“Hadley, are you ready to go?”

At first, it’s difficult for me to distinguish where the question is coming from. It’s like all the feeling in my body, all the strength, has been sapped. My lifeblood, the electrical currents that bounce through my limbs, carrying on a conversation with my brain, it all seems dampened. Softened. Muted, even. I want to turn my head and find the source of the voice calling out to me. The tone is so familiar. So urgent, but with an eerie singsong quality that puts me on edge.

Someone is calling my name. And slowly I realize that the voice isn’t inside my head. It’s out there somewhere in the blackness, reaching like a ghostly, pale arm from the shadows. Extending to me. Asking for me. Trying to pull me along.

“Come on. We don’t have much time. Follow me,” urges the voice. It’s a female voice, one I recognize. She’s got a slight tremble to her words. I can vaguely summon up an image of her face on the projection screen of my mind. She’s there. Her face, looming smooth and clear as a full moon, but with sad eyes and a downturned mouth.

She’s worried for me. Deep down, I know how odd that is. Because normally, I would be the one worried about her. She’s holding out a hand. I can feel the warmth radiating off of her body even though she’s out of reach, out of sight. Like my eyes just won’t focus. It’s all refracted light, bowing and shining and folding in on itself. It takes all my willpower to figure out how to part my lips. My body is slow to carry out the demands of my brain. But it does. It works. Air swells in my vocal cords like the pumping of some great pipe and I manage a word.

“How?”

It’s the most direct question I can cough out.

She hesitates. I feel her blinking at me. I think she’s annoyed with me. I wasn’t supposed to question it. I was supposed to do what she told me. It’s not anger so much as exasperation, though.

“There isn’t time. Hadley, are you coming or not?” she asks.

“I’m trying, Vanessa,” I respond in a mumble. “It’s hard to get away.”

“That’s only because somebody has you trapped,” she admonishes me, shaking her head so that her glossy hair tosses from side to side. “He’s got you caught here.”

“He would never hurt me,” I protest. My voice is barely a whisper.

“Maybe not on purpose,” she says pointedly. “But the longer you wait, the harder it will be to disentangle yourself. You sent me away. Do the same with yourself.”

“It’s not so simple, Vanessa,” I tell her, with a hint of pleading.

Vanessa tilts her head, light shining dimly where her facial features should be.

“You have to choose,” she tells me, and finally her face begins to emerge from the fog of double vision and blurry shadow. Vanessa is wearing an expression of concern. She looks beautiful and healthy, but cold, even as I sense her heat. She’s alive. But there’s something missing. Maybe she isn’t real.

Well, yeah, she’s not real, I think to myself with a burst of sudden clarity, you’re having a dream. None of this is real. And yet… you still have to answer her.

“Make sure you choose the right path. Both will be dangerous but one will walk you straight off a cliff,” Vanessa chides me. She folds her arms over her chest, regarding me with more pity than fury. Somehow, that’s worse, though. I can’t abide pity.

“I can handle myself,” I assert defiantly. She raises one perfectly-arched brow.

“Ego will get you nowhere,” she says. “Meet me when you get free.”

“Where are you going?” I ask, my heart sinking as Vanessa’s shimmery figure slowly turns to walk away from me toward the engulfing darkness.

She doesn’t reply. I try to step after her, but my body is locked again. I can’t move. I can only stand here helplessly as Vanessa disappears. And when she’s gone, I feel a powerful fear begin to surge through my body. Goosebumps raise up on my skin. There’s a sensation of icy cold water dripping down my spine.

It’s totally quiet now except for the quickening thump of my heart. And in between the beats is another rhythm. Soft, sure footsteps behind me. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I’m not alone here anymore.

Scarcely able to breathe, I close my eyes and try to turn and face whoever or whatever is coming up behind me, but I can’t. I can’t move. I’m frozen here, listening helplessly as the approaching creature’s breathing gets louder and closer. Almost ragged. Animalistic.

I feel a puff of hot breath on the back of my neck and suddenly all the feeling comes pouring back into my body. I let out a scream of terror and start thrashing around, confused and horrified, fearing for my life.

“Help!” I gasp, the pillowcase under my cheek sticky with saliva. The word is a soft, fervent whisper—just loud enough to wake myself up out of a dream.

I lie there with my eyes wide for a few moments, just letting my chest heave with painful heartbeats. There’s a faint glow of sunlight peeking out around the rectangular edges of the blackout curtain hanging over the window. It’s mostly dark in the bedroom, but those edges lend just enough light for me to look around and find my bearings. It all comes back to me. Slowly.

I am in an apartment. A secret apartment. One belonging to none other than the violent, dangerous man who was slated to kill my boss. I’m with him now. It’s his breath I can feel ticklish and hot on the back of my neck. His hand resting on my hip as he breathes in and out calmly.

