Chapter 2 The mysterious man

The blinding headlights swallowed her whole. Tires screeched against the wet pavement. A massive, pure black Rolls-Royce Phantom slammed to a halt less than an inch from her knees.

The driver's side window rolled down. A man in a dark suit glared at her.

"Move out of the way! You picked the wrong car to jump in front of," he shouted over the pouring rain.

She ignored him. She limped to the rear passenger door and slammed her bloody palms against the bulletproof glass.

The tinted window slowly glided down halfway.

A man sat in the back. His jawline was sharp, his dark eyes cold and predatory. He radiated a dangerous kind of power that made the air in the car feel heavy.

He looked at the bloody rope burns on her wrists, then shifted his gaze to the dark woods behind her.

"Unlock the doors," he ordered. His voice was a low, commanding rumble.

She pulled the heavy door open and threw herself into the backseat. Her muddy clothes and bleeding skin ruined the pristine white leather interior, but she could not bring herself to care.

Two men burst out of the treeline, waving a metal pipe and a knife. They ran toward the car.

The man beside her did not even blink. "Handle it," he told the driver.

The driver pulled a Glock from the center console, rolled down his window, and aimed it directly at the chest of the lead attacker. A bright red laser dot appeared dead center on the man's soaking wet shirt. The driver didn't say a word, his finger resting lightly on the trigger of the suppressed weapon. The silent, lethal promise of a bullet to the heart was infinitely more terrifying than any noise.

The two kidnappers saw the laser, stopped dead in their tracks, cursed loudly, and sprinted back into the woods.

The Rolls-Royce accelerated smoothly, leaving the nightmare behind.

The air conditioning in the car was freezing. She shivered uncontrollably, her teeth chattering as water dripped from her hair.

The man took off his tailored suit jacket. It smelled of expensive cedar and faint cigar smoke. He tossed it over her shoulders.

She pulled the warm fabric tight around her neck. "Thank you," she rasped, her throat raw. "Can I borrow your phone?"

He handed her a sleek black smartphone. His dark eyes tracked the bleeding scratch on her neck. He tapped his index finger slowly against his knee.

She dialed the security desk of her Manhattan apartment building. She did not call the police. She needed to know where Joaquin was first.

"This is Mrs. Stafford. Is my husband home?" she asked.

"No, ma'am. Mr. Stafford left an hour ago and has not returned," the guard replied.

She hung up and handed the phone back.

"No police?" the man asked, his tone laced with mild curiosity. "Do you need a hospital?"

"No," she said firmly. "Just drop me off on the Upper East Side. Manhattan."

He studied her face. He saw the dirt, the blood, and the absolute exhaustion, but she kept her chin up.

"Reroute to Manhattan," he told the driver.

The car fell silent. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He wore no name tag, and the car had no custom plates.

He reached into a small compartment and pulled out a crystal glass. He poured amber liquid from a heated decanter and handed it to her.

"Drink," he said.

She took the glass and swallowed the hot whiskey in one gulp. The liquid burned down her throat, sending a rush of heat to her freezing limbs.

The city neon lights eventually bled through the rain-streaked windows.

"Stop here," she said as they approached a block away from the Stafford penthouse.

He did not argue. As she reached for the door handle, he held out a matte black business card. It had no name, just a single phone number printed in silver.

"If that useless man puts your life in danger again, call this," he said, his voice dropping an octave.

She stared at him, shocked that he had read her situation so perfectly. She took the card, gripping it tightly, and stepped out into the rain.

The Rolls-Royce drove away, disappearing into the city traffic.

She walked to the service entrance of her building, avoiding the main lobby cameras. She took the freight elevator straight to the penthouse.

She punched in the door code. The massive apartment was dark and empty.

She walked straight to the hidden wall safe, opened it, and pulled out her passport and birth documents. She dragged a battered suitcase from the back of her closet and threw in three basic outfits.

The electronic lock on the front door beeped loudly.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the foyer. Joaquin's voice cut through the silence.