Paetyn’s POV
The voice of the client sitting across from me is slightly muffled by the rampant thoughts of the masked man racing through my mind. It has been two days since I saw him standing in my backyard, his eyes piercing me through the mask covering his features, and I haven’t stopped thinking about him.
Liam told me not to worry about him, but how can I possibly not? It’s one thing to watch me from across the parking lot, but it’s another to stand in the darkness of my backyard and watch me like a hawk, making his presence known. He’s keeping his features concealed for a reason, so I’m unable to identify him, but if he’s going out of his way to let me know he’s there, watching me, then why hasn’t he made a move yet? What is he waiting for?
The thought of him doing something to hurt me sends a shiver across my body, goosebumps pebbling my skin from beneath the cardigan wrapped tightly around my torso. I haven’t been able to sleep much the past two days for fear that I would see him in my dreams. He hasn’t shown himself since the night in the parking lot, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t around, watching me from the shadows. When walking to my car now, I call my mom as a distraction from the anxiety squeezing my heart. She has been more than happy to talk with me, so that has eased the tension in my shoulders a little.
But it doesn’t erase the fear that the masked man is going to appear out of nowhere at any time.
“Miss Jones, are you okay?”
My eyes snap up to the client across from me. Jayden is a young man in his early twenties battling depression and anxiety. He was one of my first clients after I became a registered psychologist and has been coming to see me once a week to talk through his feelings and thoughts. He has a lot on his plate with his home life, so the fact that I haven’t been listening to him, lost in my own thoughts, makes my stomach twist painfully.
I adjust my position in the chair and clear my throat. Guilt claws its way up my throat as I force a smile onto my lips. “I’m okay, yes. Apologies, Jayden. Can you please repeat yourself?”
Jayden nods and repeats his words, detailing an incident that happened with his father recently. Jayden’s father isn’t a good man, to put it simply. He’s verbally abusive and doesn’t understand his son. My job is to make sure Jayden feels heard and remind him that he’s important and his life matters. He matters.
Forget about the masked man, I tell myself. Your client needs you.
I get through the rest of the session with Jayden, putting the man in the mask at the back of my mind. Jayden is grateful for my advice as he leaves my office, which eases the guilt swirling in my stomach from the mishap earlier in the session.
With a sigh, I collect my belongings and lock my office for the night. Clarissa is sitting at the receptionist's desk typing away on her obnoxiously loud keyboard. When I step toward her, juggling my phone and car keys in my hand, her brown doe eyes lift from the computer to meet mine.
“Leaving for the night, Pae?” Her voice is soft and gentle, which matches her exterior. Clarissa is freshly nineteen, so her youthful appearance brings a certain calmness to the office. I had my doubts about her to begin with, considering her age and inexperience in the field, but she is great with the clients and is a pleasure to work with.
I stop in front of her desk, meeting her gaze. “I am. Are my clients for tomorrow still available to come in?”
“Your 10:00 A.M. session was canceled an hour ago when you went in with your last client, something about getting food poisoning last night. But the rest of your sessions are good.”
Smacking my lips together, I nod. “Thank you, Lissa. You should head home, though. It’s getting late.”
She waves me off. “I won’t be much longer, I promise. Getting ahead on the tasks for the next day is one of the ways I like to stay on top of everything. As soon as I’m done, I will have Jerry escort me out to my car. He’s waiting for me out front.”
Jerry is her new boyfriend she met a couple of months ago while at a party. They seem to be good together, so I have no doubt he’ll keep her safe. I wish I could have my fiance walk me to my car, but he’s a busy man, so that’s out of the question.
I smile and nod. “Okay, well, be safe. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“Good night, Pae.”
On my way out of the building, I spot Jerry leaning against the wall beside the front door and wave at him. He returns the gesture and goes back to playing a golf game on his phone. The sidewalks are busy with people leaving work for the night, so I join the crowd and make the trek to my car.
