로그인Aurora POVI sit in the lecture hall with my notebook open and my pen resting uselessly between my fingers.The professor’s voice washes over me without meaning. Words drift past but my gaze keeps sliding to the window toward the outside world where everything that matters is happening without me.D
My chest tightens.“There you are,” he says as his gaze instantly finds me.“Here I am,” I smile as I cross the room to him, feeling drab in my school clothes next to him. “Where else would I be?”His hand comes to my waist like it belongs there—because it does. When he looks at me, the weight of ev
Aurora POV The hotel room smells faintly of oud and sandalwood, the most trendy and expensive perfume of the moment. This is the kind of place that knows it’s expensive and doesn’t let you forget it.I sit cross-legged on the edge of the bed in jeans and a sweatshirt, my dress hung carefully so it
Aurora POVThe coffeehouse smells like burnt espresso and pastries, like safety in the form of routine.I sit in my usual corner between classes, my back to the brick wall, the small round table pressed close enough that no one, not even my usual friends, can slide in uninvited. I am too distracted
Then she looks past Dominic and the body to the other older man standing waiting, his face full of resigned dignity so unlike what had been Francesco’s final moments.“Can Gianna’s father live?” she asks hoarsely, her soft voice barely reaching him across the empty space of the warehouse.The words
Aurora POVGianna is finally still.The pill I offered her dissolved beneath her tongue, and within minutes the sharp edges of her panic soften. Her lashes flutter as she slumps against the pillow, breath evening out, the fight draining from her limbs.I brush her hair back from her face with shakin
Aurora POVWhen I wake, the first thing I notice is how heavy my hand feels.For a moment, I think it’s nothing, just sleep lingering in my limbs, but then my eyes land on the glint of metal that catches the faint morning light when I raise my hand to brush the sleep out of my eyes and catch somethi
Aurora POVNo, no, no.This can’t happen.If Dominic storms Alek’s compound now, it’ll ruin everything.He’s going to ruin everything.He doesn’t know the game that’s being played around him. Doesn’t see that he’s no longer the player but the pawn—a shiny, valuable chess piece being maneuvered into
“I’ll try. Let’s program our numbers into each other’s burner phones so we can check-in. I want to hear from you too. Leaving you alone with Alek makes me nervous. I know he’s promised a bunch of times that he’ll respect you and not do anything nefarious but these guys are fucking criminals who can
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”She nodded once and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders as he slid out of bed and tugged on a shirt.Romero was waiting just outside, his expression grim. “We’ve got movement.”Dominic followed him down the hallway, pulling the door to his and Aurora’s te







