LOGINThe throbbing in my head was the first thing I noticed the moment my eyes snapped open. My hand flew to my temple, clenching it harshly. Shit, I cursed internally, exhaling deeply as I tried to recount the earlier events. Damn it, Conan, I breathed, finally forcing myself to look at my surroundings. This room… this place was Knight’s bedroom. There was absolutely no way I was mistaken. Or was I knocked out so badly that I was suddenly hallucinating? Was this my end? Was I really going to die before even clocking twenty-five? That was totally, completely unfair. The sound of the door creaking open lightly cut through my spiraling thoughts and i whipped my head toward the noise, panic surging through my chest. I half-expected Conan or a dozen of his guards to burst through the frame with more sick threats to harm me. But instead, I froze as my eyes landed on Jean’s wide, disbelieving eyes. "Oh my goodness, she’s awake!" he yelled, running toward the bed with his voice unnecessari
Knight’s POV It wasn’t hard freeing myself from the grip of those men the moment chaos broke out. Everyone scrambled around, looking for something to hide behind as the shots rang out continuously. Cowards… all of them. They had the guts to lay a hand on my woman, but they are unable to withstand such little backlash?. I watched as Conan remained crouched behind the desk and rose to my feet, not minding the bullets that whizzed past. I walked calmly until I was at the center of the room, shots still dropping beside me. They all had better get their aim right. Glancing toward the shattered window, I caught the reflection of Angelo and the rest of the team camped out on the roof of the opposite building. He seemed to notice me standing in the open as well because the heavy gunfire ceased almost immediately. Pants and grunts filled the room the moment the gunfire died down, but I couldn’t care less about their pathetic lives. I turned around and walked straight back to Aria, wast
Knight’s POV Only one thing was on my mind as I drove toward the location where we knew Conan was hiding. All I wanted to do was find Aria and get her out of there first. The rest could follow. I eyed the gun case sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror as I slammed my foot on the gas, forcing the sports car to go even faster. It wasn’t long before I pulled up in front of what looked like an abandoned clubhouse. I parked the car a few blocks away, reached into the back, and finally pulled the gun out. After safely tucking it into the inner pocket of my jacket, I stepped out, my feet firmly planted on the ground. I took my time approaching the building, watching how the bastards Conan had employed as guards shivered in their boots the closer I got. It couldn't get more pathetic than this, really. I finally halted in front of the run-down entrance, my face completely void of any emotion. "Where is he?" I asked, that single statement carrying the crushing weight of all m
Knight’s POV Every second that passed without any information about either Aria or Conan felt like pure torture. Morning met us in the exact same positions. Excelle had almost yelled at me to stop pacing and take a seat before I finally pulled a chair out at the dining table. The rising sun met me in that same chair. My eyes hadn’t closed for even a second since I got here. I needed to be on top of everything until she was found—sleep was the absolute least of my worries right now. Jean, on the other hand, was cuddled up on the couch with Excelle. They had stayed awake for as long as they could, but finally gave into the exhaustion a few hours ago. I could feel how deeply worried they both were, but sadly, even reassuring them felt like a huge chore to me. My anger had reached a point where I couldn't bring myself to care about anything else other than getting Aria back into my arms. I picked up my phone after a bit and exhaled tightly as I read Rowan’s message. He was on his way b
The first thing my eyes noticed when they snapped open were the multi-colored lights filling the room. My hands flew to my head, the pain nearly unbearable. Where the hell was I? My entire memory was a jumbled haze, but there was one face I could make out no matter how foggy everything else felt. Conan. That asshole had drugged me. I was supposed to be panicking, but frankly, the throbbing in my skull wouldn’t even let me do that. I felt completely numb. All I could do was lie there, eyes glued to the ceiling, while the spinning party lights made my growing headache a hundred times worse. I wasn’t even sure what I should be feeling right now. Whatever he had spiked my drink with must have been strong enough to mess with both my physical state and my mind. But even if I couldn’t process the details, I knew one thing for certain: I wasn't safe here. I couldn’t imagine what kind of endgame Conan was aiming for by drugging and kidnapping me, but Knight... I knew Knight wouldn’t le
Knight’s POV I finished the day’s work and was back at my mansion by close to midnight. I had finally selected some new and legitimate talent to take over Saturn Finance in Conan’s place, and I’d caught up on all the paperwork I had shoved aside these past few days. I settled into my room after taking a shower and pulled out my phone, opening Aria’s contact. Zero messages. That was unlike her, but I assumed she had just fallen asleep early or something, so I left a quick goodnight text and set my phone down, preparing to sleep. I was almost fully leaning into the sleep when my phone rang out suddenly. My eyes snapped open. It’s probably Aria, because I don’t know anyone else brave enough to call me at this time, I thought as I scooted over to the side of the bed to pick it up. I turned on the lamp by the bedside table and raised a brow as I stared at the name on the screen. Jean? What reason could he possibly have to call me at this hour? I picked up the call regardless, putting i
I went to sleep that night with my phone in hand.I waited for him to call like he said he would. I waited even though I told myself not to. My hands found my phone the moment I lay on my bed, my eyes fixed on his contact. Hell, I even considered texting Rowan, but later decided against it. If he s
I felt a hand trail up my legs, each touch slow and deliberate, like they had all the time in the world. They didn’t reach for more; the grip just lingered on my lap, rubbing soothingly and kneading lightly from time to time. I was being watched over, being cared for.When my eyes finally snapped o
Knight’s POVMy anger knew no bounds when I read that message.We’re under attack from the Liam family.Just that one sentence was enough to drive out all the stupid fantasies I had been entertaining. This was the reality of my life—of my world—and it seemed that just because it had been quiet for
I spent my night caught between questions about Knight from Excelle and the heat of another dream that refused to fade away even after waking up. I got ready for work and was out the door the moment I was ready. I couldn’t stand another interrogation from Excelle, so it was better I went to work ea