I’m barely a few steps down the sidewalk when I get a call from my best friend, Raya. Perfect, I have someone to talk to on the phone while I walk, saving me from calling my mother again. The last thing I want to do is bother her when she’s recovering from her latest chemo treatment.
“Hey, you,” I say into the phone, a smile tipping up the corner of my lips. “Long time, no talk.”
“Pae!” Raya calls excitedly into the phone. “How have you been? How is your mom?”
“I’m good, just busy with work as usual. And she’s good too. Her most recent round of chemo went smoothly a few days ago, and she’s responding well to the new medication she is on, so I’m hopeful she’ll be able to beat the cancer.”
“God, she’s amazing,” Raya praises, her voice filled with admiration for my mom. “And I’m glad to hear you’re both doing well. I was actually calling to suggest we go out for drinks tomorrow night if you’re free. It’s a Friday night and I could use a gossip session with my best friend whom I haven’t seen in forever.”
Raya and I have been friends since middle school. I found her eating lunch in the girls’ bathroom because she didn’t have anyone to eat with. Much to my surprise, I was also going to eat in the girls’ bathroom because my friends at the time decided to ditch me to go sit with the popular boys. So, we decided to sit in the bathroom and eat our lunch together. This turned into eating lunch together every day, sleeping at each other’s house every weekend, and getting up to a lot of mischief throughout the rest of our days in school.
Honestly, we still do get up to a lot of mischief, but it’s a lot more tamed now that we are both engaged.
“I can make Saturday night work,” I respond. “With how busy work has been lately, I could use a drink to unwind a little.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Raya cheers. “No partners, okay?”
Someone bumps into my shoulder roughly, forcing a puff of air from my lips as I gather myself, standing upright. “That shouldn’t be a problem. Liam is catching up with his father to meet with some campaign sponsors and whatnot, so I’m all yours.”
“Seren is going out for drinks with his work friends, so I’m free as a bird also. He told me to tell you that the four of us need to get together soon for dinner.”
The dreaded alleyway comes into view, and my heart begins to race. I swallow hard and focus on Raya’s voice and not the blood rushing in my ears. “Yeah, that sounds good to me. Maybe we can host this time since you and Seren went out of your way to prepare such a wonderful dinner for us last time we got together.”
“Well, it was more of an engagement dinner consideringsince you had already been engaged for a few months and had decided not to have a party since you were too consumed with planning the wedding. It was the least we could do,” she points out. “But speaking of the wedding, how is the planning going?”
I turn the corner, leaving behind the safety net of strangers to keep me company, even if they don’t know it. My heart hammers against my rib cage as I walk further into the darkness. I find it hard to focus on Raya’s words because of the sense of dread that washes over me. The moment that same shiver I have felt twice now races down my spine, I stop walking, my legs unable to carry me further.
He’s here again.
This time, he’s standing about thirty feet away from me, his intimidating stance backlit by the streetlamps in the parking lot behind him.
“Oh, shit,” I breathe, staring at the masked man. My throat is thick with lead, and I’m struggling to get any air into my lungs. “Oh, no.”
“Pae?” Raya’s voice rings through the phone. “Is everything okay?”
Now that I’m much closer to him, the details of the mask become clearer. The stitching over the eyes and mouth is terrifying, especially when paired with the piercing blue eyes gazing at me from behind the mask. They hold me captive, forcing me to stay where I am. Even if I wanted to run or scream, I couldn’t. Not when his stare is so intense.
The masked man tilts his head to the side, his hands clenching and unfurling as he watches me.
“Paetyn?” Raya tries again, panic settling in her tone. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
I lower the phone to my side but don’t end the call. My gaze stays on the masked maen, my heart about to leap out of my throat. He’s wearing the same clothes as two nights ago—a black T-shirt and black jeans. How is this man not freezing? Winter in New York City is no joke.
I swallow hard, my fingers twitching around my phone at my side. If I want to get away from this man alive, I need to do something. Now. My best option is to turn and run back to the busy sidewalk. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and hurt me in the middle of a busy walkway with plenty of eyewitnesses.
