Page 102 of King Of Order

My feelings for her transformed soul were much different.

Fuck, I was falling for her, yet divided on how to bridge the gap between the past and present.

A knot tightened in my throat, a strange, unfamiliar ache I couldn’t shake.

‘I didn’t know about the art and its healing for you,’ I said, my voice rougher than I intended.

She gave me a small, sad smile. ‘There’s a lot you don’t know. But I’m glad you’re here.’

I was, too. At that moment, I realized how much she’d overcome—and the degree of her inner depth and maturity existed in her, far more than I had ever imagined.

It shook me, shifted my perceptions of her, and challenged any notions of walking away from her as planned, free of entanglement.

Not when she had a line straight to my heart.

Cazzo!

It’d probably all go to shit anyway, and she’d be the one striding out my life when she found out who I was.

Chapter 22

CHIARA

We returned to the gallery the following morning for a typical day’s work.

I was unable to shake off a growing unease from my poor sleep the night before.

Throughout the car ride and even as I unlocked the front door of the show space, Rio’s eyes were sweeping the area, his instincts sharp and alert, as always.

As soon as we entered, he swept the room, ensuring nothing seemed out of place.

‘All good?’ I asked him.

He nodded. ‘Appears we’re safe. No sign of anyone following us,’ he rasped.

Thank fuck.Since the funeral, no shady figures lurked, not in the street outside my home nor its shadows.

I felt a slight sense of relief but knew it was only temporary. We weren’t out of the woods yet. The numerous voicemails andtexts from Claudio and Nicco Barbieri were a testament to why I was feeling off.

I’d begun receiving them the night before.

Incessant, angry, pushy.

The first lot from Claudio.

The second set was from his contact, Nicco.

Cold, harsh, grating, with hints of what he intended to do to me, to us, if we didn’t meet the target loan repayment date.

As Rio inspected the gallery’s back rooms in my office, I double-checked the schedule for the subsequent installment.

I had a week to deposit the required sum.

Was that enough time to sell another painting prior to the deadline?

Fighting off panic, I made a few more calls and received several more promises of commissions and outright sales of three of my stored works.

Rio found me in the middle of one of the conversations.

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