fell just below her knees. She fastened her own pearl earrings-a gift from her late mother-ignoring the velvet boxe

rang. It w

," Julian said, sounding frantic. "I asked Aurelio to swi

an just take a cab. I don't

ou'll see. See you at the restaurant!"

tch and took the eleva

rb. As she approached, the driver quickly s

as dimly lit, smelling faintly of expensive l

minating his face. He was tall, his broad shoulders filling the

ooke

ekbones, and eyes so dark and deep they looked like obsidian. There was a heav

Aurelio

she saw a flicker of intense emotion cross his features, but it vanished so quickly s

olite. "I'm Hannah Compton, Julian's cous

resonant baritone that vibrated in the

thick, but not necessarily uncomfortable. Hannah turned her head to look out th

th some... complications recently," Aure

stinctively curled into her palm

ary changes in my life,"

s eyes fixed on the road ahead. "If you e

undeniable weight. Hannah looked at him, puzzled.

French restaurant. Aurelio stepped out first and held the door for he

ining room where Julian was al

friend of Julian's; he was a titan in the financial sector, a man who could bankrupt a compan

, flushed with wine, started tal

stine Frye, was a legend in our family.

ual atmosphere in the room instantly evaporate

peated, his voice dropping a

ess washing over her. "Yes. H

intensity in his gaze made

life," Aurelio

ed laughing.

his eyes never leaving Hannah's. "I was trapped. Your uncle pulled m

ng boy he had pulled from a burning vehicle,

relio said, leaning forward slightly. "Finding

"Mr. Schwartz, my uncle did what anyo

t. "This isn't a transaction, Hannah. It is a promise. You have one favor

Hannah, don't be stubborn. Having Aurelio Schwartz owe

cerity and a terrifying kind of power. She was a woman dying of cancer,

lso had h

"If the day comes when I truly have no oth

nto the ghost of a smile.

nsisted on having his d

he car pulled up to her apartme

w. The streetlights cast shad

" he cal

urned

ment, taking in the faint shadows beneath her eyes and the pale translucence of he

lt as though he could see right through her carefully c

ed window rolled up, and the May

arms around herself, her mind racing. Aurelio Schwartz was a dangerous man to know, b