ella

ar, cornered and with no way out, finally

ning hand away and stormed tow

r stench of his sweat overpowered his expensive cologne. "You ar

. He was clinging to the last shred of

The words slipped from my

e right to call yourself my

This exact face, staring down at me, twisted with the same ugly rage. The phantom echo o

but felt in my marrow-rushed through my veins. But it didn't

just stared back at him with eyes like dead winter, letting him see th

rk that ignite

ult clumsy and vulgar. "If it weren't for the a

n one heartbeat and

ion. It was an in

y loud in the silent ro

d to the side from th

oom f

ven Winter, ever stoic, showed a flicker of surprise in

he'd been burned. He looked at me, his eyes wide with st

ng hand. The pain

e was

space, and lowered my voice to a

th a rage so profound it was almost cal

nderstood the raw, ruinous intent radia

posture once again

the room, my voice ringing with finality. "T

er son humiliated, transformed from a fr

she screamed, her voice cr

ered uselessly by the door, their faces pale and

"Get her! Grab this insane woman!

. On the other, the most lethal operative of the Valeriano family, whose

didn'

erself slightly in front of me. A silent, deadly promise. Th

stared at me. The shame burned in his eyes

he sofa, a forgotten prop in a pla

and felt nothing but contempt. Her threats

l thing, a wire pulled ta

n open again. This time, with a forc

ainst the afternoon light. He carried with h

ow, cold, and l

ee who's going