the parking lot of a cheap motel on the edge of town. A neon
water stains on th
room," Elvie stated, her voice trembling wit
. The temperature inside the cabin immediately began to drop,
as suffocating. She pushed her door open, popped her br
the rain. The wind whipped her wet hair against her cheeks. She crossed her arm
. The cheap jacket hanging off her thin shoulders did nothing to diminish the quiet, unconscious authority in
tomach. She had expected a tearful, grateful orphan. Someone she could mold. Someone she could control
inding xenon headlights pie
he road. Sandwiched between them was an extended-wheelbase Maybach. Th
he air smelled faintly of expensi
was clenched tight. A vicious migraine, born from years of severe
view mirror. He saw the tight lines of pain around Dono
uttered. "I-80 being closed completely
and roughly loosened his silk tie. His breathing was shallo
lass rolled down
nto the cabin. It hit Donovan's face, offering
ly past the flickering
gaze drifted through the rain and lande
econd, Celina l
, casting a brief, sickly pink glow through the rain. For one suspended heartbeat, the light cut through the darkness of the Maybach's cabin, ill
van
There was only a raw, untamed defiance and a chilling coldness t
ld-money dynasties. The way she held his gaze-steady, unblinking, unimpressed-belonged to someone who
not belong to a girl standing in
on of his own darkness. This girl hadn't just suffered. She had been broken and rebuilt
e a single, hard th
ead stopped. The silence in his brain was
t... gone. He inhaled sharply, his hand instinctively pressing against his
a cold, dangerous energy, like a predator resting in the dark. A shiver of recognition prickled at the base of he
t rolled past her and disa
ded. His voice was low, raspy,
on the brakes. "What's wr
he window down completely. He tw
vy. The motel was sw
t stare was burned into his retinas. His chest rose and
Preston said, his voice laced with confusion. "Find out exactly who that girl is," Donovan ordered, his eyes still fixed on the dark rearview mirror. Preston leaned in, tapping the screen to pull up th
rhythmic motion betraying the sudden, intense focus in his
paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "S
frowne
mirk deepened. "I'll s
The name rolled off his t
We aren't going straight to the penthouse tomor
er wasted his time on new-money families like the H
t the car in drive, and the con
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