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I'm haunted by the ghost of Alessa's presence, even though she's never been here in this apartment. Hell, she'd be shocked if she could see it, so far removed from her rarified upbringing. But I can't help remembering the blaze in her eyes when she told me about the network she'd developed to save victims of the Mancini Family's human trafficking. She was like a storm gathering force. Her passion was always so startling in contrast to her elegant control—both regarding her work, and, well. And in bed.
And on the sofa. And up against the wall…
God, I need to stop thinking about that. But I miss the challenge of her, too, the way she forced me to question preconceived notions and look beyond the surface. She made everything feel alive, vibrant, painted in technicolor instead of black and white. With her, I felt like somethingmore. Not Special Agent Miller, not even billionaire heiress Natalie Moreau, but justme.
The real me.
I imagine her here beside me, her riot of dark curls spread across the pillow, full lips curved in that secretive smile. My fingers trace the empty sheets, craving the silk of her skin. Heat burns low and insistent inside me as I remember the taste of her mouth, the sounds I drew from her with my hands and tongue.
The uninhibited joy she took in her own pleasure.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to force the memories away. But they remain, sweet and scalding, a bittersweet caress in the darkness. A reminder of all I've lost.
The shrill ring of my cell phone pierces the nights. I contemplate not answering it. Only the team has this number, and after the dramatic takedown of Alessa, any calls will mean more gloating—or it's Sam Wright, calling to blast me for walking off on him tonight.
He took me tonight to see her arrest. A surprise, he called it. Like it was supposed to be areward.
But Sam Wright makes me uneasy. He's my longtime colleague and was my handler on this case, but lately he's been leaving me feeling…unsettled. I know he cares about me, but his behavior has seemed almost possessive at times. Proprietary. He took an almost unprofessional satisfaction in Alessa's downfall, warning me away from her, as if she had somehow sullied me.
The phone continues to drill into the silence. I pick it up to find that my suspicions were correct: it's Sam Wright. With a resigned exhale, I accept the call.
"It's Miller."
Sam's voice comes through, terse and urgent. "She made bail, Nat. Alessa de Luca's been released."
Everything narrows down to those words. Alessa. Released.
Alessa and all that fury she's balled up inside her towardme.
Released…
My breath stalls in my chest. Will Alessa hunt me down, seeking revenge for what I did to her? Exposing her illicit empire, leading to her arrest and very public takedown…
God, that scene at the benefit gala flashes through my mind once again. Alessa dressed in her signature red, every inch the influential socialite, handcuffed and led away in front of New York's elite.
The shock on her face morphing to cold rage when she saw me.
I shudder, pulling the bedsheets up around myself. The fallout from that kind of public humiliation will be explosive. Cutting, especially for a woman who prides herself on invulnerability. I may not have planned the arrest, not even have been told about it until Wright sprung it on me, but that won't matter to Alessa. In her eyes, I am the enemy.
And it's true. What I did to her, she'll see as an unforgivable betrayal.
What will she do to me in revenge?
"Miller, did you hear me?" Sam prompts, jolting me from my spiraling thoughts. "They couldn't justify denying bail, but her family must've paid a fortune to get her out."
"I know how it works," I say faintly. Of course Johnny de Luca, Alessa's father and one of the most powerful Mancini Family members in the city, would have the means to buy her freedom.
He would move heaven and earth for his princess.
Including burying anyone who crosses her. So it's not only Alessa I need to be worried about. Johnny the Gentleman is a ruthless killer—and then there's her cousin, Juno Bianchi, a Mob Boss of her own Family, who wouldn't hesitate to put me down…
I suppress a shudder as Wright continues, oblivious to my rising panic. "I figured you should know, given your…connection to her." There's a definite note of hostility there. "We'll need to take precautions, of course…"
His voice fades to a drone as my mind fixes back on Alessa. She's out there right now, free to act. Every instinct screams that I'm in danger, that I need to run.
But where can I possibly go that she couldn't find me?
"Natalie?" Sam prompts more gently. "You still there?"
