Chapter 2

The air in the room froze. You could hear the hum of the computers, the distant wail of a siren on the street below.

Then, rage erupted.

Finn' s face turned a dark, mottled red. The veins on his neck stood out.

"A cat?" he roared. "A fucking cat?"

One of his men, a brute with a shaved head, slammed his fist into a glass partition. It shattered, raining down on a row of expensive ficus plants. Screams echoed from the cubicles.

Mr. Davies flinched back. "Now, see here! There' s no need for violence!"

Finn ignored him. He walked directly to the main doors and locked them. Then he did the same to the fire escape. The entire 40th floor was now a cage.

"Nobody leaves," Finn announced to the terrified staff. "Nobody makes a call."

He saw Mr. Davies fumbling with his cell phone. With a flick of his wrist, Finn snatched it and smashed it against the wall. It exploded into a spray of plastic and glass.

"I said, no calls."

He turned his attention back to the partners, who were huddled together like frightened sheep.

"Here' s the deal," Finn said, his voice dropping to a deadly quiet. "You have one hour to get Damien Croft back here and fix this eviction. One hour."

He smiled, but it was a terrifying sight.

"Or lawyers will start getting disbarred. Permanently."

Panic broke out. Junior associates were crying. A senior partner was hyperventilating into a paper bag.

My paralegal, Leo Martinez, rushed to my side. He was young, idealistic, and fiercely loyal. He was the only one who had believed me about Damien in my past life.

"Evelyn, what do we do?" he whispered, his eyes wide with fear.

"We do what they want," I said, my heart a cold, steady drum in my chest. "Get Damien on the phone."

Leo nodded, pulling out his own phone. He was smart enough to hide it when Finn gave the order. He scrolled through his contacts, his hands shaking slightly.

He found Damien' s number and hit dial.

The phone rang once. Twice.

Then, Damien' s voice, lazy and annoyed, came through the speaker.

"Leo? What do you want? I' m in the middle of something important."