Pain like a pounding drum flared through her head. Sarah struggled to open her eyes but she felt like she was swimming through a sea of blackness. She tried hard to crest the top but each time she got close she was sucked back under. She kept struggling, kept trying. Eventually she breached the surface.

One eyelid cracked open. The light pouring into the room through a large window assaulted her and she squeezed her eyes shut, preferring blackness over the painful pinpricks of sunshine.

She waited a minute for the fog in her head to clear and she tried again. She blinked, finding the light not so painful on the second try.

She realized she was on her side on a large bed. A pillow had been placed under her head. She blinked again, trying to figure out if she was in some dream or if this was real.

Then she remembered.

She was at a club. Those men had followed her to her car. She’d tried to get away. They’d grabbed her and put a rag over her mouth and that was it. They’d obviously kidnapped her and taken her somewhere.

She quickly glanced around the room but there was no one in sight. Her hands were tied behind her back. When she tried to flex her wrists, the rope cut in painfully. She stopped, gasping at both the pain in her wrists and the dagger that shot through her head when she tried to move an inch to take in her surroundings.

The pain finally cleared though her stomach rolled in protest. She realized the ceiling was high. It was strangely dome like and looked like it was thatched. She’d been to Mexico and stayed at a resort once. Wherever she was no kind of reminded her of that. The walls weren’t drywall. They were stucco or something strange and whitewashed. The floor was tiled with large red hued squares. The roof was what gave the place away as being tropical. That thatched roof didn’t belong on any house in Chicago. Her eyes flew to the one window in the room. She had to struggle to turn her head to see it. Her stomach revolted again and she nearly gagged at the lightning bolt of pain that seared her brain.

She knew she was right when just outside the window, the fronds of a palm tree danced happily in the breeze.

Sarah froze. Not only had someone kidnapped her, they’d taken her god knew where! She doubted she was even in the States any longer. She could be anywhere. She didn’t even know how long she’d been out.

Heavy footfalls outside the door alerted her that someone was coming. She shut her eyes, her first instinct telling her to pretend she was still out cold but she knew that wouldn’t work. Her breathing had changed tempo. Whoever had taken her was probably smart enough to notice. Better she just faced whatever was going to happen to her now instead of wondering, doubting and turning her mind inside out with fear and anxiety.

“Good to see you’re finally awake. My men said you put up one hell of a fight. If I didn’t know better I would almost be impressed.”

Sarah didn’t recognize the deep masculine voice but she did recognize the man’s face when he stepped into view. He walked around to the side of the bed she faced and perched on the edge. His features, which some might have called handsome, were as hard and cold as she was sure his soul was. They were set in a frightening scowl. He was dressed to match in a black t-shirt stretched tightly across his broad shoulders and powerful chest, black pants that looked like some combat uniform and a set of boots that could only be called intimidating. An aura of power suffused the air around him. Sarah could tell that he was a man who was used to having his orders obeyed.

“Cameron Spade. I should have known.” Of course. It all made sense now. To think Cameron wouldn’t retaliate after they’d taken those photos had been sheer folly, but they’d been desperate and desperation made people do stupid things.

“Sarah Redden.” His eyes swept over her form while she studied his face. She refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that his hard gaze sent a shiver racing up her spine. He was intimidating alright with those ice blue eyes and short cropped jet black hair. His entire face looked like it had been carved out of stone. It was all hard planes and angles from his high cheekbones and strong brow to his sharp jawline. Thick stubble darkened that jaw, but he looked like the kind of man who bore a perpetual shadow.

“Yes. So you know my name. Big deal,” she spat sarcastically. Her voice never wavered once though she tasted fear at the back of her throat. Cameron Spade was not a man one crossed lightly. The entire world seemed to understand that.

“And you know mine. That’s not the problem though is it? We both know you wouldn’t be here if the pathetic excuse for a human being that is your brother hadn’t fucked with my family. Your filthy animal brother not only put his hands on my sister, he took indecent photos of her in the guise of- I don’t know- caring. She should have known better but she’s a naïve girl. Perhaps I’ve protected her far too much for her own good. I know that the world can be hard but I’ve tried to shield her from the worst of it. I succeeded until she knew the name Trace Redden.”

