LOGINThe present day rushes back into the motel room with the force of a sudden intake of breath. I am standing in front of Ryder, my eyes wide and shining with a overwhelming comprehension. The clever, sarcastic mask I have worn for twelve years has completely vanished, leaving me looking just as vulnerable as I did by that high school locker.
I look down at our joined fingers, then back up to his face, my chest rising and falling in rapid, shallow breaths. “The black sedan,~Colt~I have no idea what day it is or how long I have been out. I pry open one swollen eye. I see only bare concrete walls without a window in sight. No surprise that I am alone.I have figured out a while back that I am being held underground. I know that because the few times I have been dragged outside, it has still been hot as hell, but the air on my skin now is almost chilly. Despite that, a wringing sweat covers my body. I tremble. My stomach cramps. My head feels as if it might explode.Fuck, I need to make some decisions.I eye the door. Sure, I should probably check it. But why? The damn thing has been bolted up tight each of the other four thousand five hundred ninety-two times I have searched for some way to escape. No sense wasting more energy I might need to simply stay alive.How much longer before someone comes back and sticks a needle in my arm? I both crave and dread it. At least afterward I will not feel the stabbing pain in my jaw or the throbbing of my knee.
~Emma~Wringing my hands, I pace the too-familiar halls of the University Hospital again. The first time I came here, it was a sweltering summer afternoon. The birds were singing and the flowers in full bloom. Colt was with me, patiently holding my hand and bolstering me while doctors tried to repair my father’s heart.Now, the weather has begun to cool. Football season is in full swing. The sky is pitch-black, except for a hazy moon hanging in the sky. The clock on the wall reads two thirty-eight a.m., and the city outside the windows is almost eerily still. No one stands beside me, devoting himself to my moral support.But my father’s failing heart is the awful correlation.I wish Colt were here now. Since I started pacing the emergency room, I have talked myself out of calling him more than once. During my father’s first episode this summer, his steadying force was my bedrock. Without him now, I feel like I am in free fall. But it would be selfish to reach out to him after week
~Colt~Coastal Mexico in August is more humid than the ass crack of hell.Oakley downs the last of his beer as the sun sets over the little seaside restaurant attached to our shithole motel in Acapulco. The few tourists vacationing here look happy to disappear into their tequila. I shovel in the last of my fish and scan the area. Nothing out of the ordinary… but the back of my neck tingles and feels tight.Like someone is watching.I play it casual and glance at my watch. “We should go. It will be easier to find our location before the sun sets.”Oakley tosses a few bills on the table, then hoists the duffel at his side as he stands. “Yep. Might as well get this shit over with.”One of the three remaining EM Security operatives – I do not know which – has been told Oakley and I are meeting a member of a rival faction tomorrow here in Acapulco who can help us bust inside Salazar’s compound and free Isabella’s sister. The second of the three operatives has been advised of a rendez
~Colt~ Before I can escape Ryder’s office, the former SEAL shuts me down. “Nope. You can’t. I’ve got a contract. You signed. We paid the bonus, and you cashed the check. End of conversation.” I halt. Fucking Ryder throwing legalities in my face. Even worse, the bastard is right. Naturally, Sawyer chooses that moment to stick his head in the door, glaring daggers. “Fucking douche.” I barely manage to refrain from violence. “The feeling is mutual.” “I told you no drama, so give it a rest, you two.” Ryder rolls his eyes. “If I can work with my older brother, you can get along enough to get your shit done.” Sawyer rakes a hand over his military-short hair and shakes his head at Ryder. “I will never trust him enough to be on an operational team with him again. If he wants to quit, I say good riddance.” Ryder slams a fist on his desk. “Sawyer, I don’t give a shit that Colt slept with your girlfriend.” “Mile-shot,” I correct through clenched teeth. “Whatever.” Ryder
~Colt~ I start Tuesday in a foul mood. Over forty-eight hours have passed since I last pressed my lips to Emma’s while buried deep in the sweetest, snuggest cunt I have ever felt. Then I awakened alone. After cursing a blue streak, I tried repeatedly to reach her. Calls and texts on Sunday morning went unanswered. Fine. I figured she was sleeping or, better yet, breaking up with that asshole Reeves. But a few hours later, I rolled up to the little white house of worship her father preached at and, from my Jeep across the street, I saw her talking to a group of middle-aged moms. Sawyer was fucking glued to her side, his arm wrapped around her waist as if he owned her. Emma had not objected, simply curled up against him as if she was where she wanted to be. The sight has been a punch in the gut. After that, my mood has rolled downhill. By Monday morning, I have been itching for a fight. Since I promised Ryder I would not bring our shit into the office, I have been more than
~Emma~Predawn darkness surrounds me as I slow my car and kill my headlights. I wish I could turn off my guilt half so easily after creeping from Colt’s bed and tiptoeing out of his house. What will he think when he wakes to find me gone?Nothing polite. He will not care that people have expectations of me, that my father requires me in the front row at church or that Sawyer needs a nursemaid after his release from the hospital. He wants me all to himself. And if I could have been selfish for a bit longer, I would have stayed.But that is not my reality. I have responsibilities and, unlike Colt, I enjoy people relying on me.It is just frustratingly inconvenient today.Shoving aside that reality, I bring my car to a complete stop in front of my house and let out an exhausted sigh. Since I do not see any lights on inside, thank goodness, I figure Daddy must still be asleep. Hopefully, I can sneak in a shower and a power nap before we leave for church.Flushed and boneless, my who
~Lila~“Walk to the bed. Stand beside it and wait for me,” Ryder orders.I walk over to the low platform bed, my bare feet silent against the concrete. Ryder prowls toward me, then sits on the silk sheet. “Come closer.”“Don’t I get a safe word first?”He tilts his head slightly, studying me
~Lila~The heavy oak door of Thorne’s office clicks shut behind me, but the sense of entrapment follows me right into the corridor.Before I can even take a full breath of the cooler hallway air, a broad, calloused palm presses firmly against the small of my back and the heat of Ryder’s hand burn
~Lila~ “Bud?” Ryder breathes. The name lands like a physical blow against my ribs. I jerk away from Ryder’s grip, my heart slamming against my ribs like it wants to break free. His hand falls away, but the heat of his fingers lingers on my scalp, sending unwelcome sparks down my spine. Zane
⚠️A Little Heads Up Before We Begin⚠️While this is a romance book, it also contains explicit Dom/sub dynamics including consensual spanking, power exchange, edging, restraints, and enough unresolved tension to short-circuit your e-reader.If any of that makes you uncomfortable, no hard feelings, b







