Chapter 25

Chapter 25
Chapter 25

SOPHIA

My head was a storm as Dario drove, taking me farther and farther from my apartment. I was scared, my mind racing, scrambling for answers to the questions piling up every second. We stayed in tense silence the whole drive.

I stared out the window, trying to process everything, when I noticed a black car trailing close behind us. I thought Dario’s men had stayed at my apartment.

“Are those your men?” I asked, nodding toward the car behind us.

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it,” he said, pressing the gas.

My heart jumped into my throat, fear washing over me. They weren’t his men. We were being followed.

Panic set in as Dario’s focus sharpened, his hands tightening on the wheel, his expression locked and determined. He accelerated again, eyes flicking constantly to the mirrors.

Then I heard the roar of the engine behind us. A cold shiver ran down my spine as the black car closed the gap between us. My fingers dug into the armrest of the seat.

Dario pushed the speed higher, weaving through the streets. The black car stayed glued to us, not letting up for a second. The chase turned vicious as we entered a quieter area on the outskirts of the city. The car behind us looked like it was trying to force us off the road.

Suddenly, Dario jerked the wheel right, swerving into a narrow, empty street. Adrenaline burned through my veins, a mix of fear and something sharp and electric as I clutched the seat, trying to stay steady. The black car followed without hesitation.

Dario kept maneuvering with lethal precision, trying to shake them. But the car stayed right on us, relentless.

The tension inside the vehicle was thick, suffocating. For a second, I was sure we weren’t going to make it. Then, in a brutal move, Dario slammed the brakes, swung left, and the black car shot past us.

“Hold on,” he ordered before ramming our car into theirs from the side.

The impact jolted my body violently. The crash sent the other car spinning out of control until it slammed into an old building—an abandoned warehouse by the look of it.

I sat frozen, my heart hammering erratically, adrenaline still flooding me. My breath came in ragged bursts as reality caught up. Dario had just taken them out.

“What… what just happened?” My voice shook, thin and unsteady.

“You okay?” he asked, a little breathless himself. I nodded, still staring at him.

The way he handled the car… it was like second nature. Like this wasn’t the first time.

Within seconds, he had the car moving again, parking on the side of the battered warehouse. Only then did I realize how far we were from the city.

“Stay here.” He turned to me, his blue eyes burning with a chilling intensity I’d never seen before.

“What? What are you going to do? You can’t go in there.”

“Don’t get out of the car. Do you hear me?”

“What are you going to do? It’s dangerous—”

“Obey.” His voice left no room for argument. He was already out, phone in hand.

He was insane. He couldn’t just go in there. We didn’t know who those men were or how many. They could hurt him. The weight of that thought made my chest tighten with panic.

A minute later, I forced my legs to move and opened the door, slipping out. My pulse was pounding so hard it hurt. I crept toward the front of the warehouse, freezing when the sound of more engines filled the air. More cars.

I quickened my steps, but the second I rounded the corner and saw it, my blood turned to ice.

Dario stood with a gun pressed to the head of one of the men, blood already streaking down his face from the crash. Another body lay on the ground to his right.

Dead.

No.

No, no, no. He didn’t. He couldn’t have.

But I didn’t hear a shot. My gaze dropped to the gun in his hand. Silencer.

Oh, God.

He killed him.

A violent shudder ripped through me as my legs nearly buckled. And then it happened—the second man dropped when Dario pulled the trigger. The muted hiss of the silenced shot cut through the air like a blade.

I stumbled back, my heart slamming against my ribs. Fear wrapped itself around me, squeezing tight.

Who was this man?

I didn’t think. I just turned to run—straight into something solid.

I looked up and met the chest of one of his men. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t letting me through.

“I…” My voice cracked.

“Sophia…” Dario’s voice came from behind me. I didn’t turn. I tried to push past the wall of muscle in front of me, but he didn’t budge.

“Let me go. Please.” My voice broke, desperate.

“I told you to stay in the car,” Dario said, so close behind me I felt the heat of his presence.

I couldn’t look at him. My whole body was trembling.

I was scared. Truly scared.

I saw him kill.

What would he do to me?

“Let me go!” I screamed at the man blocking me, shoving him with all my strength. He didn’t move an inch.

“Sophia, look at me.” His voice was low, closer now.

“No. No. Stay away from me.”

He grabbed my arm, turning me to face him.

“Don’t touch me! I know what you did. I saw… You… you’re a…”

“It’s okay. Calm down. I’m taking you home.”

“No!” I jerked back, slamming into the guard behind me, my lungs refusing to work.

“Sophia—”

“No.”

“I can explain—”

“I just want to leave!” I screamed, my voice raw.

“All right. I’ll take you.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“Enough. Take her home,” he ordered, his tone ice.

“No! I won’t go!” I twisted, searching for a way out, but the men closed in, surrounding me.

“To your house, sir?” one of them asked.

“Yes. Put her in my room,” he said, turning his back on me.

What was happening?