We slept together...again. What kind of a reckless fool am I turning into? What is it he has over me? What power is he using to keep me around even though I know perfectly well that he is nothing but trouble. I turn ever so slightly to look back at him over my bare shoulder. That impossibly handsome face looks stoic and thoughtful even in sleep. I wonder what he dreams about. Surely he has the same fucked-up, seemingly prophetic dreams that I have. Anyone who lives such a high-risk lifestyle must dream about dark things. Right?

Unless he’s some kind of sociopath who doesn’t feel the same way I do. Maybe all of this mess, the casinos, the hunt, the thrill, maybe it’s all just nothing to him. Maybe he sleeps easy at night because he doesn’t have the same lingering doubts and regrets I do. Sure, I know how to make myself cold. I know how to play the game. I can be aloof. But I still have feelings. I still have emotions that guide and trap me from time to time. I still have morals. Does Dominick feel that way, too? Is he still human? Or is he empty inside? Maybe he really is the monster from my dream.

But that’s a lot to assume, especially of a man as unreadable and enigmatic as Dom.

He is still asleep, even though I’m awake. I’m pleased to see that my little outburst wasn’t enough to disturb him. Right now, I need him to keep sleeping. I need him to be oblivious while I crawl out of bed and go looking around.

If there’s one thing I have learned in all my years in my very niche industry, it’s the value of a good reconnaissance mission. Know thy friends. And know thy enemy even better.

Inch by inch, using up every scrap of patience I can cobble together, I begin to slide out from underneath Dom’s arm. His hand slips down my hip to the bed with a gentle thud and I wince, grimacing as I wait for the inevitable sounds of him waking up. But it doesn’t happen. He’s still asleep. Apparently, he’s a much heavier sleeper than I would have guessed. I manage to scoot out from under the sheets, shivering as my bare skin meets the cool air.

I glance around, squinting in the low light for my clothes. Then I remember that we fucked out in the living room. My clothes are probably still there, wherever he tossed them in the heat of the moment. I blush to myself a little, surprised at how sheepish and bashful I feel about the whole thing. It’s uncharacteristic for me to feel that way. After all, it’s just sex, right? It’s not a crime.

I tiptoe across the bedroom, thankful to see that the door is ajar so I don’t have to risk waking Dom up with the creaky doorknob or something. I simply push the door a little more open and slip through, padding down the hallway stark naked, eyes sharp and on the hunt for clues of any kind. Something, anything, to tell me more about the real intentions and motivations of the man I just slept with. I find my panties and a clean, folded, oversized T-shirt draped over a chair. I put them on, just so that I don’t have to be totally exposed while I snoop around Dominic’s apartment. I walk into the kitchen and find the usual suspects: wine, whiskey, canned goods, the bare minimum level of cookery and utensils. I can tell he’s not much of a chef. But a guy like him… he can afford to eat whatever he wants, wherever he wants.

There’s a small television set hanging over the kitchen bar counter. I walk over and flick it on, hurriedly turning down the volume to low as I search for a news station. Finally, I find one and stand back to listen as a local news anchor gives an explanation. There’s a glint in her eyes that tells me instantly, before she even speaks, that this is a juicy story.

Especially because she’s standing out front of the casino I last worked in, and there are ribbons of glossy police tape behind her, cordoning off a crime scene. I bite my lip, feeling my stomach twist with anxiety.

“The unidentified body of a man has been discovered in an alleyway, just outside the walls of a well-known casino. The police have given no comments, and the victim’s identity has not been released. We will do our best to keep the public notified every step of the way. You can count on me,” the reporter declares firmly.

“Shit,” I murmur, my hand flying forward to turn off the set. The screen goes black and I stand there staring at my dark reflection in the glass, my chest heaving visibly as my heart pounds. God. What is going on?

The body of a man. Outside the casino.

I’m no idiot. I can put two and two together. I just can’t believe I was ever stupid enough to believe his cockamamie dodging of my questions. I just let him lie to me. I let Dominick twist and bend me around. I let him into my world. I don’t do that for just anybody. I live a solitary life and it’s supposed to stay that way, and yet, I let him in.

And now look what’s happened. I knew it. I knew he killed Carl.

I can’t believe I trusted him.

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep tears from burning in my eyes as I storm out of the kitchen. I walk into the living room and start rifling through Dominic’s stuff. I pull books off the shelves. I toss blankets and pillows on the floor. I move the couches to look under them on the floor. I roll up the fancy Persian rug. I check all the hidden spaces behind the television, inside the drawers, inside the vents. I don’t even know what I’m looking for specifically. I’m just searching. Maybe for a reason. Maybe for something to tell me I’m wrong.

