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
Her hand moved from my cheek to the back of my neck. She was pulling me toward her, her body angling in until there was no space left between our chairs. I had never been with a woman. The thought flickered through my brain like a dying lightbulb, but I couldn't find the energy to care. Everything
"Gianna..." Aileen started. "Go," I said, staring at the blank computer screen. "The meeting is starting. You’ll be late." I watched her walk away. I watched the glass doors of the conference room swing shut, sealing me out while everyone was in there. The office went quiet. It was just me and the
──━⊰ 𓆙 ⊱━── A frantic energy vibrating through me as the clock ticked toward ten. I sat at my desk, my spine stiff and my fingers flying over the keys. I hadn’t slept last night, not even the two-hour nap I usually allowed myself. I had spent the night in a chair, my face red from the cold water
My body felt like it was made of wet cement, sinking into the mattress. But I didn't have the luxury of being tired. Tired was for people who had a safety net. I only had the tightrope. I’d drag myself to my morning classes, sitting in the back of the lecture halls with my eyes burning. The whiteb






