Page 90 of King Of Order

I took off, easing out the front door, locking it securely, and arming it before loping down the street.

The weather was glorious.

I joined the throngs of dog walkers, joggers, and swimmers headed for the beach five minutes from my house.

I soaked it all in.

My eyes took in the views, loving the sunshine and freedom.

I crossed several streets, took a set of stairs down to the park by the shore, and sat down to smell the roses and exchange smiles with my neighbors.

I’d only completed the circuit, was on my way home down a leafy street, and rounded a corner when a body slammed into me.

‘The fuck?’

As the words left my mouth, a hand slipped over my face, and I was thrown against the hard chest of a man and pulled into the bushes.

I kicked, screaming into the void of his hand, trying to reach my blade before I realized it; he had both my hands captured in one of his.

He was pulling me through into a shadowed dell.

Panic bloomed as I struggled until he brought his mouth to my ear. ‘Chiara, stop twisting like a banshee.’

I froze as rage erupted. ‘Fuckin Rio!’

He released me and stepped back, allowing me to see him.

He wore a dark hoodie and sunglasses, his tight body in lithe sweats.

‘What the hell were you thinking?’

His head turned, and eyes lit on a form huddled nearby under a tree.

‘What the hell wereyouthinking? Leaving without me? You were being tailed and had no idea. This fucker was about to jump you on your way back.’

We glared at each other until I looked away and spotted the house a few meters away through the trees.

‘Are we in someone’s garden? I hissed.

Rio shrugged. ‘We are. Now let’s get the fuck out of here.’

I protested as my bodyguard and lover strong-armed me out of the private backyard, through the leafy bushes, and into the street.

We emerged in a flurry, surprising a man strolling with his dog.

He stared at us as I brushed leaves from my tresses and Rio straightened his hoodie.

Not suspicious at all.

‘Who was he?’ I groused.

‘A man walking a dog,’ Rio growled.

‘Fuck you, I meant the man we left lying half unconscious under a tree?’ I hissed, hating the gleam in Rio’s eyes.

He finally indulged me. ‘I went through his shit and found a Barbieri business card. He’s some associate, which most times means a capo or enforcer. You’re lucky he didn’t snatch you.’

‘I had a blade.’

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