Running is my only option at this point. I just pray I’m a faster runner than he is.
Without giving it another thought, I turn on my heels and make a run for the end of the alleyway. I was never the best runner in school, but I’m hoping the adrenaline and fear coursing through my rigid body are enough to propel me forward and away from the danger lurking behind me.
Unfortunately for me, as soon as I start running, the masked man does too. The pounding of his footsteps against the concrete behind me spikes my heart rate to dangerous levels.
He’s gaining on me—and quickly.
The blood rushing in my ears intensifies with each step, blocking out Raya’s concerned voice calling loudly through the phone gripped tightly in my hand. I just need to make it to the end of the alley, and I’ll be okay. If I make it out of this alleyway, he won’t be able to—
I scream the moment a pair of strong arms wrap tightly around my waist. I’m feet away from the safety of the busy sidewalk, but that joy is ripped away from me as I’m pulled back into the depths of hell. Any hope I had of surviving this man has vanished into thin air.
My phone clatters to the ground. Raya hasn’t stopped calling my name the entire time.
“Let go of me!” I cry, clawing at the skin on his forearms in the hopes it’ll get me out of his hold. But it doesn’t work. “Help! Someone help me!”
The man doesn’t say a word as he hauls me down the alleyway, my back pressed firmly against his chest. He doesn’t seem fazed by the struggle I’m putting up. But I don’t stop. If I stop fighting, I’m dead.
A wave of sandalwood and nicotine assaults my senses before something wet covers my mouth and nose. My body goes limp in his arms as all the fight leaves me, followed by what I’m sure is the depths of hell—darkness as far as the eye can see.
Paetyn’s POVFor a split second, my brain convinces me I’m blind. Darkness surrounds me, engulfing me whole and holding me hostage. But the soft buzzing working its way into the depths of my mind tells me that I haven’t been completely dragged down to the depths of hell with no sight of return. Not yet, at least.My head thumps painfully, the source coming from deep behind my eyes. The rhythmic movement echoes in my ears, making it hard to think straight. I try my best to force my hand up to cradle my head, hoping it’ll ease the pain, but my limbs are heavy. Too heavy to move. With a groan, I fight against the pain coursing through my body to force my eyes open. At first, it’s almost painful. My eyelids feel as though they’ve been glued shut, keeping me from seeing. But with a great deal of effort, I pry them open and am immediately assaulted by a warm, orange glow above me. A hiss slips past my lips as I fight to clear my vision. The sudden intrusion of light hitting my eyes only i
Paetyn’s POVFor a split second, my brain convinces me I’m blind. Darkness surrounds me, engulfing me whole and holding me hostage. But the soft buzzing working its way into the depths of my mind tells me that I haven’t been completely dragged down to the depths of hell with no sight of return. Not yet, at least.My head thumps painfully, the source coming from deep behind my eyes. The rhythmic movement echoes in my ears, making it hard to think straight. I try my best to force my hand up to cradle my head, hoping it’ll ease the pain, but my limbs are heavy. Too heavy to move. With a groan, I fight against the pain coursing through my body to force my eyes open. At first, it’s almost painful. My eyelids feel as though they’ve been glued shut, keeping me from seeing. But with a great deal of effort, I pry them open and am immediately assaulted by a warm, orange glow above me. A hiss slips past my lips as I fight to clear my vision. The sudden intrusion of light hitting my eyes only i
Paetyn’s POVA deep voice booms through the wooden door of the room, startling me awake. My heart slams into my throat as I force myself into a seated position, clutching the sheets to my chest.What the hell is going on?Even though I’ve only heard the masked man speak a few times, I recognize his voice. His tone is deep and unlike anything I’ve ever heard. But who is he talking to? No one responds to him, so I can only assume he’s speaking to someone on the phone.His muffled voice filters throughout the room, but soon his words become clearer as if he’s pacing the floor outside, getting closer and closer to the door. The desire burning deep in my chest to know what he’s saying consumes me. If I want to know more about this man and potentially learn why I’m here, I need to listen in on the conversation.Without making a noise, I slide off the creaky matt
Paetyn’s POVI blink at him, unable to form a single thought, let alone a sentence to respond to his comment. The masked man blurs in my vision as I process his insane suggestion.Thinking about him? Has he lost his damn mind? In what world would I be thinking sexually about the man who kidnapped me, has had me chained to a dingy bed for days, and refuses to speak to me? The thought is insane, that’s what it is.And yet, I feel the dampness between my thighs from my fantasy from moments ago when I thought about him touching me, his large hands caressing my skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. I shiver at the thought.Yeah, I’m a fucking liar because I am thinking about him, and that’s the problem.But I won’t admit that to him, no matter how long he sits there and stares at me with his head tilted to the side as he regards me.God, I’m pathetic.
