Chapter 2 - The Price of Protection

Facebook Hook Title: MY DATE TOOK OUT A GUN, BUT THE MAFIA BOSS DID SOMETHING FAR WORSE! THE RUG IS ALREADY RUINED... 🤫🩸"Tessa, get away from him! He’s dangerous!" Simon yelled, his nice-guy facade completely disintegrating. He pulled a compact black pistol from his jacket, aiming it straight at Nico’s chest.
The restaurant hallway became a pressure cooker. Tessa expected panic from Nico. Instead, the Don didn't even blink. He didn't reach for a weapon. He just stood there, an apex predator watching a stray dog bark.
"You brought a toy to a execution, Simon," Nico mocked softly.
"Shut up! Both of you, walk out the back door, now!" Simon ordered, his hand shaking. "Tessa, move!"
"Simon, please..." Tessa cried, her voice cracking.
"Don't speak to her," Nico growled, his tone shifting from mockery to absolute menace. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "You looked at her. You touched her hand at that table. You used her name with your filthy mouth. Those are three sins, Simon. And in my house, we pay for sins immediately."
Suddenly, the frosted glass window of the restroom shattered.
Two of Nico’s heavily armed guards, who had scaled the building from the dark alleyway, crashed through the frame. Before Simon could pull the trigger, a heavy boot kicked the gun from his hand, sending it clattering across the tile. Simon was slammed face-first into the wall, a zip-tie clicking tightly around his wrists within seconds.
Tessa slid down the wall, burying her face in her hands as Simon screamed curses.
Nico knelt in front of her. His expensive trousers ruined by the wet floor, but he didn't care. He gently pulled her hands away from her tear-streaked face.
"Look at me, Tesina," he commanded softly.
Tessa looked into the eyes of the monster who had just saved her. "What are you going to do to him?"
"What needs to be done," Nico replied coldly. He stood up and looked at his men. "Take him to the basement. Keep him alive until I arrive. I want to personally show him what happens to people who touch my property."
Property. The word stung Tessa, snapping her out of her shock.
"I am not your property, Nico!" she yelled, standing up, her body trembling with adrenaline. "You set this up! You let me go on this date just to break me! To show me I can never leave!"
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Nico paused at the doorway. He looked back over his shoulder, his dark eyes burning with an unreadable, intense emotion.
"You want a normal life, Tessa? A normal life is a luxury you lost the moment you walked into my estate. You know too much, you see too much, and whether you like it or not, you belong under my roof. Now, get in the car. The rain is getting worse."