Layla The low hum of the engine filled the empty spaces of the vast luxury car. I’d taken the middle seat, and Eli nestled in beside me. Our hands folded into our laps, bound in zip ties tight enough to cut skin. Though he pressed against my side, Eli didn’t cry, didn’t whimper, didn’t tremble. H
Neither Eli nor I uttered a peep of protest as we slid over the shining hardwood floors to sit behind a carved wooden coffee table. My own hard face reflected back at me from the silent TV—pale, frightened, determined. A woman who’d fight to protect the tiny boy at her side. With the sun still a
Aldo Waves crashed faintly against the hull of the luxury yacht. The sound might once have soothed me—a signal of escape, of the open ocean surrounding me. Except this time, I wasn’t on the boat. I stood at the end of the long, lightly bobbing dock, staring out over the marina. “Give me good news,
*** I didn’t bother with formalities like asking the doorman to buzz me up. Carlo and I marched through the door and into the lobby of Marco’s building like we owned the place—and with our guns drawn, we essentially did. The guard was quite eager to disclose Marco’s information with my pistol an i
Aldo The harsh, too-sterile smell of cleaning chemicals clung to my clothes as I paced the hospital waiting room. How long had I been here—an hour, a day? I couldn’t remember. Time had lost its meaning since Carlo and I had brought Layla in. I kept replaying those last moments—Marco rising from be
Layla The stench of surgical-strength antiseptic burned my nose. My lashes fluttered against fluorescent lights that turned the room around me to blinding white. I was at work; had I fallen asleep in my office with all the lights on? Wouldn’t be the first time, I supposed. I shifted to try and f
Daylilies. Disgust uncurled in my stomach, but I watched silently as he set yet another vase on the windowsill. It was starting to look like a garden in here. “Hi, Layla.” Aldo offered me a tight smile as he hovered by the window. “How are you feeling?” I withheld the sigh that had built in my c
Layla Bright morning sun cast a golden glow over the sprawling Marcello estate as I stepped out of Aldo’s car and onto the flagstone driveway. The manor loomed up over me like a harbinger of doom cast in a breathtaking sheath of stone and carved marble. Reminding me, as if I needed the reminder, o
Maybe that’s what made the next words tumble from my lips. “Have we met before?” Ethan’s dark brow furrowed, and his words came out softly. “Why do you ask?” “You just …” I chewed my lower lip, trying to find the right words. “You remind me of someone.” “Do I?” The lines of Ethan’s face smoothed
Layla I’d barely stepped back inside the front doors of the hospital before I was returned to the demanding pace of medical life—hadn’t even made it back to my office. “Incoming! Stab victim, male, mid-thirties!” a nurse called, her voice sharp with urgency. In no time at all, I was gloved and ma
Dammit! It wasn’t a shortcut; it was a dead end. My heart plummeted. “No.” The footsteps grew louder, slowing as my follower approached. I turned around, that brick wall to my back, to face the hooded stalker. My hands clenched into fists at my sides. Weeks of self-defense training wouldn’t go to
Layla The hospital’s signature fluorescent lights hummed in my ears as I completed my final round before my dinner break. It was late—far too late for dinner for anyone but a healthcare worker—and most of the staff had gone home. The quiet hours gave me time to think. I wasn’t sure if that was a
“You’d really do that?” she asked, and my chest clenched tighter at the sound of hope in her voice. “Yeah,” I murmured. “I would.” For a long moment, she said nothing. Just studied my face, like maybe she was searching out lies. But this night had been only truths. Relieving ones. Painful ones.
Aldo The light and music of the ball faded behind us as we strolled from the manor. Our footsteps crunched lightly against the flagstones, and the cool night air kissed my cheeks in a welcome respite from the stifling perfumes and colognes and potpourris of the ballroom. A gentle wind wove its fi
I knew what it was to be driven by ambition. I knew what it was to work hard, every day, trying to fill the emptiness in your chest. Only to wonder if you’d be hollow forever. I knew what it was to get the things you wanted, to grow and achieve and prosper, and still lie away in bed at night. That
Layla I found solace out on the rear balcony, in a quiet corner of the night. Free of Marco’s smile and Aldo’s steadfast presence, I felt suddenly shaky, my chest too tight. The champagne in my fingers did little to calm me. The cool air caressed my skin, a welcome reprieve from the suffocating te
The floor was almost entirely filled with guests dressed to make my new attire feel shabby. I lingered along the fringes of the room, tongue-tied, overwhelmed, and outclassed. How long was I supposed to stay here? Maybe I could walk around, nod and smile, and be on my way? “You look beautiful.” Al