Alex:
The cuffs were cold against my wrists. Cold and heavy, biting into my skin every time Luke tugged me forward.
I should’ve been furious. I should’ve been thinking about optics—about the wide eyes in Marco’s Pizza, about the whispers following us out the door. The Syndicate didn’t like attention, and Luke had just painted me with a neon target.
But all I could focus on was him.
His hand wrapped around my bound wrists, big and unyielding, guiding me through the night like I was his property. His broad shoulders moved with that easy, predatory confidence that made everyone else shrink back, but me? It made my pulse hammer. Made something hot coil low in my stomach.
“Luke—” I hissed, keeping my voice low as we neared his patrol car. “This is insane. You’re not dragging me into the st
