Blood and Petals

tep she took, as if the truth it contained were pressing down on her shoulders. She set it down on her small kitchen table, with her h

The world felt oddly distant, as if she were standing on the edge of something deep and dark, watchi

her pulse quickened. Only a few people knew where she lived; Father Gabriel was one of them, but she had

ight than she had remembered. His black jacket clung to his frame, his dark hair was damp, and his

you get my address?" she asked with a v

urning to her. He tightened his jaw before speaking. " Your friend gave me your addr

emed to fill the space. "I'm not the one making mistakes here.

reathe. "I know exactly what you're doing. You're playing with fire." He took a slow step toward her, and lowered his voice. "Y

r family. Not anymore.

a. This is real life. And real life doesn't care about your personal vendettas or your need for answers. You keep pushing and y

t something about the way he said it, the way his eyes locked wi

either," she replied, t

ck, and his gaze darkened. "I don't want to see you get hurt, Emilia. You're digging in places that will destroy

that she was beginning to think he was right. She didn't trust him. Not yet. But his concern wa

ged with bitterness. "You're just like your family, always calculating, d

lenge, but Adrian didn't flinch. Instead,

ng, Emilia." He stepped closer again, this time, his eyes were unw

to breathe. He was too close, the heat of his body radiated toward

ure whether she was about to p

fragile moment between them. Adrian sighed at first, then a frustrat

n. "But you're not going to get the answers you wan

ware of the space between them, the heavy air that still clung to her skin. Her thoug

er chest. She didn't know why his words had affected her so much. She should have been angry

would she do with it once she had it? Could she handle the consequences of knowing th

side were photographs, letters, and documents, names, dates and places. The evidenc

What if the man she had grown to care for was

in her reach, but as she read through the papers, the weig

ered in her mind: Would the truth set her