Page 31 (1/2)

Prologue

Sophie Sarantos woke instantly, knowing that she wasn’t alone So that had pushed through the fog of sleep and brought her to consciousness She didn’t waste tihtstand, desperate to grab the weapon she kept hidden there

But her fingers never touched the nightstand drawer Because he caught her hand Trapped her hand in a hard grip Powerful Too strong His fingers were encased in a leather glove and that one glove held her right hand trapped while his other hand—also covered in that leather—closed over her mouth

“Don’t scream, Sophie, you know I’d never hurt you”

No, no, she didn’t know that She knew she was in a dark rooe ht

But she didn’t fight She lay still as her h a dozen different escape scenarios She’d had plenty of self-defense classes

I have to get away from him

“I orried about you,” he said He was leaning over her A big, hulking shadow in the darkness “I heard what that bastard did to you” His voice was a low, gruff rasp Disguised? “I had to make sure you were safe”

This wasn’t happening She wanted it to be a bad dream, as she’d wanted so htly and twisted

“I’ voice

Sophie shook her head She couldn’t speak, not with that glove over her mouth

“I’ll kill anyone who hurts you Anyone who gets too close You belong to me, Sophie Always”

The hell she did And Sophie lunged up Her head slammed into his She wanted to break the bastard’s nose Wanted him off her

He staggered back Sophie seized that opportunity for freedoed off her bed and ran for the door

“Sophie!” Her name was a roar of fury

She yanked open her bedrooo down the stairs His painful grip hurt and she felt the press of a blade against her side

“You shouldn’t run from me,” he muttered, his breath hot on her neck “Never me Not after all I’ve done for you”

Screw that She drove her elbow back against hirunted and his hold loosened for one precious moment She took that moment and fleard her staircase

But he grabbed for her again and she had to twist at the lastand bouncing over those stairs It hurt, but she didn’t care, because when Sophie crashed at the bottoet to her feet and run for the door Her whole body ached, but she wasand then she was outside The cold, crisp DC air hit her

His footsteps thundered behind her Sophie didn’t look back “Help hts frohts, waving her hands “Help me!”

The car stopped with a loud screech of its brakes A ht?”

Hell, no, she wasn’t all right She grabbed his coat, clenching it in her fists “Call the police Now” She finally glanced back toward her home, the brownstone that had been hers for the last few years It was dark Menacing The front door had been shut He shut it He’d closed it after she ran outside Because I know I left it open

He’d shut the door, and he aiting for her inside

“We’ve searched thoroughly,” Detective Faith Chestang said as she sighed and faced Sophie, “but we can’t find any sign of an intruder”

Sophie stood on her porch She hadn’t wanted to go back into the house, not until the cops were done Not until they brought that guy out in cuffs Only the police hadn’t brought out any perp And now Faith, a wo they’d found no sign of hiht be crazy

Sophie’s chin jerked up “He was here”

Faith took a slow step toward her “I know these last feeeks have been hard on you,” Faithto Sophie and not to the uniformed officers still in the area “Daniel Duvato attacked you in your own home”

Daniel Duvato Just the ht Right in Sophie’s brownstone He’d knocked her out, given her a lovely new scar when he shattered a lamp over her head, and he’d left her there

In a hoas