Sterl

stead, I stayed just long enough to wa

ajar. A sliver of darkness in a hallwa

balcony meant nothing. I was going to tell him that I valued my survival more than his paycheck. I w

rass handle, but a sound

throaty, femi

ugh the intentional gap

g. Sofia stood between his spread knees, a vision of proprietary arrogance. Her hands reste

of absolute power. The Kin

n the way he tolerated her invasion of his space. He didn't look like a man fighti

gh the silence. "We are inevitable, Dante. The girl is just a distraction.

deny it. He just stared at her, his

sharply against the marble floor

snapped tow

a splinter of a second, the mask cracke

to his feet, shoving Sofia aside

the explanation.

down twelve flights, my lungs burning as if I'd swallowed f

my phone was vibrating violently against my hip. It w

ed as Corporate Spy? Sources Allege

ple were looking at me. They weren't looking at t

move fast; she moved

tiello Tower seemed to buckle and collapse inward.

crushing pain radiated down my left arm. It wasn't just heartbr

doors, desperate for the stree

cold marble floor rushing up to meet my face, and the distant,

.

of antiseptic and the muffle

hoed nearby, and my arm felt heavy, anchored by an I

losed, feigning

oice said. It sounded like a slab o

e growled, vibrating wi

nd bureaucratic. "Ms. Moretti gave strict orders

into my hair. Family only. That was the line in the sand.

tourist in their dangerous wor

heavy thud against the wall. Then, the distinct

es just as the