Rossi makes me want t

ights below are a river of cheap promises and I've owned them for so long they don't register anymore. The only th

ather walked out when Bianca was eleven; no contact since. They live in a two-bedroom off the highway. She's been working since she was fifteen. He

matters. It does. It all matters. I want to know every

d last Thursday. Rocco's voice hardens. And Vincent Calder has been cornering her in the breakroom for mo

curl in

her, I sa

os

step back. I watched him put his hand on her wrist under the table like he ow

to break

orld. Then, when she's safe, happy and wearing my ring. You will have a very long co

told him the weather. Th

od has been humming since the moment I saw her and it hasn't stopped I don't want it to. The

s the whole point. That's

inutes later soft, hesi

n, dol

d eyes, looking at me like I'm the executioner. Her hair is coming loose from its kn

ready to run. I don't move. I let h

I expected. If I did something wrong tonig

t do anyt

. Then why

the

e alone and every instinct I have is screaming at me to cross

ong I've been wat

. A couple hours,

f, refusing to be herded. I like that. I like it so much my teeth ache. I've been watching you for exactly as long as

the base of her throat

there's a man downstairs who thinks he can put his hands on you. I stop a foot away, close enough to sme

wide. "How d

ar. My fingers graze her jaw and the contact is electric. Her breath catches. I know you're tired and sca

ear the crack in it, the years o

nd, thumb tracing her cheekbone, feather-li

ps my h

tle, because I would sooner cut off my own arm tha

p. I don't care how much money you have. I'm not going to be your mistr

rner of her jaw and she shudders. The sound she makes small, involuntary, su

leaves t

sane, she

er skin. But you'll love me

in my chest, clawing to get out, but she's skittish, exhausted and she's been

gentleman, like I didn't just deton

ep. My eyes pin her in place.

nfusion and something else she can't name.

ch he

l out my phone and make thr

medical debt. All of it, plu

cause the door locks are garbage and the wiring is a fire

office, because by morning, I want to know everything there is

o have a ver

thinks she can walk away, hide behind her pri

ca

saw her, the

s wins. And I j