LOGIN"Vincenzo, no!" Gianna screamed, throwing herself forward. "Please! Don't do this to her!" She fought against my hold with everything she had. "Relax, Gianna," I said quietly, pulling her firmly against my chest as she struggled to break free. Under any other circumstances, I would have loosened
"Because she's street-level waste," Vincenzo said, his voice flat, almost bored. "And she made a street-level decision." Dante released Cole, who crumpled to the floor, then swung the laptop around so we could see the screen, "I've got Mercer's footage," he said. "It lines up with his version. Cole
He straightened as much as Dante's grip allowed, fixing his attention entirely on my brother. "I know what the Capone name means. You don't poke a sleeping tiger unless you're looking to get eaten alive. Everything I did tonight was to prove my loyalty." It was convincing and logically structured.
Denise collapsed into herself, a broken, animalistic wail tearing from her throat as her head hung so low her forehead nearly touched the blood pooling beneath her. "That is the truth, Gianna!" she cried. "I was just so tired. You don't know what it's like to have people threatening to kill you eve
Alfonso moved instantly. He lunged forward, grabbing Morgan and jerking her head back until her neck strained. He jammed the barrel of his pistol into her mouth. She let out a muffled, terrified sob, her hands shaking in the air as she choked around the gun. My eyes returned to Denise, locking ont
"But right now... my only job is to make sure nobody ever hurts you again." I couldn't help her while she was pulling against the ropes still wrapped around her ankles. "Stay still." She didn't, "Raphael, please—" "I said stay still." I crouched in front of her and pulled the knife from my belt
Gianna ━⊰ ❦ ⊱━ The thin soles of my sneakers did nothing to protect me. Underneath the socks, the skin on my feet was broken. I had done it to myself, the sharp, stinging lines I had carved into my own flesh just days ago. Now, the heavy pounding of my weight against the roots and rocks made the w
"Stop!" I said, trying to plant my feet on the slippery floor, "I don't want this. I'm waiting for someone." The girl with the green hair turned around. She didn't let go of my wrist. She just tilted her head and gave me a wide, messy smile. Her eyes looked like they were seeing things that weren't
"We found one!" she cheered. She looked back at me with a mischievous grin, "A first-timer! Our little virgin sacrifice!" They were teasing me, poking my sides and laughing. "Should we give her to the wolves?" one girl asked, her voice thick with drink. Wolves? "No," the green-haired one said,
“Where are we going?” I shouted. No one answered as the red-ribbon crowd flooded into the woods. Some people ran laughing. Others sprinted like their lives depended on it. High heels were thrown aside. Someone tripped and got pulled back up by a friend. Branches snapped under rushing feet. The gir