Paetyn’s POVThe longer I sit on the mattress, staring at the moldy roof, and counting each time the masked man enters the room, the more I begin to lose my goddamn mind. Just as I thought would happen. Each second ticks by painfully slow, leaving me with nothing to do but sit and think. Think about the situation I’m in. Think about my mother and if she’s okay. And think about the masked man and the tension between us that only seems to grow each time he visits my room.A few days have passed since I got myself off to my captor. Shame and guilt have plagued me ever since, reminding me how terrible of a person I am. I have a fiance searching for me, and here I am finger fucking myself at the thought of another man. The same man who kidnapped me.I’m beyond fucked up. Or maybe I’m just going crazy the longer I’m trapped inside these four walls. The walls feel as though they’re closin
Paetyn’s POVMy eyes snap open, and my heart thunders in my chest. I open my mouth to speak, but only a puff of air escapes, followed by the realization that I’m fucked.I want to tell him he’s insane, but the dampness between my thighs gives me away, calling me a liar. I would rather lose every ounce of air from my lungs before admitting he’s right. Hell, I don’t even know why my body is reacting to my kidnapper this way, but I’m helpless to stop it. At this point, it has a mind of its own, and apparently, that entails being turned on by being held captive.Liam’s face appears in my mind, reminding me how wrong this is and why I shouldn’t be thinking about a stranger the way I am, but when he tightens his grip around my throat, the image disappears, replaced with burning desire deep in my core.Goddamnit.“I asked you a question,” he utters, his voice dangerously low. He drags his nose across my cheek, his war
Paetyn’s POVBANG!My eyes snap open at the loud noise. It’s hard to figure out where it came from within the house, but it sounded close. I’m disoriented with sleep-crusted eyes as I pull the thin sheet up to my chin, staring at the locked door to the room.What is my kidnapper doing? Besides the time he woke me up talking loudly on the phone, I tend not to hear a peep from him throughout the day. I don’t know what he does when he isn’t bringing me food and watching me eat—or fucking me like a depraved man—but he certainly doesn’t usually make noise like that.My heart nearly leaps out of my throat at the sound of rushing footsteps. Not just one set of footsteps, but I detect multiple.What is going on? Has my captor finally decided to sell me to a group of traffickers, and now they’ve come to collect me?I scoot back further on the mattress, the box
PaetynThe insistent beeping of the machines surrounding my bed has been driving me insane all night. At this point, I would rather have the silence of the shack I spent the last week trapped in.Since arriving at the hospital yesterday afternoon, I haven’t slept a wink. It’s a little hard when nurses and doctors are rushing in and out of the room to check my vitals and ensure I’m doing okay. Add to that a horde of reporters trying to get a statement from the woman who survived a kidnapping and lived to tell the tale and you’ve got yourself a goddamn nightmare.Thankfully, Liam has been kind enough to handle the media for me as I’m in no condition to be speaking with them. I’m exhausted, desperate for a proper night’s rest in my bed at home, and want nothing more than to see my mother. When I was rescued, Liam informed me that he had been visiting my mother to ensure she knew he was doing everything he could to find me. I was grateful to hear such an update since I had been worried ab
Ace’s POVA scream pierces through the air, sharp and painful. Any normal person would cringe at the sound or be filled with such fear it would make their knees wobble like a newborn fawn. But I’m not a normal person. Never claimed to be. I’m the fucking devil. I squat in front of the man chained to the roof of the basement in the Gambino mansion. His trembling arms are attached to the hook on the low ceiling by a thick metal clasp. He hangs there helplessly, leaving the rest of his body exposed to me to do with as I please. My gaze rakes over the sweat and blood clinging to his pale skin. Bruises and gashes paint his body like the finest piece of artwork, thanks to my fists. Electricity thrums through my veins at the sight of this kid, not much older than nineteen if I had to guess. I should feel some ounce of remorse for punishing someone who is nowhere near mature enough to understand his actions. And some part of me wants to feel that because he doesn’t know any better. But I d
