LOGINI looked into the dark irises of the man sitting in front of me. Then I slowly surveyed his sharp jaw, the curve of his thin lips, his emphasized cheekbones, and the thick, black brows with a few sparks of silver. This time, staring at this face was a thousand times harder than when I'd faced him at the party. Only now did I realize that my amnesia had partially been a bliss. But now, I remembered. I remembered everything, and I could barely sit still as my family's murderer dared smile at me.“I don't think these are necessary.” Gaspare nonchalantly waved his hand, pointing at my cuffs.Aldo grimaced. “Are you certain, Mr. Valentino?”“My dear niece is not going to kill me,” he snarled at him before turning to me. “Or am I wrong about that?”Keeping my face expressionless turned into an unbearable struggle as I shook my head. “Do I have a reason to kill… my uncle?”He burst into cold laughter. “Of course not… I keep forgetting that you have that… amnesia.” He leaned closer and clicke
POPPY“Wake up! Wake up, Poppy!” Sister Anna's hushed voice pulled me out of a dream.I blinked a few times, adjusting my sight to the night's darkness. Sister Anna was leaning over my bed, her trembling hand patting my shoulder. “Did something happen?” I whispered, slowly rising to sit up on my cot in the corner of the attic bedroom.She looked around, checking whether all the other children were asleep. Then she grabbed my hand and pressed her finger to my lips. “You need to be quiet.” When I nodded, she leaned closer and murmured, “I'm taking you out of this orphanage.”My eyes widened. “Why?” I breathed.“Bad men are looking for you,” she said quietly, looking over her shoulder once more. “We need to leave. Now.”Chills licked the nape of my neck. “What… bad men?” I choked out.“The same ones who hurt your family.” She uncovered my sheets, then put my boots on the floor for me to wear. “Poppy, we have no time.”Everything within me froze. It had already been hard after my Knight h
GREYI stepped on the gas, changing lanes faster as if hell itself were after me. The column of our cars was right behind me, but we were too slow, and the voice at the back of my head whispered that it was too late.I had learned about the attack two hours ago, while we'd been still in the air, miles and miles from New York. I had called whomever I could to bring us backups. I used old debts and connections, anything to give us enough power to crush them all.But the forces that had attacked us were greater than we'd expected. Valentino had brought nearly his entire army from Sicily and all the armies of his allies. We'd been prepared to defeat a large army of men… What we hadn't anticipated was the battle drones armed with explosives.I had last heard from Lanzo thirty minutes ago. Rick had been out of reach for longer than that. But what was twisting my guts was the fact that something was blocking Poppy's tracker. Cory could have enhanced the signal, but he, too, was currently out
A banging on the door sounded. “Poppy! Poppy, are you all right?!” Abigail's shouts forced me to move.I stepped on the shattered glass and hissed as a sharp piece cut the sole of my foot. Finally, I reached the door and unlocked it. “Oh my God!” She wrapped her hands around me, pulling me close. Then she looked at what remained of the bedroom and all but dragged me into the corridor.“Can you run?” she asked, scanning my slightly torn nightgown and bleeding feet.My body still rattled, and my mind was a hectic mess. The shouts and gunshots were coming from everywhere. A wave of soldiers ran down the stairs, and another surge of gunshots echoed through the corridors. God… Those fuckers were already inside.“Poppy?” Abigail grabbed my arms and shook me. “Can you run?”I sucked in a shaky breath. “Um… I don't know,” I choked out. A high-pitched tone still rang in my ears, and I could barely force my brain to process anything.“Wait here,” she said before rushing into the bedroom.I rema
POPPYI turned off my phone and sat on the floor, breathing deeply. I tried to follow all the instructions Doctor Fabian had given me. I needed this to work. I still felt embarrassed after telling Grey what I'd seen during my first session. I didn't want him to think I was making that up, or that I was so desperate to stay by his side that I told myself that maybe I could be the Princess he was looking for…God, that truly sounded pathetic. I seriously hoped he hadn't thought that I'd told him that because I'd sought his attention. A weak groan slipped through my mouth. Now all I could think about was Grey's reaction. So much for relaxing…My head turned to my phone lying on the bed, and I began to debate whether to turn it back on and try calling him. My hand slowly began to reach for it when the knock on the door sounded. I jerked to my feet and cleared my throat. “Come in.”The door opened, and Abigail slowly walked inside. “I heard you agreed to see me,” she muttered, lowering her
“You were right about Foster's recordings,” I told Poppy over the phone as I was about to leave my hotel room in Philadelphia.“I'm glad that Cory found something useful.” I could hear the smile in her voice.I chuckled. “This might finally get us a decent lead.”A few beats of silence came. “I'm… sorry about your meeting with Amelia. I know that you were hoping to find your Princess…”I drew a deep breath. “It's not that important right now. We need to find Valentino's niece. This should be our priority.”Another pause sounded. “You're right…”I rubbed the spot between my brows, trying to soothe the tension. “And how's your therapy? Did the second session work?”“No…” She sighed. “I couldn't relax. After what happened the last time, I was blocked. Doctor Fabian showed me a few exercises I should do before today's session. I hope it'll help.”“Don't push yourself too hard. Perhaps you need more time,” I said.She turned silent again for a moment. “Grey… During the first session…” She
POPPYA few hours ago, Abigail had come to tell me that Grey would not join me for dinner. Relief would have been an expected reaction, but instead, I'd felt disappointment. I had a hard time understanding my emotions. I should have known better. I should have at least tried to keep my distance. An
GREYMy conversation with Poppy had been replaying in my mind for hours, constantly distracting me from my work. This might not have been my office day, but I couldn't let myself neglect my businesses, especially since the emails and reports had been piling up while I'd been out of New York.Fortuna
Grey tilted his head to one side, his predatory eyes assessing me. “Do I scare you now?” he purred.I pressed my lips together. Ardian had killed more than a few people, too. I'd witnessed him shooting one of his guards for stealing from him, but this was something different. Grey had been trained
POPPYThe sudden feel of his lips made me gasp, and he used that moment to enter me. A storm of contradicting emotions inside me exploded in a heartbeat. Every lick of his tongue triggered panic… and heated want. I tried to resist. I tried not to move. I curled my hands into fists. But that kiss…I







