Chapter 2 The Billionaire's Interest

Private Lounge – Moments Later

Jessica sat on the velvet chair opposite Javier Fernando, her pulse drumming against her ribs like a warning bell. This close, the man was even more dangerous not because he was cruel, but because he wasn't.

He hadn't touched her.

He hadn't ogled her.

He just... watched.

As if he were studying her, trying to unravel a puzzle no one had bothered to solve.

"I asked your name," he said, setting his glass down with quiet precision. "Not your act. Not your alias. You."

She crossed one leg over the other, leaning back slightly, buying herself time. "You really want to know?"

His lips barely moved. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked."

She hesitated. "Jessica."

"Jessica..." he repeated slowly, tasting the name. "You don't belong here."

She gave a bitter smile. "That's the point."

A flicker of something displeasure, maybe passed through his eyes. "Are you owned?"

The words dropped like stones in water.

Jessica froze. "That's... a complicated question."

"I'm not asking about contracts or titles. I'm asking if someone holds you against your will."

She didn't answer. I didn't need to.

Silence bloomed between them, heavy and unspoken.

Then Javier's tone changed, sharp and direct. "Archer's using you.right?

I don't like it."

Jessica let out a short laugh, her voice hoarse. "You just met me."

He didn't blink. "I know enough. You're not his. You're... misused."

Before she could reply, the door creaked open.

Damon.

Jessica flinched before she could stop herself.

Damon's presence filled the room like smoke. His eyes landed on her first, then slid to Javier.

"Twelve minutes," Damon said, smiling. "And already deep in conversation. I underestimated you, Jessica."

Javier's gaze sharpened. "You said she was your employee. You didn't mention she was trafficked."

Damon's smile thinned. "Big word, Fernando. Careful where you toss it."

Jessica stood, placing a careful hand on Damon's arm. "We were just talking."

His grip snaked around her waist. Tight. Possessive. A warning.

"She's a favorite," Damon said smoothly, his tone now wrapped in mock affection. "Special. Trained."

Javier stood as well slowly, like a storm building. "Let go of her."

Jessica's heart thudded. Her breath caught. No one ever told Damon to do anything.

Damon stared. "Excuse me?"

Javier took a step forward. "I said let. go."

The two men locked eyes. Billionaire versus mafia kingpin. One cold, calculating and born into wealth. The other was built from violence, an empire stitched in blood.

Jessica looked between them, suddenly cold all over.

Damon let her go. Not gently. Not kindly. He stepped back with a dark smile. "She's not for sale, Fernando. No matter how deep your pockets go."

"Everything has a price," Javier said. "Even you."

Damon's eyes glinted. "Enjoy the party. But know this, this girl? She's mine. And some things can't be bought."

Jessica knew the look in Damon's eyes. Later, there would be punishment.

Javier gave her a look. Stay.

But she couldn't. Not with Damon still watching. Not tonight.

She turned and walked out, faster than she should have. Her hands trembled as she passed the club floor, eyes burning, throat tight.

For the first time in years, someone had stood up for her.

And she wasn't sure if it made things better...

Or infinitely worse.

The morning didn't come with light.

It came with silence.

Jessica stirred beneath smooth, unfamiliar sheets that smelled like power and cold steel. The bed was too big. Too soft. Too far from anything she knew. She blinked against the soft gray light filtering through massive windows, high above the city skyline.

This wasn't Damon's estate.

No peeling wallpaper. No sound of screaming in the hallway. No rotting stench of fear and liquor seeping through the vents.

Just silence.

And a ticking clock.

She sat up sharply, the movement making her dizzy. Her arms were bare her dress gone and in its place, a silky black robe clung to her skin. Her pulse spiked. Her first instinct was to run. But where? Her fingers tightened into fists around the blanket as she scanned the room. It was beautiful in a cold, lifeless way like something out of a magazine. Sharp lines. Monochrome furniture. Marble floors. Gold accents. Glass walls overlooking Manhattan.

