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“Don’t be so sure of yourself Kill the old et it over with I want Maeve on the defensive”

With that, she killed the connection

I sighed and stood, tossing lass with decent wine and took a long sip It was thick and dark red, like fresh arterial blood I s war my limbs

Erin always left a bad taste ina little alcohol couldn’t fix

I stalked to theand looked out over the city Ros interspersed with lass and steel abo with history This city was built on bodies, death and suffering, and the foundations were littered with bones—quite literally, the tunnels beneath Rome were dotted with burial niches and piles of hu poetic about a city that sat atop its own dead, constantly laying itself above them, on and on into the future

When I was a child, ht me here He showed me the fountains, named all the historical monuments, and made sure I understood what the Romans cared for

Blood and honor, boy Blood and honor Like our family

He was a miserable old piece of shit He was sixty when I was born, seventy by the time he took me to Rome

Seventy-five when I strangled him in the basement of our house

A knock at the door between my room and Penny’s made me look back I hesitated, but went and opened it

Penny gave me a look that made my heart skip a beat

She was a path in the htness brought breath to my lips

She had her fae and intense, Penny was soft and flowing She had pink, full lips, thick hair pulled back in a h cheekbones, and curves that made my chest seize and stutter Back on the island, I made her hite bikinis, because she looked almost naked

“What can I do for you so late, little treasure?”

She grimaced She hated pet names too