LOGINAdriano slowly lifted his boot, letting the blood drip off the leather onto the concrete as his stare swept across the rest. "Now," he whispered, a terrifying smile finally touching the corners of his lips, "Who else feels like telling me a story?" Morgan started sobbing violently. I shook my h
No, no! "I wasn't even there when they hurt the girl!" Cole yelled, "They brought her to me already bleeding! Brianna was the one who hit her in the head! She used a heavy wooden club from the garage! They carried her in here like a sack of rocks, and I was the one who washed the blood off her fac
Cole’s chest heaved, his eyes turned frantic, like a rat looking for a hole in the wall. "I know how Chicago works. You don't survive in this city by picking a fight with the Capones," he slowly shook his head, "I'm not suicidal." My stomach twisted. No. He was lying. I made a desperate sound
"Move!" Capone guards surged forward with frightening speed. Cole's men reached for their weapons but they never got the chance. One guard twisted a man's arm behind his back before he had even cleared his waistband. Another kicked a pistol across the concrete floor. Boots thundered in every dire
I looked at Cole again. He wasn't even watching us. He was checking his phone. Rage exploded inside me, "MMPH!" I lunged forward as far as the ropes allowed. "If she keeps doing that," he said calmly, "she'll reopen the wound." I wanted to claw his face apart. I wanted to scream. Instead, anoth
Gianna ━⊰ ❦ ⊱━ Pain. That was the first thing I felt. It was a deep, heavy ache that pulsed through the back of my head. It throbbed with every heartbeat, every breath, every tiny movement. A quiet whimper escaped me before I even opened my eyes. The world slowly came into focus. The ceiling a
I reached forward, my hand stopped. I tried again, stopped again like glass stood between me and everything I wanted. The orchestra swelled, the pressure grew. I moved across the stage, but never in a straight line. Something always forced me backward, sideways, away. I knew exactly what it repr
Every alarm in my body went off at once. I looked around and nobody even looked surprised. That scared me more than Cole did. I turned sharply toward Mama D, "What is he doing here?" Mama D looked exhausted, older than I had ever seen her, "We owe him money." I stared, "I know that but what is he
I stared at him. Mom laughed harder, "Salvatore!" "What?" he asked innocently. "You think I'd sit quietly while some stranger informed me what I can and cannot do for four hours?" I watched the familiar exchange, the bickering, the teasing. The easy comfort between them, it felt normal. For a fe
"Is everything alright?" I asked, "When you interrupt a meeting without warning," I said quietly, "I generally assume somebody has been shot." That finally earned a reaction. The corner of Vincenzo's mouth moved just enough to almost become a smile. He kept looking out across the city, "No, no eme







