LOGIN"Vincenzo, no!" Gianna screamed, throwing herself forward. "Please! Don't do this to her!" She fought against my hold with everything she had. "Relax, Gianna," I said quietly, pulling her firmly against my chest as she struggled to break free. Under any other circumstances, I would have loosened
"Because she's street-level waste," Vincenzo said, his voice flat, almost bored. "And she made a street-level decision." Dante released Cole, who crumpled to the floor, then swung the laptop around so we could see the screen, "I've got Mercer's footage," he said. "It lines up with his version. Cole
He straightened as much as Dante's grip allowed, fixing his attention entirely on my brother. "I know what the Capone name means. You don't poke a sleeping tiger unless you're looking to get eaten alive. Everything I did tonight was to prove my loyalty." It was convincing and logically structured.
Denise collapsed into herself, a broken, animalistic wail tearing from her throat as her head hung so low her forehead nearly touched the blood pooling beneath her. "That is the truth, Gianna!" she cried. "I was just so tired. You don't know what it's like to have people threatening to kill you eve
Alfonso moved instantly. He lunged forward, grabbing Morgan and jerking her head back until her neck strained. He jammed the barrel of his pistol into her mouth. She let out a muffled, terrified sob, her hands shaking in the air as she choked around the gun. My eyes returned to Denise, locking ont
"But right now... my only job is to make sure nobody ever hurts you again." I couldn't help her while she was pulling against the ropes still wrapped around her ankles. "Stay still." She didn't, "Raphael, please—" "I said stay still." I crouched in front of her and pulled the knife from my belt
She tilted her head slightly, "Raphael." I hummed. "You okay?" Fuck, I should have expected it. I loosened my grip slightly, not enough to let go, just enough to look normal, "I'm fine." "You're lying to me?" I smiled despite myself, "You asked a question." "And you gave me a fake answer." I
Raphael ━━ ⛓ ━━ The sun was already coming up. I knew that because the first pale streaks of morning had started slipping through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Seven in the morning. I hadn't slept, not even for a minute. My bedroom was silent except for the faint hum of the climate controls bui
Gianna ━⊰ ❦ ⊱━ I paced. Back and forth. Back and forth. The soft carpet sank beneath my bare feet as I crossed the room for what felt like the hundredth time. My heart still hadn't settled. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the garage. The car. Raphael's face. The look in his eyes. Then
"Why not?" he asked, his eyes tracking the way my lower lip trembled. "Because..." I swallowed hard, "Because it's not. It's over, Raphael. We literally just said it was completely over." "I don't care what we just said," he rasped, his voice dropping an octave. He looked like an animal that was







