The dress that Vali had picked out, or Elena had, was a gorgeous, midnight blue satin thing with straps that left my entire back exposed and a sweeping train dropping from the full skirt. It was an incredible fit for me, which made me suspect it wasn't one of Elena's hand me downs, as she was a fair bit shorter than I was.

Unfortunately, despite hunting just about everywhere, I couldn't find any underwear left out for me, so once again I was going commando. In normal situations, it wouldn't be such a big deal, but after the dream I had just had, and the state I had been left in, I really prayed this fabric wouldn't show any damp spots.

With impeccable timing, just as I slipped my feet into the matching midnight blue Jimmy Choos, also in my exact size, Vali reentered the room without any warning. Rude.

“Don't you ever knock?” My eyes narrowed at him in a scowl. My frustration, like so many other emotions, liked to manifest as peevishness.

“To enter my own bedroom? No. I don't.” He arched his eyebrow at me, and I glanced around me once again. That explains all the men's clothes.

“Fair enough,” I muttered, stalking out of the door, which he held open in a gentlemanly gesture. “So, what are we supposed to be doing until this escape happens?”

“Quiet,” he shushed me sharply. “There are far too many unfriendly ears in my home tonight. Here, you'll need this.” He held out a scrap of lace to me, and I took it gingerly.

“What…” Is it the missing underwear? “Oh, a mask. This is a masquerade party?” He just rolled his eyes at me, as if to say: no shit, Sherlock, I just handed you a mask.

Taking the hint to shut up, I tied the mask onto my face. As we approached the staircase, Vali pulled another cloth mask from his suit pocket and tied it onto his own face.

Damn that man was sexy.

“Just try your best to be the perfect party companion, yes?” he muttered, steering me down the staircase with a firm hand on my exposed lower back. Heat seemed to be radiating up from where our skin was touching, and I had to stop myself from leaning closer. God only knew what had gotten into me lately, but lusting after a murderer didn't seem like the sanest move I had ever made.

I cleared my throat and took a few quicker steps to dislodge his hand from my back. “And what do you expect your perfect party companion to do, exactly? What time is it anyway? It's still light outside.”

As we descended the staircase to the ground floor, I took a look around at the party below. It looked like no expense had been spared, which was in line with the rest of Vali's opulent house. When I had made my escape attempt out of the window earlier, all I had seen was his bedroom and the library he’d dragged me back into. On the opposite side of the house from his room, the side away from the cliff, it was a literal sprawling mansion like you'd see on MTV's Cribs.

The party was situated through a marble-floored lounge area and out onto a patio surrounding an outdoor heated pool, and the late afternoon sun was casting a beautiful, golden glow over everything.

“It’s about… four thirty or so. Sun is about to set.” The warmth in his voice had me glancing up, and I found him gazing at the horizon. “I love this time of day. It looks like the whole world is on fire.”

Once again, the strange feeling of familiarity struck me, stronger now that he wore a mask and his eyes were being isolated.

“Come on,” he said, breaking the train of thought I was chasing. “We need to drink, dance, be social. Please try to speak as little as possible, and you'll be home to Wes before you know it.” He twitched a tiny grin at me, and I blushed red, suddenly thankful for the mask I was wearing.

Cannot believe he walked in on that. Despite my embarrassment, the reminder made my thighs clench and my nipples harden against the thin fabric of my dress.

A sharply dressed waiter holding a tray of full champagne flutes floated over to us, and Vali reached across me to grab two. It was no coincidence, I was sure, that his jacketed arm brushed across my chest where the fabric was noticeably raised. Bastard.

After hours of smiling politely and biting my lip to keep quiet—around the time midnight was approaching—my feet felt like they were about to fall off and I was just a little bit tipsy. More than once I had used the drink in my hand as a tactic to keep from running my mouth at some of the disgusting, sexist, and downright rude things that some of these men had said to me. It hadn’t taken long to figure out that these partygoers were not the most upstanding citizens of society.

