na

ing shut. It was a small, mechanical noise I had not been able to perceive f

rkness and turned

ns sat on the dresser-heavy, expensive pap

ontacts, my thumb hovering over the scre

prise in London, a respectable fro

uneral, he had invited me to li

then, captive to a blind, gir

ook, I composed a m

Family territory; I told him I wi

e came almo

what was wrong, demanding

swim. I pressed the voice record button

shes and rolled, hot, do

only that I

e was typing for a

ssage, his name appea

lephone to my ear, a gest

the moment he understood I was not r

the state of my he

y hearing had retu

I told him I needed

oken mafia union, did not ask for details. He told me he

rtress of love and protection the

at the messages on my screen, a

blood for a man who saw

r hours, staring

door opened softly, and Alessandr

cold city air and the a

rried the unmistakable scent

nto his possessive embrace,

er and face

n ten years, my mind

nd at last fell in