Chapter Two
353 Words
The SUV swallowed her in leather and silence. Adaora sat stiff, pressed against the door, her pulse thrumming so hard it made her vision blur.
Leonardo sat opposite her, legs casually crossed, like a king on his throne. Two armed men flanked him, their gazes blank but sharp, trained on her every twitch.
Adaora swallowed…. “Why me?”
Leonardo’s lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And because…” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “…I find you interesting.”
Her skin prickled. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough.” His gaze swept her—her trembling hands, her flushed cheeks, the fire in her eyes that hadn’t dimmed even under threat. “Most people would be begging right now. You’re still asking questions.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she lied.
One of his men chuckled under his breath. Leonardo silenced him with a flick of his fingers.
He leaned closer, voice dropping low. “You should be, Adaora.”
Her name rolled off his tongue like silk dipped in poison.
She forced herself to meet his eyes, searching for humanity. All she found was steel.
“What do you want from me?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
His hand reached out, slow, deliberate, and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. The gesture was intimate and terrifying.
“What I want,” he said, “is control. You saw something you shouldn’t have. That makes you leverage. And leverage…” His lips curved into a predator’s grin. “…must be kept close.”
Adaora flinched, heat rising in her chest—fear, anger, helplessness. “I won’t be your pawn.”
For the first time, he laughed. Low, dangerous, a sound that made her skin crawl. “No, Adaora. You’re not a pawn. You’re the queen I just placed on my board.”
Her breath hitched.
“And queens,” Leonardo said, eyes glinting like a wolf’s under moonlight, “don’t run.”
- Writer
