Chapter 4:A Weapon Claimed:"You're a weapon, little one. Beautifully crafted, perfectly balanced, absolutely lethal. But right now you're pointed in the wrong direction." He moved to a bar cart and poured himself whiskey from a crystal decanter. "I'm going to teach you to aim where I want you to.""And if I don't want to learn?""Then we go back downstairs and use the other classroom." His voice stayed calm, conversational, like they were discussing the weather. "But I don't think it will come to that. You're too intelligent to choose pain when pleasure is available."He set his glass down and moved toward her. She backed up until she hit the wall, cornered again. He placed his hands on either side of her head, caging her in."Tell me something," he said, his voice dropping low and intimate. "When you were on that rooftop, finger on the trigger, what did you feel?""Nothing. That's the whole point of being professional.""Liar." His thumb traced her lower lip, and she hated how her
Chapter 3:Lessons In Power:Raven woke up to soft knocking on the door. Her body was still on high alert, muscles coiled and ready to fight, but there was nowhere to run. The lock clicked open and Helen appeared with a breakfast tray."Good morning, dear. Mr. Kane thought you might be hungry."The smell hit Raven first. Fresh coffee, warm bread, something that made her stomach clench with hunger. She hadn't eaten much at dinner, too busy cataloging escape routes and weapons."He also left these for you." Helen set a small stack of books on the nightstand. "He thought you might be bored."After she left, Raven examined the books. Sun Tzu's Art of War. A biography of some ancient Roman general. Military strategy guides. All about warfare, tactics, the psychology of combat.He was studying her. Learning what she was.She dressed in the clothes he'd provided - dark jeans that fit like they were made for her and a soft sweater. Everything was perfect. Everything was a reminder that he con
Chapter 2:The Cage:Raven woke up warm.That was the first shock. She'd been cold and wet on that rooftop for six hours, and now she was lying on something soft, warm and expensive. On a bed with an expensive silk sheets against her skin.The second shock was that she wasn't dead.Her hands flew to check her body, cataloging damage and missing pieces. Still wearing her black cargo pants and tank top, but her boots were gone. Her jacket. Her knife belt. All seven of her weapons, from the Glock tucked against her ribs to the ceramic blade sewn into her waistband. Of course.They'd been thorough. Professional.The room was obscene in its luxury. King-sized bed with a dark wood frame that looked hand-carved. Polished concrete floors softened by thick Persian rugs that probably had their own insurance policies. One entire wall was floor-to-ceiling glass, showing the city spread out below like a carpet of diamonds.This was his building. Vincent Kane's penthouse.Raven was in the lair of t
Book 5: Lethal Daddy Intro: When assassin Raven Torres was hired to eliminate billionaire Vincent Kane, she expected it to be just another job. She never expected him to be waiting for her. Chapter 1: The Hunt: The rain turned the city into a watercolor painting, all smeared lights and blurred edges. Raven Torres crouched on the rooftop of the Meridian Building, her rifle assembled and ready, raindrops beading on her black leather jacket like cain. Through her scope, she could see him. Vincent Kane stood in his penthouse office across the street, completely still in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Forty-five years old according to his file, but he carried himself like a man who'd never lost a fight. He was holding a crystal tumbler filled with something amber. Whiskey, probably. Rich men always drank whiskey when they thought they were about to die. Except he didn't look like a man expecting death. He looked relaxed and inspired control. Raven's client had paid
Chapter 8His Girl"Yes, I'm happy. You take care of me, you protect me, you make all the difficult decisions so I don't have to worry about them." Emma moved closer to him. "Why are you asking me this?""Because I need to know that you're here by choice, not just because you feel you have no other options.""I am here by choice."Alexander was quiet for a long moment, still studying her face. "Emma, I need to ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest with me.""Okay.""Do you think I do this with all my female students?"Emma's breath caught. The question she'd been afraid to ask, the doubt that had crept into her mind during quiet often."I don't know," she said quietly. "Do you?""What do you think?""I think..." Emma paused, choosing her words carefully. "I think you're very good at reading people. At knowing what they need and how to provide it. I think you saw that I was desperate and vulnerable, and you offered me exactly what I craved most."Alexander nodded sl
Chapter 7 Marked As His: Six months later, Emma stood in the university's main auditorium, looking out at an audience of faculty, graduate students, and research professionals. Her hands were steady as she clicked to her final slide, concluding the presentation of her research findings. "In conclusion," she said, her voice clear and confident, "the integration of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy with narrative exposure techniques shows significant improvement in long-term recovery outcomes for abuse survivors. The data suggests that this combined approach could revolutionize how we treat complex PTSD." The applause was enthusiastic. Emma could see Alexander in the front row, his expression proud and satisfied. Several faculty members were nodding approvingly, and she spotted representatives from three major research foundations taking notes. "Thank you for your attention," Emma said. "I'll now take questions." Hands shot up around the room. For the next thirty minutes