The Devil's Claim

's underworld, where fortunes were won and lost in a single breath, the real power didn't l

She didn't belong here. Yet here she was, standing at the

cigars and whiskey swirling in the air. Men in sharp suits lounged in the dim lighting, their conversations filled with sha

art of it sat

ed black suit that molded to his frame like a second skin, he exuded control. The world bent to his

leaned back in his leather chair, fingers steepled

ooth like expensive whiskey but carrying an under

ord tasted bitt

y on her tongue. She hated asking for a

asn't quite a smile. "Help alwa

he knew better than to let it affect he

e here if I h

m him. "Then sit," he said, voice sti

o the plush chair. The leather was cool against her skin, but

n silence before speaking again. "You're the daughter o

ettis and the Romanos-a war that had left bodies in its w

the past. She was here

aid, keeping her voice ste

in his glass before taking a sl

g into her palms

e between them was suffocating. Finally, he exh

he murmured, "what

e Moretti never did anything out of kindness-he was a bu

was about to

to meet his gaze. "

rved into a slo

e had no idea what sh