Dare to Love me

th but no one ever told me the real form of

ed my Coat tighter against the late autumn chill, my steps echoing faintly on the cracked pavement. It wasn't the saf

worked hard to make sure I lived a life of privilege, but the

ills, sent me to good schools, and ensured I never lacked anything

still felt fresh, like an open wound that refused to heal. Jason had been my a

n a city teeming with crime. But something about it never sat right wi

thoughts, and I quickened my pace.

sat at the head of the table, his posture stiff and his phone face-down beside

?" I asked, trying

curtly, not looking

y, always detached. I pushed my fo

d lately," I ventured.

. For a moment, I thought he might actually tell me the tru

eetheart. Nothing for

the lie like a knife. He glanced a

He snatched the phone and disappeared int

larm bells. He'd been acting strange for weeks-short-tempered, secretive, always looking

ed outside his office door. His muffled voi

ades isn't stupid. He knows better than t

shiver down my spine.

pause, and I pres

Italians are the priority right now. If Hades

ion in his tone made my chest tighten. This wasn't normal bu

ed under my foo

re?" my fa

By the time he opened the door, I was alrea

led, his voic

plied, feign

need so

forcing a smile. "No

ering in his eyes, but he didn't press furt

ting the door fi

was Hades? What shipment was my father so worried about? And wh

t to do. He always had a way of making sense Of things, even when the world felt like

ling in my gut. If my father was involved in something danger

at work, but my mind was elsewhere. By the time I got

ffice, my heart racing with every step. The room was immaculate, every surface

notebook. The pages were filled with names, dates, and cryptic notes that made little sense

re I read, the more it became clear-my father was involved

e notebook that I didn't

voice rang out, s

notebook stil

here?" he demanded, s

xcuse, but the look on his

ion darkened. For the first time in my life, I s

n that," he said quietl

my voice cracking. "Who is Had

tched the notebook from my hands

just saw," he said, his tone cold a

e my father, and you're clearly in troub

t break. But then he turned away, his shoulders saggi

he said softly. "And don

My father's words echoed in my mind,

't just a name in a notebook. He was a storm on the horizon,

black car pulled up to the curb. The window rolled dow

us," he said, his