“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
Christian gasps in horror, stumbling a little as he instantly drops his arm and fumbles at the knife, which falls to the floor. “Iris!” he cries, his voice shaking. “What the –“ But then he growls, grabbing my arm, tugging me aside. I gasp a little in surprise – not pain – and look up into his fac
“Christian!” Nico barks out, and I hear the hard slap of a hand on flesh. “Stop! Think for a minute!” The room goes quiet for a second, the only noise Calvin’s panting breath. “Get your fucking hand off of me, Nico,” Christian growls, livid. “Two minutes,” Nico snaps, his voice tense to a brea
“Clear!” Frankie barks out, indicating that the only person there actually is Tony with his hands up. Christian grabs his brother and hauls him into the room, slamming the door shut after him. “What the hell are you doing, Tony!?” he shouts, sending his little brother stumbling aside with a hard s
“Tony, get the fuck back home,” Christian snaps, grabbing him by the shirt collar and hauling him towards the door. “I need you to do serious triage here – you need to go convince dad of the truth!” “Why can’t you do it!?” Tony gasps. “Because he’ll fucking shoot me on sight right now!” Christia
“Just…say as little as possible, Iris,” Nico murmurs, glancing at me. “No problem,” I reply, my answer dry. He huffs a tiny laugh at me and then steps forward, opening the door for his Don and his Donna, stepping inside. The house is quiet, but it doesn’t take long to find people. We move quic
“Iris,” Christian scolds, frowning at me. “You don’t need that. Besides, you shouldn’t mix it with the drink.” I look at my husband seriously for a moment, wondering what it is that stopped him really, when Frankie snaps the tin shut and slips it into my hand. “For later, then,” he says, speaking
Absurdly, uselessly, I spend the next few hours cleaning. It’s not like the kitchen is actually dirty – it’s clearly been cleaned within the past couple of days. But still, I find the supplies beneath the sink and get started scrubbing – putting things in order, letting my thoughts fade away as I
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