Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

ZariahFor a moment, I just stared at him.Rain continued falling around us, but I barely felt it anymore. My father’s casket was behind me. The envelope was in front of me. And Malik St. James stood there like he had every right to turn my grief into business.“What the hell is wrong with you?”The words flew out before I could stop them.A few people gasped.Apparently, nobody talked to Malik St. James that way.I didn’t care.My father had just been buried, and this stranger thought he could walk into his funeral talking about debts.Malik looked amused.That only made me angrier.“You don’t know me,” I snapped. “And whatever business you had with my father died with him.”The cemetery went dangerously quiet.Malik’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes did.Something cold.Something lethal.“My business with your father didn’t die with him.”I crossed my arms.“Then that sounds like your problem.”Behind me, my grandmother let out a shaky breath. I could feel her fe

Zariah“No.”Malik didn’t blink.“No?” he repeated.“No.”I pushed myself off the bed, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. The room tilted slightly, but I refused to sit back down.“I am not staying here.”The corner of his mouth twitched.“You are.”“You’re not listening.”“And you’re not thinking.”My blood pressure immediately spiked.I hated this man.The confidence.The arrogance.The way he acted like every decision had already been made and the rest of us were just supposed to catch up.“This is kidnapping.”“It isn’t.”“It is.”“No.”I stared at him.“Do you ever hear yourself?”“Frequently.”For a second, I had no words.That alone annoyed me.The man standing beside him — the one who had called him King — looked like he was fighting a laugh.Traitor.“Fine,” I snapped.Malik’s eyebrow lifted.“Fine?”“I’ll leave.”I took exactly three steps toward the door before his voice stopped me.“If you walk out that door, you’ll be dead before sunset.”The room fell silent.Slowly, I tu

ZariahThe moment I heard the crash outside my bedroom, I knew something was wrong.At first, I thought it was another one of Malik’s men.Another bodyguard.Another person watching me.But then I heard shouting.Running footsteps.A loud bang.My pulse quickened.Something was happening.Something bad.I crossed the room and peeked through the slightly open door.The hallway was empty.No guards.No security.Nothing.Which made absolutely no sense.The penthouse had been crawling with security since I’d arrived.Now it was deserted.A terrible feeling settled in my stomach.This was my chance.Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed my shoes and slipped into the hallway.Run.That was the only thought in my head.Run before Malik found me.Run before another person died because of me.Run before this entire nightmare swallowed me whole.The elevator was too risky.I headed straight for the emergency stairwell.The metal door slammed behind me.My shoulder protested with ever

Chapter 8: The Flash DriveZariahThe gunshot echoed through the hallway long after Detective Reed hit the floor.For a moment, I couldn’t move. My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing. Reed had been standing in front of me seconds ago, breathing hard, terrified, but alive. He had been trying to tell me the truth about my father, about the people hunting me, about the secrets everyone seemed willing to kill for.Now blood spread across his shirt, dark and fast.A scream tore from my throat before I even realized it belonged to me.Malik moved instantly. One second he was beside me, the next he had shoved me behind him, his body blocking mine as gunfire erupted down the hallway. His men returned fire with terrifying precision, their voices sharp as they shouted orders and moved into position. Everything became noise and motion—running footsteps, breaking glass, weapons firing, men yelling for the shooter.But all I could see was Reed.His hand twitched once against the floor

ZariahI had never worn anything this expensive in my life.The black gown hugged my body like it had been made specifically for me, which, knowing Malik, was probably true. The fabric was soft and heavy, shimmering faintly whenever I moved. It had thin straps, a deep neckline, and a slit that climbed higher than my comfort zone allowed.I stood in front of the mirror and barely recognized myself.The woman staring back looked powerful. Elegant. Untouchable.Like she belonged in Malik St. James’s world.That thought terrified me more than the dress.A soft knock came at the door.“Come in,” I said.The door opened, and Malik stepped inside.Then he stopped.For one rare, satisfying moment, the King of Atlanta looked completely speechless.His eyes moved over me slowly, taking in the dress, the heels, the way my curls had been pinned away from my face. Heat rose in my cheeks despite my best effort to look unaffected.“What?” I asked.His gaze lifted to mine. “Nothing.”“That didn’t loo