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
I looked back at her, and I gestured around the room, at the perfect rows of weapons and the monitors, "I like my violence contained. I like it surgical. I like to be the one who decides exactly when and where the hammer falls." I stood right in front of her now, so close that she had to tilt her h
"You hurt me," he said bluntly. The honesty of it made me flinch harder than shouting would have. His eyes darkened at the reaction, "But not because of the slap." A shaky breath escaped me, his face moved closer, not enough to kiss me, just enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath again
I was busy staring at the peeling wallpaper, when Morgan and Bri walked out of the tiny kitchen. The rest of the girls instantly shifted, stepping back to form a small circle around me, their faces forcing themselves to brighten into soft smiles. In Morgan’s hands was a tiny, slightly lopsided vani
"Just go," I whispered, the anger suddenly draining out of me, leaving nothing but a vast, hollow crater of exhaustion. My shoulders slumped, and I couldn't even find the energy to keep my voice sharp, "You saw the freak show. You heard my mother. You know all my disgusting little secrets now. Just







