ca

, from his touch, from the very air he breathed, and barely made it to the bathroom before I retched. I knelt over the to

anuel' s footsteps. He

again, the concerned, gentle fiancé. The performance was

voice whispering my name, and know that all of it, every single touch, w

e," I gasped b

ed his voice, a speculative one.

t sound of his phone dialing. He wa

e bathroom... No, I don't know... What if she is?" There

ice in the background, offering her fake concern. They would "handle it." The words were a death sent

d crossed Emmanuel's voice. A moment of internal conflict? It didn

r on my face. When I turned, he was leaning against the doorfr

, his gray eyes-so like Anthony's,

e flat and dead. "It'

ly gone. The procedure had been quick, clinical, and utterly devastating. I had mourned a baby th

t, Anthony' s car pulled up. Anthony himself. The mastermin

voice the smooth, cultured ton

the cloying scent of flowers and silence. He put on music-an indie

helin-starred restaurant. Bianca and

ied! I brought you a little something to cheer you up." She handed me a

Holden boys" growing up, painting a picture of an exclusive, impenetrable bond. Anthony and Emmanuel played along, la

g. "Don't be a stranger. We're going to be si

ness began to creep into my chest. My throat felt thick. I glanc

anuts. An allergy Anthony knew about. An allergy I had

to swim. I fumbled in my purse for

my voice barely a w

a split second, I saw genuine panic in his eyes. He stood up so fast his cha

slumped sideways in her chair. "Anthony... I don't fe

and forth between me, gasping for a

was made in

r my purse. He ripped the Epi

ice raw with a frantic urgency I had never h

trayal, he had uncapped the needle

the edges. I was dying

id coolly, watching me slide from my

ng" Bianca into his arms and ran from the restaurant

e on the fl