Page 41 of The Chaos She Brings

I gape at him. “Stop digging into my life!”

He ignores me and keeps his focus on Enzo, whose expression has hardened.

“I think he was hired to kill her.”

“What the f—” I start, my mind reeling.

“I knew there was something off about him,” Kai mutters, cutting me off. “So, he was working with the Russians?”

“I don’t have proof yet. But that’s my guess.”

“How do we protect her?” Kai presses, still completely ignoring me.

They’re talking about me like I’m not even here.

“That’s why I’m here,” Enzo continues smoothly. “Papa is sending more of his men.” His eyes flick to me briefly before turning back to Kai. “So, we’ll have round-the-clock eyes on her.”

“Good. Okay.” Kai nods, trying to take control of the situation.

“I was thinking of moving her to a safehouse as well. Make it easier to watch her, at least until we can eliminate the threat.”

“I can’t just quit my life. I have rent, and bills, and—”

Enzo finally turns his attention back to me, and my stomach churns. “You don’t need to worry about any of that, I’ll deal with your job, and make sure your flat is paid for.

“Once this is over, you can decide how much of this life you want in on. There’s already been ten offers for your hand since the news broke.”

I stare blankly at him.What the fuckedy fuck?

The absurdity of the situation bubbles up inside me, a laugh escaping before I can stop it, followed by a rush of tears. I swipe at them, but more fall. “What the actualfuckis happening right now? No. No, no. This can’t be real. A week ago, the only thing I had to worry about was my boyfriend not being able to give me an orgasm, and now I’ve killed a man, fed him to pigs, I can’t gohome, the Russian Mafia wants me dead, I’m some illegitimate Italian Mafia princess, men want to marry me, and—” I freeze, my heart skipping a beat. “—I want Kai to kiss me again.”

The last part slips out before I can even stop it, and I immediately throw my hands over my mouth, my eyes wide as saucers. Heat rises to my face, my entire body going rigid. What the hell did I just say? I can’t take it back now, and I have no idea what comes next.

Since I have no self-preservation skills or filter, I keep talking. “Okay, seriously, whoever is writing my life story, can you just stop now? Because I amsonot interested. I get it, alright? You want to throw in some trauma, maybe a dash of tension here and there, but you can cut it out. I’m good. I really don’t need it. What I want is to—”

I’m cut off as Kai suddenly crouches in front of me, his hands gently cupping my cheeks. His voice is low and calm as he speaks, cutting through my spiralling thoughts.

“Breathe, Hurricane.”

His eyes capture mine and I stare into them as I try to calm my erratic heart rate and still my mind.

Kai wipes a stray tear from my cheek with his thumb. “You good?”

I nod, transfixed by his presence.

As he steps back, the absence of his touch leaves me feeling strangely cold. I want to say something, but my mind is still racing a thousand miles a minute. The whole situation feels like it’s spiralling out of control.

Enzo clears his throat, bringing me back to the room. “So, I think it’s safe to say we have some serious decisions ahead of us.”

I nod, but my attention drifts back to Kai, who’s now standing off to the side, arms crossed. There’s a tension in the air between us, something that wasn’t there before. I don’t know what to make of it.

“And we’ll figure it out,” Enzo adds, eyes flicking between Kai and me. “One step at a time.”

My brain is still struggling to process everything. Mafia. Russians. A brother. A boyfriend who might’ve been hired to kill me. And somehow, somewhere in all of this mess, the weirdest partis that I can’t seem to stop thinking about Kai.

I shake my head, trying to focus. “Right. One step at a time.”

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