Chapter three

Bile raised in my throat immediately.

I have heard a lot about him in the strip club, a dangerous creature not to mess with. Every rumor about him was nothing good but terrifying.

He looked at me with the kind of contempt that would make a person feel small without a single word being spoken and I quickly lowered my head, not wanting to get distracted by his appearance.

He was dangerously handsome, with sharp features, dark piercing eyes and a jawline carved like sin itself. I quickly steal a glance to found how his black hair fell carelessly over his forehead, giving him a wicked charm that matched the cold confidence in his gaze.

Then my stupid eyes roamed over his nearly perfect tailored suit and the half done cigarette in his right hand.

Damn!!!

Everything about him whispered temptation and ruin at the same time. This is my first time coming face to face with him and honestly, the rumors seem right cause he looked like the kind of man who could kiss you gently one moment and order someone’s death the next without changing his expression.

“500 hundred thousand dollars,” his cold voice suddenly rang out.

And my breath hitched.

What’s he talking about?

I frowned, watching as he took a step forward.

And recognition seems to hit me hard…. Fuck it!!

“Don’t tell me—“

The thoughts quickly died in my head at his next words.

“Where is my money?”

“Jesus!” My subconscious screamed at me. “What have you done, Mira? You stole from the devil?”

“Where is my goddamn MONEY!!!” He snarled and I almost flinched out but the iron grip of his men was tight for me to make a move.

“I….i….”

Theo flashed in my head immediately. His pale face in the hospital bad…. the operating room.

And my words died off

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled

But that only seemed to infuriate him more.

His eyes darkened as they glared at me. “Sorry won’t fetch back the money, right?” He took another step and my heart started beating faster. “If sorry could fix things….. you wouldn’t be one mistake away from digging your own grave.”

I sucked in a sharp breath

as he paused… stopping a few steps away from me.

Those sharp eyes fixed directly at me.

“So where is it?”

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you!” He snapped and his men instantly grabbed my hair and pushed my head forward to meet those sharp gazes. “Ah….” I hissed at the sharp pain that surged through my scalp.

“L…lost…” I hissed as their hands tightened in my hair. “I lost it,” I said, biting my lips to hold myself.

Alessandro’s brow creased up, making him look sinfully tempting but I’m not mentally stable enough to admire that now.

He is dangerous and the best thing? Is to play safe.

Maintaining those cold gaze despite how terrifying I was inside, “I got robbed inside a taxi,”

His eyes sharply eyed me down longer making me uncomfortable then he smirked and stared behind me. “Smart. But for someone robbed, why am I not seeing any injuries?”

“Because I gave out the money to save my life,” I added and his smirk widened before his face immediately hardened.

And the next thing, he quickly snatched a pistol from one of the men standing beside him and aimed it straight at my head, the color drained off my face as my eyes purged out wide.

My heart drumming so fast

“Just like the same way I am going to blast off that head, if you didn’t provide my money right now!”

The gun trembled slightly against my forehead, not from him, but from me shaking so badly my body could barely stay still.

My lips parted but no words came out.

Only ragged breaths.

Theo.

Theo.

Theo.

His tiny pale face flashed through my mind again. The hospital bed. The tubes attached to his fragile body. The doctor’s voice telling me there was little time left.

I couldn’t tell Alessandro the truth.

I just couldn’t.

“I—I can explain…” My voice cracked miserably.

“Explain?” Alessandro laughed darkly, the sound sending chills crawling down my spine. “Do I look like a man interested in excuses?”

“No…”

“Then where is my money?”

The pressure of the gun against my skin increased slightly and tears instantly burned the back of my eyes.

“I lost it,” I whispered again, my chest rising violently. “Please…”

His jaw tightened.

For a second, silence swallowed the whole atmosphere as his finger shifted to the trigger.

I screamed and instantly shut my eyes, expecting the worst.

Tears struggling to force its way out…. Is this how I’m going to leave Theo?

But suddenly—

“Boss!”

The sharp voice cut through the tension instantly.

Alessandro’s finger paused on the trigger. Slowly, he turned, fury flashing across his face at the interruption.

The man who had spoken visibly swallowed before hurrying forward with a bowed head, stretching out a ringing phone with shaky hands.

“Who is that?” Alessandro demanded harshly.

The frightened man cleared his throat nervously. “M-Madam Rosalia Caruso.”

The change in Alessandro demeanor was immediate.

Rage darkened his entire expression at the mention of the name. His grip on the gun tightened while a dangerous shadow crossed his face.

I sucked in a trembling breath and slowly opened my eyes properly, realizing the pistol was still aimed at me even though his attention had shifted elsewhere.

Then unexpectedly, he smirked.

It wasn’t a normal smile.

It was a dark wicked smile.

“You owe me,” he muttered coldly before lowering the gun slightly. “And whoever owes Alessandro never gets away.”

He turned back to look at me.

And my stomach twisted painfully as he stepped closer.

One step.

Then another.

Until there was barely any space left between us.

My breathing worsened instantly.

Alessandro stared down at me like a predator admiring trapped prey before slowly lifting his hand to cup my chin.

For one dangerous second, his touch almost seemed gentle.

Then he harshly yanked my face upward.

“Ah!” I hissed sharply, pain shooting through my jaw.

My eyes snapped toward his instinctively, glaring despite the fear swallowing me alive.

And somehow… that only widened his smile.

“Why not pay off your debt, feisty cat?”

My brows furrowed in confusion and panic. “W-What are you talking about?”

He leaned down slowly until his lips brushed near my ear, his warm breath making my entire body tense.

“Your presence just comes in handy now,” he murmured darkly. “So choose carefully…”

His fingers tightened under my chin.

“Be my wife…”

His eyes locked onto mine with dangerous amusement before his eyes hardened like steel.

“Or rot in prison for the rest of your life.”