Chapter 86: Alrigo's little prey

Ivery Clark POV

Every nerve ending in my body screamed, my heart hammering a frantic, erratic rhythm against my ribs.

Alrigo stepped into the dim light of the backyard. He moved with an effortless, terrifying grace. “I've been calling your name for the last thirty seconds, Ivery.”

His tone was smooth, perfectly measured, yet the air in the yard instantly seemed to drop ten degrees.

“What are you doing out here in the dark…?”

A knot of pure panic tightened in my throat.

"I... I just needed some fresh air," I stammered, my voice sounding paper-thin in the quiet night.

His eyes locked onto mine, dark and utterly motionless.

“I see...” Alrigo stopped a mere arm's length away. His eyes traced the rapid, erratic rise and fall of my chest, the way my body was angled just a fraction of an inch away from the heavy shadows near the fence line where Elias might or might not be standing.

Suddenly a faint rustle came from the hedges behind us, rattling me. Fuck!

Alrigo's gaze shifted toward the sound, watching the shadows settle back into absolute stillness.

"...Was someone else here?”

I instinctively dug my nails on the bark at how terrified I was.

“I'm asking you, ma bella. Was someone here?” Alrigo turned his head back to me, his dark silhouette towering over my smaller frame, trapping me completely against the rough, biting bark of the oak tree.

Panic seized my entire nervous system.

"I..." My mouth had gone dry. "Y-yes.”

“Who?" His voice was almost a whisper, smooth as velvet.

“N-Neighbour.” I said, forcing the lie out before I could think twice. "We were just talking casually.”

Alrigo didn't blink. His long, warm fingers remained anchored on my jaw, his thumb smoothing over my skin in a slow, agonizingly deliberate rhythm that felt less like comfort and more like a predator measuring a pulse.

The gentle breeze carried the faint, sharp scent of his expensive cologne, mixed with the damp night air—a scent that usually grounded me, but right now felt like a velvet leash around my neck.

“A neighbor," he repeated, his voice dropping into a quiet, dangerous rumble that vibrated against my chest.

“A man...or a woman?”

The air caught in my lungs.

Why did that matter?

Every instinct screamed that this wasn't an ordinary question.

“A... a girl.” I answered, forcing the words out. “My best friend Tina.”

The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. "I see…”

His hand shifted, his touch as light as his thumb brushed my lashes. "Were you crying? Your lashes are damp, your breathing is ragged. It's as if... you've just seen a ghost.”

“It's... it's nothing like that," I stammered, my voice trembling despite my desperate attempt to hold it steady. “It’s just been so long since we finally reconnected, so we were just emotional while sharing some memories.”

“A reunion I see.” His fingers gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face, lingering against my cheek.

The simple touch made my pulse race.

He didn't challenge the lie. He just let the word hang in the freezing night air between us, suffocating and heavy, letting the silence stretch until every second felt like a tick on an executioner's clock

Slowly, his thumb resumed its soft, agonizingly gentle path, tracing down the line of my cheekbone toward my jaw. His forehead rested lightly against mine, his hot breath fanning across my lips.

​"So, when are you coming back...?" Alrigo murmured against my lips. “It's been days, ma bella.​”

"I'm beginning to think..." His gray eyes searched mine with quiet intensity. "...you don't care about me anymore. Or you're planning to abandon me and run away with someone else…?”

The question hung between us like a suspended blade, sharp and heavy.

My chest rose and fell in ragged, shallow breaths, the heat of his lips still lingering on mine like a brand.

​I couldn't look away.

​"Don't say that..." I whispered, laying my trembling palms flat against the solid expanse of his chest. “You know that's not true, Alrigo.”

His gray eyes softened for the briefest moment. "Then come back to me right now. I can't wait anymore, ma bella.”

My heart did a violent flip in my chest as his hand slipped inside my skirt to grab my ass.

​"R-right now?" I stuttered, my eyes widening in sheer panic, trying to anchor myself against the overwhelming surge of his control. "Alrigo, it's late already! What... what will I even say to Mom? She's inside waiting for me, she made dinner—"

​"I don't care." He growled softly, his thumb digging harder into my flesh, holding me pinned against him while his gray eyes flickered with a dangerous, dark obsession.

“I don't care about dinner, Ivery. I don't care what excuse you have to give her. I am not separating from you today.”​ He leaned down, his lips brushing the sensitive skin of my neck with a heat that made me tremble.

“You have thirty seconds to walk inside and grab your things, ma bella, or I’m going in there to carry you out myself.”

​"Alrigo, please..." I breathed, my hands clutching the soft wool of his lapels as if it were the only thing keeping me afloat. "My phone... my bag... everything is upstairs—"

​"Then go get it," he murmured softly. “Thirty seconds, Ivery. And don't even think about locking the back door behind you... because you know I won't hesitate to break it down.”

He slowly released his grip, stepping back just half a pace—leaving me trembling against the cold trunk of the oak tree, my skin still burning where his hands had been.

“Go…”

My heart was beating fast now.

​"Alrigo..." I breathed out.

​"Time is ticking, ma bella," he murmured, his tone dropping into that dark, dangerously soft register that made my skin prickle. "Every second you stand here looking at me like that... makes me want to go inside your house and pick your things myself.”

He's crazy!!

A fresh wave of panic hit me, cold and sharp. I didn't waste another breath.

​I turned and practically sprinted toward the back door, slipping inside and letting the latch click shut.

“You're back?” My mother’s voice called from the kitchen, light and completely unsuspecting.

I ran towards her, breathing heavily.

“Eh? Where's the other one? Wasn't he with you? What was his name…El—”

​"Mom, shh!" I choked out, lunging forward to grab her arm, my fingers digging in with frantic intensity.

​Mom blinked, startled by the sudden, wide-eyed terror on my face. "Ivery? What on earth—”

“Mom, there’s a major emergency with the company. That is why he came to inform and left.” I said, forcing the words out through a throat so tight it burned. “The private client for our high-end jewelry project just pushed their arrival up to tomorrow morning, and I'm the one who is managing it. I need to leave as early as possible.”

Mom was stunned, ​"What? Right now? But it's almost late—”

“I know, but I have to move now only otherwise I'll not reach the city in time. The client is incredibly important, and this project can't move forward without me."

"Oh, dear…” Mom sighed, clearly reluctant, but she nodded. "Then don't stand here talking! Go pack your things before you're late."

Relief flooded through me.

"Thanks, Mom!” I practically sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

I wasn't about to waste another second. What if Alrigo loses his patience?

He was an unhinged man who would walk right through the front door, greet my mother with that terrifyingly charming, dangerous composure, and carry me out himself.

The thought alone made me move faster, scrambling up the stairs, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.

I threw open my bedroom door and rushed straight to the wardrobe, my trembling hands yanking clothes from the shelves as I hastily stuffed them into my bag.

Just as I reached for another shirt, a strong, masculine hand suddenly appeared against the wardrobe beside my head.

My entire body went rigid.

"You're too slow…ma bella.” Alrigo purred low against the shell of my ear, his deep voice vibrating right through my back.

He was here.

Alrigo Valerie King was in my room!