He's her enemy. Her obsession. And the only man who has the power to destroy her.
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My name is Frank Monroe, and I am the most dangerous woman in Chicago. Not because I kill, but because I make it legal. I'm the lawyer the Irish mob calls when...
"I don't like it, but my hands are tied. I just want you to know this: if I ever get the chance to betray you, I will. If the opportunity arises to pay you back, I'll take it. You'll never be able to trust me."
- Darren Shan
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I pulled out a small suitcase, stuffing it with what I needed for my trip to New York. Each item I folded felt like a betrayal.
Leaving Uncle Ben, still so new to the free world, was one thing. Leaving Noah for two whole days felt like leaving a piece of my own soul behind. Sawyer was capable, Papa was a phone call away, but the gnawing anxiety was a heavy thing in my chest. This felt wrong. Profoundly, fundamentally wrong.
I was halfway to calling the whole thing off, my hand hovering over my phone, when a soft knock echoed at the door.
"Frankie?" His voice, a gentle, familiar anchor in the storm of my thoughts.
I was on my feet in an instant, the tension in my shoulders easing just at the sound of him. "Hey, baby. Come in," I said, my voice soft.
Noah stepped inside, his eyes scanning the room and landing immediately on the burning cigarette I had forgotten in the ashtray on the windowsill. He walked over, pinched the ember between his fingers, and turned back to me.
"When's your flight?" he asked, his gaze searching mine, reading the worry I tried so hard to hide.
"Two hours," I said, watching him, my heart already leaning toward a decision. "But if you want me to stay, Noah, I will. I'll cancel it. It's not even a question."
"No, don't do that," he said, shaking his head with a gentle firmness. "I just... I wish you'd take Sawyer with you. For protection." He looked down at his hands, then back up at me, his expression so open and vulnerable it made my heart ache. "You know I worry about you."
The care in his voice, the pure, uncomplicated love behind that worry, was a physical force. It squeezed the air from my lungs.
I reached for his hand, lacing my fingers through his. "Baby, I'll be perfectly fine, I promise you. Sawyer needs to be here. With you. You and Uncle Ben are my priority. My only priority."
Noah's eyes shifted away from mine, focusing on a point somewhere over my shoulder. I knew that look. It was the look he got when he was about to voice a painful, deeply held truth. "I know you worry about me... more than anyone," he whispered, the words so quiet I had to lean in to hear them. "I'm your weak point, Frankie. And we both know... people break at their weakest points."
"Noah, stop—" I started, my voice thick with emotion.
But he continued, the words rushing out now. "I'm a burden to you. I know I am. I hate it. I wish I wasn't. I wish I could be different. Be helpful. Instead, I just... I hold you back." He gave a small, helpless shrug, still refusing to meet my eyes.
