KING OF THE CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD

ket. There was a black car parked in the alley not far aw

No n

she was fighting tooth and nail.

he brute lifted her slender body with no problem at all. He shoved her in

er to restrain her.

g. She was tossed against the back of the seat and,

w

d. She blinked and t

he hadn’t let the drink out of her sight. At least she thought she hadn’t. But he had taken it from the ba

linked her heavy eyeli

lt had her eyes shooting open again

and murdered and all the terrible things her mom had warned her about. It was all

op freaking

sipped about a third of the glass of cranberry juice. She had to try to get out of th

the city. Okay. She had to escape the car the next time it stopped. The man was obvious

n’t even able to walk on

hen. Adrenaline surged through her veins, pa

g went so topsy turvy… until she realized she was wedged so tightly in the

Still, no way she was gonna lay here and a

slowed, she expl

ndle. Her limbs were concrete. It took her several precious seconds to figure ou

d she hurled her b

t as she hit the wet pavement

he city swirled around her, towering skyscrapers stretching into the en

e driver side door opened

the quickest, frantic glance around. They were stopped at a red light. Rain bea

was illuminated. Light. Light meant people. People who co

are feet smacking cold puddles. Her heels had fallen off somewhere along the way, thank the Fates. She was much steadier without them. The

door. The man’s shouts were closer than ever. He was almost on top of her.

m the subdued lighting and mahogany wood that filled the place with shad

her breathing, she slipped towards the wall on her left, hugging the shadows and dripping as she went. She pass

ress was smeared with mud from the street and

more clearly. Final

pounding of her heart, and a few subdued voices in the back. The place was closed for the night, or very

g into the wall with a loud bang. No! She bit back a scream, cringing in the

shout. The bouncer, fin

you can’t c

ntil she nearly fell into a corrid

I need to see if she

is girl; I’d never met him before tonight. The bouncer was

u.” The man’s voice was unnaturally deep, and Cora imagined

g you, she ran

Cora realized that her pu

a shout— “Hey, you

the closest door knob she could find. Locked. Frantic, she

he rushed through and close

d with as many shadows as the club. Cora stood with her back to

d an expanse of rich r

he desk

ore a suit tailored to broad shoulders. His head was bent, his dar

ce in a very private club would probably only lead to trouble. St

second Cora thought that the man hadn’t seen her, he was so absorbed in the papers in front of