I wake with pain radiating in my shoulder. My throat feels bruised, and my head throbs with an unrelenting ache in my temples. Zip ties dig into the flesh of my ankles and wrists. They're so tight it feels like every move against them, no matter how small, cuts my skin.

My heart skips a beat, and I struggle not to open my eyes as I realize what’s happened. I’ve been taken. I register I’m not alone when I hear voices. I need to be still. I need to be quiet. I need to get the fuck out of here. I can't risk drawing unnecessary attention to myself until I can figure a way out of this.

“Who let him in, Ricky?” I recognize his voice immediately, the voice of the man with power. The dangerous man from earlier, the man in the suit, and right now he sounds pissed. The sound of his anger alone is enough to paralyze my body.

“It’s a mistake anyone could have made, Kade.” Ricky’s words are hard. The man in the suit might be in charge, but it's clear Ricky is as well.

“It’s a mistake that could have ruined me.”

“You never made more than a handful of contacts. He would've had nothing on you,” Ricky says dismissively.

“It’s unacceptable.” Kade’s words are sharp, and nearly make me jump. But I’m too scared to move. I have to remind myself to breathe as I begin to feel lightheaded.

“Well, we found out before anything got leaked,” Ricky grumbles.

“Are you sure?” Kade asks.

“We’re positive.” I gather my courage, and slowly open my eyes to find myself in a cramped and dirty office. It’s really small with drop ceiling tiles covered in dust and a flat wood laminate door.

Kade’s sharp blue eyes are narrowed and hard. He obviously doesn’t belong in this cramped, dirty office. There are cardboard boxes stacked in the corners, and a dirty old chair behind what looks to be an even older desk. Nothing in here is expensive. It’s cheap and filthy. The other men belong here. But the man in the suit doesn’t. He's as out of place as I am.

Two other men are seated in the far corner, while Kade and Ricky are standing in front of the desk to my left. Ricky leans against the cheap desk piled high with papers and folders, feigning a casual position. But the air is tense around the two men.

Ricky yells sharply at the men in the corner. It's something in Russian, definitely Russian. The only word I understand though is a name, Vic. The two men shake their heads, but only one replies. Of the two, he's taller and more built. His voice is deep, and he has a thick accent. After watching their exchange, I'm assuming he's Vic.

It’s obvious they’re obedient lap dogs. Now that I look at them more closely, I can see that both of the men in the corner are young. The short and pale one could be eighteen or younger. The other, Vic, is maybe in his early twenties. Vic looks deadly though. If you saw him walking down the street toward you, you’d run in the opposite direction. He looks like he’d love to take his anger out on someone. He probably does. He has a toothpick in the corner of his mouth, and he keeps looking at my body like he wants to be alone with me. Inwardly I shudder.

I need to get the fuck out of here.

Ricky responds to Vic with rapid-fire Russian, and somehow he seems even angrier than before. I don't want to make myself a target for that anger, but I can't help staring at Ricky during his tirade. His face is sunken in, and he has dark bags under his eyes. They don't look like the kind you get from lack of sleep though, more like the kind that come with age and alcohol.

Vic’s eyes bore into me. He ignores his boss and looks intently past both men at me. I can feel his hatred. Whatever happens, I cannot be left alone with him.

Kade and Ricky continue to argue and Kade takes a step forward, blocking Vic from my sight. I heave in a breath I didn’t know I was holding and try tugging uselessly on the zip ties binding my wrists. I wince as they bite into my skin.

It’s useless.

As the weight of my situation starts to suffocate me, I feel Kade's piercing stare. My body trembles, and I slowly move my eyes to meet his. Somehow I already knew they were on me.

I’m struck by his masculine beauty. To say he looks like a sex god and CEO wrapped into one would be an understatement. But there’s more. There’s an edge of danger that’s undeniable. His frame is domineering--tall, with broad shoulders and narrow hips. But it’s his expression that’s the most intimidating. My eyes sweep over him from his dark hair and piercing blue eyes, to his plush lips, slightly downturned with disapproval.

My eyes lift to meet his again, and I’m entrapped. As much as I want to look away, I'm forced to stare back.

My shoulders hunch inward with fear, and I feel like I can't breathe. It’s as though he’s choking me.

“And what of her?” Kade asks with his eyes still firmly on me. “His partner?” My eyes widen and I try to shake my head to deny it, but I can’t. I’m paralyzed.

“No, just a dumb bitch,” Ricky says scornfully. Kade whips his head around to face him. Kade takes a step forward and the two men cower slightly, shifting in their seats. Vic attempts to right himself, but it’s obvious he feels threatened. Ricky stands his ground, but I swear I see a flash of fear cross his eyes.

“Tell me you did a background check on her?” He speaks slowly, and with menace dripping from his voice. “'Just a dumb bitch' isn’t good enough.”

Ricky keeps his gaze on Kade and gestures behind him toward the two men in the corner. The younger one looks to Vic with worry evident on his pallid face. Vic starts to respond in his heavily-accented English, “It’s in--”

“Fucking get it!” Ricky snaps, causing the younger lackey to jump up and scurry from the room. Vic doesn’t move, but he averts his eyes from Ricky and stares fixedly at the door where the other man went through.

