ut it was like fighting against steel. He was unmovable, unyi

sed, her nails diggi

didn't ev

rously close to her ear as he murmured, "You h

ut there was something underneath i

arn

ame fast, panic cl

in was

latform emptied, the last of the late-nigh

it was

osen as he walked them backward, away fr

stopp

ging her toward a sleek black car

ke him didn't

m took what

arder. "Alessandro

open the car door, shoving her inside before sli

shut, and suddenl

Alessandro was too close, his presence

ckly as she pressed herself again

supposed

upposed t

im lighting. "Tell me something, Valeria." His voice was calm, too

art st

again-too f

blank, something unreadable, because if s

what you're

, a cruel smirk playing

chin. "I don't owe

d, but there was something in his ga

ut no less dangerous. "You're going to stop lying to me. You're going

ned. "The

I'm going to let the mother of my child disappear into the night?" His fingers brushed ag

he

sh wave of panic cr

r. This wasn't just about

Moretti w

s a l

is child-wasn't

A bloodline that men li

hard, her pulse de

ng to you," s

her for a long mome

w.

rmured. "Bu

y from the station, carrying her

sat rigidly, her body coiled with tension. Her mind race

y decided the outcome of this conversation before it even began. His presence was ove

the only sound for a long moment b

t answered

the window, refusing to look at him.

erous

h

u d

I checked, you were the one who left. You got what you wanted, Moretti. I wa

something in the air shifted-som

ured. "You think I'd be chasing you down if th

he fabric of her coat so tigh

chasi

fied her more

ble. Of slipping away before men could get their claws i

dro had fig

seen th

wasn't let

en she spoke again. "I'm

es dar

tone softer now, almost dangerous in its

r pulse hammer

scream. To tell him he h

wn, she kne

was not a man who t

ecided she was hi

the quiet hum of the countryside. Valeria wasn't sure where they

landscape, her mind a wh

ded to

eded t

ai

, she wouldn'

iver. A tall, broad man with cold

h

r, even if she threw herself onto t

her thoughts because his voi

en think

ened, her fis

watch

s wat

ontrolled breath. "Wh

aze never left

own her spine

r h

ional if you think I'm goi

ring her words. Then he leaned in, so close she co

to play house," he murmure

settled over her, suff

t just be

s bein

terrifyi

idea how

te was a

security cameras and armed guards. The second the car approached, the

tectural masterpiece of dark stone and glass,

idn't care ab

the fact that

opened the door and stepped out first.

dn't t

ar on her own, ignoring the fl

here to pla

ere to su

d toward the front

but she walked forward,

had expected-grand chandeliers, marble floors, an

w were the loc

ty at ever

wasn't leaving unl

i? Do I get locked in a tower? Chained to your bed? O

ttoning his cuffs with s

ro," he murmured. "You'll stay b

down the panic cla

d find a

ha

if she d

re she'd surv