Luckily my body seemed to be metabolizing the alcohol at lightening pace, so even after seven straight hours of champagne top-offs, I still had my wits about me.

“Are you ready?” Vali murmured into my ear as the DJ called over the mic for everyone to grab a fresh drink. His lips brushed against my lobe, his warm breath fanning across my neck, and I knew my skin was breaking out in gooseflesh.

“Of course. Let’s get the hell out of this place. Such a dump.” I turned my nose up jokingly at his lovely mansion, and he snickered. He had been a surprisingly pleasant date all evening.

“Let's move then.” He winked at me with one of his gorgeously familiar eyes and grabbed my hand, leading me through the crowded dance floor of drunk people dripping in jewels.

All of a sudden he stopped, and I stumbled. My momentum in the stiletto heels pushed me forward, and he caught me against his broad chest.

“What—” I gasped, but he cut my confused question off, grabbing the back of my head with one massive hand and crushing his mouth to mine. I froze. My eyes wide and staring straight into his, which were equally wide. His other hand gave me a sharp, subtle pinch on the waist, and I got the message. Someone was watching us that required a show of the submissive little slave he had just purchased.

My eyelids dropped closed because kissing someone with my eyes open was just downright creepy, and I felt his hand smooth over the spot he had just pinched, then continue around to my back and down to grab my ass like some sort of caveman staking his claim. My natural instinct was to slap him, but I forced myself to relax as I wound my arms around his neck. I couldn’t resist giving him a subtle warning by sinking my fingernails a bit deep into the soft flesh behind his ear.

He laughed against my mouth, the bastard, then used his lips to pry mine apart, deepening our kiss to something definitely no longer fit for public. Despite my best efforts to remain detached, my body was responding. Dampness slicked my thighs, and a girly moan escaped my throat as he dominated me.

Time seemed to slip away as we embraced, but we both broke apart suddenly when the midnight countdown began. Everyone around us yelled out the numbers with the DJ, and Vali quickly glanced over my shoulder, then grabbed my hand once more and took off out of the room at a pace just short of running.

“Sorry,” he muttered once we were clear of the partygoers. “My esteemed father was watching us. I didn't want to raise his suspicions. He already thinks I am a failure as a crime lord; the last thing I need is him finding out I helped you escape when there is seven million dollars resting on your head.”

“Fair enough,” I panted, breathless and not sure if it was from practically running in high heels or from his kiss, because holy wow.

“Here,” he announced after tugging me down who knew how many different corridors and a short narrow staircase. “Your helper will be here any second to get you out. I have to go back to the party so that no one suspects I had anything to do with this. I don't need that extra kind of scrutiny on me at the moment.”

“Understood. Thank you… for um, you know. Saving me.” My gratitude was awkward because while he had definitely saved me from Mr. Grey's clutches, twice now, he was also a murdering criminal who, from what I had learned tonight, was involved in everything from drugs to prostitution to money laundering.

“I doubt this is the last time I'll be seeing you, dragă.” He looked across the underground car park behind me and tipped his head to someone. “Your friend is here. Good luck.” He dropped a very gentlemanly kiss on my hand, then took off back the way we had come.

“Kit, let's move! We're late!” A familiar voice echoed across the concrete garage to me, and I grinned.

“Jonathan?” I hurried over to where he stood with one other man who was clearly an Omega Agent. “How the hell? What?”

“I will explain on the way home, the best I can. Right now, we need to get going while everyone is moderately distracted. Dragomir only allowed me to bring one agent with me, so we are still severely outgunned.” The stern look on his face let me know that he was a lot more concerned than he was letting on.

“Got it.” I nodded. “Let's move.”

He led the way down the garage, past millions of dollars worth of luxury cars, and towards the official-looking black SUV at the end, which I assumed was our escape vehicle.

My heels clicked on the concrete, echoing ominously, and I very suddenly got an uneasy feeling in my gut.

“Jonathan,” I murmured, stopping in my tracks as my hands broke out in a sweat. “Something's wrong. Something bad is about to happen.”

