Danielle leaned back in her office chair. The leather creaked as she closed her eyes and yawned. The Bowman property had been a nightmare from the initial proposal onward. But, it was the best possible location. If the new legal strategy didn't work, she'd have to throw in the towel and let Justin know it was time to cut their losses. She wasn't ready to put up the white flag just yet, however.

The cleaning crew had come and gone. The building was quiet. Danielle should've gone home hours ago, but Justin's apartment was so big she tended to wander aimlessly at night. She glanced at her schedule for tomorrow, or rather today. Two meetings—both in the late afternoon. She sent a quick interoffice memo to her administrative assistant to let her know she wouldn't be in until her three o'clock meeting. It was almost time for the city to start waking up. She'd go back to her apartment, grab a shower, some food, and a little bit of sleep. No doubt all three would go a long way to clear up her mind for whatever tomorrow brought.

She gathered her coat, purse, and briefcase while her computer shut down. Two more days until Justin came home. He hadn't called today, but he’d told her he might not be able to. She understood. Business was business, but it still left a little hole where longing and self-pity grew. She loved him, but they hadn't reached the point where they'd declared that to each other. She kept the words tamped down because she didn't want to terrify Justin into running away. Hi, we were friends, now we're lovers and oh, by the way, I'm in love with you. As in, I love you in a desperate, obsessive kind of way that makes me crazy when you aren't here and makes me long for your touch. Yeah, if she was Justin, she'd be running away from that kind of crazy. They were still new, but their past made it seem like they'd had been together so much longer.

Tired and brain dead from the day and night's worth of work, she let her mind float around Justin on the way down to the lobby and gave a quick nod to the security guard who was unfortunate enough to pull the midnight shift. He nodded in return and watched her leave. The city was remarkably quiet at this time of the morning. She extended her hand and watched a cab parked down the street turn on his fare light and head her way. A sharp, cold wind cut through the wool dress and coat she wore. The cab pulled up, and she got in.

"West 87th and Central Park, please."

The cabbie grunted something in response. His jacket collar was pulled up and it shielded most of his face. Probably protection from the cold although the cab seemed warm enough. For once, Danielle didn't pull out her phone. She'd gone through every email before she'd left the office. The only distraction in the vehicle was the meter mounted at the front of the cab. The cabbie turned heading east. "Excuse me, I said West 87th."

"City always works on the sewers this time of morning. They had all the holes open. I'm taking you around it. Won't charge you any more than the short route."

Dani narrowed her eyes and glanced at the road signs for several minutes. No, they were going way out of the way. She palmed her phone.

"Take it easy, miss."

Dani snapped her head up. The cabbies voice sounded like he was talking into a tin can. He held a mask over his face and pushed down the top of an aerosol spray. Her eyes watered, and she choked on a horribly sweet smell. Her phone slipped from fingers that were suddenly numb. Her eyes went from her hands to the man driving. He wore a mask over his mouth and nose, but she'd seen him before, in Perth and in Tasmania...and outside her father's building. Dani blinked back the fog that consumed her and watched as he picked up her phone and threw it out the window. "Go to sleep. If you're lucky, your father will deal. If you're not? Well, you're a little too old for the slave trade, but someone might find you attractive enough to keep around. I know they would if they saw the performance you put on at that vacant building a couple weeks back. Your man gave it to you good. I'll give him that much."

Danielle's mind spun out of control. She reached toward the man. "Don't. Please." Her speech slurred and sounded slow even to her ears.

"Ha, too much money not to, and I'm really tired of following you around. Thought we were going to be able to get the information in other ways, but best-laid plans and all that rot. You understand, don't you? Nothing personal. We just need to give him a reason to comply."

Danielle blinked at the man as her vision tunneled. Her hand dropped into the melted snow on the floor of the cab. It was a sharp contrast to the warm fuzz that surrounded her. Her body tipped following the path of her arm. Down. God, no. She fought to breathe deeply, to get her lungs to expand and her body to move.

"Ah, see, there you go. Go to sleep. If your father cooperates maybe they'll actually let you wake up." The man's laugh chased her down the spiraling darkness.