Chapter 2 - The Lethal Standoff
The private dining room fell into a suffocating, bone-chilling silence.
Tessa’s breath came in ragged, terrified hitches. Her hands trembled, but her fingers remained locked like vice grips around the mafia boss's wrist. Her apron was dusted with white flour, her hands smudged with kitchen grease, yet her eyes blazed with desperate, unyielding conviction.
Ronan Callahan didn't flinch. He didn't pull away.
His dark eyes slowly rose from the silver fork trapped inches above his plate, fixing upon Tessa's sweat-streaked face. His sharp, analytical mind registered the pulse hammering wildly in her wrist. He could smell the fresh rosemary and butter on her apron, mingled with the metallic tang of pure fear.
"Give me one reason not to kill you right now," Ronan said, his voice dropping into a low, lethal vibration that sent shivers down the spines of his own guards.
Tessa stared straight into the dark abyss of his eyes, refusing to look at the weapons pointed at her head.
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"It's poisoned," Tessa whispered in an intense, breathless gasp that rattled across the quiet room.
👉 How did a line cook discover a lethal trap before the mafia boss's elite security team?