My foster father turned to look at me with a deep frown creasing his brows while the agent accompanying him snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Seriously? We don't have time to pander to your daughter's feminine nervousness, sir,” the man said, turning away from us again and continuing towards the car.

He didn't even make it three steps before his body jolted and dropped to the ground like a sack of garbage. Red blood splattered the ground around him, and a thick puddle of it began pooling from under his body.

My gaze darted frantically around for the best place to get cover, but we were totally exposed in the middle of the garage. What was worse, we were surrounded. Lethal looking men stepped out from their hiding places behind cars, guns pointed directly at Jonathan and me as they approached carefully.

Shit. I knew this had been too easy.

A slow clap echoed across the silent room, accompanied by the sound of men's dress shoes clicking over the hard ground.

“Guess you were right, hey Foxy Girl? Something bad is definitely about to happen,” Mr. Grey leered, a demented grin spread across his face as he stepped into the light.

No one spoke. The only movement in the room was the pooling blood beneath the dead Omega Agent.

“I knew you'd try and pull a stunt like this,” the disgusting old man continued. “You've proven time and time again over the years how slippery you can be, and after you escaped me at the Onyx Auction, I decided to come prepared. And early.” He smirked at me, the victory written all over his face.

Quickly, Kit. What are your options here?

Jonathan would be packing; he was the head of a spy company, for goodness sake. The issue was that no less than seventeen heavily armed mercenaries surrounded us. If we were getting out of this mess, I was going to need to make the first move, and fast.

Sizing up each of the armed men, I considered my best target while Mr. Grey kept on with his glory speech.

“Yes, I see you have noticed how well prepared I came this time. You won't be escaping me again, Foxy Girl. Oh no. You're mine now until I am finished with you, and then you'll be dead.” He cackled like an escaped mental patient, and I blocked out his vile words. This wasn't the time or place to surrender to my fears. I was stronger than that now.

Target selected, I gave Jonathan a small head tilt, just enough warning to let him know I was up to something, before moving. I needed to trust that he could hold his own, as worrying for his safety would only get both of us killed.

I dove left, pushing my full speed into my leap and swinging my fist into the man's face. His nose burst in an explosion of blood and cartilage while I relieved him of his weapon. When my body hit the ground, completing my leap, the gun in my hands was already firing.

My first instinct had been to shoot Mr. Grey, but Austin's dickhead voice rattled through my brain, reminding me to take out the biggest threats first. In this case, it was the armed mercenaries. I could take down Mr. Grey once they had been dealt with, and I could take my sweet ass time with it too. That thought spurred me on, and I popped off round after round of bullets from my procured weapon.

Ducking behind an ostentatious, bright yellow Lamborghini, I darted a quick look around to check where Jonathan had ended up. To my relief, he also had a weapon in his hand and was crouched diagonally opposite me behind a lime green Ferrari. I raised my eyebrows at him in a silent question, and he nodded back sharply. He was okay.

A round of automatic gun fire hitting the car I was hiding behind had me pulling my head back in and ducking low as the glass from the shattered windows rained down on me. The assault on the car continued, and I quickly rolled underneath it, then slithered my way over to the next car. Compared to the heavyset men, I was probably the only one small enough to fit under the low sports cars, so they wouldn't even think to check them.

“Don't be fucking stupid, girl!” Mr. Grey bellowed from his hiding place. “You are way outnumbered; you'll never leave this garage alive!”

“Good,” I snapped, popping up from my new location and dispatching two more of his goons with clean shots to their heads. I had barely seen the second fall when a weight like a freight truck hit me from the side, throwing me behind another car and landing on top of me with a pained groan.

“What the fuck?” I hissed, not wanting to draw attention to my location but also trying to push the dead weight off me. I was too vulnerable trapped like that. Too defenseless.

“Get off!” Heaving with all my strength, I pushed the solidly built, six-foot-four man off me.

“Do you fucking mind?” he hissed back at me. “I just took a goddamn bullet for you, and this is the thanks I get?”

