I stumbled back, keeping my eyes on the man before me. In the dimly lit corridor, he resembled a feral beast—a predator, a second from devouring its prey. I closed my eyes and opened them again, forcing myself to shove the fear away. The tall Asian in front of me resembled one of those main leads in Chinese romance dramas. His black suit alluringly complimented his well-built body. His short, black hair was ideally styled, and every angle of his face seemed perfect. And if he hadn't been so insanely intimidating, I would have called him stunning.“Who are you? How did you get here?” His full lips formed a faint, nearly pleasant smile. His tone was soft, coaxing, but I didn't miss the deadly, sharp edge an inch beneath the surface.I sucked in a ragged breath and painted a nervous smile. Play dumb, my instincts told me. I listened. “I-I am Mr. Yan's guest. I didn't know I wasn't allowed here. I still suffer from jetlag. I couldn't sleep, so I walked out of the room and just walked and
KILLIANI stood in front of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows in mine and Estelle's chambers. I kept my jaw clenched so tightly I was half-surprised my teeth hadn't cracked. The light behind me flashed and faded as Estelle walked out of the bathroom. Her silhouette appeared in the window's reflection as she walked toward me. A white silk nightgown. I'd scoffed at seeing her in it yesterday. She didn't get the message or perhaps believed that if I saw her half-naked a few more times, I would want to fuck her.Estelle was an attractive woman. I was certain that, just like the old me in high school, many men desired her. Some men would sell their souls just to see her glide toward them in a seductive dance. She had put on this seductress's act the night before, and now the tactic didn't change much. I wished she realized it wasn't going to work. My brain and my dick both had the same opinion on that matter.She stopped behind me and slid her arms around my waist. “Thank you for being s
Estelle had been right about one thing: Yan Hao had an army of men at his disposal. More than three dozen men guarded this goddamn mansion around the clock, and I could bet this was only a fracture of his potential. The fucking Triad.The only good thing was that not all of those guards were well-trained. It was easy to notice the difference in their stance and the slight delay in their reaction whenever they noticed someone was coming. Those untrained, I assumed, had just passed their Triad initiation. Nonetheless, their raw skills were enough to protect the less important floors, staircases, or gardens. The higher floors were left for the elite, hand-picked by Satoh Ryuu.When Yan Hao introduced him as his right-hand man, I couldn't hide my surprise. I didn't think there were many Japanese in the Chinese Triads, not that Yan Hao nor anyone else mentioned the Triads. Officially, Satoh Ryuu was the COO of Diamond Dragon Entertainment, but he resembled a trained assassin more than a sk
JOSIEA part of me—a significantly large part of me—was glad that Kaiden returned nearly at dawn. That had given Killian and me a moment of needed privacy. I missed being in his arms. I missed his lips on mine. I missed his voice, whispering into my ear. I missed feeling his scent with each breath I took…He had lingered way longer than he should have, not to mention that he shouldn't have come to my room at all. Our parting had been harder than ever before. After my unfortunate encounter with Satoh Ryuu, I knew sleep wouldn't come easily. Killian had mentioned that this man was dangerous, but I had sensed that much already. He had made me promise I would try to stay away from him, but I had a feeling that avoiding him wasn't going to be easy.Finally, Killian kissed me goodnight and left. Thankfully, I had wiped all traces of his visit from the surveillance footage, so no one found out he had spent quite some time in my room. It half-surprised me no one noticed that the mansion's sec
A long line of curses crawled up my throat. I blocked all of them and offered Ryuu a thin-lipped smile. Once I was sure none of the curses were getting out, I drew a deep breath. “I'm sure you must be busy. I wouldn't want to—”“I have time. My meeting has just been canceled.” A lie, most likely.I smiled faintly. “Still, I'm certain you have far more interesting things to do than give me a tour.”He breathed out a laugh. “I hate to disappoint you, but there are not many interesting things you can do in this building. However, with the right company... ” His lips formed a sultry smile.My throat turned dry, but I kept my expression blank. The last thing I wanted was to show him my fear. “Mr. Wang was kind enough to show me all the corridors. I do, however, would love to learn more about your projects,” I said, locking my eyes on his.He held my stare as if he were testing me. It lasted a moment before his lips parted into a mischievous grin. “Follow me, Ms. Clairmont... Or should I ca
My stupid plan forced me to stay in the damn ladies' room for more than thirty minutes. I was certain that whoever Ryuu sent as his replacement was currently looking for me, but I decided I didn't care. This was far more important, so I was going to let him or her wait, even if I had to come up with a good lie to explain my absence, like having sudden diarrhea after eating too much chocolate cake…I pressed my ear against the door, realizing that I no longer heard any voices. “Finally,” I groaned before cautiously opening the door and stepping out of the ladies' room.I sighed in relief as I looked around and found the corridor empty. Now that the programmer and his friend were gone, I could only hope my phone was exactly where I'd left it. Pretending to admire the tall plant, I walked over to the pots, certain I looked absolutely ridiculous. Yet, I pushed my acting skills beyond my personal best, putting on a show for… absolutely no one but surveillance cameras and whoever might have
“Breathe, just breathe, Josie,” I muttered as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. This was not how I imagined a rescue mission, not that I had a particular idea of what rescue missions should have looked like. Yet, certainly, going out in full evening makeup, carefully styled hair, a long gown, and high-heel stilettos would have never been taken into consideration.“Trust me. The less they suspect, the better,” Kaiden had said after describing his plan.We needed a believable excuse to leave the residence, and a date at one of the best Hong Kong restaurants seemed perfect for that. Surely, Yan Hao would send a car to follow us and check where we were headed, but dressing up would not raise too many alerts. I didn't like this, especially the heels. I could barely walk wearing them, and in case we'd have to run...“Don't worry too much,” Kaiden muttered as he stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Everything is planned. We will stop in front of Yichen's apartment bui
“I told him... to trust me,” was all I was able to choke out as a thick stream of tears covered my face.Kaiden shifted, shielding me from the horrific sight. “It's not your fault,” he whispered, cupping my face and forcing me to look at him. “None of it is your fault.”I sucked in a ragged breath and wiped my tears away. In the corner of the room, I spotted two bags—his packed belongings. He was waiting for us, and we... we'd shown up too late.Careful not to leave any trails or bloodied footprints, Kaiden stepped around the body. Then he crouched down and touched Yichen's skin. “The body's turning cold. He's been most likely dead for a while.”My heart rose to my throat. “No… that's… that's impossible.” I stared at Kaiden, shaking my head. “H-he texted me back. He replied…”“Josie…” Kaiden sighed and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Anyone could send this text. They most likely took Yichen's phone, and—” His words drowned in the violent roar of police sirens.Our heads snapped towar