LOGINAdriano slowly lifted his boot, letting the blood drip off the leather onto the concrete as his stare swept across the rest. "Now," he whispered, a terrifying smile finally touching the corners of his lips, "Who else feels like telling me a story?" Morgan started sobbing violently. I shook my h
No, no! "I wasn't even there when they hurt the girl!" Cole yelled, "They brought her to me already bleeding! Brianna was the one who hit her in the head! She used a heavy wooden club from the garage! They carried her in here like a sack of rocks, and I was the one who washed the blood off her fac
Cole’s chest heaved, his eyes turned frantic, like a rat looking for a hole in the wall. "I know how Chicago works. You don't survive in this city by picking a fight with the Capones," he slowly shook his head, "I'm not suicidal." My stomach twisted. No. He was lying. I made a desperate sound
"Move!" Capone guards surged forward with frightening speed. Cole's men reached for their weapons but they never got the chance. One guard twisted a man's arm behind his back before he had even cleared his waistband. Another kicked a pistol across the concrete floor. Boots thundered in every dire
I looked at Cole again. He wasn't even watching us. He was checking his phone. Rage exploded inside me, "MMPH!" I lunged forward as far as the ropes allowed. "If she keeps doing that," he said calmly, "she'll reopen the wound." I wanted to claw his face apart. I wanted to scream. Instead, anoth
Gianna ━⊰ ❦ ⊱━ Pain. That was the first thing I felt. It was a deep, heavy ache that pulsed through the back of my head. It throbbed with every heartbeat, every breath, every tiny movement. A quiet whimper escaped me before I even opened my eyes. The world slowly came into focus. The ceiling a
Vance stepped back, "See? I knew you had it in you. Fear is a wonderful teacher." He started to untie my arms, leaving me there shaking and broken on the stretcher. I had done it but as I lay there, cold and wet, I felt like the girl who couldn't read had died under that towel, and someone else was
I looked at Raphael, and he looked just as shaken as I felt. He went completely stiff, his jaw tightening until a muscle pulsed in his cheek. He wouldn't look at me. He shifted in his seat, suddenly putting distance between our bodies, his movements jerky and uncomfortable. "So," he said, his voice
"The way you’re trying to read this is a linear trap," he said, "Your brain doesn't move in lines, Gianna. It moves in spheres. You're trying to force a 3D mind into a 2D space. It’s a sensory overload, not a lack of intelligence." He shifted his weight, and I felt the heat of him radiating through
The flashlight beam whipped around instantly, blinding me. "I can help with that," I said, as I walked right up to him and pulled the flashlight out of his mouth. His mouth stayed open for a second, as he looked me up and down. The beam of light was now in my hand, shaking just a little, but h