Paetyn’s POVI’m concerned about Ace. Last week, I noticed he had busted knuckles that were split and beginning to bruise around the torn skin. When I asked what happened to him, he gave me that same straight-faced look I always get when I asked questions about his job. I know he is an enforcer and has to hurt people, but it doesn’t make me any less worried about him when he leaves in the morning. Not knowing if he’s out on the streets in danger sends me into a spiral more often than not. I know he’s a man capable of looking after himself, but it still doesn’t ease the tension in my chest. He won’t tell me the details of his job, and I don’t expect him to, but sometimes I think I would be better off knowing to help me relax a little more. But until that day comes—if ever—I will have to get used to worrying about my boyfriend. Boyfriend. It’s an odd feeling thinking of him as that. Who would’ve known that Ace, my kidnapper and stalker, would become my boyfriend? Certainly not me, bu
Ace’s POVEnzo was adamant about this shakedown going smoothly. He doesn’t want a single thing to go wrong. The goal is to get the message across to the Bonanno crew and their leader, Antonio, that we’re not to be messed with. If they don’t back off, Enzo will have no problem coming at them full force with me at his side. And unfortunately for them, I like getting my hands dirty. All the made men in the group stand around me, black hoods covering their heads, concealing their identities. Enzo ensured they were equipped with every weapon under the sun that’ll be useful in protecting them if shit goes south. I’d like to think I have this under control. After all, Enzo trusted me to do this, so I’m going to do it right. “Does everyone remember the plan?” My voice is quiet but deep in an attempt to not be detected where we stand in the shadows of the quarry. The full moon is our only source of light, which works in our favor for staying hidden. “The Bonanno crew have a gun shipment comi
Ace’s POVIt took every ounce of self control I possessed to not kill Patrick Aster with my bare hands. The smug look on his face when he told Paetyn to publicly name herself as an obsessed ex-fiancee to save Liam’s ass, and in return she’ll recieve one million dollars, had me seeing red. If Paetyn wasn’t standing in front of me, I would have lunged for the motherfucker. As much as I wanted to paint my hands red with his blood for having the audacity to speak to my girl that way, I reigned in my temper and allowed her to make her own decisions. Plus, I got far too much enjoyment out of seeing his face when I answered as her boyfriend. I’m sure Pat will have a swell time informing his son of that development. Paetyn trails me as we walk the small pathway to the front door of our house. Her presence behind me is all-consuming, like a wildfire licking at my back, ready to devour me. Every inch of her is ingrained in my mind—there isn’t a thing I don’t know about this woman or what she
Paetyn’s POVThe Aster mansion sends chills down my spine. Every dinner I ate with them consisted of Liam and Pat talking about politics while Angie smiled and nodded along as if it were the most riveting of topics. I was always bored out of my mind because not only am I not interested in politics, but they hardly ever included me in their conversation. All they cared about was their precious son. The same son who had me kidnapped and held hostage as a trick for his campaign.I never thought I’d be back here after I ended the engagement with Liam, but now, here I stand, staring down the barrel of the gun. My muscles itch, desperate for me to turn around and hightail it back to the comfort of Ace’s house where I know I’m safe. Here… anything can happen. No one is truly safe in the presence of Patrick Aster.“Pae, are you okay?” Ace’s hand rests on my shoulder, his chest brushing my back. I lean into the warmth of his hand, soaking in the comfort his gentle touch brings me. “If you
