Chapter 1 Men Are Most Dangerous After Dark

"Don't make a sound, and I won't hurt you. Blink if you understand." The voice rolled out from the back seat-low, smooth, and commanding. The calmness in his words clashed with the intensity of his stare, sharp enough to freeze the air.

A shiver crept down Roselyn White's spine. She blinked, giving in. The barrel of his gun was locked on the back of her skull. One wrong move, and she knew it'd be over.

She had just wrapped up her first Uber trip for the night when a stranger forced his way in and hijacked her ride home.

Paralyzed with fear, Roselyn sat motionless. Just a short distance away, several men in black suits advanced with drawn weapons, their expressions fierce, scanning the area like hunters closing in on prey.

"He's out alone today. This is our best shot to assassinate him. Besides, he's inhaled a high dose of that potent aphrodisiac, and it's about to take effect. He can't have gone far. If we don't find Nathan Lawson, the boss will make us disappear down in Crocodile Bay."

As the footsteps of the group gradually faded, Roselyn glanced up at the rearview mirror. The man in the back seat had an unusual flush on his face. He was clearly Nathan-the target they were after.

His name sounded familiar to her. She felt like she had heard it somewhere before.

"Don't try anything funny. Start the car," Nathan said, as if reading Roselyn's thoughts. His thumb disengaged the safety, and his gaze turned sharp.

Roselyn stayed stiff, her pulse racing. The gun alone was reason enough to stay cautious.

"Look, I can give you some money instead, sir. You could book another ride, okay? My grandpa's in the ICU, and I'm just trying to make enough to help him. I've been juggling two jobs to stay afloat-and now, here you are with a gun to my head. Why is this happening to me?" Her eyes welled as she clutched at whatever shred of mercy he might still have.

Nathan sat slumped in the back, his breath uneven, his body burning from within. The aphrodisiac he'd been drugged with was tearing through his system, blurring his grip on reality.

He caught the tremor in her voice-genuine and worn. He hadn't planned to endanger anyone tonight. It had just been his mentor's birthday party, no guards, no entourage-and now, here he was, backed into a corner with no choice but to involve a stranger.

"Take me here. Fast..." he muttered, barely holding it together as he handed her the destination.

Roselyn thought to resist, but the steel of the gun pressed against her skin ended that quickly.

Her legs trembled beneath her, but with the danger thick in the air, she quickly punched in the address and pulled the car out of the underground lot, Nathan gasping in the back seat.

After months on the road, Roselyn knew the city's hotspots like the back of her hand.

But the destination on her screen was unfamiliar, far outside her usual route. Even the GPS marked it with a star-odd.

There wasn't time to dwell on it. The car followed the signal into a dense patch of forest. When she finally parked, she glanced back. "Sir, is this the place?"

Nathan slouched against the seat, still clutching the weapon like his life depended on it.

He didn't answer. With a tired sigh, she unlatched her seatbelt, stepped out, and opened the rear door. As she leaned in, fingers clamped around her wrist.

She lost her footing and fell forward, landing right on top of Nathan. An intense heat surged from his body-hot enough to feel like it might burn right through her skin.

"You should at least pay the fare," she said shakily, trying to shove him off. Her cool palm brushed against his blazing chest.

Nathan's composure had been hanging on by a thread. That one touch snapped it clean.

She wasn't oblivious. When his hand found her chin, the fire in his eyes-raw and hungry-told her exactly what he wanted.

Inside the tight, shadowy back seat, danger hung heavy, building slowly as the night breeze stirred outside.