n lights of Manhattan couldn't penetrate the dense, ancient woods

ng as it took the final curve of the long driveway. It slammed

n before the driver could

ler waiting by the door with an umbrella. He marched past him, his hea

y. He headed straight for the grand staircase, taking the s

one. The staff were forbidden to cl

oak door at the end of the hallway. Next

r hovered over the keys.

4-

s bir

ic snap. Collis pushed the door open

h large bay windows overlooking the dark gardens. Before he had moved her to the baseme

ange blossom. A paperback novel lay face-down on the nightstand, its pages yellowing. The air in the roo

bed. He reached down and picked up a single, long

y as he rubbed the hair betw

art had forced him to grab Dr. Clay. He remembered the exact, terrifying way her wais

ion Asha used to have when

e violently ripped his silk tie from

arge bay windows overlo

beneath the window, was a long, thin chain made of solid g

t the chain. Hi

r ankle. He had told himself it was to protect her. He told himself the world was t

uffocated her. It had driven her to run to a war

mixed with a dark, twisted posses

cuff, his thumb brushing over the spot that used to rest against her delicate skin. The sheer depth of his pain was suffocating. His eyes darkened with a terrifying mix of profound remorse and an insane,

velvet cuff against his forehead

broke the silence. The soft shuffle

urious, ready to annihilate whichever s

hed the second he saw who

ld. He was wearing soft blue pajamas. H

li

s boy buried under a collapsed beam-a tiny infant, barely a few months old, miraculously alive. Now Julian was five. He had

e, striking gray-blue eyes-eyes that were a terrifyin

Clutched in his hands was a small, crudely carved wooden

n the rubble that belonged to Asha. She

ky breath. The tension dra

boy. He ignored the blood dripping from his knuckles. He reached out wi

uncrossed his arms and held th

mall hands. His thumb traced the rough, burned edge of the wood.

ked. His voice was incredibly soft, a stark c

e a slow,

to his pocket. He reached out and

s around Collis's neck and rested

hing in the world that brought him any sen

e dark hallway, his jaw set i

the darkness returning to his eyes, I will tear he