ena
er nails biting into my fle
ried, her voice a weapon of practiced manipulation. "If
ash for my neck, to hand the e
ked a
ndless dance across the screen, utterly detached from th
and unconcerned, opened a
to an inferno; my mother had seized Leo's hand and fled, leaving me
ng in the *Famiglia* sweatshops
g cold and hard, I wrenc
pawn on their b
om and pulled a battered du
ed my few item
r, my fingers brushed aga
copy of *
en it to me t
through my adolescent defenses. "See how
t of light in the suffoca
bag as if it were a holy
he apartment with
y guarded *Famiglia* safehouse de
e gray walls and a single cot, but it possesse
s department. Those years buried in PR had taught me more than press releases. I had memorized every financial repor
d me a heavy DSLR cam
profile and photographs of the new Chie
the top floor, a knot of cold
floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panor
, I
g behind a massi
hollow of my collarbone with the precision of a
a low vibration that seemed to travel up my spine. "N
bled as I lif
urally loud in the quiet room. The flash illuminated the un
he lens, his unwavering scrut
een, he studied the captured images, the corner of
his leather chair, h
on at the club this weekend," he said, his
my knuckles strainin
through a tight throat. "I ha
f authority evaporating, replace
ween us until the scent of expensive cologne, a clean
e turned
rable height, he named my decade of
a razor against my skin. "Tell me, why do y
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