The Empire of Darkness
br
blood linge
ing unintelligible, his body twitching, his hands clawing at
can
y command. The man has been begging for his life for the past ten minutes, but I stopped listening a lon
here, Luca?" I ask, my v
s lips as he tries to lift his head. "P
ng him struggle. "Lyin
thout hesitation and presses the barrel of his gun against L
ole from me, Luca. You tried to cheat me. And wor
was set up! I
A
le
or, blood pooling beneath him. The sound of the gu
Enzo. "Cle
. "Yes,
them mops up the blood. I button my suit jacket, stepping a
y dollar that moves through my territory does so because
t, somethi
ing-I can feel
-
c smells like antisep
ookstore, one of those places most people walk past without noticing. But in my
here for
ng life-threatening, but enough to need stitches, and
tor is
t expec
rk curls fall over her shoulders, framing a face that doesn't belong in a place like t
beau
rousl
e cool, indifferent. "You could have
her carefully. "And you
eyebrow. "Dr.
cc
rest
already making connect
l
men like h
d bends around them. Gabriel Moretti is exactly that kind of man-powerful, arrogant, and
, as if he's already dissecting me, pulling me apart pie
ld be
in my positi
xury I abandoned
ting on my exam table, his arm bleeding through the bandage I just finished wrapping
ady. "The stitches will hold, but if you start throwin
ided grin. "Guess I
feel his presence behind me, a
His voice is smo
looking at h
e it. I hate the way my body reacts to his nearness,
n't let
my chin. "If that's all, I
words amuses them. But Gabriel... Gabriel doesn't laugh. Hi
fter this time, but it holds an ed
s, holding hi
't ask q
t. It's an observati
my job to ask.
that isn't quite a smile but i
s my instincts scream to stay away. But I can't. Not becau
rom one
ed straight into t
I lock the door and
underground without brushing shoulders with the w
th money. Men who think they can
d to think it.
hat makes hi
the corner to wash my hands. The cool water does nothing to soothe the heat burning
mn
be reactin
to escape men lik
s frame my face, my cheekbones sharp from too many sleepless nights. Ther
what Gabrie
en li
t go of somet
ries to break into my cl
been dozing off in my chair. The sound of metaling to force
seless against a gun, but better than nothing. My breath
led curse, a struggle
e scalpel
r creak
d intruder, maybe one of my fathe
tead, i
e, but there's a faint stain on his sleeve-blood. His expression is calm, unread
an slumps against the doorf
hard. "Wha
voice is quiet, but the wei
m. "I don't n
slow, deliberate
using to let him intim
the scalpel in my gr
use to back down. "You don't get t
vade my space, his scent-smok
lcezza." His voice drops, low and s
lips at the way the Ital
he first to look away. "And what,
erate smirk c
in
sleep t
ause Gabriel Moretti took it upon hi
words keep ech
s, stupid part of me, wonders what it
th
rous than any enemy lu