"Clara."

The voice came from the doorway, quiet, deep, and utterly devoid of warmth.

Clara screamed, dropping her phone. It clattered against the hardwood floor. She spun around in the leather chair to find Julian Cross standing in the threshold of the office.

He had taken off his suit jacket,

The morning light filtering through the bulletproof glass of the penthouse did nothing to warm the sprawling, sterile space. It only highlighted the rigid lines of the gilded cage Clara Hayes now called home.

Julian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, meticulously adjusting the cuffs of his char

"Get in the car, Clara," Elias repeated, his voice dropping an octave, the polite corporate veneer peeling back to reveal the lethal syndicate enforcer beneath.

"Clara, please," Maya sobbed, her hands shaking on the steering wheel. "He said he won't hurt us if you just get in. He said Julian just