Bianc

ley gunfight. Now, that image began to curl at the edges like a photograph h

's belly. It was the same hand that had once shielded me from a bullet, yet now it c

fa, Sophia looked down, the

place at the Don's table?" she asked, her

d not repr

oulders with a weight of ownership. A faint, cruel smile

the slick, cooling broth, an

rhythmic pulse, but I held my s

s tie. I traced the silk upward, inch by inch, until my eyes met the cold, flat surfaces of his p

d to thicken, every trivi

the chests of the

was for life. You onl

obedience unspo

f my resolve not to flee. The weight of duffel bags filled with illicit cash, their canv

turn me to the rival Families

itting safe and comfo

r hidden away f

ges to ensure she never saw

while he used me as a

, his dark eyes narr

" he demanded. "You are an

ained unnerv

you pulled me fr

that crossfire, rather than

urged fro

to expand, pressing

n two strides and pointed a long fin

" he growled, the sound

not

of a coat by the judgment in your eyes, nor hold m

notted so tightly I could hear

r, his chest alm

t to survive in this world without m

congealing on my shoes-a path

d back up at

the devil himself than spend another

walked toward the heavy

orridor, my hand retrieve

number. She answer

I told my most trusted ally, my hands trembling

was not done with me yet. And neither was the life growing insi