doors, and the silence he left behind was instantly sha

She picked up her champagne flute, met Aria's eyes with a look of pur

tinging her eyes. It dripped down her chin, soaking into the del

physically touching her, but their words were blows

. She stood tall, her spine a rod of steel, refusing to give them t

altar. The crowd parted for her, a sea of hatred creating a narrow path. Feet darted out, trying to

mask of cold fury. "Don't you ever think of setting foot in the Lowell house again," she hissed

said nothing. She simply shouldered past her, the contact a

onto the steps of the Fifth Aven

pack of reporters, a frenzy of sharks smelling blood. Microp

eam of your dead sister a

of her satin pump caught in a crack between the stone steps. She twisted h

catching in her throat as she saw the grimy,

shot out, gripping her arm in a vise. It

auled her upright. He moved with the precision of a soldier, po

ng an authority that made the press hesitate. "Thi

stop the rain whipping in from the sides. With a firm, impersonal grip on her arm,

nst her bare foot. She didn't care. She scrambled into the back of the vehicle,

smelled of expensive leather and Damon's c

seat without a word. "To t

in the corner of the vast backseat, her body wracked with shivers. Her dress was

Fifth Avenue blur and distort through the rain-streaked glass.

ingers clumsy and numb. But it wouldn't budge. Her knuckle was already sw

inst the cold window, the vibration of the car a dull thrum against her s

. The city gave way to suburbs, then to the s

air of immense, black wrought-iron gates loomed in the twilight. The S

he car rolled through, and the gates closed behind them with