Page 15 of Dario DeLuca

“Help,” I scream.

My assailant is relentless, his footsteps thudding behind me. The edge of the building looms, salvation just a step away when suddenly my path is blocked.

I collide with a solid mass, a tall, hard body blocking my path to freedom. My breath hitches, fear morphing into terror. I glance up, my eyes locking with Dario's just as he pulls the trigger.

I turn to see the man behind me slump to the ground, his life extinguished in an instant. My scream is a strangled yelp caught within the walls of my throat. Dario's grip is firm on my arm, pulling me away from the horror and guiding me toward his SUV.

"Where're your keys?" he demands.

I try to push him away, disbelief and fear tangling into resistance. My hands hit his hard chest in an attempt to get away from what I now know to be true.

"Y-you killed him?" My voice is a whisper.

"Keep hitting me, and I'll bind your hands," he retorts, a stark warning in his tone.

I still, my gaze drifting to the shoe of the man who had tried to take me, a symbol of the danger I'd narrowly escaped.

"Where are your keys, Mia," Dario insists, his tone brooking no argument.

Numbly, I hand him my purse, my eyes still fixed on the lifeless body. Dario retrieves the remote fob and tosses it to Rafael. "Take care of him and make sure there's no camera footage, then stash her car."

"You killed him," I whisper again, disbelief and realization colliding.

Dario doesn't falter as he guides me into the passenger seat. "It was either him or you."

The recollection of where I saw him sends a shiver down my spine. "He was at the fundraiser. I remember him. Is he the person who threatened my father? How did he find me?"

Dario closes the door with a soft click and moves around to the driver's side. Once settled, he extends his hand. "Phone."

I hand it over, a sense of unease growing. He effortlessly snaps it in half, destroying my only link to the outside world and leaving me feeling even more vulnerable. As we pull away, the phone is thrown out the window like trash.

"What are you doing?" My voice trembles, fear and confusion swirling.

"You're being tracked."

The words hang between us, a chilling realization that this night is far from over. My mind races as I try to piece together the how and why of my current predicament.

Dario's silence is a void, filled only by the hum of the engine and the fleeting landscape. I sit frozen, a prisoner of circumstance and the decision of others. My heart aches with a mix of gratitude for my rescue and a deep-seated fear.

He just killed a man without blinking, and now he’s taking me to some unknown destination. The city lights fade into the distance as the reality of my situation settles in.

I'm at the mercy of a man who, with one pull of a trigger, has altered the course of my life. The comfort of innocence I once wore like a cloak has been stripped away, leaving me exposed and vulnerable.

SEVEN

DARIO

My tires screech,gripping the asphalt as I peel away from the gas station. I grip the steering wheel, and the cold Italian leather offers no comfort. Air whips in through the window, filling the SUV with the stench of burning rubber on the pavement. I roll the window up, watching through the side mirror as her phone rolls, bounces, and shatters on the concrete.

“Do you know how fucking stupid that was? You could have been killed.” My voice is a low growl that barely breaches her panic.

“Oh my god,” she mutters, clutching strands of hair that fall like dark silk across her shoulders. Her breath comes shallow and quick, chest heaving. “You’re a murderer. You’re going to cut me up into little pieces and sprinkle me in Lake Michigan.”

Mia reaches out and fumbles for the door handle, seeking freedom. But I’m quicker—her escape thwarted by a simple click, the locks engaging with finality.

Her fear crescendos and her eyes widen as words tumble out. I catch glimpses of her accusations, desperate pleas, and fragments of her unraveling psyche.

“Let. Me. Go.”

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