Rejected By Him, Crowned By The Don

ew Fabiano's soul. Then he saw my face - and decided I

morous mafia princess he thought he was talking to. He immediately severed our connection and forced me to

n surgery to survive the night, I crashed his VIP party to cash in his promise. Fabiano wrote the ch

leech. You are nothing," sh

ho once swore he would burn down the city for me just sat there on the leather so

out into the freezing rain, and got into the armored SUV of his biggest riv

pte

ena

e last three months memorizing my soul on the dark

ad come to know, "or I let the Syndicate loan sharks take your grandmother by mi

h of the underground club grew thin and

of paper resting between us.

ed to drink the low light. His jaw was a hard line of knotted muscle, and the wa

man who had c

ke until dawn just to listen to me

s before he

host in their machine, a fringe associate who balanced the ledgers for men who owned the city's ports and the politicians in them. T

he Falcone line. He had posted her photograph on an elite c

careless in his authority,

abiano my fre

ars. I told him my dreams. I had constructed a man from the timbre of his v

into this club for our f

rchitecture of my own invent

t my plain face. He realized I was not the

even the courtesy of a bli

ction with a single sentenc

ration, the sound as clean and hard as ice striking glass. "Her family holds the territory I need to

d against it, forcing the muscles to obey. "

or the decept

ered. "You never asked my name.

old smoke-assaulted me. "It does not matter. You have a blood debt hanging over your

legant finger again

u write whatever number yo

mble. I dug my nails into my palms, welc

our damp apartment. I thought about the men

ved, and found only the sharp, pre

d the blank check towar

tood,"

utton of his suit jacket faste

ly reports on her

d out of the booth

owed-should have been deleted. Instead, I locked the screen and tucked the check into my ledger, tel