Nico huffs a laugh and shakes his head, grabbing my arm again and pulling me out into the hall, the dress still clutched to my chest. “I think you won’t take this seriously because you never fucking have taken this seriously, Iris!” he says, pulling the door shut after him and keeping his voice hu
I nod, accepting it, remembering the rules of the setup today that I was briefed on this morning. Two bodyguards each, no weapons. The point of it is the return of the captive and face-to-face conversation so that Christian can convince both his father and Bonetti that he’s on their side. Though h
The next morning I wake up to the feel of Christian’s hand on my hip, sliding around to my stomach and pulling him closer against him. I go stiff, still angry and upset about everything that happened yesterday, but he dips his head low and presses a kiss first to my shoulder, and then lower to my ne
“Not today, Iris,” Nico says, a little exhausted. “He can go hungry for a couple of hours. We have to get started.” “What?” I ask, looking at him with wide eyes. “Now?” “Yes, now,” Nico replies, stern, holding my gaze. “Um…” I say, looking between the three of them. “What…what do you want me t
I spend the rest of the day very quietly. Eventually, Nico and Christian do come out of the room and settle at the kitchen table with Frankie, where they hash out a bunch of what sound like really complicated plans. But, despite Nico’s glares and clear silent indications that I shouldn’t be hearin
I start a little a few hours later when Chrisitan climbs into bed next to me. He reaches out a hand to touch my shoulder, but he clearly notices when I tense. “Iris,” he murmurs. But when I don’t say or do anything, he just sighs. “Please talk to me, Iris.” “What do you want, Chris?” I murmur, s
“We have four people,” Nico says, hunching his shoulders and putting his hands out in front of him, begging us to see. “Maybe six, if you could count Tony and fucking Lucy, which I very much think we cannot after the events of this morning. We have no real fire power, no excessive access to cash or
“Enough,” Frankie growls, stepping in front of me and tucking me behind him. “You’re out of line, Nico – go pull your shit together.” “You two,” Nico murmurs, livid, backing off but glancing between us. “What a fucking pair you make. The stripper and the hitman, both with hearts of gold. So fuckin
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