tallic tang of her own blood still lingering in the air. Alexander didn't move. He stood in th

rk, jagged streak against his pale skin. He looked less li

k a step forward, crossing the threshold, his boots heavy on the silk carpet. "I bought your debts. I save

e could smell the bourbon on his breath and the cold,

ht a blood bag. But you didn't buy me. You don't know what I like to eat when I'm sad. You don't know wh

pain. "Your name is Elena Rawlings. You like ginger tea. You started that bus

g facts isn't the same as knowing a person, Alexander. You're obsessed with the ghost in you

touched the dried blood on his forehead. It was a mov

ned into her touch, his eyes closing for a fraction of a second. It was the fi

eyes snapping open. "How di

n the mirror

knuckles turned white. "I told you. She is a liar. S

she have your

firm but no longer bruising. "Because Lira was never supposed to be digital. She was supposed to b

toward the vanity. He picked up a brush

he co

but the glass was silent. Alexander began to brush her hair, his strokes long and rhyth

, his voice returning to

were only twelv

ement, you ask me. If you want to know about the body in the vat, you ask me." He leaned do

hat is

tion. The men who burned your warehouse will be there. They think they're bu

ed. "You're going

d. "But I need a wife by my side. A woman who loo

er ear. "You wanted me to earn it, Elena. Help me ruin t

first time, she didn't see a victim. She

whispered. "I want to be the one holding

l, and utterly predatory. "Careful,