Ricky's sallow skin turns red with anger as his veins swell in his neck. As explosive as his anger is, Kade's the one that scares me more. I don't think Ricky would appreciate the comparison though.

“Doesn’t matter who she is.” Ricky looks at me with a crooked smile exposing his yellowed teeth. “We’re sending her with you.” He looks back at Kade with a wicked glint in his eyes.

If he's trying to get a rise out of Kade with that comment, it's not happening. I look to Kade to gauge his reaction, and he's completely expressionless. It's clear he's utterly disinterested.

My body shakes harder, and I open my mouth to speak. “I--” “I--” I try to speak, but my throat is so dry. It croaks, and I stutter. I shake my head. My blood seems to boil, and my breath falls short. Heat overwhelms me.

“You- you- you- what?!” Ricky yells, and I instinctively jolt back. I scoot backward on my ass, my hands awkwardly and painfully dragging on the dirty linoleum floor until I feel my back against the wall. A sharp pain shoots through my shoulders and ankles. I can barely move with the zip ties holding me hostage. My heart beats chaotically, and it’s only then that I realize I’m crying.

“She’s not even trained,” Kade sneers. I don't know what he means by that, but for some reason his disapproval of me hurts. My chest aches, and my face falls with sadness. Please, please don’t leave me here with them.

His anger may scare me, but I feel as though I’d be safer with Kade.

“That’s for you to do. You’re supposed to be an expert in this field, yet we’ve never seen your work,” Ricky says as he leans against the desk once again and crosses his arms. Kade shoots him one arrogant, icy look before he speaks.

“For a good fucking reason. If I'd worked with Barrow like you pushed me to, I would've been fucked.”

“Well you weren’t,” Ricky says as he dares to take a step forward, closer to Kade. Kade doesn’t budge. “And now I’m not feeling very trusting of anyone.”

Kade tilts his head and cocks a small but threatening grin. “You expect me to accept her, train her and show her off to you? When for all I know, she’s a fucking cop!” Kade’s shoulders lean forward with the last words.

Ricky’s eyes turn cold and it's clear he's not shy about his hatred for Kade. “She’s not a cop. We have her license and paperwork done. I’m sure of it.” I want to speak; I want to plead with them to let me go. But I’m frozen with fear, my eyes darting between the two of them. “She goes with you, or she gets shipped off.”

I break into a cold sweat, and I have to force myself to keep breathing when I hear what Ricky says. That option can’t happen. I don’t want to get shipped off, because whatever the fuck that means, it’s not good. It can’t be good. “If you don’t take her, you can take another. I don’t give a fuck, but it’s time we see what you can do.”

Kade turns away from Ricky and looks at me for a moment before walking forward. I've still got my back up against the wall. My arms and wrists ache from being held behind me with zip ties. I can feel a trickle of blood from the plastic cutting into my skin.

My skirt has ridden up and my pale thighs are exposed. With my ankles bound, I’m trapped.

He crouches in front of me and seems to inspect every inch of me. He licks his lips as his eyes travel down my body. His masculine smell fills my lungs.

“Please,” I beg in a whisper. “I won’t tell anyone.”

Ricky smiles wickedly at my words. He moves to the door as the man from earlier finally comes back. He hands a yellow folder to Ricky. “That’s what they all say.” He mimics my voice and mockingly says, “I won’t tell a soul.” Ricky, Vic, and the pale toady laugh, and all hope leaves me as hot tears fall down my cheeks.

Kade doesn't laugh, instead he continues to watch me. I lick my dry lips and try to wipe away my tears by brushing my face against my shoulder. I want to plead with him to take me away from them, but when I look up at him, there’s no sympathy there. Only hard and cold blue eyes seemingly made of ice. My head falls to my chest, and I wish I could disappear.

“So, what will it be?” Ricky asks, drawing Kade’s attention from me. He rises and walks away from me and I find myself trying to crawl toward him. I can’t stay here. Not with Vic looking at me like a predator and the threat of being shipped off.

Kade grabs the folder from Ricky and opens it. I don’t know what’s in there, but whatever he’s looking for, I hope he finds it. I watch as his eyes travel down the page and then the next. Suddenly, he looks back at me with an expression of dissatisfaction.

“You’re on birth control?” he asks.

My cheeks flame. I swallow the spiked lump in my throat and try to verbalize an answer, but I can’t, so I nod my head.

They must have my school records. I just went to the gyno on campus a few months ago, after I decided to give myself to Daniel. I went with the shot because it seemed easier than having to remember to take a pill every damn day. I almost didn’t get the last injection since we broke up, but I went and got it since I’d scheduled the appointment.

He shuts the folder and shoves it against Vic's chest.

He looks at Ricky and then back at me. I can’t read his expression. I don’t know what he’s going to do or say, so I do the only thing I can do at this point. I wait with bated breath.

“After today, I could use a distraction.” Kade turns back to Ricky and nods once as he says, “I’ll take her. And then you give me what I want.”

Ricky’s lips pull into a wide smile and he says, “Deal.”