Page 89 of King Of Order

I picked up my phone, tapping the screen to dial.

Mauri’s gravelly voice came through on the other side.

‘I need a favor,’ I said, cutting straight to the point. ‘It’ll cut into your vacation time.’

‘Hit me, I’m bored as fuck at the villa. What kind of favor, padrone?’

His tone was wary, cautious.

He understood me well enough to sense when things were about to get messy.

‘I have to burn Claudio Tirone’s money-laundering operation to the ground.’

Silence fell before Mauri exhaled slowly. ‘You know what that means, right?’

‘Yeah. I know.’ I clenched my jaw. ‘I don’t care.’

Mauri didn’t ask questions. He knew better. He grasped the stakes.

This wasn’t about some shady family business; this was about protecting Chiara from the storm coming her way.

‘I’ll make some calls,’ he said, and I detected a cigarette lighter firing up.

I imagined he was reaching for one of the dark, thin cheroots he favored.

‘But once this starts, there’s no turning back,’ he rasped. ‘The Tirones are in with some nasty mofos. Find out who, and how we can get an in to them.’

‘They don’t have a choice.’ My voice was cold, certain. ‘They’ll face me. Or they’ll have nothing left to deal with at all.’

As I hung up, I mulled my changing plans.

Even though I’d planned to tear apart the empire her father and brothers had built, tearing it down brick by fucking brick, I now hadherto factor for.

Making my job all that more difficult.

CHIARA

5 p.m. and all was quiet in the guest quarters.

I sat at my dining table, tapping my fingers on my coffee cup, tossing around options - to go or not to go for a walk?

To disturb or not disturb Rio?

He was working. I saw him seated at his desk through my bedroom window, which overlooked the garden, pool, and visitor quarters.

I was desperate for a stroll and keen to return to the one activity I enjoyed, next to swimming and yoga.

Surely, no one would try anything at this time when the sun was still shining.

The neighborhood was safe for the most part, and I needed a quick 20-minute jaunt as a release.

Besides, some time back, he’d asked me to give him a heads-up for major trips, dinners, office, and business meetings. He hadn’t specified harmless little walks in the local area I loved.

So I chanced it.

Slipped into running shoes, I wore a light, sweat-wicking jacket, a cap, and sunglasses for anonymity.

I also tucked a blade in the slimline pocket of my tight-fit exercise tights.

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