “I was beginning to wonder how much longer you’d be out.”

“Leo,” I manage to croak, my voice rough and weak. “What the fuck is this? What did you do to me?”

He doesn’t answer right away, just tilts his head slightly as he watches me struggle. There’s something in his eyes that I don’t recognize, something dark and unsettling.

His gaze roaming over me in a way that makes my skin crawl. “I didn’t do anything, Chiara. Well, not yet, anyway.”

I tug at the restraints, my panic growing as I realize just how tightly I’m bound. “Untie me, Leo. This isn’t funny.”

“Funny?” Leo repeats, his smile widening as he sits down on the edge of the bed, too close for comfort. “No, Chiara, this isn’t funny. But it is interesting.”

“Interesting?” I echo, my voice rising as the fear claws its way up my throat. “What the hell are you talking about? Why am I here?”

Leo tilts his head to the side, studying me like I’m some kind of puzzle he’s trying to figure out.

“I’ve always wondered what you saw in Giovanni,” he muses, almost to himself. “What it was about him that made you choose him over … well, over someone like me.”

My blood runs cold at his words, and I struggle against the restraints, my heart pounding in my chest.

“This is insane, Leo. Let me go.”

He ignores my plea, reaching out to brush a strand of hair away from my face, his touch light but sending a shiver of revulsion down my spine.

“Was it the danger, Chiara? The thrill of being with someone who’s so …hands-on?”

I jerk my head away, glaring up at him with as much defiance as I can muster. “This isn’t you, Leo.”

“Oh, but it is,” he says softly, his eyes gleaming with something dark and twisted. “You just never took the time to see it. Always so focused on Giovanni, on your little Mafia prince. But now … now you’re going to see a different side of me.”

My breath catches in my throat as I realize what he’s saying, what he’s implying. “Leo, don’t do this. Please, stop. You don’t have to do this.”

He laughs, but there’s no humor in it, only a cold, bitter edge.

“Stop? Why would I stop now? I’ve been sent to take you, to deliver you to someone who’s very interested in having a chat with you. But no one said I couldn’t have a little fun first.”

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