nna

e hung in the sterile air, heavy and sharp. I didn't know

ing pain in my ribs. "Explain.

down heavily, wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her leather sleeve. She glanced nervously at the door, ensuring the bodygua

. "The man outside. His name

"My fiancé? My taste in men c

hing her lips. "For the last seven years, you

ervient to the violent thug outside made my skin crawl. I pushed my pal

to support my back. She carefully arranged the

y hands resting on my lap. These hands felt like they

ny burn marks. Small, faded slices from kitchen knives. They were the hands of someone who spent hours s

my left wrist. "What exactly have I

ay from a master's degree in architecture at Cornell. You dropped

old air. I looked at the scars

Her voice dropped to a frantic whisper. "Sie

"What about it? Gi

ane," Julia said, her voice shaking with residual terro

l brain assumed he unbuckled to shield

second. "He threw himself into

ho the hell

. "The widow of one of his men who died in

dity of the situation washed over me. My fiancé, in the exact m

onto my hospital gown. "It caught fire. Dante kicked

ehind my eyelids. The suffocating, toxic smell of burning rubber

was panting, my chest ri

ith a fire extinguisher and dragged you out, you would

I waited for the heartbreak. I waited for the crushing devastat

k. There was only a co

The fog of the amnesia didn't matter anymore. I

t next to a plastic water cup. The screen was severely cr

it. "Give m

rom the phone to my face.

ed. My voice was low, but i

hard and handed

black screen, seeing the pale, bruised reflection of my own

exactly how