Under The Cover

The

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e from Hi

as he wandered aimlessly, a single duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He had left the Scott mansion quietly, wit

pers, the coldness in Eleana's eyes. She had been the light in his dark world once, but now that light had di

the cracked glass. He barely recognized himself anymore. The man stari

ny Bruce, heir to a forgotten fortune, nor was he the hu

e streets grew narrower, the buildings more rundown. This was the part of town he was all too fa

once called home. He sat down on a bench, the cold metal biting through his thin coat, and closed his eyes. He had

y. He remembered how happy he had been when Eleana first agreed to marry him. She had looked at him wit

ent, Tony allowed himself to think of the life he had left behind, before Eleana, bef

ay it happened as i

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ashb

rned home after a late-night walk, only to find the front door ajar. Panic

had been

smelled of gunpowder and death. He had stumbled back, too stunned to scream, too numb to cr

nding to care. But Tony had seen the truth in his eyes-the hunger f

a hand on his shoulder. "I'll take

amily he had left was dead, and his u

the empire that had cost his parents their lives. He had vo

-

e who had understood why he had left. The old man had been the patriarch of the Bruce family, the one who had built their empire from the groun

ne too, and with him, any ties

ony tensed, his instincts honed from years of living on

once known during his time on the streets. "Tony Bruce, b

e. "Didn't think I

creasing into a grin. "What happened? I thought

to share the details. "

dding. You're wearing the same look you had when I first met you-like t

ke he was drowning, and no matter how hard he fough

you've got it all figured out, and then bam, it knocks you on your ass. But you know w

den wisdom. "And what if you don't want to

issipate into the cold night air. "There's al

the failure of his marriage-they all seemed like insurmountable obstacle

while, the only sound the occasio

come back here. Ain't glamorous, but we get by. Might not h

head. "I can't.

nd and grinding it beneath his boot. "But don't wait too long to f

his words settling in. Maybe Caleb was right. Maybe there

d do was sit in the dark,

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f Cha