ella

. It wasn't just quiet; it was a vacuum, sucking the

o slightly that I hoped only I could feel it. I had just signe

rashing forward like a wave. Francesca looked as if she might

If I broke eye contact with the monster

me with an intensity that made my skin prickle, as if he

, her composure cracking for the first time. "I

ut gaining an edge of steel. "You said any

, b

the marble. "The Pact was made between the Carlson family and the Moreno f

ker of anger in Sofia's eyes-not a

o be ignored. "And I will not marry a man who will beat me because he wishes I was his cousin." I shot a gla

became the Queen. When Alex eventually crawled back to Chicago, he wouldn't find a weeping ex-fiancée

ide. That after his first wife died, he had frozen his heart. He took no mistresses. He showed no interest in women. If I married him, it

ueen in a towe

, her voice low. "Be car

ure in the front row. "I am demanding what is owed. Or w

ung in the air,

r a second, I saw a flash of something unrecognizable in her g

to her so

s a summons

e Dark Don

and he radiated a power that made the air around him feel dense. He buttoned his suit

t his mother. He

breath. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird

er at his temples didn't age him; it only made him look like a weapon

ght, devoid of mercy. He looked down a

was a deep baritone, rough like gravel gri

managed

head slightly, his gaze dropping to my lips before r

r a husband who

d between us, taut as a wire ready to snap. I waited for him to la

his head slightly

Sofia said, her voice ringing

e was no warmth in his face, o

?" He said my name like a

my palms until the

me one last chance to run. Then, he extended his a

s not keep

re hard as stone. A shiver raced down my spine-not of cold, but of a sudden, prima

r. The priest, pale and swea

led me toward the cross, the heavy doors of the cathedral felt less like t