om that smelled of leather and power, lined with books no one read but everyone admired. The mahogany desk gleamed under the chandel

granite, his eyes s

he words crack

ard. "He's... som

underous. "He has a record, Elena. Do you kn

ot back, her voice trembling

doorway, her presence icy,

lessness. You're throwing away ever

, but beneath it all was Kai's voice echoing in he

anything," she said q

sion darkened, his

t that door, do

ndered in her ears as she looked at the door-the threshold

alked

all space above a garage, cluttered but warm. When he

spered. "And they ga

hield her from the world. "I

said fiercely. "I'm

tween relief and worry. "Elena

asy," she said.