ena

noise; the brutal sound of flesh striking he

pper walkway, clutching the be

er ring, a lone

Julian

he paths between heavy, corded muscles as he moved with terrifying speed and brutal

d my pace, intent to drop off

undhouse kick, sending his opponent cra

ing a suspended punching bag, sending a ja

toward t

f a second too late-as the sh

t tangling beneath me, and fell hard onto the unforgiving concrete floor. My v

tire gym went

y footsteps pounded

d around my upper arm, the gri

ep, commanding

ask if I was okay; he dragged me down th

h, sterile fluorescent l

d my chin, his fingers digging in slightly, and

r my face, scanning my featur

ure of the thumb resting against m

ur hands

through the silenc

lin

face a dark mask of suppressed rag

om my face, turning his head to l

iano?" Julian asked, his

ponsibility,"

d. He took a deliberate step back

he blood from my forehead. It throbbed wi

watched the doctor work. Fabiano stood rigid on the opposit

thing, stretched tight with a tension that

ed applying a bandage,

e shifting back to me. "Give me your encrypted frequency,"

t out a ha

er frequency, Julia

the screen. He looked up, a flicker

biano continued, his voice dripping with d

looke

on the fresh bandage on my forehead, and finally ca

ing settled onto his shar

s pocket. He pushed off the wall and

o meet his gaze. He stared down at me, a dark, pr

e bird," Julian murmured, his voice a low r

: a choice. Julian wasn't offering me salvation-he was offering me

another man picking up the pieces. Julian's smirk was meant for him, not me. If he had any sense, h

bout disinterest. I was learning to lie, to survive, and-i