A shot cut through the night; the sound careened off rain-slicked streets like a deadly whisper. I wasn't supposed to be here. This wasn't my world-not the blood, not the power, and most definitely not the betrayal that came with it.
Pinned against the cold, damp wall of the alley, my back felt the hammering of my heart. Behind me, footsteps pounded against the pavement, growing closer. A flicker of laughter cut through the storm, dark and full of menace.
"Elena," his voice purred low and dangerous. "You can run, but you can't hide."
My breath caught in my throat. The folded piece of paper clutched in my hand was my contract-my ticket to freedom, my destruction. Water dripped from my tangled hair into my eyes as I edged deeper into the shadows.
"Antonio," I spat, the word sour in my mouth. The man I'd loved. Lied to.
A week ago, I'd been his fiancée: the spoiled daughter of a businessman with debts to be paid to the Moretti family. My marriage was supposed to seal an alliance and keep my family from harm. Antonio was supposed to protect me. Instead, I became a playing piece in some game I knew nothing about-a game where love was a method and betrayal served as currency.
I remembered the night the truth came out.
It was his birthday, and the Moretti estate was a blaze of light and luxury. Gowns sparkled, and champagne flowed like water. I had planned the evening for weeks, the result of every carefully thought-out detail. He'd once told me he loved surprises, and to see him smile was my drug.
I had found him in the study-the door cracked, enough to glance at shadows. Laughter-a man's voice-rose.
"I don't know how you do it, Antonio," a man said with laughter, "that girl simply believes every word you say."
Antonio answered, his sharp voice amused: "She desperately wants to be loved. A condition that turns her into her worst enemy for easily surrendering to guidance."
My stomach bunched; I leaned in closer, my hand slapping against the wood.
"Marriage to Elena guarantees her father's cooperation," Antonio continued. "And when I'm done with her, I'll move on. She's a placeholder. Nothing more."
The breath whooshed from my lungs like I'd taken a fist to the solar plexus. I took a backward step, not meaning to. My heel caught the edge of the rug, twisting my foot with it. That creak was enough.
Inside, the talking stopped.
"Elena," Antonio's voice as silky as it ever got and just as lethal, summoned, "come in."
I did. Like a fool, I stepped right into the lion's den. Those dark eyes that had once melted with their fierce intensity now regarded me cold and calculating.
"Is this a game to you?" My voice broke as my heart shattered to a thousand pieces. "Was any of it real?"
Antonio's smile didn't rise to his eyes. "Games are all there is in reality, Elena.
I turned to leave, but his hand shot out, iron-strong, closing around my wrist. His touch burned, both fire and ice, reminding me of everything I had once craved and everything I now feared.
"You're not walking away," he whispered, the warmth of his breath dancing against my ear. "You belong to me."
I felt his presence closing in, his shadow long and menacing against the flickering streetlights.
I had thought love could save me. I had been wrong.
A hand grasped my arm and I whirled, eyes burning with fury and fear
"Let me go!"
Antonio's hold grew harder, his grin a predator's smile. "Never!"
I brought up the gun, squeezed