Chapter 1
The night before I was supposed to meet my fiancé in Bayhaven, I checked into a hotel.
Just as I reached my room, a man slammed me against the hallway wall. The muzzle of a black handgun dug into my lower back.
"Want to live?"
Something about his voice felt familiar, but I was too terrified to think. My whole body shook.
Then he said, "My boss got drugged. He needs a woman."
I stared at him. "What?"
"An antidote. Is that too hard to understand?"
"No! I can't. I have a fiancé!"
He scoffed.
"Do you know who my boss is? Damian Hayes of Hayes Group. If you can hook up with Mr. Hayes, why would you need a fiancé?"
Tears streamed down my face, but I kept pleading, "Please, have some mercy. My fiancé and I love each other. We're about to get married. Maybe... take him to the hospital. Please!"
He couldn't care less about what I said.
"Too late."
He seized my jaw. The second my mouth opened, he shoved a pill between my lips.
I tried desperately to spit it out, but he clamped a hand over my mouth and forced me to swallow.
It kicked in almost immediately. My limbs went weak, and heat spread through my entire body.
His voice turned cold.
"Now you're drugged too, so be good and cooperate. If you keep fighting me, I'll strip you and dump you on the street."
I was terrified and humiliated. Tears poured down my cheeks, and I couldn't get a single word out.
He dragged me into the elevator, swiped a key card, and took me to the top floor.
The corridor was covered in thick carpet that swallowed every footstep. It was as silent as it was terrifying.
As soon as the door opened, he shoved me inside.
The room was dark, with the curtains drawn tight. Only a bedside lamp cast a small pool of light.
A man leaned against the headboard, his shirt slightly open, revealing his eight-pack. His face was unnaturally flushed, and sweat covered his forehead.
He opened his eyes and looked at me. His gaze was dark and fierce.
It really was Damian Hayes. I had seen his picture in the business news.
"This is insane!" His voice was so hoarse he seemed to wrench the words from his throat. "Who told you to do this? Take her back!"
His subordinate stood in the doorway without moving.
"Mr. Hayes, the drug is too strong. You won't make it through this on your own. Don't worry. She's clean. She's only got one fiancé. We can pay her afterward and send her on her way."
After a pause, he added, "Besides, she's been drugged too. She needs your help."
With that, he backed out and shut the door.
Before leaving, he called through it, "Be good and cooperate. Don't make this difficult."
Damian and I were left alone.
His chest was heaving. The tendons stood out on the hand gripping the sheets.
I wasn't doing any better. I could barely stand, and my back slid down the wall.
He looked at me as if he were fighting himself. In the end, his control snapped. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto the bed.
"I'm sorry. May I?"
His voice was impossibly rough. His throat worked before he asked, "What's your name?"
My mind had already gone hazy. I kissed him without thinking. "Maya."
The next second, something hard forced its way inside me.
