ts maw glowing orange against the twilight. It was designed to erase sins-usually incri

e me from military school, filled with boyish promises of forever and painstakingly de

limbed a dangerously steep trellis to snatch it from the conservatory roof for me whe

de was a linen handkerchief, stained with three drops

velvet smoking instantly, the

le

. Tires screeched on the grave

t turn

ped th

slammed shut. I watched the fire curl around

abbed my shoulder and spun me around. He was still in his tuxedo from the

ng as he recognized the remnants of the letter box. "Are those... ar

said. My voice sounded fla

ed him. He took a step back, his face a mask of wounded

," I replied. I stepped back, brushing the spot on my shoulde

ward, his voice a mixture of anger and anxiety. "You changed the cod

ccess, not my sudden change in security pro

ice dangerously calm. "They're con

t his sides. "She's not a disease, Elena. She's just

"You gave an outsider the combination to a Vitiello vault. A vault that sometimes holds

ear was quickly replaced by a chilling arrogance. "We knew you wouldn't te

o protect his betrayal. He we

of warmth in my

rning away from them and the f

ubbornly. "We're going to dinner. The three of us. And Sofia. We

not h

g instinctively toward the butt of the gun holst

he stairs when I was being stubborn. Now, it was a threat. Plain a

to Luca's unyielding expression. They we

t wasn't. It was a calculation. I would go. I would watch. An