Chapter 2 - SHADOWS OF THE LAST LIGHT
The minutes following Matteo’s entrance stretched like pulled wire across the diner. Derek Vale remained half-crouched over his booth seat, his sneer freezing halfway into a puzzled grimace as he looked at the man in the denim jacket standing near the front entrance. The old trucker in the corner booth had quietly slid his coffee cup away and stared straight ahead, knowing better than to breathe too loudly. Jimmy the grill cook gripped his spatula with white knuckles, silently praying that nobody would pull a weapon inside his establishment.
Matteo didn't rush. He took two deliberate steps forward, his gaze locked entirely on Derek, Ryan, and Kurt. The harsh yellow fluorescent lights caught the sharp angles of his face, illuminating an expression of absolute, terrifying serenity. “You tore her uniform,” Matteo said, his voice carrying effortlessly over the low hum of the refrigerator motors. It wasn't a shout. It was a statement of raw fact that chilled the air in the room.
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Derek blinked, attempting to regain his swagger. He stood up fully, puffing out his chest. “Hey, pal, back off. She was clumsy, and we were just teaching her some manners. You want to pay for her spilled coffee, be my guest.” Ryan snickered behind him, though his eyes darted nervously toward Matteo's broad shoulders and the silent men standing outside on the pavement who had just emerged from the shadows.
Matteo stopped three feet from booth seven. He didn't look at Derek; he looked down at the coffee still soaking into the tiles, then back up. “Manners,” Matteo repeated softly, testing the word on his tongue as if it were something foreign. “In my world, men who touch what isn't theirs without permission lose the hands that reached out.” The absolute lack of theatricality in Matteo’s delivery terrified Derek more than a fist would have. The arrogant smirk vanished completely from Derek’s face, replaced by a cold knot of dread. Without throwing a single punch, without raising his voice, the Black Lion had turned the entire room into a cage, and the bullies realized they were trapped inside it.
