ie

nt flux between the blasting warmth of the heater in Julian's S

enough to bring the c

riven away yet. He was standing in the middle of

ackled, heavy with a vi

rous rumble that vibrated through the open door and settled

s. "She slipped. She's clumsy. And she's drama

from your negligence two days ago," Julian snarled, his han

ft. This is family

an Marcus, broader, and infinitely more lethal. "You made that clear

sudden, ugly rage. "Izzy is the future of this family! Ellie is... Ellie is just

him. Eve

gg

ng him

ribs like a hot knife. Chloe was beside m

spered, her eyes

rasped, my throat raw

ing to a whisper that was somehow louder than a scream,

ound he had already lost. "For her?

ith a terrifyi

us's jaw with a sickening cr

ck, blood spurting

weapons in a synchronized

led their assault

tan

" I sc

e shaking uncontrollably, my dress clung to

o the void b

," Julian said, not taking

He was wiping blood from his mouth, star

I asked him, my voic

nd. "Take your things. Take your pathetic little design firm. Just go. I

?" Julian asked,

me one last time, his eyes dead. "You're dea

hing with a mixture of horror a

their car. T

dn't lo

in the mud, watching the

in his eyes vanished, replaced by someth

is voice rough. "I shou

d just in t

where Marcus had fa

. Hollowed out

ke a shackle. I pulled it off. It le

o the dark wat

Maine," I sa

back into the car, his hand

e now, Elli

he wreckage of my marriage behind, I loo

a husband. I was lea

r the first time in nine years,

over. The war wa