Chapter 2 2

The Uber crawled along the Van Wyck Expressway, trapped in a sea of red taillights. Rain hammered against the windows, blurring the lights of Queens into a watercolor mess.

Adelina leaned her forehead against the cool glass, the chaos of the airport replaying in her mind. The scent. His touch on another woman's hair. It felt like a violation, a deliberate desecration of a memory she hadn't even realized she was still protecting.

"Freaking New York," the driver muttered, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "One drop of rain and the whole city forgets how to drive."

She glanced at her watch. 7:45 PM. The emergency board meeting at Starlight Corporation was at 9:30. At this rate, she'd be lucky to make it by midnight.

A convoy of vehicles began to pass them slowly in the right lane. Two black Escalades sandwiching a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Her breath hitched. It was his car. Gage's. She instinctively shrank back in her seat, pulling her coat tighter, as if the shadows could hide her.

Suddenly, a deafening bang, like a gunshot, echoed from the front of the Uber.

The car lurched violently. The driver swore, wrestling with the wheel as the vehicle swerved, the smell of burning rubber filling the small space. Adelina was thrown forward, her shoulder slamming into the back of the passenger seat with a dull, throbbing pain.

The Uber scraped against something metal-the side mirror of the Rolls-Royce-before the driver managed to guide the crippled car onto the narrow emergency shoulder.

"Son of a-" The driver killed the engine, the sudden silence broken only by the drumming of the rain. He got out, slamming the door, and kicked the front tire. "Blown. Completely shredded."

The Rolls-Royce and its escort had been forced to pull over about twenty yards ahead.

Adelina's priority was the meeting. She couldn't fail before she even began. Ignoring the downpour, she pushed open her door. "I'll get another car."

The rain was instantly soaking, plastering her hair to her scalp and seeping through her coat. She pulled out her phone, but the screen showed only one bar of service. The Uber app just spun, searching for a signal that wasn't there.

Then, the back window of the Phantom lowered.

Just a few inches, revealing the sharp, unforgiving line of Gage's jaw. He was watching her, his silhouette a dark shape against the car's warm interior light.

Ferne Brady's perfectly made-up face appeared in the gap. "Oh, my God, do you need help?" she called out, her voice dripping with a theatrical sort of pity.

Adelina's jaw tightened. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

The lie tasted like acid. She was shivering, stranded, and running out of time.

"Don't be stupid," a low voice from inside the car cut through the rain.

The car door opened. Gage stepped out, a large black umbrella snapping open above his head. He moved with an unhurried, predatory grace, his expensive leather shoes splashing through the puddles on the asphalt as he walked toward her.

He was a wall of darkness against the flashing hazard lights. The sheer force of his presence made the air feel thick and heavy.

When he reached her, he tilted the umbrella, silently shielding her from the worst of the downpour. Rain immediately began to soak the shoulder of his black coat, but he didn't seem to notice. His eyes, dark and unreadable, were locked on her face.

"You look like a drowned rat," he said. His voice was as cold as the rain.

Adelina took a step back, her spine hitting the wet metal of the Uber. There was nowhere to go.

"If you're late to the board meeting," he continued, his tone laced with a dry, mocking amusement, "Javon gets everything. You'll lose your seat before you even claim it."

The words hit her harder than the cold. How did he know? How did he know about her plan to challenge Javon tonight?

"I'm just on my way to a Starlight personnel meeting myself," he said, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "It would be a shame for you to miss the fireworks. You came all this way, after all."

She gritted her teeth. He was right. In this storm, on this highway, he was her only option. The humiliation was a physical thing, a bitter pill she was being forced to swallow.

Without a word, she turned, stalked to the back of the Uber, and wrenched her suitcase from the trunk.

Gage watched her, his expression unreadable. He took the heavy bag from her with one hand, his fingers brushing against hers for a fraction of a second. The contact was like an electric shock. He carried it to the Rolls-Royce and placed it in the trunk as if it weighed nothing.

Then he opened the back door, holding it for her. It wasn't a gesture of courtesy. It was a command.

Adelina took a deep breath, the air thick with the smell of wet asphalt and her own defeat. She slid into the plush leather interior of the car, bringing the cold and the rain in with her.

Into the cage with his new pet.