the parking lot of a cheap motel on the edge of town. A neon

water stains on th

room," Elvie stated, her voice trembling wit

. The temperature inside the cabin immediately began to drop,

as suffocating. She pushed her door open, popped her br

the rain. The wind whipped her wet hair against her cheeks. She crossed her arm

. The cheap jacket hanging off her thin shoulders did nothing to diminish the quiet, unconscious authority in

tomach. She had expected a tearful, grateful orphan. Someone she could mold. Someone she could control

inding xenon headlights pie

he road. Sandwiched between them was an extended-wheelbase Maybach. Th

he air smelled faintly of expensi

was clenched tight. A vicious migraine, born from years of severe

view mirror. He saw the tight lines of pain around Dono

uttered. "I-80 being closed completely

and roughly loosened his silk tie. His breathing was shallo

lass rolled down

nto the cabin. It hit Donovan's face, offering

ly past the flickering

gaze drifted through the rain and lande

econd, Celina l

, casting a brief, sickly pink glow through the rain. For one suspended heartbeat, the light cut through the darkness of the Maybach's cabin, ill

van

There was only a raw, untamed defiance and a chilling coldness t

ld-money dynasties. The way she held his gaze-steady, unblinking, unimpressed-belonged to someone who

not belong to a girl standing in

on of his own darkness. This girl hadn't just suffered. She had been broken and rebuilt

e a single, hard th

ead stopped. The silence in his brain was

t... gone. He inhaled sharply, his hand instinctively pressing against his

a cold, dangerous energy, like a predator resting in the dark. A shiver of recognition prickled at the base of he

t rolled past her and disa

ded. His voice was low, raspy,

on the brakes. "What's wr

he window down completely. He tw

vy. The motel was sw

t stare was burned into his retinas. His chest rose and

Preston said, his voice laced with confusion. "Find out exactly who that girl is," Donovan ordered, his eyes still fixed on the dark rearview mirror. Preston leaned in, tapping the screen to pull up th

rhythmic motion betraying the sudden, intense focus in his

paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "S

frowne

mirk deepened. "I'll s

The name rolled off his t

We aren't going straight to the penthouse tomor

er wasted his time on new-money families like the H

t the car in drive, and the con