o

the hotel was cool, bu

phone glowing in the dark. She had won the bid. B

rust fund had 420 million liquid. She was sho

ington accounts to cover the gap, but as she trie

ACCOUNT FROZEN

He was trying to strangle her financially

Liam for approval as her "spouse." She needed private

d. "Take me to T

d Alfred, hesitated. "Miss Skye... that

rive,

district. It was where the city's real deals were made-the illeg

The bouncer, a man the size of a

ack to your tea party, he sneered.

from her clutch and wrote on a cockta

Container 404. I

bouncer. "Give this to Mr. Thorne. Tell h

at her. The confidence in her eyes un

ors opened. Felix Carter s

ious, Felix sai

c thumped in her chest. The air smelled of expensive smoke

was dark, lit only by the city lights fi

suit jacket. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the top, sleeves rolled u

"My rival's shipment. Contraband weapons hidden in silk.

g her. "How does a socialite know a

te him, crossing her legs. S

this scandal broke five years later. It w

a dark, rumbling sound th

e land I bid on? The l

Skye corrected. "And I'll pay y

ike a panther stalking a deer. He stopped right in front of her

from hers. She could smell him-sanda

ered. His breath ghosted over her lips. "I ha

d she thought he must hear it. This man was dangerou

asked, her voice ste

. He saw the fire in her

de Gala next week, Alistair said. "He

t an in

"I want you to burn it

hind her ear, his fingers r

iated. Thoroughly. Publicly. Mak

d this time, it was genuine.

r. Thorne, she purred

to his desk and picked up a secure landli

Skye. "Authorize a transfer. Eighty million. Acc

up the

said, the nickname rolling off his to

name 'Oracle' was a closely guarded secret, buried under layers of encryption. Yet Alistair Tho

Before she left, she turned back, maski

me is

his whiskey, watching