rina

gotten space echoing my own recent past. The on

I'd scrubbed off three years of grime, th

Caterina

ng, an unkn

four times bef

ey," a man'

ane, one of Jared's

You need to come home. Th

felt li

my voice a razor-sharp edge. "You will address

moment before I c

, my encrypte

re

led facade shattered, replaced by pure fury. "You're trying to destroy m

file from th

hot wound to the shoulder. In Sector Gamma. A se

ne wen

o Bianca. I can hear her little-girl voice so clearly. 'I'm so scared, you have to come for me.' And your

s breathing, sh

speec

irrefutable proof of

"How will your hero status hold up when the Dons on the Commission hear you abandon

s accustomed edge, replaced by a raw

mistake. It was a m

stake because you love her? Or was it because she was weaker than me? Did

dn't

ould

ot just for an annulment. I'm petitioning for a formal role: Their lead negotiator an

of our wed

balcony to take a call, his b

hone, the same soft tone he'd used fo

en, believing it was

, blind

r ag

cted the call and blocked his