“Is that why you’ve taken me?” Sarah swallowed hard. “To make me pay for those photos?”

He laughed but the sound was harsh and cynical. “Certainly not. No one is going to be paying for them at all. That’s the point. I took you because your brother demanded ten million dollars in exchange for the safe return of those pictures. Now I demand the pictures in exchange for your safe return.” He raised a dark brow mockingly. “Do you think you’re worth ten million dollars? To your brother, I mean.”

She choked on her angry retort. Her heart plummeted in her chest. Guilt and grief assailed her. “By taking me you’ve as good as signed my brother’s death certificate. Can you live with yourself knowing that?”

For an instant, an instant so fleeting she was almost not sure it happened, Sarah thought she saw a shadow pass over Cameron’s cold blue eyes. It vanished so quickly that she couldn’t be sure it was ever there at all. He shrugged, his scowl deepening.

“Why would I care about what trouble your brother is in? If he’s done something so dire to his own safety that he needs ten million dollars to dig himself out, it’s not my problem. He should have known better.”

Yes he should have. And so should I. A hard wave of guilt crashed over Sarah again. She tasted the bitterness of frustration and agony when she swallowed. “So I’m to be your prisoner then? Kept here, wherever here is, until my brother returns those photos? How does he even know that I’m safe or that you have me?”

Cameron’s smile was wicked, hard and cold. It turned Sarah’s blood to ice.

“I have everything taken care of. Once I am notified that your brother has returned those photos and any and all duplicates, you will be released. If I find out that he has not been honest and kept some digital copy… well… we all know what will happen then.” Cameron’s look was so wicked and cold it turned Sarah’s blood to ice. She knew then that every single story she’d ever heard about him was true. She didn’t doubt that he was as good as his word.

“Where am I? Where have you even taken me?”

“To my island. It’s private. And very, very remote. Quite tropical and pretty though, if you look at it from the right perspective.”

“What perspective is that?”

“Well, you’re free to do whatever you want here. Just don’t entertain any notions of escaping. The nearest bit of civilization is miles across the ocean. When I picked a vacation spot away from the world, I made sure it was truly away from the world.”

“So you’re not going to keep me gagged and bound this entire time?”

“Do you think me an animal?” Cameron shrugged mockingly. Sarah couldn’t decide if the question was rhetorical or not. Her captor’s icy eyes raked over her before flicking back towards her face. “Oh. Yes, I can see you do. Well, there must be an ounce of pity in my cold black heart. I’ll allow you to wonder the island as you see fit. There is food in the house here. Shelter. This bedroom is yours until your brother comes to his senses. You’re not a prisoner per say. You just have to remember, it wasn’t me who instigated this mess that you’re in.”

“No. Of course not. You never have anything to do with the more vile parts of life do you Cameron? You leave that for your goons.”

He shrugged again in that annoying, unruffled manner he had. “I suppose. Someone has to do it. Though in most cases, my hand was forced, just as in this instant.”

“You weren’t forced to do anything! You could easily afford the ten million my brother asked in exchange for those photos.”

“Of course I could, but what kind of example would that set? Every person in Chicago and even across the country would jump at a chance to force Cameron Spade to cough up some of his hard earned cash. I would appear weak and weak is something I am not.”

Sarah could tell by Cameron’s clenched teeth and tight jaw that he meant every single word he said. She actually pitied the poor bastards who crossed him. She would never have done so had life not necessitated it.

“So I have free run of this island. I can go wherever I want?” Sarah forced out.

“Suit yourself. The island isn’t large. You won’t find many places to go.”

“And if I should get the notion to try and swim to safety somewhere?”

Cameron’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “I wouldn’t be foolish enough to try. The ocean is unforgiving and unmerciful. You would die before you made it a mile and I can assure you, the nearest island is much, much further away than that.”

Sarah swallowed back an angry retort. She forced herself to remain as calm and unruffled as Cameron himself. “Don’t worry then,” she said evenly. “I can’t swim.”