Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 29

SHERIFF VALOURThere wasn't a pleasant kind of silence in Knox's home.It was the kind that pressed heavy on your ears until you started to think of ghosts whispering in it.I had been pacing up and down for ten minutes, boots sinking into rugs so fancy I shouldn't actually be walking on them in boots in the first place, when I saw her.Sin.She was reclining on the low couch in the side lounge, ankles crossed, black silk wrap draped over her shoulders, phone face down on the coffee table like she personally didn't even like it.Her hair was mussed from whatever shoot she'd just been on before Steel got struck, and her eyes—God save me—those piercing eyes were keen.Not keen like they'd been crying. Keen, like she'd already practiced her defense.I came to a stop at the end of the rug.She didn't get up. Didn't gesture for me to sit. Just raise her chin an inch or so, the sort of motion people do when they've already concluded you're going to be trouble."Sheriff," she said. Smooth, c

STEELWaking up was like emerging to the surface from having been underwater for a while. Sounds came before me — the gentle hum of air conditioning, the muffled scuff of feet on tile, and the periodic ringing of metal. Then there was the smell — antiseptic, vaguely floral, like an effort had been made to mask the sterility with lavender.When I finally opened my eyes to blink, the light was pale and weak. No beeping noises, no harsh hospital white. The walls weren't the sterile blue I was used to in medical rooms — they were dark, expensive beige. The curtains were thick, draping tall windows. This wasn't a hospital.I realized I was in a king-size bed, but sheets were wrapped tightly around me. An IV tube wrapped around my arm, and a pounding pain emanated in my ribs and legs. My body was extremely heavy.Then I saw her.Sin.She reclined in a rumpled velvet armchair beside the bed, knees bent a bit, chin resting on her palm. She sported loose hair draping over her shoulder, and was

CATALINA I leaned back against the counter, arms folded, watching Sin pace like she was determined to wear a hole through the hardwood floor. Her hair was still stunning from whatever shoot she'd run away from earlier in the day, but her eyes. they told another story. "Sin," I said finally, shattering the silence, "why don't you just get divorced?" She stiffened mid-stride, her back to me. For an instant, I thought she didn't understand — then she slowly turned, as if weighing every word. "You think its that simple?" she asked, voice low. "Yeah," I told her. "If a man is making you miserable, you walk. That's how it is for the rest of us." Her laugh was harsh and unfunny. "Catalina… my marriage is not like yours.". Or anybody's. "Then tell me about it," I said. "Because from where I stand, Boyce gets to be the perfect husband out in public and hurts you in private and you just. accept it." Her jaw tightened. "It's not a matter of accepting it. It's a matter. of survival for myself

STEEL The door slammed shut behind us, and the air between us grew tight. I could hear her breathing hard, fast, broken — and it stoked the flames that'd been burning since I spotted her on his arm tonight. I closed the distance in two strides, every muscle tensed, every thought focused on her. She tried to stand up straight, chin high, but her hands trembled where she held her clutch. "Steel—" she started. I cut her off with a snarl. "Shut up, Sin." Her lips parted in surprise, and shock passed over her face, but she didn't move. She never moved when I talked that way. "You know what it did to me," I growled, my fist slamming into the wall beside her head. She winced but didn't back away. "Watching you smile like that. Faking it with him. Allowing him to put his goddamn hand on you like he owned the right." Her throat constricted as she swallowed. "It's for the cameras. It's politics, Steel. You understand this." "I don't care if it's politics." My fingers wrapped around her jaw, sp