nn

om back here; s

t, and the crowded elevator jost

e polished floor, a firm, scaldi

me flush against his side. The sudden momentum threw my balance completely off, sending my cheek brushing ri

y, but my skin felt as though it had b

public relations crew poured out

mark on Lord Wi

omeone this morning. Looking at

ed up to its

glass doors of the lobby, I spotted Nolan still standin

hrank back into the corn

without a word, his expression un

out?" Liam asked w

had pieced the wh

riding down to the executive garage with the boss. I had arrived in his c

bled for an excuse. "You two go ahe

t felt like an agonizing eternity, like a b

bterranean garage. Winston and Liam

hreshold, I mashed the button

e design department wa

g over to the wide glass windows to gaze

queued up some music and do

off. Walking into the pantry, I brewed a fresh cup of coffee and returned to my ta

and stretched my aching shoulders. The co

acked my leather tote, and wa

r screens wer

hecked the internal network,

tical transport suspended un

of concrete stairs

o of the darkened elevator buttons, a

eged. Is anyone comi

shed open the heavy, soundproof fi

d me with a sickening, definitive latch,

k. Only the faint green glow of the eme

, I began descending the concrete steps,

s when a loud, piercing rin

jerking in terror. My foot caught on the edge of the step, my body pitching forward. In my frantic scramble to

g crack of shattered glass echoed up through the concr

llowed the s

hest heaving, the sound of my r

line wa

d behind me. I was completely trapped on the emergency

in the stair

from the landing above-the unmistakable, cr

eized my

ed in a locked stairwell with an unknown, prowling Alpha was a nightmare. If an unfamiliar Alpha found me corner

ega biology flared under that

, bruised gland at the base of my neck throbbed violently beneath my

pport my weight. My breath hitched in short, shallow gasps, my chest rising and falling erraticall

keep from collapsing, terrified that the sweet, defenseless scent leak

clicked to life, casting a long, monstrous

ng cadence of leather dress

urried jog of a

d pace of an apex predator stal