na

el could truly burn, but the phantom sensation of cold, c

, and thrown me into the back of his car. He hadn't sp

ng the rain streak against the bulletproof glass. It

a man and more a fixture of the upholstery-

s she?"

es were dark brown, almost black, and for the fi

th," he finally murmured.

Dan

sion in Brooklyn. He won

oo

y name. "The guard at the door. I paid him, but

im I held a gun to your head," I

en the door. I marched past the hostess, my heels clicking like warning shots on

k. I kicked t

ne. She was eating a truffle risotto that probably cost more than

e kind that made men want to wrap her in blan

oftly. "I didn't kn

fia. There is no

cklace. I recognized it. Dante had bought it at an

cklace,"

s if checking they were still there. "Dante insisted. H

aid, my voice trembling with a rage I tri

on. "They were rude. Dante is very protective.

a shield," I spat.

dropping to a whisper. "He loves me, Elena. Not like h

rapped in sweetness. "But me? I am his innocence. I

ry for you, you know. He told me. He says y

oud snap. It was the quiet sound of a teth

steak knife

oing wide. For the first

the table. Dishes clattered and wine spilled like blood across the white

he slaughtered the Triad. I stitched his wounds when he didn't trust a doctor. If you ev

le

came from

s there. He wasn't in

is hand. And it w

roared. His face

, my hand shaking but the knife s

id dr

tears stinging my eyes. "You'

idn't h

a

deafening in t

ck of my hand. The impact knocked the knife

t had grazed my skin. He hadn't missed. He was a marksman. He had

d sho

. He didn't come to

hecking her face, her neck. "D

er face in his chest. "She's cra

ulder. His eyes were cold. There wa

sed a lin

the hole in my chest. Enzo appeared in the doorway, his gun drawn, but he

from Sofia. "And take her back to the estate. Lock her

hispered. "Y

uiding Sofia out of the roo