The Empire of Sin

oretti stood there, without moving or speaking. He only looked up at me with those cold, fathomless eyes, and his expression was different to me, probably completely unread

my shield against the leering crowd, felt flims

nct screamed at me to run, to fight, to do anything but walk toward that man. But where would I run? The room was filled with monsters, and he was their king. My legs began to tremble, and with a slow, agonizing surrender that felt like a

fell into step behind him, my eyes fixed on the intimidating breadth of his shoulders in that perfect black suit. As he moved, a path cleared before us. The men who had been bidding on me moments before now averted the

his gaze, only a raw, violent promise of future conflict. I saw in that look that this wasn't over. I wasn't just a prize Dante had won; I was a prize Valenti had lost, and

and out a back exit into a cold, sterile concrete garage. The night air was a shock to my lungs, resting against me, waiting for a long, low panther-like black car, rumbling softly with its engine. It waited with the bac

into an even more profound silence than the waiting room had had. It was absolute, insulated. The tinted windows turned the gritty city lights into soft, distant blurs

object, a package being transported. My thoughts raced madly attempting to comprehend the man beside me. I stole glances at him from the corner of my eye. The profile was sharp and severe, a study in controlled power. A ridiculously expensive watch gleamed on his

Dante Moretti. Like a chess master who had just captured his opponent's queen. As if reading my thoughts, his phone vibrated, a low buzz against the leather. He pulled it out, his thumb swiping across the screen. He

down to the bare feet I had planted upon the floor mat. His scrutiny made me feel pinned like a butterfly under glass. "The Romano name used to mean something

ending down a ramp into a private, brightly lit underground garage. The place was spotlessly filled with all the luxury cars shimmering under the white lights. The car stopped, and the engine was on cut, plunging us again into that