I move down the hallway to the guest bathroom and step inside, my hands shaking as I go through every item on the counter, in the shower, under the sink. And it’s there, hiding behind a roll of toilet paper, wrapped up in more toilet paper, that I find the smoking gun in the form of a set of brass knuckles.

Brass knuckles covered in blood.

“Fuck,” I murmur to myself, shaking my head as I kneel on the bathroom tile. There it sits, gleaming and slick with blood. Almost glowing, like some mystical force has guided me to find it. This is proof. Evidence that Dominick has not been as honest with me as he should have been. Proof that he’s the bad guy. That he went against my wishes.

The body in the alley. The bloody knuckles.

“Damn it, Dominick,” I hiss through gritted teeth. I’ve got to get out of here.

“What the hell are you doing?” comes a deep, annoyed voice from off to my right. I’m so startled that I gasp and fall backward onto my ass, my eyes widening as they fall on the tall, hulking figure in the doorway.

Dom.

I frantically scoot backwards until my back is pressed against the cold, white porcelain of the bathtub. I stare up at him with what I hope is defiance but which probably looks more like terror. And Dominick looks pissed. Betrayed, almost. He’s standing over me in nothing but a pair of boxers that hug his thighs and do very little to disguise the massive cock between his legs. I gulp hard.

“Are you snooping?” he asks, glaring down at me.

I shrug. “No.”

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Don’t lie to me, Hadley,” he murmurs.

I scoff. “Me? Lie to you? Wow, that’s rich.”

“Come on. What are you talking about?” he asks.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Dominick! Jesus, I’m not an idiot. Yeah, it was stupid to ever believe you in the first place, but now—”

“But now, what? What, Hadley? What do you think your little Sherlock Holmes moment is telling you? What do you think you know?” he demands, somehow holding back even as his hands curl into fists.

“There was a dead body found in the alley outside of the casino. You’re really going to try and tell me that has nothing to do with you? Seriously?” I snarl at him.

“You know, one of these days somebody is going to have to teach you how to mind your own business,” Dominick snaps. “That would be a great lesson for you to learn.”

“Don’t you talk down to me like that,” I snip, hastily getting to my feet. I’m realizing, though, how difficult it is to feel intimidating while dressed in only my panties and Dom’s shirt. Still, I have to stand my ground.

“Wait, so you really think I have something to do with some body found in an alleyway? Really? Hadley, you know I’m not that sloppy. If I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn’t leave his corpse out there in full view for the world to see. I may not be the innocent, law-abiding citizen you wish I was, but I’m a consummate professional. I keep my work clean,” he says.

I raise an eyebrow and snort. “Yeah. Emphasis on ‘consummate.’”

A flicker of something like a smile plays across his lips. “Don’t tell me you have regrets about last night,” Dom growls. “You enjoyed yourself.”

“Maybe. But I shouldn’t have. I should never have trusted a guy like you. I can’t believe a single word that comes out of your mouth,” I reply, trying to sound as icy as possible.

But he’s stepping closer to me now. I can’t be cold. Not when his heat is warming my body from head to toe. His closeness makes my breath hitch in my throat. He looks at me with hunger. With an almost predatory desire. I feel small in front of him. Dominick peers down at me, his chest bare, the muscles tensing.

“Do you want to fight or do you want to fuck?” he asks in a low voice.

My heart skips a beat. I can feel myself getting wet already, and I’m angry at myself for that. I hate that he has such a hold over me. It’s like he alone carries the remote control that handles my body.

“I can’t trust you,” I whisper as he leans in close. His hand cups my cheek and I shiver.

“Why not?” Dom asks in a gravelly tone. “And why does it matter?”

“Surely you can understand why I’m a little tense here, Dom,” I groan, rolling my eyes even as he traces my bottom lip with his thumb.

“Mhm,” he mumbles. “Tell me.”

“Well, there’s a dead man outside the casino where I work. Vanessa was just literally kidnapped and I have no idea if I actually saved her life or sent her straight to the gallows. I’m up to my ears in some fucked-up mafia entanglement, and I just fucked the man who could be orchestrating the whole damn thing,” I ramble, getting it all out in one rushed breath. “Oh, and my boss just sold me to the mafia for who knows what purpose.”

Dom smiles wryly.

“Hmm. That does sound stressful. Let me take your mind off of it. Let me show you that you can trust me, Hadley. Let me show you,” he hisses as he leans in.

I hold my breath as his lips brush against mine, softly at first, then with more urgency. I can’t help but moan as his tongue presses into my mouth. His hands slide down my face, one of them slipping down between my legs to stroke me through the dampening fabric of my panties while his other hand presses lightly at my throat. My eyes widen as he pulls back, playing with my clit and sending spirals of pleasure through my body. His fingers press around my throat, toying with my breaths. A spike of fear goes through me as I realize the power and control he has on me... but it just turns me on even more.

