chards

rotting memories of the cemetery. Twenty minutes later, the tires hissed against the pristin

reality. The jump from a muddy, forgotten gr

a tailored uniform and immaculate white gloves pull

k of my heels echoing across

urity instantly stiffened his spine and offered a crisp, silent nod. I didn't break my stride.

ate, gold-trimmed lift at the back. I pressed my thumb against the bi

a luxury; it was a psychological necessity born f

ning directly into my two-hun

zying, unobstructed panoramic view of the sprawling Los Angeles skyline. Down there, p

lessly onto a custom Italian leather sofa that cost more than m

sland in the kitchen and poured m

, to wash away the lingering, nauseating residue of

n my esophagus, and I let out a long, shuddering exhale. The v

hone sitting on the glass coffee table

ttered the dead silen

he screen. The name *Collin* f

corners of my mouth involuntarily twitched upward into a soft, genuine smile. This

aned my hip against the edge of the

the devastatingly handsome, sh

h the sleeves rolled up. Through the glass behind him, the towering skyscrapers of New York l

the camera, the ruthless, predatory coldness he showed the wor

velly voice vibrated through the phone's tiny sp

dening. "No. I just went to

lutely refused to let the ghost of Clayton

of messy, dark hair popped up fro

ace into the frame. He had the exact same

t voice chirped. "When are you co

t. I reached out, my fingertips gently brushing th

, Mommy will be home v

een to a nanny. When he looked back at the camera,

m a doting husband to a dangerous predator sensing a threa

re a single syllable could escape my l

uares. Collin's proprietary, military-grade en

, a terrifyingly imposin

ather, Alaric

throne inside his European estate. His silver hair was slicked back, and his thum

ou," Alaric's voice boomed, thick with the terrifyin

e ring and stared dir

I will wipe the entire Greene family off

enuine, bubbling laugh. The sheer, overwhelming magnitude of thei

ing men on the planet, my chest

r, and I am going to take it a