Paetyn’s POVMy legs ache as I pace the bedroom, hands clasped firmly behind my back. The skin on my bottom lip is raw from the amount of times I’ve dragged my teeth over it, thoughts lost on the phone call I received this afternoon. Pat Aster wants to meet with me. Why? Why now after weeks of this back and forth with Liam? I’m sure he’s looking to squash this fire before it grows into an inferno, but how does he think this will go? Intimidate me until I roll over and pretend this never happened? He’s delusional if he thinks I’m going to allow his son to get away with what he did to me. Liam deserves every ounce of bad karma coming his way. It would be in my best interest to tell him to shove his meeting where the sun doesn’t shine because he doesn’t deserve a second of my town. But on the other hand, curiosity is pushing me toward needing to know what Pat’s intentions are. If I don’t show up on Monday, I may never know what he wants, and that worries me more than actually meetin
Ace’s POVVoices echo through my mind like an incessant pounding of a drum, grating on every last nerve. I grit my teeth to avoid telling everyone to shut up so I can think. It doesn’t help that we’re crammed into the formal dining room in Enzo’s mansion, waiting for him to arrive. My nails dig painfully into my palms, my fists pressed to my thighs. The wooden chair creak beneath my weight as I lean back, staring at the deep mahogany table I’m sure must’ve cost a fortune. Glasses of whiskey litter the vast space, consumed at different paces by the men occupying every seat. They’re men I’ve known for many years and respect, but right now, I want to get lost in my thoughts about a certain silver-haired woman. Walking the streets of New York City with Paetyn a few days ago was unexpected, and, dare I say, relaxing–eventually. The moment we stepped out of my house, her hand wrapped in mine, tension lined every muscle in my body. Even through lunch, I couldn’t help but feel as though som
Paetyn’s POV“Thank you for coming in today, Ben.” I push open the door to my office and move to the side, locking my gaze on the man not much older than me rising from his seat on the couch. “I have you scheduled for two weeks from today for your next session.”Ben rubs the back of his neck, unable to meet my eyes as he steps past me into the hallway. “Thank you, Miss Jones.” His large frame turns in the hallway, brown eyes lifting from the ground to meet mine. “I needed this.”I smile. “I’m glad to hear that. You’re making great progress with your anxiety and depression, so keep up with the techniques we spoke about today, and then we can discuss how they’ve helped in our next session.”Ben nods. “Of course. I’ll see you in two weeks.”My grip on the handle tightens, and I lift my hand in a wave. “Take care, Ben.” My client turns and walks down the hallway, disappearing into the foyer.I exhale a sharp breath and run a hand down the side of my face, exhaustion settling into my bones
Paetyn’s POV“I really shouldn’t have had that extra pizza slice.” A soft groan escapes my parted lips as I rub my stomach, regretting my recent choices. “You said you were hungry,” Ace points out, his arm brushing mine as we wander through Central Park. His hand tightens around my fingers, as if he’s claiming me for everyone to see. “I was only doing what you asked of me.”“I know,” I whine, tilting my head back with a pout turning down my lips. “But I wish you had told me no or dragged me past the food stand. It feels like my stomach is creating the largest food baby known to mankind.”Ace snorts a laugh. “Pae, you’re being dramatic.”“I don’t know that I am,” I murmur, returning my gaze forward. Central Park has to be the most stunning place during winter. Frost and snow cover the grass lining the walkway, and the benches require a mini snow plougher to rid them of the thick snow. Footprints from hundreds of people span the width of the walkway, telling a story of eager tourists