Then she saw the note.

On the nightstand, a single sheet of thick paper, folded once. Beside it, a glass of water and a single white pill.

"For the headache. You're safe, trust me.

Her stomach twisted.

Javier.

The man with the glacier eyes and the voice like smoke and money. The man who'd looked at her like she wasn't a toy.

Safe.

A word she hadn't believed in for years.

She didn't take the pill.

Instead, she rose slowly, barefoot, every movement careful, controlled, the way Damon had taught her be invisible, be silent, don't give them a reason. The robe swayed against her legs, whispering secrets in a language she couldn't understand.

The hallway was just as sterile and cold. She followed the scent of fresh coffee like a compass until she heard voices.

His voice.

Javier's.

Calm. Calculated. Low.

"...I don't care what Archer wants," he said. "She's not going back. If he wants a war, he can come knock."

Jessica stopped just outside the glass-paneled office door. Her breath caught as she peered in.

Javier stood by the window, dressed in another impossibly sharp suit charcoal grey, crisp white shirt, collar open just enough to reveal the edge of a tattoo at his collarbone. No tie. No need. His sleeves were rolled to the elbows, revealing tanned forearms marked with faint scars. Dangerous beauty.

He held his phone to his ear with one hand and a glass of amber liquid in the other. Whiskey. Morning. Of course.

She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.

She'd seen beautiful men. Slept beside powerful ones. Danced for monsters.

But none had made her feel like this.

Like prey.

Like... something worth looking at.

"Bob," Javier said coolly into the phone, "double her security. And get me everything we have on Archer's new shipment. I want to own it before he knows it's gone."

Jessica flinched at Damon's name. It wasn't over. Of course not.

She stepped back, but too late. Javier turned.

Their eyes locked.

It wasn't lust that flashed in his gaze. It wasn't kindness either.

It was interesting.

And that terrified her more than cruelty ever could.

He ended the call, setting his phone down like a king disarming. "Good. You're awake."

She wanted to speak, but her throat was dry. The words felt foreign.

"You've been out since last night," he said, stepping toward her with the quiet grace of a predator. "You were drugged. At Damon's party. I pulled you out before things got worse."

Her jaw clenched. "You don't know what 'worse' looks like."

He paused. Something flickered across his face something too fast to catch. "No," he said softly. "I probably don't."

She didn't move as he approached. Just watched him with those forest-green eyes that had learned the hard way to see through lies.

"Why am I here?" she asked.

"You passed out," he said smoothly. "I didn't think the hospital was an option, considering what you've been made to do. So I brought you here."

Jessica folded her arms, pulling the robe tighter. "You don't even know me."

Javier smiled faintly, without humor. "I know enough."

A heavy silence settled between them.

Jessica's heartbeat thundered in her ears.

"Damon won't let me go," she said finally. "You know that, right? He's not the kind of man you buy off."

"I don't buy people," Javier said, stepping even closer. "I take them."

Her spine straightened. "So I'm yours now?"

The air between them sparked. His eyes dropped to her mouth, then lifted back to hers. "You're not a thing, Jessica. That's the difference between him and me."

She didn't believe him. Couldn't.

But something in her wanted to.

He looked at her like she wasn't broken. Like she wasn't tainted. That was more dangerous than anything Damon had ever done.

"What do you want from me?" she whispered.

Javier leaned in, his voice barely a breath. "The truth. Everything Damon made you do. Everyone, he made you hurt. I want it all. And I want you safe. Whether you want my help or not."

She took a step back, eyes hard. "You don't get to play savior, Javier. That part's already taken."

His jaw tightened, but he didn't press. "I'm not playing anything. But whether you like it or not, you're in my world now. And I don't let people touch what's mine."

Jessica froze.

She should've been angry. Afraid. She should've run.

But for the first time in years, something inside her stirred.

Not rage. Not fear.

Hope.

And that was the most dangerous emotion of all.