I rolled my eyes. 'There is nothing to talk about.'"
Alessio's jaw tightened as he stood straighter, his dark eyes locking onto mine with a heat that made me immediately regret my tone. "Don’t play games with me, Bella. Not now. Not when I don't know why you left somewhere safe to get what…a book? How is that even a key?"
I hugged the notebook closer to my chest, looking anywhere but at him. His gaze was like a weight pressing down on me, demanding answers I wasn’t sure I wanted to give. "It’s nothing, really," I said quickly. "It’s just... my art. That’s all."
"Your art?" His voice dripped with disbelief as he stepped closer. "You’re telling me you risked your f*****g life—for your art?"
"It’s not like that," I said, my voice rising to match the tension in his.
"Then explain it to me
