boutique flower shop tic

tes until t

ectly in front of him, her tone that of an order. "The Godfather of an u

He was a man who could decide the fate of thousands with a flick of his wrist-yet again and again he folded, bending his own bottom line to

y," Lorenzo replie

ting him on the back. "Let Bianca stand in fo

e, untraceable ghost, and watched t

ers, and lowered his gaze to my sister. Then the most ruthless mafia Godfat

oking straight into my sister's scheming eyes. "You

mond ring. It caught the light of the crystal chandelier overhead

's left one, and slid my dream ring,

y been mine. Our entire childhood, Bianca had taken my dresses, my toys, my friends. And now, befo

he corner. She shifted uneasily, discomfort all over her face. "

her finger, admiring the f

en lifting her eyes. "Anya doesn't care about t

her chimed in immediately, smoothing a wrinkle from her d

wear it a moment, it's a family piece, she's only doing her sister a favor"-and, as always with my family, he let it

for the roses," Lorenz

His handwriting was sharp and slanted, every stroke

are, whenever you nee

sixteen, Bianca talked the whole family into abandoning me in a remote cabin deep in the wood

while I shook with crying, and he swore a blood oath to me. He promised

ungs nearly tore-and he walked away witho

es until t

et roses into the SUV. The Syndicate soldie

ectful dip of his chin. "Will you ride up front and head

shop onto the sunlit sidewalk and wrapped

y body before the animals in the woods did

f the shop, the diamond-my diamon

hand still grippi

n him," Bianca insisted, seizing the lapel of his coat. "Let's run the vows one mo

-slowly, deliberately, the way a creditor looks at a deb

familiar, instinctive unease surfaced again in the depths of his eyes; a shadow f

go of the d

his back on the car-and on his

ok his seat, and pulled the

ace my sister, his eyes dull and obedient, a

ith counterfeit tenderness. "You are the

vows for the people who tortured me-while only a few miles aw