Chapter 1 1

The freezing rain of New York hit Gabriella Henson in the face like tiny needles. She stood on the flooded curb outside John F. Kennedy International Airport, her knuckles white as she gripped the handle of her heavy suitcase. The hem of her trench coat was completely soaked, clinging to her calves and sending shivers up her spine.

She pulled out her phone, wiping the water from the screen with her thumb. She refreshed the ride-hailing app again. The red text glared back at her. No cars available. Over three hundred people in the queue.

A massive, completely black Maybach glided through the curtain of rain. It moved silently, like a shark in dark water, and stopped exactly inches from her boots. There were no license plates on the front or the back.

The rear window rolled down just a fraction. The lighting was terrible, but she could make out the sharp, rigid line of a man's jaw.

"Phone number ending in four-two-nine-one," a voice said from the dark interior. The tone was incredibly low, vibrating with a magnetic timbre, but it was completely devoid of any warmth.

Gabriella took a half-step back. Her stomach tightened. She stared at the empty space where the license plate should be.

"Where are your plates?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly from the cold.

A very faint, mocking scoff came from the cracked window.

"Do you want to freeze to death in the storm, or do you want to get in?" he asked.

A brutal gust of wind swept through the terminal lane. Gabriella's teeth chattered violently. Her survival instinct overrode her caution. She grabbed the heavy door handle and pulled it open, dragging her suitcase into the trunk before sliding into the back seat.

The moment she sat down, the smell hit her. It was an expensive, heavy scent of cedar mixed with cold leather. The air pressure in the cabin was suffocatingly low.

Before she could even buckle her seatbelt, a heavy electronic thud echoed through the car. The doors locked automatically. The noise of the rain and the airport vanished, leaving her trapped in absolute silence.

The man slammed his foot on the gas. The sudden acceleration threw Gabriella backward, her spine hitting the stiff leather seat hard.

She grabbed the door handle to steady herself. She looked up at the rearview mirror, trying to see the driver's face. All she could see was a pair of eyes. They were dark, bottomless, and staring right back at her.

Those eyes held an aggressive, evaluating intensity that made her lungs constrict. She couldn't breathe for a second.

Ten minutes passed. Gabriella looked out the window. The bright lights of the highway leading to Manhattan were gone. The streets were getting narrower, lined with broken fences and dark warehouses.

She unlocked her phone and opened her GPS. The blue dot was moving rapidly toward an abandoned industrial zone in Brooklyn.

Her heart started hammering against her ribs. She forced her voice to stay level.

"You are off the route," she said loudly. "Why are we not on the highway?"

The man did not turn his head. He kept his eyes on the road.

"Main road is closed," he said carelessly. "This is the only shortcut."

Gabriella did not believe a single word. She slid her right hand into her tote bag. Her fingers found the cold metal canister of her pepper spray. She gripped it so hard her fingernails dug into her palm.

With her left hand, she blindly typed on her phone screen, sending her live location to her best friend, Eloise, who was waiting for her in the city.

The Maybach took a sharp turn into a dead-end alley. There were no streetlights. The darkness was absolute.

Gabriella's chest heaved. Panic clawed at her throat.

"Stop the car!" she screamed. "Stop the car right now!"

The man slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched against the wet pavement. The massive car jerked to a complete halt.

He slowly turned his head. A flash of lightning illuminated the alley, and Gabriella finally saw his face. He was devastatingly handsome, but his features carried a crushing, terrifying dominance.

He stared at her with ice-cold eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched upward into a cruel, wicked smile. He looked at her like a predator watching a trapped rabbit.

Gabriella did not hesitate. She pressed the emergency button on her phone screen.

"911, what is your emergency?" the operator asked.

"I am being kidnapped," Gabriella yelled into the speaker, keeping her eyes locked on the man. "I am in a black Maybach in a Brooklyn alley!"

The man did not try to grab the phone. He did not yell. He simply leaned back against his leather seat, crossing his arms. He watched her hyperventilate with genuine amusement in his eyes.

Less than three minutes later, the piercing sound of sirens shattered the quiet night. Two NYPD cruisers slammed to a stop at the entrance of the alley, blocking them in completely.

Four police officers jumped out, drawing their weapons. The blinding white spotlights from the cruisers hit the Maybach.

"Put your hands where we can see them!" an officer shouted over the rain.

Gabriella frantically pulled the door handle. It unlocked. She shoved the door open and ran out into the freezing rain, sprinting behind the nearest officer.

"That's him!" she pointed a shaking finger at the car. "He locked the doors! He brought me here!"

The driver's side door opened slowly. The man stepped out. His expensive leather shoes splashed into the muddy puddle. He stood tall in the pouring rain, staring down the barrels of four police guns. There was no fear in his face. There was only a cold, mocking disdain.