LOGINI memorized every word, nodding. "Make sure, there is no alcohol, no driving, no strenuous exercise. No situations where she could hit her head again." He tapped the folder. "If she vomits repeatedly. If she becomes difficult to wake. If one pupil becomes larger than the other. If she becomes co
Vincenzo watched them carefully, "You wanted this?" "No." "You wanted to spend your nights around men like Cole?" "No." "You wanted debt collectors, guns, blood, and basements?" All three shook their heads harder, "No..." "No, sir..." "We never wanted this..." For a long moment, Vincenzo sim
Mine didn't. To me, guilt belonged to the individual responsible for the act. To Gianna, guilt spread through grief until it touched everyone left standing. Eventually... It would reach me. She wouldn't see a calculated investigation. She would see the man who allowed her entire world to disap
Adriano let out a laugh, he bent over, slapping his knee, his eyes bright with a dark, twisted amusement as he watched Cole flop around in the dirt. "Oh, look at him go!" Adriano mocked, "He’s doing the dance! Look at the moves on him! Hey, Don Capone said he’d spare your life, Mercer! He didn't sa
"No! She forced me! She—" "She forced you to get a front-row seat to our sister's blood?" Adriano laughed again, "You’re a real hero, Cole. Maybe we should put your face on a plaque. 'Here lies Cole Mercer: He was too scared to be a criminal and too stupid to be a friend.'" Cole started to sob, hi
Raphael ━━ ⛓ ━━ Adriano’s arms were capable, but they were not mine. I stepped forward before his arms could even settle into a permanent hold. I took her from him, sliding my hands beneath her knees and behind her shoulders, careful not to disturb the bandage wrapped around her head. I kept h
"Go on another hunt with me," he muttered. Inside my chest, my heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand pieces. He always felt so incredibly good, so sweet and perfect, but it felt like a cruel trick. It was a beautiful drug I knew I could never truly keep, a physical reminder of the forbid
I sat frozen in the chair, my breath catching in my throat as I looked up at him. "We made a deal," Raphael continued, "And both of us will mutually decide when this arrangement finally ends. Neither of us can singlehandedly just walk away and break this thing between us. We started it together, an
Her fingers tightened slightly around the tablet, “I wasn’t planning to,” she whispered. “I know.” But I couldn't trust her, the urges didn't ask permission first, “You spent years training yourself to reach for pain every time your brain got overloaded.” I watched her carefully. “That doesn’t d
Raphael ━━ ⛓ ━━ Three screens glowed in front of me. Lines of code scrolled endlessly down black backgrounds. Security architecture, adaptive recognition systems, predictive correction patterns, font rendering adjustments and eye-tracking response timing. I leaned back slightly in my chair,







