LOGINAurora 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
Dominic POVDominic stood near the window of the hotel room’s bedroom while he stared down at the street below, watching the cars roll by lazily as the sun began to set.The faint rumble of Mikhail’s men talking in the living area carried through the thin walls. Their presence wasn’t necessary now t
My stomach twists.Hopefully that means Romero and Marco have been successful with extracting Gianna.“Hold them off! No! Pull everyone back to—”Whatever’s said next makes him fall silent, recoiling as if he’s been shot right in the chest. His mouth drops open but no sound comes out of him. I pray
Dominic POVThe coordinates come in early the next morning.It took barely an hour for calls to be made and men to be positioned before they were ready to head out. A sizable task executed almost seamlessly—a good sign for the end of this endeavor.Now, hours later, they were on their way to the loc
Aurora POVThe man’s grip is crushing my arm as he squeezes to keep hold of me, fingers digging so deep I know there’ll be bruises later of his handprint. I thrash wildly, screaming at the top of my lungs, but it’s useless.“Let me go!” I shriek, kicking out while my shoes scrape uselessly against t







