Jasmine's entire body went rigid.
He wasn't talking to his men. He wasn't talking to the corpse.
He was talking to her.
Her breath hitched as a cold wave of fear crashed over her. The way he said it—so slow, so teasing, like he was savoring the moment—made her skin erupt in goosebumps.
She fumbled for her phone with trembling fingers. Call the police. Call the police.
Fuck. What was the emergency number in Italy? She had never needed to call the police before.
Her mind blanked. Think, Jasmine!
Shakily, she opened her browser and typed it in. 112. Right. She switched to messages instead, hurriedly typing a text and pressing send.
Just as she let out a breath, ready to wait—
A fistful of her hair was yanked back, hard.
Jasmine let out a choked gasp as she was dragged from her hiding spot, her phone slipping from her grip and clattering onto the floor.
She barely had time to scream before she was tossed onto the cold concrete, landing painfully on her knees. Dazed, she looked up—
And met Lucas's eyes.
Cold. Amused. Unforgiving.
"Well, well," he murmured, crouching in front of her with a slow, predatory smirk. "Look at what we have here."
Lucas tilted his head, his icy gaze trailing over her trembling form before he let out a low chuckle.
"A cute brown mouse."
Jasmine's breath hitched. Was that supposed to be an insult? Most brown mice she had seen were actually rats.
Was he calling her a rat?
Before she could even process it, his voice dropped into something colder, sharper.
"What are you doing here?" His tone was deceptively calm. "Why did you follow me?"
Jasmine clenched her jaw, refusing to answer.
His blue eyes darkened at her silence.
Then—smack.
A sharp, stinging slap struck across her face.
Jasmine's head snapped to the side, her skin burning where his hand had landed. Shock filled her as she gasped, tasting the faintest hint of blood where her lip had split.
Her mind screamed at her to run, to fight—but her body was frozen, paralyzed by fear.
Above her, Lucas sighed, rubbing his fingers together as if she had dirtied his hand.
"Don't make me ask again, little mouse."
Jasmine's entire body shook as she dropped to her knees, hands clasped together in a desperate plea.
"Please… I wasn't trying to cause trouble," she whimpered. "I just— you looked so cool, and I wanted to get to know you!"
Lucas raised a brow, amusement flickering in his icy blue eyes.
"So, you're a stalker?"
Jasmine's face burned with shame. God, that sounded so bad. But right now, her embarrassment was the least of her worries.
"P-Please," she stammered, her voice breaking. "If you let me go, I won't tell anyone. I swear!"
Lucas chuckled, the sound low and condescending.
"Even if you did tell someone," he mused, "what do you think they'd ask you?"
He took a step closer, tilting her chin up with two fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"Why were you there, little mouse?" His smirk widened. "Because you were stalking me."
Jasmine's blood ran cold.
He knew?
Her lips parted in shock, but no words came out.
Lucas let out a mock sigh, shaking his head. "You're not a very smart mouse, are you?"
He crouched in front of her, scanning her face like a cat toying with its prey.
"It's obvious," he continued smoothly. "You think I wouldn't notice the same little shadow following me? Besides…" He flicked the hem of her sweater. "You wear the same three sweaters almost every other day. I'd have to be an idiot not to notice."
Jasmine swallowed hard, her hands trembling.
This wasn't just a man catching her in the act.
This was a predator deciding whether to play with his food…
Or devour it.
Jasmine's breath hitched, her stomach twisting in dread.
Lucas leaned in, his smirk sharp and taunting. "You followed me all the way here… because you wanted to see if I was with another woman?" He let out a low chuckle. "You think I'm your man, don't you?"
She shook her head quickly, but he ignored her denial.
"Silly, silly girl," he mocked, dragging a finger along her jaw.
Jasmine flinched, her whole body tensing.
His gaze darkened, and his smirk turned cruel. "Oh, so that's it, huh?" He hummed as if in deep thought before shrugging. "Well, I've never been one to turn down free cunt."
Jasmine's blood turned ice cold.
She had to get out of here. Now.