LOGIN~Lila~
Inside the SuiteRyder doesn’t say another word until we reach our private villa. He swipes the security key card, pushes me through the threshold, and slams the heavy door shut behind him.“Strip.”“Excuse me?” My eyebrows shoot up, my jaw dropping. Is he really trying to play control games right now? Even as a first-time field agent, I know the absolute bare minimum protocol. We have to sweep this entire room for listening devices first.“Take everything off~Lila~Ten minutes after Ryder’s departure, a loud knock sounds at the door. I jump, feeling my heart leap straight into my throat. For a split second, I fear Jordan has been lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to catch me alone – the bastard has been eerily absent since last night. Or worse, Kantor has somehow discovered that we breached his office ledger and has come for violent retribution.Cursing the fact that I couldn’t smuggle a proper firearm onto this damn island, I tear a taper candle out of the decorative metal candlestick on the nightstand. Gripping the improvised weapon tightly behind my back, I cautiously crack the door open.But it isn’t Jordan or Kantor standing on the threshold.“Zane? You’re okay.” He looks slightly disheveled and heavily lidded, but entirely unharmed.“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” He saunters right past me into the villa, completely unbothered.“We overheard Kantor telling his security detail that they’d killed a man, and that they
~Ryder~The enormity of the realization hits me like a physical blow, forcing me to stumble backward until I sink onto the edge of the mattress. My thoughts spin at a terrifying speed, desperately clawing for any alternative explanation. Maybe there is another logical answer. Maybe the killer stripped the gold chain from my mother’s neck not as a twisted trophy, but simply for its monetary value. Maybe he pawned it. And maybe Adam just happened to stumble into the same shop and buy it.Maybe. But that is too massive a coincidence to ever be real.My mother’s murder was a brutal crime of passion, not a robbery. That necklace wasn’t worth more than a few hundred dollars, yet it was the absolute only item missing from Amanda’s entire apartment. The killer left her original wedding rings untouched, pieces worth thousands more. The investigators – along with my father – monitored the local pawn networks for months, but the pendant never surfaced. Besides, an upscale prick like Adam Ster
~Ryder~Twenty minutes later, Lila and I are safely locked back inside our villa. I try calling Zane twice while checking over the new remote control he managed to swap out for us. Both times, my phone drops straight to a flat voicemail. Cold panic begins to claw at my gut. Aside from my brother, Harry, Zane is the closest friend I have in this world. He can’t be dead. God damn it, he just can’t be.Bud emerges from the bathroom, pulling the elastic band from her dark hair. She looks at me, unadulterated concern shining in those sweet chocolate eyes, and walks directly toward me. Dropping to her knees right in front of my chair, she gently takes my hands in hers.“I know how worried you are.”I just stare blankly at the plastic remote control.“We can talk completely freely,” she murmurs, squeezing my fingers. “I just finished sweeping the rest of the room. It’s clean.”I nod miserably, letting out a heavy breath. “How can I not be losing my mind? I fee
~Ryder~At exactly two o’clock, Lila and I, dressed as maintenance workers in the outfits Zane provided, let ourselves into the secure hallway on the top floor. I pull my cap low over my face and push an empty trash can, just in case we are on surveillance. Bud does the same, ensuring her hair is tucked beneath, as she shoves the vacuum over the garish, resort-style carpet of Velvet Haven.The access card clicks, and we move into Kantor’s office. I look around for surveillance equipment and don’t see anything obvious. Still, we have to be cautious.Per the plan we developed as we worked into the gray zip-up maintenance jumpers, I move immediately to the safe beneath the ornate rug of red and gold near the window. It opens up with the combination Zane provided.I push aside a stack of cash and stare at the thick section of DVDs tucked inside. I flip through them quickly. None have any sort of writing or markings, so I have to put them back for now. I can’t afford to take them and h
~Lila~Something about the intense look on Ryder’s face tells me this walk isn’t just about maintaining our cover as a dominant master and an obedient sub. There is a heavy weight behind his eyes.“All right,” I say, matching his low tone. “Lead the way.”Nobody pays us any attention as we slip out through the main pavilion, heading through the lobby and out a side exit. We navigate past a small gravel lot crowded with resort utility carts and a foul-smelling dumpster, following a crude stone trail lined with palm trees. As we distance ourselves from prying eyes, the heavy crash of the ocean waves begins to drown out the rest of Velvet Haven.The moment my toes sink into the cool sand and the salt air hits my face, Ryder reaches down, his large hand completely engulfing mine. A brilliant moon hangs surprisingly low over the water. For a single, fleeting second, I wish he and I were actually here for a romantic getaway – just a normal couple enjoying a midnight st
~Ryder~“GREAT to see you, too,” Zane shoots back.My mind races, trying to reconcile seeing my friend in the middle of my mission. “Did Ruiz send you after all?”“Nope. He’d probably kill me if he knew I’d come, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I could help. I know this place. Everyone who works here signs a contract that prohibits you from saying anything about any guest to anyone, other than staff. That fucking thing is tighter than a straitjacket. You’re not going to learn jack shit from any employee if you don’t have an in. Which is why I begged for my old job back, and what do you know? One of their resident Doms met up with an unfortunate hiking accident just this morning. Broken ankle; he’ll recover. But they needed someone to fill in.” He grins.With a shake of my head, I lean in and murmur, “We’re probably not going to get any info, anyway. The remote control in our room had a bug placed inside and our luggage had been searched. Unless you’re going to
~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







