Chapter 92 "Don't Leave Me"

Chapter 92 "Don't Leave Me"
I let out a harsh, dark laugh, the sound filling the quiet hallway.
​"That's impossible," I snapped at my mother, my voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register. "Celene wouldn't do that. She is mine, Mom. She doesn't have some secret 'true love' lurking in the shadows, and she damn sure isn't plotting my downfall with some rival crew. She's fiercely loyal to me, and you know it."

​Isabella didn't flinch. Instead, she stepped closer, her expression tightening with a grim, calculating intensity that made my chest tighten.

​"Is it really so impossible, Cole?" she asked, her voice a soft, venomous whisper. "Look at the facts. You are Paimon. You brought her into a world of blood, violence, and constant threat. No matter how much she might care for you, fear does strange things to a woman. What if she found someone who promises her an escape? Someone who represents a normal life away from the mafia?"

​"She knows what I am, and she chose to stay," I growled, my fists clenching at my sides as the image of Celene burning up on the bed inside flashed through my mind.

​"She chose to stay because she had no choice," mother countered smoothly, pressing the knife in deeper into my heart. "Think about the security feeds, Cole. To wipe your elite encryption from inside the estate, it takes deep coordination. It takes someone she trusts completely to guide her out. Why else would she lie to your face while she's literally suffering from the effects of a drug? If it were just a random kidnapping, she would be screaming the man's name so you could go tear him apart. But she's silent. She's creating wild, impossible stories. She is choosing to protect him over trusting you. You need to open your eyes before that loyalty blinds you entirely."

"Back the fuck off, Mom," I growled, my voice a lethal, razor-thin whisper that instantly cut her off. My jaw was clenched so tight my teeth ached. "Go back to your room if you're just going to stand here and spew utter rubbish. I'm not listening to this shit."

​Isabella's eyes flashed with surprise, but she knew better than to push Paimon when he looked like he was about to tear the world apart. Without another word, she pulled back, turning on her heel and disappearing down the dimly lit hallway.

​I stood there for a long, agonizing second, my hand resting on the heavy brass handle of the bedroom door.
​But as much as I had defended her out loud, my thoughts betrayed me. The poison my mother had just whispered into my ear began to mutate, mixing with the raw adrenaline and jealousy already pumping through my veins.
​What if she was right?

​My mind raced, dragging me backward into that filthy, dingy hotel room. I saw it all over again—Daniel draped over her. His mouth forced against hers. She had been thrashing, yeah, but my dark, possessive mind started twisting the memory, overanalyzing every single detail. Had she been fighting him off, or was it something else? Why was she wearing that lacy dress? She definitely didn't leave my house in that. Did he change her into it, or did she wear it herself?

​The image of Daniel's hands on my woman burned a hole through my sanity. Was I reading too much into it? Was I letting my own paranoia blind me, or was the girl I brought into my dark world actually seeking an escape in the arms of a fucking buffoon like Daniel?

So many goddamn thoughts crashed against my skull, threatening to completely shatter my control.

​I took a deep, ragged breath, forcing the chaos in my mind into a cold, locked box. I didn't have time for doubts. Not right now.

​I pulled the door open, stepped back into the cool, dark sanctuary of the bedroom, and clicked the heavy oak door shut behind me, locking the rest of the world out.
​I turned around, leaning my back against the wood, and let my eyes find her.

​Celene was still writhing on the mattress, completely consumed by the heat. The sheets were tangled around her legs, the rich, perfect dark of her skin glistening with a feverish sweat under the dim bedside lamp. Her wild afro curls were spilled across the pillows as her hips rolled helplessly, her lips parting to let out another breathless, desperate whine for me.

​Drugged or not, guilty or innocent, she was lying right there in my bed. And looking at her, completely undone, the dark man inside me took over, silencing every doubt with a fierce, terrifying need to possess her.

The distance between the door and the bed felt like miles, but my boots moved on autopilot. I shed my tactical vest, letting it thud heavily to the floor, leaving me in nothing but my dark shirt as I climbed onto the mattress.

​I didn't care about the rules. I didn't care about the doubts. I pulled her feverish, trembling body straight into my chest, wrapping my arms around her so tightly that there wasn't a breath of air left between us.

The moment she felt my weight, Celene let out a fractured sob, her hands instantly clawing into my shirt, her face burying itself into the crook of my neck. Her skin was scorching, a beautiful, torturous fire that burned straight through my clothes.

​Holding her like this, the fierce, terrifying truth of what she was to me crushed everything else. I loved her. God help me, I loved her so much it felt like a sickness. For all my power, for all the blood on my hands as Paimon, I was completely powerless against the girl in my arms. I would burn this entire city to ash, I would tear down heaven and earth, just to keep her safe.

​But the poison my mother had planted twisted a knife deep in my gut. What if she truly leaves me?
​The sheer thought of a world without her...a world where her wild, soft curls didn't rest on my pillows, where her sharp, fierce eyes didn't look back at me...sent a cold, paralyzing wave of pure terror straight to my core.

I couldn't cope with it. I wouldn't survive it. I would become the monster everyone thought I was, completely unhinged.
​"Cole... please..." she panted against my skin, her hips rolling helplessly against mine, desperate for the heat, desperate for relief.

​I buried my face in her soft afro curls, inhaling her scent as my throat tightened with an agonizing vulnerability I had never allowed myself to feel in my entire life. The dominant, dangerous mafia boss completely fractured, leaving only a man desperate to hold onto his lifeline.

​"Don't leave me," I whispered against her ear, my voice breaking, rough and raw with a pleading desperation that shocked even me. I tightened my grip, anchoring her to my chest as if I could physically bind her soul to mine. "Please... just don't leave me, Kitten."