ou're fin

the wet asphalt, the air forced from her lungs by the sheer weight of the two children clinging

abric of Valentina's dress as if she were trying to sew her back into their lives with her fingern

d to peel their small fingers away, her hands trembling with a mix of terror and an inexpli

. "We waited every night at the window! Papa said you were just playing

looked at them through a haze of tears and exhaustion. They had her eyes, the same

nd, Valentina wondered if the paralytic had finally reached her brain

ersection. Panic, sharp and jagged, pierced through her fatigue. She had to run. If Ken

ease..." she whispe

lent. The city's hum, the rain's hiss, it all va

over them, lon

white light of the car's headlamps. He was a titan in dark, expensive wool,

a jawline that could cut through bone and eyes of

. He looked at her like a thief cau

ing the small bump of her stomach. She felt the children tighten their hold on her

hadows, but she was too slow. Her body was

yanked her back toward him with a violent, effortless grace. The heat from h

er chest colliding with the

his scent of sandalwood, leather, and exp

ace to play around," he growled, his voice a low,

ace with a dark, twisted satisfaction. "Enou

he shrieked, her voice crac

men who had emerged from the front of the car, massive,

commanded, his vo

weak muscles flailing against the iron g

nothing. Her silk bag, her only proof of life, was nearly knocked from

don't understand

oved her into the plush, leather-scented darkness of

r fingers clawing at the handle, but a hea

as tr

in a cage of luxury. The car roared to life, surging forward with a predatory growl, leaving t