“You going to let me carry you?” Frankie asks, crouching back on his heels and smirking at Lucy. “No, you idiot,” she sighs, shaking like I am and working to get to her feet. “They shot me in the arm, not the leg.” I just stand like an idiot, watching as Frankie reaches out and helps Lucy to her
“You’re the prettiest shooting victim I’ve ever seen,” I murmur, and she obliges me by laughing as I wipe a little black smudge off her cheek. But before I can say anything else, the door behind Lucy flies open and a young man is bending in, reaching for her, calling her name. I blink in surpris
I don’t know if I’m surprised or not to find Christian waiting for us, arms crossed and glaring at the door, when Frankie and I get back to the apartment. He’s blown so hot and cold on me lately – first not talking to me and lavishing Violetta with all his attention, and then chasing me into a stora
I frown at this, my heart breaking, because Frankie – he plays it so tough, so cool. But he killed two men today. Saved the rest of us – Lucy, me, his brother, his boss. But…it can’t be easy, can it? And even if it’s all part of a day’s work for a guy like him… Well, Frankie’s more tender than he
“This is the opposite of what I wanted,” Christian growls towards Nico, giving me a little glare out of the corner of his eye. “I know,” Nico replies, nodding a long with him. “But,” he shrugs, “it’s done. People know Bambi now – know of her, at least. And unless you want to say she died in that s
God, what even is my life right now? Suddenly I miss Emi with a great deal of intensity, miss school, miss my brother, even though our relationship is mostly me taking care of him these days. I just miss my old life, where I felt…I don’t know. Safe. Human. Like myself. “Hey,” Christian’s voice is
I can almost feel Christian setting his jaw in frustration, even though I can’t see it. When I open my eyes, a little piece of me is pleased to see that I’m right. He starts to pull away from me, but I tighten my arms around him, not letting him go just yet. “Chris, can we just be friends again?”
I gape at him and then scowl, swatting away his hand. “I was not being a brat!” “There she is,” he murmurs, laughing and giving me a wink as he unbuckles his seatbelt and reaches for his door. “Brave Bambi, always coming forward when you make her feel a little spicy. Come on, Bambina, you’re safte
A small smile creeps on Leo’s lips. “Yeah, okay,” he says, relaxing back against our chair. “Our secret.” I grin at my baby, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek, because my boy can’t resist a secret.“What’s all this?”I turn to see Christian standing at the open door, peering into the dining
The danger. It’s…it’s far too poignant.My heart breaking, I open a private browsing tab on the web browser and quickly search for Craigslist in both this city and Athens, Greece. As I do my memory goes back to a conversation I had with Frankie, when he told me that this is the best way he knows for
I stand frozen, staring down at the letter as it sits on the little hall desk, my breath coming in fluttery little gasps.The words are very simple.There are vineyards in Greece as well. I’ll take you there.I read it again and again as my heart pounds in my chest, each beat echoing with a mix of h
“You don’t know anything about my life,” I whisper, my voice barely audible, turning my eyes back down to the dishes. “I had no choice.”“You think you’re the only one who suffered?” Lucy whispers. “You think I wanted to be in this position? We were friends once, Iris. We were good to each other. Bu
“Mommyyyy,” Leo says, looking anxiously towards the kitchen door, shifting from foot to floor. “Hurry up! Aunt Bianca says we have to go!”I laugh, glancing down at my little boy, who looks so adorable in the private school uniform he wears to Kindergarten – crisp white shirt, navy blazer, his dark
But…was it? Was it me, missing Chris? Wanting to have yet another piece of him, even if I long denied wanting any ties to my past life?I look down, my heart heavy, not truly understanding what I think or what I feel.“I mean it, Iris,” Chris says, his voice steady and cool. “I’ll be a father to her
My heart sinks as I look Christian in the eyes – because beyond all hope, I had been praying that he hadn’t noticed that Leo is his son. But how could I have been so naïve? Leo looks just like him - dark hair, striking grey-blue eyes. The resemblance is unmistakable. I feel a wave of guilt crashing
“Yes,” he answers, a growl in his voice. “That should suit just fine.”I laugh at the irony in this and shake my head, looking away. “So now you want me to come back, to pretend as if nothing ever happened? You expect me to just accept this, the way things are now?”Christian opens his mouth to resp
Disappointment floods my chest, a sense of disbelief washing over me. “You think I would trust you again after everything? After how you treated me? You expect me to just come back and forget?”His eyes narrow, disappointment etched into his features. “You were faithless. I thought you’d be loyal. I