ログインThe wind whipped against my face, stinging my cheeks and making my eyes water behind the helmet's visor. My arms tightened around Silas's waist as he leaned into a turn, the motorcycle tilting at an angle that made my stomach drop and my heart leap into my throat.But underneath the fear was something else. Something that felt suspiciously like freedom.The city lights blurred past us in streaks of gold and red, the world reduced to motion and speed and the roar of the engine beneath us. I couldn't think about Lorenzo or Noir or Elijah when every ounce of my attention was focused on holding on, on breathing, on trusting that Silas knew what he was doing.After what felt like both seconds and hours, he slowed, pulling into a parking lot that was mostly empty except for a beat-up food truck with Christmas lights strung haphazardly around its edges. The sign read "Mario's Burgers" in faded red letters, and the smell that hit me when Silas cut the engine made my mouth water instantly.Gri
His fingers around my wrist sent heat racing up my arm, spreading through my chest until I could barely breathe. I stood frozen, caught between wanting to pull away and wanting to—what? Stay? Let him draw me back?"Let go," I whispered, not turning to face him."No." His voice was quiet but firm, that single syllable holding more weight than it should.Something inside me snapped. All the hurt, all the betrayal, all the pain I'd been holding back came rushing to the surface. I spun around, yanking my wrist from his grip with more force than necessary."What do you want from me?" The words exploded out, sharp and jagged. "You all stand there, looking at me like I'm some kind of threat, like I've been lying to you this whole time, and now you want me to just sit with you? Pretend everything's fine?"Noir stood slowly, his movements careful despite his injuries. He towered over me, all scarred muscle and intense mismatched eyes that seemed to see straight through me. A low breath left hi
The silence that descended after my revelation felt suffocating, pressing down on my chest until I couldn't draw a full breath. It wrapped around my throat like invisible hands, squeezing tighter with each passing second as three pairs of eyes remained fixed on me with expressions I couldn't bear to decipher.The memories clawed at me with renewed ferocity—my father's cold stare, the way he'd look through me rather than at me, the nights I'd hidden in my closet while angry voices echoed through our house. The fear that had lived in my bones from the moment I was old enough to understand that my father wasn't like other fathers.I couldn't stay here. Couldn't sit on this couch while they looked at me like I was some puzzle they needed to solve, some weapon they could potentially wield.Without a word, I stood. My legs trembled beneath me, threatening to give out, but I forced them to move. One step. Then another. The silence followed me like a shadow as I crossed the living room, no on
This was different from when Silas usually threw his accusations. Now...they all truly believe I was a threat to them. The realization shattered something inside my chest. After everything—after I'd been dragged into this world against my will, after I'd lost Elijah, after I'd given myself to Lorenzo, after I'd trusted them—they still didn't believe me."I was dragged into all of this," I said, my voice shaking with hurt and rage and something that felt dangerously close to despair. "I didn't ask for any of it. I didn't ask for Elijah to fake his death. I didn't ask to be brought here, to be kept in this house like some kind of prisoner. I'm not a plant or a mole or whatever the fuck you think I am."Tears burned behind my eyes but I refused to let them fall. Refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break down."I'm so done with your fucking distrustful attitude." The words came out fierce, defiant. "I've been nothing but honest with you. I've mourned my brother, I've trie
ELLIEThe waiting was the worst part.Noir had been gone for three days—three impossibly long days where every minute stretched into an eternity and every sound made my heart jump into my throat. I'd barely slept, couldn't eat more than a few bites at a time, and spent most of my time staring out windows like I could somehow will him to appear if I looked hard enough.Lorenzo tried to keep me occupied. Distracted. He'd pull me into his office, into his bed, into conversations about nothing important. But even his presence couldn't quiet the anxiety gnawing at my insides.We hadn't heard a word from him, nothing and due to my mindset, I feared the worst. I always did. Silas avoided me almost entirely. Whatever had been bothering him before Noir left had only intensified, and now he could barely look at me without his expression tightening into something cold and suspicious.When Noir finally walked through the door on the third evening, I nearly collapsed with relief.He looked terri
NOIRThe space between us felt charged, electric, like the air before a lightning strike. Every muscle in my body coiled tight, ready to spring, ready to tear him apart. But I held myself in check, breathing through the rage that threatened to consume me whole.Elijah just stood there, bathed in Greek sunlight, looking at me like I was an old friend he'd run into at a market. Not the man he'd betrayed. Not the person who'd mourned him while he played dead.Nonchalant. That was the word for it. He was completely, infuriatingly nonchalant."Noir." My name rolled off his tongue easily, familiar. Like he had the right to speak it after everything he'd done. "You look like shit."My jaw clenched so hard I felt my teeth grinding together. "Funny. I wonder whose fault that is."The corner of his mouth twitched upward—amusement dancing in those blue eyes that reminded me too much of Ellie. The resemblance made something twist viciously in my chest."The men who attacked you weren't mine, if t