I paused, squinting my eyes at him. The spot we had ended up in between two huge black Hummers was in shadows, but there was no mistaking the pair of granite gray eyes scowling back at me.

“Vali?” My voice came out in a startled squeak. “What the hell? I thought you went back to the party. What do you mean you took a bullet for me?” I was trying to keep my voice down, but the tension was making it difficult.

“Call me crazy, but I knew you were in trouble again,” he muttered. “And I meant exactly what I just said. There was a man about to shoot you when you weren't looking.” His face held a tight, pinched expression and was quickly draining of color.

Kneeling, I glanced around to make sure we were sufficiently blocked from view. Trying to be as gentle as I could under the circumstances, I yanked his suit jacket off, also pulling my silly lace mask off to give me better visibility.

“Shit.” I breathed, seeing the huge amount of red staining my hands. Carefully, I rolled him over so I could see his back and the entry wound, and sucked in a shocked gasp.

How was he still conscious?

“Vali…” I started, then lost the words. It looked like the bullet had caught him just below his shoulder blade and most likely pierced his lung. Right on cue, his breathing gave a wet, rattling noise and the blood on his back bubbled.

A sharp burst of gunfire started up again on the other side of the garage, and I was reassured to hear Jonathan still putting up a fight. The soft scuff of a shoe on polished concrete alerted me to someone sneaking up, just in enough time to whirl around and face them, gun at the ready.

“Oh dear, what has happened here?” Mr. Grey tsked with heavy sarcasm. He was pointing a small, silver handgun at me while I held my semi-automatic trained on him.

“You stupid old fuck,” I sneered at him. “You should have known I would rather go down in a storm of blood and bullets than ever be at your mercy again.”

His grin slipped just a little as he peered at my face, for the first time getting a close look at my eyes and hopefully reading the hatred and determination there. I wanted him dead, and I no longer carried the same respect for life that had kept him alive this long. After all I had seen in the past few months, all I had done and all I had learned, my prior reluctance to end a life was in the trash. I hoped he saw all of that in my expression.

He cleared his throat as though nervous, and the barrel of his gun quivered the tiniest bit. “Well, it seems we are at an impasse. My men have your companion busy, and I have a gun pointed at you.”

“As I do you,” I pointed out.

“Yes, but you have a choice to make. You can shoot me and I can shoot you, blah blah all of that. Or you can let me leave and stand a chance of helping your friend there.” As if on cue, a wet rattling groan came from Vali's half-dead body on the ground behind me.

Shit.

I wanted Mr. Grey dead. I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything. But I couldn't just let Vali die. He had helped me, and despite my casual disregard for life in circumstances such as this, when guns were pointed at my head, I couldn't in good conscience let Vali die just to further my own vendetta.

“Leave,” I growled at Mr. Grey through clenched teeth. “But watch your back, old man. I'm coming for you.”

“As I am for you, Foxy.” He winked, then took off towards his waiting car, keeping his pistol trained on me until he was safely inside.

The screeching tires of his car peeling out of the garage filled my ears as I dropped my gun and collapsed to my knees beside Vali's motionless form.

“Shit,” Jonathan swore, jogging over to us and seeing the mess that was the Romanian's back.

“Jonathan, get help,” I begged, fluttering my hands over the wound, unsure what to do. Jonathan carefully grabbed my hand, placing it over a folded wad of Vali's ruined suit jacket and pressing it over the gaping wound.

“Press down,” he murmured. “It will slow the blood flow, but Kit…”

“Stop it; I don't want to hear it,” I snapped. “Just get help. He can't die because of me.” I heard Jonathan heave a sigh and stand up, but I wasn't paying him any more attention as my vision clouded over with tears.

“Please don't die,” I whispered, hunching over til my lips were against Vali's ear. “I don't know why I feel like this around you, but I just know you can't die. Please, please, please, just hang on. We are getting help.”

Tears ran rivers down my face, dripping onto his skin, but he didn't move a muscle.