ra

, the thick carpet doing nothing

, my voice shaking with a rage t

. And you are repurposing

rousers. He crossed his arms and looked at me li

e Don, S

ed everything-as if the title cou

ated to keep this family alive. I do not have the

m my throat, scraping against

t emotionle

urse. The screen flared to life wi

rd his chest, careful not to let i

t," I d

spared the sc

eak. "She asked if her pet could sleep in the master

, staring into hi

bed, Dante. Because you gave her

égé," he said, hi

ons. You are having an unstable emotional

tical r

auma was to him. A

ow paint I had so carefully chosen, the c

use a creature that belonged to the wom

sh, but with the slow, deliberate weight of a final dec

case. It landed on the damask bedspread with a dull thud. I wrenched

ng?" Dante asked

wer now-a dark,

to the bag. "I am going back to my mother's safehouse.

ong strides, his palm striking th

s expensive cologne and

eaving this ho

muscles along his jaw we

the Commission in two weeks,"

u are choosing the worst possible time to

I had bled for. The man who had just redu

your ascension, Da

ublic image. I am just

e in the room

t usually made grown men drop to t

at of leaving a Don

ched into the hidden comp

hick, folded pie

, stamped with the faded blo

us as one might hol

reat, Dante. It i

his chest rising and falling

s," he finally said, step

back on me and wal

is hysterical epis

uiet, I could hear the faint hum of the house's elect

down the hall

sharp, localized pang struck beneath my ribs.

gs. The thick fabric ripped with a sound like a

shelf, a small, silver frame clat

oto of Dant

ht, his hand resting casual

f unfeigned warmth-the kind he h

o until my vision bl

phone and dialed

said when the

deep voice answ

my voice now a blade of ice. "And prepare the asset retr

lie dormant, a silent inheritance I hoped I wou