INICIAR SESIÓNTIFFANY“O–of course,” I stuttered, reached for my purse, and tried to move past him. “I just wanted to wash my hands. I must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere—”“Have we met before?” He stepped across me, towering slightly over my slender figure.“W… what?”“You look familiar. Have we run into each other before?”Fuck. Not exactly.Shadow was one of two men the police were meant to arrest at the party where I was kidnapped. Zane was taken in his place.But according to the NYPD, Shadow was a fucking ghost.They had neither a description nor proper intel on him. Yet Mason somehow got an entire file.“I don’t think so,” I answered. “This is my first time in the city.”“Wow. That’s amazing. Dakota’s a really chill city once you get to know it.”“I’m sure it is.” I tried to move again.He blocked me off again.“Say, unless you’re in a rush, would you like me to be your guide for the night?”Say no. Say no. He’s your mission and this could go very, very—“Say yes,” Mason said through the
TIFFANYIt’d been so long since I felt the warmth of a classroom.The buzz of a lecture theatre right about now would do wonders for me.But I knew, in my predicament, that was impossible.I’d have to settle for the gentle whoosh from the air conditioner that gifted this room something other than the staleness that engulfed it.As it was for most of my lectures, I was early.Waiting at my table, playing with my pen, staring at the door to click open.And when it finally did, my “lecturer” tonight wasn’t a middle-aged professor with a smile that could light up a hundred rooms.It was Mason Sinclair, a trained assassin who probably couldn’t believe he was doing this right now.“You’re late.”“Shut up,” he groaned, eyes heavy with lethargy. “Pack up. Pick up whatever you need. We’re going on a trip.”“Excuse you?” I shifted in my seat, but he walked back out like he didn’t even hear the words.Tsk.I snatched my notebook off the table and rushed out of the room, only to be blocked by his
VANESSAThe comfort of my bed had hushed into a forgotten memory long before tonight.I’d been tossing and turning all night, trying to pull myself away from the clutches of discomfort.Impossible.My body jerked off the cotton, my skin plagued by beads of sweat and a tiring ache that hummed across my edges.I pulled myself up until I sat at the edge of my bed, feet dangling lightly over the dark wooden floorboards.Nightmare?Maybe.Definitely.Those torturous memories hadn’t let me taste the sweetness of a good night’s rest in what was starting to feel like forever.In the middle of my predicament, a soft glow caught my attention.My eyes took about half a second to adjust, but when I turned slightly to notice the study table… there he was.Max, slouched in front of my laptop… unconscious.His laboured breaths were too heavy to ignore, fatigue reeling off his aching body like it was his second skin.I didn’t even remember him going to sleep in my room.When did he come down here?I
TIFFANYI'd been asleep for two days.I couldn't remember much… other than the swarm of images that'd probably never leave my head.A bitter taste clung to the top of my tongue, spreading across my mouth in a warm, discomforting wave.I sat on the edge of my bed, trying to get a feeling of myself.My fingers.My feet.My eyes.My… growing suspicion that I'd been drugged.My muscles ached with an unnatural tension, but as tired as I was, this felt uneven. Suspicious.“Mason.” The name slipped down my tongue, my voice barely above a whisper.Yes. I remembered now.Mason Sinclair. Mia's brother. He's the one that brought me down here.Well, his henchwoman was.Was she the one that drugged me?I sat pondering, but no answer came after tossing the idea around in my mind.When I finally got a hold of myself, I slowly pulled my weight off the bed and got on my own two feet.Didn't stagger.Didn't collapse to the floor.Good.One cautious step in front of the other, I made it out of the comfo
BIANCAI stared at the screen, eyes accomodating to the artificial light a little faster than I'd like. Branded across the page was a firm, bold message. “Brian Callaghan: 12.9 Milllion Dollar Bounty.”Anger and irritation bubbled up my spine instantly. “Why are you showing me this?” I groaned, raising my head only slightly to meet his unperturbed gaze. My kidnapper had a plain expression on his face, even though a part of me felt like he was definitely enjoying this.“That's the highest bounty ever placed on a mercenary. Neat stuff, don't you think?”Oh, I was so ready to bite his fucking face off. “If you're looking for a reaction, you're not gonna get it.”“I think I already am, actually” he leaned back into his chair, enjoying the view of me chained still and wishing to spring out of this steel so I could slap him across the face. “Tell me” he said. “What's he like?”I didn't answer. I wasn't gonna answer. “Brian, that is” he repeated like I didn't hear the words before. “W
MIKA WAYNE (Theo's “Mission”)Word around?Theo's pissed. Apparently, him and some guy named Brian couldn't come to an agreement with some girl named Mia. It was all hearsay, of course, so I didn't know the full details. Didn't know the names Brian or Mia either. But I was fucking glad Theo was pissed. Served him right for refusing my help and thinking he could lock me up here like I was some prisoner. Fucking idiot.“Miss Mika—”“Don't talk to me, Bertrand” I laid face-flat on my bed, waving him away before I'd even heard him walk into my room. “That is your name right?” I turned. “Cause I know the whole father bullshit was a lie.”He replied with a curt nod and that annoying emotionless “butler” vibe he'd had for days now. “Mr. Theo has decided to lift your restrictions a bit. I know you've tried to escape this room multiple times, and I hate to be the one to tell you this… but you're horrible at it.”“What did you just say?” I sat up. “You still, however, won't be allowed o







