the screen. The shift in his demeanor was instantaneous. The cold disdain

pe

o every threat, picked it up clearly. It was her security detail. "Sir, there's a situ

piercing the fragile hope that had begu

a was a siren call he could never ignore. A

ack to Carolyn, his voice dropping lower,

closet, his movements sharp, efficient, and utterly devoid of any consid

ged into an icy lake. She threw back the covers and her bare feet hit

ady shrugging on a crisp, white dress shirt, his fingers working

t. She stood in the doorway, her hands grippi

n of a second on a button before resumi

e of blood filled her mouth. She surged forward, her ha

is gaze dropped to their joined hands, then

y of all emotion. He could have been speaking to

r head back, forcing herself to meet his impatient

movement too fast to track, he twisted his hand, his fingers wrapping aroun

her shoulders hit the cold, hard wall. He leaned in, his face inches from her

. He wouldn't believe her. In her past life, she had screamed, cried, and

the man who held her family's fate and her own life in

ed her hand, her body going limp against the wall. Sh

He froze, his hand still locked around her

re whisper, so quiet it was almost carried away by the air. "Do you really thin

. His grip on her wrist tightened for a painful second before he

ep back, his chest risi

worth a single st

he closet, out of the bedroom. She heard the front door of the penthouse open, then clo

ithout a momen

his world. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears back. Crying was useless.

hed him further into Eugenia's arms. She had to work from the

the bedroom. Specifically, on the single locked drawer. The drawer she had refused t

ld the contract th