Hartm

ed windows of the armored sedan, blurring the Chicago skyline into streaks of gray and gold, but i

the driver, Joshua's composure finally cracked. His han

pered, trying to pull away,

e walk through those doors, you smile. You nod. You play the part of the devoted Ca

I said, my v

e isn't like us. He sees everything. He smells weakness. He smells lies like a shark smells blood in the wat

his eyes was enough. It wasn't me he was going

te loomed out of the darkness, a Tudor-style fortress of stone and

he light of a massive crystal chandelier. The room was filled with the murmur of Capos and Soldiers, the air

rough the room l

rand mahogany stair

uit tailored to perfection, emphasizing the breadth of his shoulders. His hair was dark, swept back, reveali

d, lodging painf

torm-gray. Co

My stomach lurched violently,

was

e scars on his back. The man I had thrown three

ony Caldwell. The Don

o the marble as he reached the bottom of the stairs. The crow

mile plastered on his face. "Anthon

He didn't even look at Joshua's extended hand. His ga

hony said. His voice was a deep baritone, smooth but carr

d. "I-I can explain. T

thony cut him off, his eyes bored. "Shu

it. He looked like a kicked puppy, stripped of all dignity. Desperate to deflect th

oshua stammered, his voic

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I extended a trembling hand,

Don Caldwell," I m

He let it hang there in the empty air, a public rej

ke hands," h

ted, feeling the weight of a hundred eyes on me. Joshua s

red over me, his scent-rain, expensive cologne, and danger-enve

ing onto the modest pearl earring

ing so low that only I could hear him over th

he shell of my ear, a lover's pro

three hund

, leaving me standing in the wreckage of my life, knowing that the