linging to his suit. Her plea was a ragged whisper, but

low murmur. "A, walk away. This has 'setup' writte

omething else in their depths-a flicker of hard, unyielding resolve that didn't

else, something uniquely her own, like fresh rain on cool stone. T

BANG

e door open. "Call security! Tell them there

ody went rigid. This couldn't become a police matter. That woul

ightly, her gaze fixed on the man's shadowed face. "Take me wit

. Even in this state,

drien's mouth tilted upward in a ba

low, resonant baritone that seemed

rm slid decisively behind her back, the other under her kne

instinctively went around his neck, her body curling against his chest for stabilit

eovers, stare down federal regulators, and dismantle corporate empires without a flicker of emotion.

rd a discreet, unmarked door at the end of the alcove-a service corridor. Hi

opping back into its familiar, authoritative tone. "I want tonight scrubbed. From ev

said, his own voice now serious. He knew th

low, powerful thrum that grounded her. The drug-induced heat was still raging through her, but she burie

hotel's back-of-house, a world away from the gilded l

with the stoic expression of a palace guard, saw Adrien emerge with a woman in his arms. A flicker of surprise crossed

to the soft leather of the back s

spital," he to

curb, gliding silently into t

eelance paparazzo, had been tipped that Adrien Hebert was at The Plaza for a meeting. He'd been hoping for a shot of him w

The car. A custom Bentley Mulsanne, one of

e back door opened. The lighting was terrible, the angle was bad, but he captured it: a blurry imag

al screen. The girl's face was obscured, lost in shadow and motion, but it didn't mat

st of her will dissolved, and she slumped sideways, her head coming to rest ag

e streetlights. A stray lock of her ashen hair had fallen across her cheek.

d, becoming more intense, more possessive. He had no

is to dea