ca
, from his touch, from the very air he breathed, and barely made it to the bathroom before I retched. I knelt over the to
anuel' s footsteps. He
again, the concerned, gentle fiancé. The performance was
voice whispering my name, and know that all of it, every single touch, w
e," I gasped b
ed his voice, a speculative one.
t sound of his phone dialing. He wa
e bathroom... No, I don't know... What if she is?" There
ice in the background, offering her fake concern. They would "handle it." The words were a death sent
d crossed Emmanuel's voice. A moment of internal conflict? It didn
r on my face. When I turned, he was leaning against the doorfr
, his gray eyes-so like Anthony's,
e flat and dead. "It'
ly gone. The procedure had been quick, clinical, and utterly devastating. I had mourned a baby th
t, Anthony' s car pulled up. Anthony himself. The mastermin
voice the smooth, cultured ton
the cloying scent of flowers and silence. He put on music-an indie
helin-starred restaurant. Bianca and
ied! I brought you a little something to cheer you up." She handed me a
Holden boys" growing up, painting a picture of an exclusive, impenetrable bond. Anthony and Emmanuel played along, la
g. "Don't be a stranger. We're going to be si
ness began to creep into my chest. My throat felt thick. I glanc
anuts. An allergy Anthony knew about. An allergy I had
to swim. I fumbled in my purse for
my voice barely a w
a split second, I saw genuine panic in his eyes. He stood up so fast his cha
slumped sideways in her chair. "Anthony... I don't fe
and forth between me, gasping for a
was made in
r my purse. He ripped the Epi
ice raw with a frantic urgency I had never h
trayal, he had uncapped the needle
the edges. I was dying
id coolly, watching me slide from my
ng" Bianca into his arms and ran from the restaurant
e on the fl
/1/105401/coverorgin.jpg?v=18c7d752621a50bc5635d2f1604ddeba&imageMogr2/format/webp)
/0/97057/coverorgin.jpg?v=2d27dd8693a7f5862bd6c3800fc73a6a&imageMogr2/format/webp)
/1/100496/coverorgin.jpg?v=c5cb6898ea82160755e6bbb1255517a9&imageMogr2/format/webp)
/1/107281/coverorgin.jpg?v=3425e5f3c3e85939e0b5df5ee05b3256&imageMogr2/format/webp)
/0/65237/coverorgin.jpg?v=e87f4c09444237b6798a00b1df411030&imageMogr2/format/webp)
/0/73838/coverorgin.jpg?v=13386996a09e7a2f9334fc224055a59a&imageMogr2/format/webp)
/0/97676/coverbig.jpg?v=2d489e64594393602a36d7362c95401c&imageMogr2/format/webp)