LOGINA heavy, metallic clack sounded loud in the quiet car.I slowly opened my eyes. He had pulled a heavy black handgun from a shoulder holster hidden under his jacket. But he didn't point the barrel at me. He casually checked the metal magazine, snapped it loudly back into place, and slid the weapon sm
"Get your fucking hands off me!" I kicked hard at his heavy boots.He didn't argue. He didn't try to negotiate or calm me down. He just stepped right into my space, completely overpowering my smaller frame. Before I could even process what was happening, his other massive arm wrapped entirely around
The bass from the massive speakers shook the floor right under my heavy leather boots. I was three drinks in, leaning against the sticky edge of the VIP bar, feeling a heavy, warm buzz settle over my brain. I laughed at something my friend yelled over the noise, throwing my head back.I felt good. I
The safety of the helicopter was an illusion. Freedom was a lie.They didn't take Yu Yan to a hospital. They didn't take him to his father.They took him to a penthouse in the center of Shanghai a tower of glass and steel that pierced the smog-choked sky.When Yu Yan woke up, he was in a bed softer
The Stranger the man Yu Yan had emailed, the man he had begged for mercy was not Lu Cheng.The realization hit Yu Yan with the force of a physical blow. All this time, he had thought Lu Cheng was the one on the other end of the screen. But Lu Cheng had been the target of the Stranger too.The screen
The word harvest hung in the air like a death sentence.Yu Yan stared at the nurse, his mind struggling to process the information. "Harvest? He's alive!""He's an 'expendable asset' now," the nurse—whose name tag read Xiao Li—said, her hands shaking as she worked on the lock of Yu Yan’s cuffs. "The
The number on the receipt was 2801, but in the dim, flickering light of the hallway, Leo’s sleep-deprived brain saw 2808.He was a delivery boy for a high-end gourmet service, a gig that paid just enough to keep his ramen-and-textbooks lifestyle afloat.Tonight’s order was particularly extravagant –
Leo’s heart hammered against his ribs. This was a terrible idea. Every instinct, every PSA he’d ever seen in health class, was screaming at him to say no. To get up and walk away, to call his parents and accept the lecture, to do anything but get into a car with this stranger.But the man was so… co
The week after his punishment settled into a demanding, almost daily rhythm. Alex's life began to revolve around the trailer. He skipped his afternoon classes, made excuses to his roommates, and drove to the prison five, sometimes six, days a week. His body ached with a constant, pleasant soreness,
The car moved through the sleeping city like a phantom. The streetlights bled across the cream-colored leather, painting fleeting stripes of light and shadow across Leo’s lap. He was hyper-aware of everything: the soft hum of the engine, the scent of the man’s cologne that seemed to permeate the ver







