Chapter 4

Eli woke to sunlight.

For one disorienting moment, he thought the entire nightmare had been just that a nightmare. But the ache in his wrists, the soreness in his shoulders, and the faint bruises blooming across his skin told a different story. He bolted upright in the massive bed, heart hammering, eyes darting wildly around the room.

This wasn’t his apartment. This wasn’t anywhere he recognized.

The bedroom was enormous and obscenely luxurious. Floor-to-ceiling windows dominated one wall, revealing a breathtaking view of the city skyline glittering under the morning sun. The bed beneath him was king-sized, draped in black silk sheets that felt sinfully soft against his bare skin. He was still wearing his torn hoodie and jeans from the night before, but someone had removed his socks and cleaned the blood from his face and hands.

Cove.

The name sent a fresh spike of adrenaline through Eli’s veins. Memories from the darkness crashed over him the blindfold coming off, those storm-gray eyes, the terrifying touches in the pitch black, that final possessive whisper against his neck.

*You’re mine now.*

Eli’s stomach twisted. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood on shaky feet. The marble floor was cool beneath his soles. No zip ties. No blindfold. But freedom? That was an illusion.

He moved quickly to the windows first. Pressing his palms against the thick glass, he looked down. Way down. The penthouse had to be at least forty stories high. The street below looked like a child’s playsetbtiny cars and specks of people. Jumping was suicide. Breaking the glass seemed impossible; it felt reinforced, bulletproof even.

“Fuck,” he whispered, breath fogging the glass.

He turned and scanned the rest of the room. A sleek modern dresser. A walk-in closet partially open, revealing rows of dark clothing that definitely didn’t belong to him. A luxurious en-suite bathroom visible through an open doornblack marble, rainfall shower, deep soaking tub. Everything screamed money and control.

Eli’s gaze landed on the bedroom door.

He rushed toward it, bare feet silent on the floor. His hand closed around the ornate handle and pushed down.

Locked.

Of course it was locked.

He rattled it harder, then slammed his shoulder against the heavy wood. Pain flared through his already bruised body, but the door didn’t budge. It was solid, reinforced probably designed to withstand a lot more than one desperate hacker’s weight.

“Goddammit!” He kicked the door, then immediately regretted it as pain shot up his leg.

Breathing hard, Eli stepped back and assessed his options. There had to be something. A vent. A hidden panel. Anything. He started tearing through the room methodically yanking open drawers (empty except for silk ties and a few mysterious black boxes), checking under the bed, running his hands along the walls for seams or weaknesses.

Nothing.

Every camera he spotted in the corners of the room small, discreet, but unmistakable seemed to mock him. He was being watched. Right now. Cove was probably somewhere in this fortress, sipping expensive coffee while enjoying the show.

Eli moved to the windows again, this time looking for any kind of latch or mechanism. Sealed shut. Tempered glass. Even if he could break one, the drop would kill him instantly.

He was trapped. A bird in a gilded cage forty stories above the city.

Panic began to creep in again, mixing with the ever-present fear of the dark that still lingered in his bones from last night. He slid down the wall beside the window, pulling his knees to his chest. His mind raced through escape scenarios hacking the security if he could get to a computer, signaling for help somehow, waiting for a moment when Cove slipped up.

But deep down, a colder voice whispered the truth: Cove Voss didn’t slip up.

Eli didn’t know how long he sat there. Minutes? An hour? Time felt distorted in this place. Eventually, he forced himself back to his feet. He couldn’t just sit and wait like a good little prisoner. He had to keep moving. Keep thinking.

He returned to the door and started pounding on it with his fists.

“Hey! Let me out of here, you psychotic bastard!” he shouted. “You can’t keep me locked up forever!”

No response.

He pounded harder, until his knuckles ached. “Marco will come for me, and when he does”

The lie tasted bitter on his tongue. Marco had handed him over. His own brother had thrown him to the wolves without hesitation. Eli swallowed the surge of betrayal and kept shouting.

“I’ll burn this place down! I’ll ”

The sound of a lock clicking froze him mid-sentence.

Eli stumbled backward as the door swung open silently.

Cove Voss stepped inside carrying a silver breakfast tray like he was entering a five-star hotel suite instead of his captive’s prison. He looked devastatingly composed in a fresh black dress shirt and tailored trousers, raven hair perfectly styled, storm-gray eyes calm and assessing. The morning light did dangerous things to his sharp features making him look almost inhumanly beautiful.

Eli’s mouth went dry.

Cove’s gaze swept over him slowly taking in his disheveled state, the way he was breathing hard, the redness on his knuckles from pounding the door. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Trying to escape already?” Cove’s voice was smooth, low, and far too amused. “How predictable.”

Eli squared his shoulders, refusing to shrink back. “What the hell do you expect? You kidnapped me.”

Cove walked further into the room and set the tray down on a sleek black table near the windows. The smell of fresh coffee, buttered toast, eggs, and bacon wafted toward Eli, making his stomach betray him with a loud growl. He hadn’t eaten since before the warehouse incident yesterday.

Cove noticed, of course. He always noticed.

“Sit,” Cove commanded, gesturing to the chair.

“I’m not your dog.”

Cove’s eyes darkened. “No. You’re something far more interesting.” He pulled the chair out anyway and fixed Eli with an unyielding stare. “But you will eat. And you will listen.”

Eli hesitated, every instinct screaming at him to fight. But his body was exhausted, hungry, and still recovering from the night’s ordeal. Slowly, warily, he moved to the table and sat. Cove remained standing, towering over him, radiating that same dangerous calm from the night before.

Cove poured a cup of black coffee and slid it across the table, then took the seat opposite Eli. He watched as Eli reluctantly picked up a piece of toast.

“New rules, Eli,” Cove began, voice steady and authoritative. “Pay attention. Your life depends on it.”

Eli’s grip tightened on the toast but he didn’t interrupt.

“First: You do not leave this penthouse without my permission. The doors, windows, and elevators are all secured with biometric locks keyed to me. Attempting to breach them triggers silent alarms and… consequences.”

Eli swallowed hard.

“Second: You will address me properly when spoken to. Defiance has its place it entertains me but there are limits. Push too far and you’ll find yourself back in the dark for much longer than last night.”

A shiver ran down Eli’s spine at the reminder.

“Third: You belong to me. Your body is mine. Your time is mine. Your skills” Cove’s eyes gleamed, “ “especially those talented hacking fingers of yours, are mine. You will work for me when I require it.”

Eli’s jaw clenched. “And if I refuse?”

Cove leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. The movement made the fabric of his shirt pull tight across his broad shoulders.

“Then I’ll make sure you learn exactly what real darkness feels like,” he said softly. “No lights. No sound. Just you and me… for days.”

Eli’s breath caught.

Cove reached across the table and brushed a thumb across Eli’s lower lip, wiping away a crumb with shocking gentleness that somehow felt more threatening than violence.

“Eat your breakfast, Eli,” Cove mu

rmured, eyes locked on his. “You’re going to need your strength. Because these rules? They’re only the beginning.”