Pain bloomed at the back of his skull like a grenade. Then the darkness peeled back. “Axel. Axel—wake the hell up.” Lauren’s voice. Sharp. Panicked. Her hands gripped his collar, shaking him hard enough to make his teeth rattle. Axel groaned and tried to sit, but the pounding in his head dropped him back onto the floor. Blood dripped warm down the side of his temple. “Fuck,” he rasped. “Mia—where’s Mia?” Lauren’s face tightened. “Slade taken her.” The words sliced through his chest. “She was dragged off stage. Slade’s team overwhelmed us—three of ours down, Daniel’s not breathing.” Her voice cracked. “Mitch is en route. He’s clearing a path now. You need to move.” Axel staggered to his feet, ignoring the wave of nausea that hit him. His ears rang. The last thing he remembered was seeing Daniel’s blood hit the floor. Mia screaming his name. It hadn’t just gone wrong. It had imploded. Lauren shoved a sidearm into his palm. “We don’t have time to stop. Move.” They burst open th
The cold hit her first. The damp and hard concrete crumbled against her back. Metal bit at her wrists and her concussion beginning to clear. Air that stank of mold, piss, and despair surrounded her. Mia’s eyes fluttered open, pupils struggling against the weak, flickering light overhead. Pain throbbed behind her eyes. Her throat was dry, raw, like she’d been screaming. Her body ached in places she didn’t want to name. She tried to sit up, groaning. The collar was still there, a harsh cold metal ring cinched around her neck like a leash for a dog. Memory returned like a knife to her chest as she bit back a sob. The auction, the stage. Slade’s voice booming, his evil laughter. That spotlight that showed everyone in the room how valuable she was to Slade.And then…Axel—crumpling to the ground. Daniel—his blood spilling as he reached for her. Mia shot up, gasping as she relived the memory again in vivid detail. “Axel—Daniel—!” “Shh!” a voice whispered sharply. “Be quiet, you’ll get
She looked like fire and vengeance wrapped in molten silver. From the security feed, Daniel could see every calculated step Mia took down that marbled hallway. Her dress shimmered like liquid, hugging every line of her body. Her hair bounced in soft waves, makeup sharp and seductive but it wasn’t for them. It was armour to face Slade with. And God help anyone who tried to break her tonight. She was ready to end this. Still, it didn’t stop the tight, coiled fear in his gut as he watched on the mini comms cam, she moved deeper and deeper into Slade’s compound. Every part of him wanted to rip her out of that hellhole and lock her away somewhere safe. But this was her choice. Her war. He just had to make sure she lived through it. Axel’s voice crackled through the comms. “Mia, keep your pace steady. You’re being watched from the northeast hall. Two guards. You’re okay. Lauren just confirmed you’re clean through the scanner.” “I’ve got eyes on her too,” Daniel said, his voice lo
She’d looked like a fucking goddess walking out of the dressing room that morning. A vision in silver. Sharp, stunning, dangerous. But all Axel could see was the risk. The way her hands trembled before she slipped on the heels. The way Daniel went silent. The way the air changed when she walked into the war room. Now, she was deep inside Slade’s compound, and every second she was out of sight made Axel’s pulse tick higher. He stood over the tactical table in the van, headset jammed in his ear, watching Mia’s location blink steadily across the digital map. “Northwest camera’s just looped,” Lauren said from the front. “You’re good, Mia. But eyes on you from the northeast hallway—two guards.” Axel’s voice stayed level, even as his gut twisted. “Mia, keep your pace steady. You’re being watched from the northeast hall. Two guards. You’re okay. Lauren just confirmed you’re clean through the scanner.” “I’ve got eyes on her too,” Daniel’s voice crackled in over the comms. Calm. Grounding
She had been preparing for this moment for days—mentally, emotionally, physically. Slipping into the slinky silver dress felt like donning armor, not seduction. Her makeup was flawless, sultry but sharp. Her hair curled down her back in soft waves. Every inch of her designed to seduce, distract, provoke. The perfect bait. Axel had tried to stop her three times this morning. Daniel hadn’t even spoken until she’d walked out of the dressing room and into the war room, heels clacking like gunshots. Now she was here. In the enemy’s den. And every step she took down the marbled hallway of Slade’s LA compound felt like it echoed with ghosts. Girls like her had been dragged through these halls. Stripped. Collared. Sold. Not tonight. Tonight, the game was flipped. The earpiece buzzed softly. Axel’s voice came through low, focused. “Mia, keep your pace steady. You’re being watched from the northeast hall. Two guards. You’re okay. Lauren just confirmed you’re clean through the scanner.”
The words pulsed in her head like a steady drumbeat as she leaned back in the private jet’s plush seat, her gaze locked on the glittering lights of Los Angeles inching closer through the window. Axel and Daniel sat across from her, deep in conversation about security routes, surveillance footage, and extraction points, but Mia wasn’t listening. Not really. Her body was still, calm, but inside? Inside, she was coiled tight with fury. Not fear. Not anymore. Not after what she’d seen. Not after what she’d heard Slade was doing. Women—girls—taken, drugged, branded with tattooed wings on their backs like trophies. The so-called Angel Auctions weren’t just whispered rumors anymore. There was proof now. A location. A list of attendees. A time. A prize.Tomorrow night. She had seen photos. Faces she couldn’t forget. Bruised. Bound. Terrified. And one space left empty. Labeled: MIA. Top of the list. Special entertainment. Her name, printed like some sick invitation. She was supposed to