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
"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
Gianna ━⊰ ❦ ⊱━ "What have you been doing to yourself?" she wept, "My baby... what have you done?" I couldn't answer her. I couldn't even feel my own body anymore. I just stood by the open door, staring down at the pile of my tools on the rug, my eyes completely blank and empty. The room around







