Page 120 of King Of Order

My heart sank, the threads of trust and safety I’d woven around us unraveling with every heartbeat. I needed to leave, to get far from this stranger I’d been so willing to follow before I became another casualty in his wake.

Without a second thought, I lunged past Rio, dodging his outstretched grab as I sprinted toward the door.

The sharp clack of my heels filled the narrow hallway, echoing like gunshots in the silence. Adrenaline pumped through me, giving strength to each step.

The cool night air wrapped around me, the street a few feet away, freedom within reach.

But then I felt his hand grasping my arm, pulling me back as my foot touched the pavement. I twisted, panic flaring in my chest as I turned to face him, my breath coming fast.

‘Lasciami andare! Let me go,’ I demanded, with fierce fury, though it wavered for a slight moment.

His grip tightened, his face calm but unyielding, a stubbornness in his eyes that sent a chill through me.

‘Not until you hear me out,’ he rasped in a challenge. ‘After that, you can leave.’

I tried again, my tone sharper this time. ‘Let. Me. Go.’

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t release me. Instead, he leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper, eyes cold as fuck, glittering with icy emotion. ‘Don’t you want the truth, Chiara?’

The question hung heavy between us, and I faltered, the streetlights casting shadows around us. I realized that part of me had been hiding from certainty for an extended time, ignoring signs and looking away when I should have scanned closer.

My stomach churned, a sickening mix of fear and dread coiling inside me.

After a long, tense moment, I cast down my gaze, the fight draining from me as I nodded. I let him guide me back up the steps, back into the house’s silence, my mind reeling, bracing for whatever truth he was about to shatter me with.

Once through the doors, I dropped my bag and moved to the living area, his presence a heated column behind me.

I whipped around at the lounge seat.

‘I trusted you,’ I whispered. ‘Now, I don’t even recognize who you are.’.

Rio’s face hardened, his eyes narrowing. ‘I’m the man who’s going to keep you alive. Whether you like it or not.’

He turned to Mauri, giving him a curt nod. ‘Make sure she stays. No one gets in or out. I need a shower. When I’m done, we can talk.’

I gazed at his closed-off face, the sheer cold rage in his eyes, and the shroud of loathing emanating from him.

It was like my first lover, my protector and guardian, Rio, had been sheared away. In his place was a spectral, lethal monster.

Without another word, he walked out, leaving me standing there, shaking, with more questions than I had answers, on the verge of losing my damn mind.

Chapter 25

CHIARA

Rio sat across me, hands splayed on either side of the couch he occupied the center of.

One ankle crossed over his muscled knee.

Feet bare, thighs enveloped in slim black jeans, chest encased in a thin white tee.

Lethal, yet so enticingly sexy.

My gaze flitted to his pale eyes.

Cold as a serpent.

On me.

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