I grab for the handle, twisting, pulling the door open – But it hits on something. A deadlock. I twist again, pulling hard, but it doesn’t budge. And I cry out, bending down, trying to fiddle with the lock but it doesn’t give – doesn’t move. I’m still wondering what happened to it when the rea
After a few long minutes of Frankie quietly stroking my back while I cry myself out, I lift up my head and sniff, breathing easier, still not okay but…pulling myself back together. “How are you feeling?” he asks quietly, loosening his arms so I can stand up straighter as I sniff. “Um,” I say, ra
And then further back – his father, Tony, and Lorenzo – with Frankie’s bullets in their heads at Christian’s order. And perhaps these deaths were not completely for threatening my safety, but at least in part, under the full knowledge that they were coming after us – that they wouldn’t let us live.
Frankie moves quickly, pulling me through the bedroom to the closet, and I immediately cede him control. “Get dressed,” he murmurs to me, dropping my hand and moving for the door, quickly flicking the lock. “Fast. Put on…whatever, Iris. Something warm. And shoes.” I do as he says, stepping into Ch
And Frankie, if he gets caught stealing me from beneath Christian’s nose…god, but Christian will kill him. He’ll absolutely kill him. My hands begin to shake. “No going back, Bambs,” Frankie says, taking my chin sharply in his hand. “We already decided. Yes?” “Yes,” I whisper, realizing the
Frankie and I drive for a long, long time. As soon as the adrenaline of leaving the Romano family home leaves my system I immediately begin to feel ill again, the affects of…whatever Elio gave me still ravaging my system. Frankie gives me a water bottle from the back seat and apologizes that he do
“We begin,” Frankie says, turning his eyes back to the road, “with a frank discussion of how fucked we actually are.” My eyebrows go up a little at this, but I steel myself against the emotions that begin to well up in me – especially the idea that I dragged Frankie into this, that he’s only fucke
I nod a little, knowing he will see it, still looking down into my lap. “Christian surely noticed pretty fast that you were gone – at most an hour after we left. We got out quickly and with minimal people knowing what happened but…Christian’s not dumb. It took him maybe half an hour more to check
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