na

id not

bundle on his desk, then slowly dr

was low and quiet, yet it set the wa

I said, keeping my chin

f her name. A muscle flickered beneath his cheekbone

out a thick manila envelope, and slid the dossier across the

him, my voice remarkably steady. "She ab

pt his eyes fixed on mine, as if trying

ur own bloodline. You strike me as a

piece of expensive, monogrammed stationery. I scribbled my bur

u realize I am t

gerous man in the city. I willed my trembli

thing that stopped my heart: the rustle of fabric, the

t out a loud,

empty arms ached with a sudden, violent ne

ped into the hallway, and the heavy doors c

elevator, his normally composed featu

me, holding up his hands as if

ssed, his eyes darting toward the closed office do

ound, squarin

sharply. "This syndicate has more than en

doors opened instantly. I stepped inside, watching the secre

d steel wall to stop my legs from giving out. I had just left an

e on my hands. If I was right, I had just changed e

reet below, my phone was already ring

g the device away from my ear

ou to hide him! You just handed Serena's

decided to play games with the Mafia," I fir

life!" Rosa cried, her voice

owardly lies," I said, my tone h

mmediately bloc

n ride back to my neighborhood. The crisp autumn air rising from the su

dim hallway of my floor, I stopped cold.

Rosa-she must have driven straig

h bruising fingers. "You have to go back

er blind devotion. I shoved my key into the l

face her o

oftly, the bitter truth finally spoken aloud. "N

d the flimsy chain lock into place, th

y evaporated. I slid down the back of the door until

gainst my thig

rom my pocket and s

essage from an

in my custody for now.

, my breath catching.

his first move. But his message said nothing about the

? I couldn't tell yet. But either way