the lights of the street. I was told to come this way. Why, I am unsure.

A hand grabs me from behind and covers my mouth, while another armbands across my chest, holding me prisoner. I twist, thrash, and struggle to breakfree.

“No!” I can hear my own muffled cry, and I continue to kick and twist mybody as hard as I can.

“Lily, stop.” I hear the man’s voice from far off in the distance as myattacker continues to drag me back further into the darkness—away from thelight.

“Wake up,” the man’s hard voice snaps angrily. My attacker freezes, andsuddenly I’m opening my eyes.

My heart is racing, and I have an instinct to fight against his firm grasp. His hard, naked, body surrounds me and I can’t escape, pinned down onto the bed.

He is covering me like a weighted blanket, while the bedding has fallen off from where we had been tucked in. Coming back to reality, I blink up into the shadows of the man’s concerned face—his dark eyebrows furrowed into a thick

line.

“I’ve got you,” he says with a low growl.

I am safe from everyone save him. I grab onto his arms and melt into his warmth—clinging to the only solid thing I have felt for longer than I can remember, wedging myself under his body and further into his arms. This man is real, and he is here. Although the voice in my head whispers, For now.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” I whisper, wrapping an arm around his narrow waist as a shiver runs

through my body. “Just a nightmare.”

“Tell me what happened, Princess.” His low voice rumbles against me as he

gently strokes my hair and holds me tightly.

“It was nothing,” I mutter.

“It didn’t seem like nothing to me,” he replies, pulling back only far enough to kiss my forehead before tucking me back safely into his arms. “Was it about the kidnapping?”

I nod my head against his chest, still shaking as the remnants of the dream

slowly dissipate. Taking a deep breath, I attempt to cleanse myself from the feelings, the memories. All I want to do is forget what happened, to live in the present. Enjoy this man for as long as possible.

14

FINN

P ulling my body slightly back away from Lily, I lean over her and run

my hand slowly through her re-tangled mass of hair while I formulate

my plan. I need her to tell me what happened, and I now have a tactical

advantage—her defenses are down. Lily trusts me, and I need to capitalize on that while I have the chance.

“What were you doing when they grabbed you?” I ask, gentling my voice but

keeping it firm. I will have my answers.

“We were at a club in Paris, and I went out a side door,” she says slowly, her breath stuttering slightly while her gaze is fixed unseeingly on my chest. I run my hand along her back. Her body loosens as she relaxes. “She told me to meet her there.”

“Who’s she?”

“Janice. A friend from school.”

“She told you to go out that door?” I ask, wanting to confirm the details.

Even the smallest bit of information could help in discovering what really happened to Lily the night the kidnappers took her and will be useful in piecing together the events that led her here to this fucking nightmare.

“Yes.”

“Where were you?”

“Some club, I don’t remember which one, She wanted to go there,” Lily says, before surprising me and starting to giggle softly. “They sprayed foam.”

“I didn’t realize that was still a thing,” I chuckle.

“It’s not,” she says, finally looking up at me with an amused expression.

“How’d you two become friends?” I move my hand up her back and

massage her neck lightly, feeling the warm, soft skin beneath my fingers.

“We met at the library,” she answers, suppressing a moan as I gently work the knot at the base of her skull.

“Did you have classes together?”

“No.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rise wondering whom this Janice really is,

if that’s even her real name. It seems very suspicious that a new friend would suddenly appear in Lily’s life just in time to have her kidnapped.

“I hope she’s okay,” she whispers.

“I bet she is,” I mutter darkly.

Whoever masterminded the kidnapping knew to wait until the traditional two-week Easter holiday when they could ensure she was traveling abroad. This gave them ample time before anyone would raise the alarm at her disappearance.

Once Lily falls back to sleep, I’ll call my assistant Trevor again and give him the information I’ve been able to gather. This should help speed the investigation along. The sooner I discover who the fucker is, the sooner I can make them pay for what they’ve done to my Lily. They’ve traumatized her, and that won’t go unpunished.

“Close your eyes,” I tell her, pulling the covers up higher over our shoulders and tucking her in more tightly. “Go back to sleep.”

Gliding my hand along her back, I pull her in closer. Reaching her shoulders, I gently massage them, and it’s not long before I feel the tension release from her body as she quickly falls back asleep, snuggled against my chest—right where she belongs.