Chapter 17 – Heart To Heart

• Suddenly, quite suddenly, it’s all too much.
• I burst into tears, burying my face in my hands again, sobs shaking my shoulders as I blubber against my palms. I start to cry so hard that I can’t even catch my breath, and then I panic because I know these tough mafia guys are looking at me like I’m an idiot. But honestly, I can’t even care – because Christian is asking me whether or not I want to save Steven’s life, the man who tried to sell me into sex work, who is the whole reason I’m being held captive for my own protection…
• Some part of me hears Christian saying something to Nico and Frankie, telling them to make themselves scarce for a moment while he has a word with me. But the majority of me is so focused on my disaster of a life that I jump when I feel a soft blanket settling around me.