Chapter 3

Fists and heavy boots slammed against the main restroom door, the thick oak groaning on the verge of splintering.

Holding the delirious Gabrielle with one arm, the man yanked open the maintenance panel beneath the sink and pulled out a heavy iron pipe.

He swung the pipe upward. Crash! The reinforced glass of the high ventilation window shattered into a thousand pieces, letting a blast of freezing night air rush into the room.

Instead of waking her, the cold wind made the drug inside Gabrielle rebound twice as hard. Whimpering softly, her hands tore at the silk ribbons of her neckline.

The dress ripped open at the front, baring her pale collarbone and the curve of her chest. Just below her left collarbone sat a tiny, pink crescent-shaped birthmark.

His gaze froze on that pink mark for a fraction of a second. Dropping the pipe, he grabbed her chin, forcing her face up toward his.

"Wake up. Don't make me throw you out this window right now," he growled through clenched teeth, his voice rougher than before.

Gabrielle couldn't process a word. Driven purely by the furnace inside her, she sought out the cool skin of the man holding her. She leaned up and pressed her burning lips directly against his Adam's apple.

Every muscle in his body locked tight. He caught her by the shoulders and pushed her back a full inch, holding her at arm's length.

"Don't," he snapped, his voice low and harsh. "Not like this."

Boom! The oak door flew off its hinges. Bertram stormed in, flanked by half a dozen armed bodyguards.

The man threw Gabrielle over his shoulder, stepped onto the marble counter, and vaulted up onto the high window ledge with lethal agility.

"Stop them! Shoot! Dead or alive!" Bertram screamed, his face purple with rage as he pointed at the dark figure above.

Six pistols fitted with suppressors came up at once, aiming straight at the man's back.

Without looking back, the man drew his gun and fired a single blind shot behind him. The bullet obliterated the fire sprinkler on the ceiling. High-pressure water exploded downward like a torrential waterfall.

Blinded by the sudden curtain of water, the guards fired wildly into the walls. Using the cover, the man held Gabrielle tight against his chest and leaped out into the pitch-black night.

The sudden weightlessness jolted Gabrielle awake. A scream rose in her throat, only to be smothered by his broad palm.

They plunged into a massive pile of cardboard and trash bags in the alley behind the hotel. He tucked her head against his chest and rolled across the wet asphalt, absorbing the brutal impact with his own back.

Before she could even catch her breath, he hauled her up by the wrist and dragged her into a dead sprint down the dark, narrow alley.

Her silver heels had been lost during the jump. Barefoot, Gabrielle ran across puddles and broken glass, every step sending sharp agony up her legs.

"I can't run anymore..." she sobbed, collapsing beside a rusted dumpster as rain and tears plastered her hair to her face.

He stopped and looked back at the trembling heiress huddled in the mud, a deep crease forming between his brows.

Tires screeched at the mouth of the alley. Headlights sliced through the dark as shouting guards fanned out to cut them off.

Without a word, he walked back, scooped her up into his arms despite her startled gasp, and bolted deeper into the maze of shadows.

He kicked open the rusted bulkhead door of an abandoned basement, carried her down the concrete steps, and threw the heavy iron bolt. Grabbing a broken metal bed frame, he wedged it tight against the door.

In the pitch dark, only their ragged breathing echoed off the damp walls. Gabrielle's fingers stayed twisted in his soaked coat, trembling like a cornered animal.

Pushed to the limit by the sprint, the drug in her bloodstream hit its final, devastating peak. She curled into a ball on the concrete floor, letting out broken, agonizing whimpers.

He crouched beside her and flicked open a silver lighter. The tiny yellow flame lit up her face, twisted in unbearable torment.

"I gave you a chance to walk away," he said, his voice echoing hollowly in the basement as he stared into her glazed eyes.

Gabrielle looked up at him through a blur of tears. Guided by the last shred of her instinct, she reached up and wrapped her bare arms around his neck.

"Save me..." she choked out, surrendering every last piece of her pride as she pulled him down into the dark.