U

's

se, casting long shadows across the room. The world below is slowly stirring to lif

re, but all I see are the rumpled sheets, the i

a strange, hollow feeling settling in my chest. I'm not used to th

fleeting memory. It's easier that way. No complications, no attachmen

leave withou

reach for it, my fingers brushing the cool fabric before picking it up. T

change, but they don't. She didn't even say goodbye, d

bitter smile that tugs at my lips. She thanked me. As if wh

ast, it was for me. There was something

ace in my life. I've spent years perfecting the art of keeping people at a distance, of making

en this way for as long as I can remember

, before I even had the chance to push her away. That stings mor

ford to think about her right now. I have other things to focus

. He answers on the second ring, his voice

ne," I say, my voice clip

ho

over. Find the son of a bitch who did this an

on that I'm not used to hearing from Jake. "Are you

e leaving no room for

r the faint sound of him typing someth

, the thought suddenly occurring to me. "Unit Seventeen. I want to

ke says. "I'll

at I'm doing this for the wrong reasons. I tell myself it's just about control, abou

I know I can't-because she's too good for my wo

l morning breeze washing over me as I look out at Central Par

o clear

morning air. The sky is a pale shade of blue, the kind that signals the beginning of a new

where people come to escape, to find peace in the chaos of the c

ng me forward. I push myself hard, faster than usual, trying to outrun the though

of the night we spent together, of the way she made me

ost on me-me, the man who's built his life on control, power

h the walls I've spent years building around myself. She saw something in me t

choice? I'm getting old and I have no heir for

l mafia princesses. I could have had any of t

Emily's

at hill, the incline burning my legs. The pain is a welcome distraction, a r

ack-memories I've buried deep, memories of a time when I was