floor. Dangelo forced himself to stand, his breathing

idential suite. He walked straight to the bed and sat

e deputy rushed in, pulling a p

u," the deputy demanded, grabbing Dangelo's

air of trauma shears and cut Dangelo's ruined shir

f nausea hit her. His torso was a map of violence. Thick, jagged scar tissue co

e. "You shouldn't have exerted yourself. The physical tra

Annabelle's body, his voice thick with anger. "If she hadn'

a prep school party, screaming at Dangelo in front of everyone. I despise heirs who only know how

"You went to the SEALs. You took that blast in Fallujah to pull your tea

irectly over Annabelle's brain. The shra

rap her arms around his bleeding chest, but she grasped nothing but

his voice tight with pain. "You never speak of t

Release the obituary. State that the future

ver engaged. The family elders will initiate a vote

, and racked the slide. The metallic clack was deafening. "Let

ed into something unbearably tender. He spoke t

r seemed to lose its color and substance, fading into a muted, echoing silence. The physica

roll of bandages, froze mid-air. The blood drip

t of blinding white light, seized her soul

high-pitched ringing pierced her eardrums, drowni

l of rubbing alcohol p

t hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.

o focus. She wasn't in the rotting a

le blue acoustic ceiling tiles of t

white blanket off her legs. She looked down. She was

r wound, the scars from years of poverty-they were go

attack right after leaving the principal's office, Annabelle. You were hyper

nd. She stared at the digital c

into the principal's office and handed over the secur

tream. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. The sharp t