◇ MYKAELA ◇ A little after nine o'clock. Okay. Not too late. No more rush hour traffic. We'd be there in less than an hour. I glanced down at the duffel bag sitting beside me. It hid overnight clothes, some toiletries, my laptop, tablet, and some books I should read through over the weekend. I simply could not afford to fail that post-training assessment. The bag in the trunk wasn't for me, though. It contained a dozen curtains for Enzo's house. My apology and excuse to see him. All brand new, too. I leaned forward and scrunched up my nose at the strong, musky aftershave scent all over the interior. I blamed the guy sitting in front of me. "Lele." "Miss?" "You sure your boss just got home?" I sat up straight. I placed my hand on the back of the driver seat where Marco sat. Gabriele budged and stopped chewing his gum to regard me. "Yup. 'Bout two hours ago." So Enzo went out for dinner? Alone? "Where was he?" "Downtown." But where exactly? "D'you know who met up with him?" "Ju

◇ MYKAELA ◇ "Sorry." I held in a sigh. The disappointed look in Lorenzio's eyes just made me wish I could disappear into thin air. "I can't this week." "Why not?" "The training. We have another assessment. I need to pass it," I explained. The thought of him introducing me to his best friend and his family as his new girlfriend living under his roof also didn't sit well with me. "Alright," Enzo muttered with a slight nod before looking away. My heart protested at the thought of leaving this place first thing, and I didn't want to discourage him further. But I just couldn't back out of that training. And I doubted we'd only spend a day in Rome if I said yes to his invitation. "Next time. Okay?" "Yeah. Alright." He nodded weakly, staring at my lips. The dismay in his deep voice was starting to chip at my resolve. I turned to the door. Before I could walk out, he blocked the doorway with his arm and leg, forcing me to turn around and look him in the eye again. "But you want to? Rig

◇ MYKAELA ◇ "Your team heard of the newest outbreak?" "We discussed it last week." Sweaty and panting somewhat, Lorenzio stared at me as he approached the dining table which I'd been using as my study desk. "Remember that five-hour meeting with Graham and the board?" I nodded. "Yeah." Graham, being Zione Bio's chief scientist, headed their team of medical and pharmaceutical researchers currently based here in New York. "The infected patients exhibit flu-like symptoms. The hospitalized ones, definitely." Standing to my right, Enzo squinted at the books splayed open on his dark solid marble dining table. "Graham and Dr. Chen went over the most recent anecdotal reports. The Board got curious enough when Graham emailed them about it." "Jeez. It's a strange one." I drew in a long breath as I updated the list of TBR medical journals on my tablet. "Seems highly transmissible," I muttered. Like some of my clinical professors, I'd been worrying about the most recent public health issue t

◆ LORENZIO ◆ "So, to be clear, it's not just a BDSM thing?" Hurting people like that? Physically injuring another person and drinking their blood? If it was just some stupid kink, I'd rather not ask why she agreed to participate in such acts. I had an inkling Maximiliano eagerly talked her into it years ago. "No. No. It's not like that." Mykaela covered her eyes and shook her head, the grin on her lips forced. "It's really not about that." "Ah. I see," I muttered as I sat next to her, both of us hunched over on my couch. I had been keeping my reactions of pure shock and doubtful interjections to a minimum, just trying my best to listen and digest her every word, my sleep-deprived head struggling to comprehend it all. It didn't help that she'd go off on a tangent every ten seconds or so, too quick for my foggy brain to keep up. It wasn't an overdose of caffeine, though. Mykaela rarely used coffee as an energy drink. Or was this her idea of a sick joke? Quite an elaborate prank. I'd

◆ MAXIMILIANO ◆ Lying bitch. Of course she knew him. She knew the Tomassinis and she lied. Fucking lied to my face. I'd rather not know the actual number of times she deceived me. Probably way more than twice. Must be part of her job. I wouldn't be surprised if she also lied to me about that night we met. "Nicolas was Leandro and Ignazio's guy in Rome. One of their most trusted washers." With Alessio standing beside me, Dominico casually explained some of the Sonnenbergs' involvement in his father's clandestine deals before Dominico walked out the glass doors with his bodyguards. The guy wouldn't bullshit me. Why would he? Lying about meeting Adreana and her ex wouldn't benefit him in any way. Apparently Dominico met her in Rome. Back when she was still living with Joachim. And she lived with the prick for a year or so. Because she thought they would get married eventually? Maybe. Either Leandro or Dominico's piece of shit father paid Adreana to spy on me. Or was it just Mamma o