Chapter 271 - Massimo

Standing in the dark, I watched her sleep. Pure. Innocent. I would do everything in my power to keep her that way. To keep her from the darker sides of the life I called mine.

Ours.

Turning, I looked at the woman sleeping in the chair next to the crib. She carried darkness within her as well. But it was a different kind. A different hue.

Amara, the daughter I'd recovered from human traffickers not even three months ago, made a noise in her sleep. A soft cooing that lifted the shadows from my heart for a brief moment.

As I watched her, the past washed over me in waves. Through long practice, I let them come. Let them take me over. It was no use trying to fight them. To put them to the side. They were part of me.

I took a deep breath and plunged myself beneath the surface.

Warm blood coated my fingers as I pulled the knife from his belly. I fought back the urge to empty my stomach at the sucking noise his guts made under his harsh inhale. In that moment, I knew I would car