He reaches across the bathroom counter to grab what looks like a clean sweatband for working out. It’s elastic with cloth over it, and when he starts to bind both of my wrists with it I inhale sharply, panting.

“Don’t worry,” he says gruffly. “I’ll prove that you can trust me.”

And with that, he scoops me up and carries me out of the bathroom. Hoisting me over his shoulder, he carries me down the hallway and into the bedroom, closing the door with his foot. He sets me down and walks me backward imperiously until my spine is against one of the bedposts. Without a word, I let him lift my arms and bind my wrists to the post. I’m breathing hard, watching him slip off his boxers so that his enormous cock springs free, hard as diamond.

I am helpless, unable to make a move while his hands grope my breasts through the cotton t-shirt, toying with my nipples until I’m moaning and writhing against the bedpost. Dominick grabs hold of the t-shirt fabric and easily rips it open, making me gasp with surprise. He grins fiendishly and dives in to kiss and suck my nipples, his hands grabbing and fondling my breasts. I roll my hips, gasping and whimpering. One of his hands slides down under the waistband of my panties, tugging them down to bare my dripping cunny. He slips two fingers inside me, pumping hard while his other hand presses at the sides of my throat.

“Please. Fuck me,” I murmur between gasps of pleasure.

“Do you trust me?” he asks darkly.

“I... I...”

At my hesitation, his hand tenses around my throat, the webbing pressing into me. It doesn’t cut off my breath, or my voice. It’s just... power. Completely controlled and contained power.

I swallow and his hand trails down over my collarbones, between my breasts, his touch forceful and moving with intent.

“I didn’t hear you, Hadley,” he chastises me, the fingers inside my pussy pausing as his dark eyes catch mine. “I could do anything I want to you right now.”

“Yes,” I whimper, desire filling my throat.

“You want that?”

“So bad,” I whimper, all the intense feelings of fear and desire mingling together to bring my erotic needs to a height I’ve never felt before. I’m practically trembling with lust, and already on the brink of orgasm. I grind against his fingers but he doesn’t give in to my temptation.

“Do you trust me?”

I whimper, but I don’t stop the truth from rolling over my lust filled tongue.

“Yes.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he growls, hastily pressing the engorged head of his shaft at my slick hole. I tense up as he shoves himself inside of me. I groan and close my eyes, letting my head fall back against the cold, hard bedpost as he fucks me, his hand still playing with my breaths at my throat.

Dominick doesn’t go easy on me.

His hard cock slides in and out of my pussy fast and hard while he grips my throat, making me hold my breath for a few seconds, then loosening his grip to let me gasp. Every time, I get ever so slightly dizzy, and the pleasure ricocheting through my body is increased tenfold. I writhe and whimper and beg him for more, my words incoherent and stumbling into each other. All I know is that I’ve given up all control. Dom is the one in charge now. He is the one who decides what my body will feel.

And what I feel is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced before.

He pumps into me harder and harder, his fingertips toying with my breath until finally I’m hurtling toward climax. I gasp, feeling my face burn bright pink and my whole body tingle as he hoists my leg up over his hip, his cock spearing into me even deeper than before. At just that same moment, he gives my throat a quick squeeze.

And it’s all over for me.

The most powerful, dizzying orgasm of my entire life shudders through me and I shake violently, going limp in Dominick’s powerful arms. He cradles me easily, like I weigh nothing at all, while he fucks me through the waves of bliss. Just as I’m about to whimper for mercy, Dominick clutches me tight and I feel him come inside me, spurting hot seed deep within my slick pussy. We stand there pressed together and panting for a few moments, his hand sliding down from my throat. I gasp for a deep breath, but all I feel is exhilaration rather than fear. My eyes are locked with his as we breathe hard, trembling slightly as we come down together.

“Now, do you trust me?” Dominick asks softly.

I bite my lip, preparing to answer him. But just before I can say anything, I hear my phone go off on the nightstand. Dom and I look toward the phone, then back at each other. He hurriedly unbinds my sore wrists and I rush over on shaking legs to grab my phone.

“What is it?” Dominick demands.

I look over at him slowly. “It’s a message… from my boss.”

He stares at me hard, an expression of mild smugness on his face. I guess this means he didn’t kill my boss after all. Jesus.

“You mean your boss you thought I killed?” Dominick points out.

I roll my eyes and sigh. “Yes. That boss. Can you let it go?”

“Sure. Sure. Yeah. But can you?” he asks sagely.

“I’m going to have to,” I tell him, grimacing. “Because according to my boss, I have a game to play tonight.”