d sorrow. Dawn was breaking, painting the sky in bruised sha

s own home, his eyes raw and bloodshot. The ashtray over

of him, so utterly broken, was a constant, twisting pain in her non-e

e phone. "I want every detail. Traffic cameras, the tr

lacing a fresh pot of coffee on the desk. Cole w

up when his phone rang, a sharp, intrusive soun

ane's voice was grim, stripped of its usual pro

e, replaced by a chilling, predatory focus. His eyes, which

" he co

closer, a cold premon

e reported, his words precise and damning

p twenty degrees. Cole's knuckles were wh

nter of ice, forced from b

e line. "We tracked Mrs. Mcintyre's recent com

heart, if she still

. And the person who helped her arrange everything, who had access

's consciousness. Aidan. Paig

ossible. It

nd evidence of their planning to elope with her trust fund after the... incident.

y hadn't just betrayed her. They had murdered her. For money.

e quiet that followed was more terrifying than any scream. Juliana could feel

old it could freeze blood. "Don't let

chair, his head falling back as if the weight of it was too much to bear. His

een betr

Hatred for her own blind stupidity. And an overwhelming, suffocating wave of

nted r

ecame a fire in her soul. She would not let them

ft, ethereal light pulsing around her. The edges of the library

if she were being dragged in

ard Cole's voice, a desperate, broke

clean, sharp fragrance of cedar

oft sheets and the hea

he was in a bedroom. Her bedroom, at the Mcintyre estate.

e texture of the high-thread-count

the pillow, and her bre

e was asleep

e covers. One of his arms was thrown possessively across her waist,

ith exhaustion and pain. His brow was furrowed, h