The black SUV had seemed legitimate. Government plates, professional driver in a suit, the calm assurance of "Mr. Marvin sent me to ensure your safety." I'd been stupid enough to believe it for exactly ten seconds.
Then the chloroform rag covered my face, and the world went dark.
I awoke in the back of the vehicle, wrists bound together by zip-ties, and with a throbbing headache. From the darkened windows, I caught glimpses of Manhattan's towering skyline rising higher as we progressed deeper into the city's boundaries. Our driver caught a glimpse of my reflection in the rearview mirror.
"Don't struggle, Miss Blaire. We're almost there."
"Where?"
"Somewhere safe. Mr. Torrino wishes to have a discussion concerning your future."
My stomach sank. Torrino - the rival family. The ones threatening Tony.
"Conversations, I'm not interested in."
"You will be." The driver's smile was cold. "Especially when we talk about your brother's safety."
Elliot. They knew about Elliot.
We entered an underground parking garage - the Torrino Building, I realized with a sick certainty. They led me through concrete tunnels and into an elevator. Rising through its walls as we climbed, my panicked thoughts spiraled through possible actions. Scream? Fight? They're armed. I have zip ties and fear.
The doors opened on the 32nd floor. Angelo Torrino himself was waiting in the corridor, surrounded by armed men. He was shorter than I imagined, middle-aged, with hawk-like eyes that appraised me as if I were a product.
"Katherine Blaire. Thank you for joining us." His manners turned my flesh cold. "I apologize for the dramatic pickup, but we couldn't risk you declining our invitation."
"This is kidnapping."
"This is business." He gestured down the hallway. "Please, this way. We have a lot to discuss."
They dragged me to a conference room with windows stretching all the way to the floor. One of his men cut my zip ties, and my hands dropped in front of me, numbed and bleeding. Angelo motioned toward a chair at the top of the table.
"Sit. Make yourself comfortable."
I sat down because my legs could no longer support me. "What do you want?"
"We'd like to give you an opportunity."
Angelo slid a contract across the table.
"Ten years, sole contractual agreement with our firm. Nice benefits package, excellent pay, and best of all - protection for you and your brother."
I examined the contract. The figures were staggering. Double what I'd been making at Premier Financial. But it was clear from the terms of the offer that it wasn't a job offer.
This was ownership.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then we'll be very disappointed."
Angelo's smile failed to reach his eyes. "Your brother Elliot - a brilliant young man, by the way, would be devastated to have lost his sister. Especially so close to his finals."
The danger loomed in the air like poison. Sign or Elliot dies, or even me.
"You're using me to get to Tony."
"We're giving you a choice."
Angelo leaned back. "Sign that contract, work for us, and all those you care about will remain unscathed. Alternatively, refuse, and face the consequences of loyalty to the wrong man."
"I need time to think,"
"You have five minutes." He glanced at his watch. "After that, my patience is up. And when my patience is up, so is everything else."
The door opened. A tall blonde woman entered wearing a white Chanel suit. Victoria Sterling. She gave me a cold assessment glance before turning to whisper to Angelo.
She just left without even noticing me.
What in the world is Victoria Sterling doing here?
Before I could fully absorb this, Angelo produced his cell phone. "It's time to call your boyfriend. Let him know that you're safe, and we'd like to talk to you."
"He'll never come alone."
"He will if he wants you alive."
Angelo dialed, setting it to speaker. "Mr. Marvin. We have Katherine Blaire. She came quite willingly, actually. Very cooperative."
"If you hurt her-" Tony's voice was deadly calm.
"Oh, we're definitely not hurting her. We're offering her a fabulous job with our organization. Now, if she takes it, well, that will establish all we need to know about her loyalties to you, won't it?"
"Where is she?"
"Meet us at Torrino Building. 32nd floor. Come alone and unarmed, then maybe we can all have a nice conversation." He paused. "Or don't come, and we'll assume Miss Blaire is open to new opportunities. Your call."
"I'm coming. Don't touch her."
"Thirty minutes. Alone." Angelo hung up and turned to me. "Your boyfriend obviously loves you a lot. Let's hope it's not enough to get you both killed.
I sat at that conference table, my hands raw and bleeding from the zip ties, trying to come up with a plan. However, in all possibilities, it led to just one thing: Tony getting caught in a trap and us both ending up dead.
Unless I could somehow tip the odds in my favor.
The minutes dragged by, and I could hear Angelo making calls through the door; his men were checking their guns, and I was seated inside, trying not to reveal how scared I was. Through the window, the city's lights twinkled, oblivious to the impending violence.
Finally, I heard footsteps in the hallway.
"Anthony Marvin. Right on time." I could hear him motioning to his men as they aimed their guns at Tony. "Please, come in. We have business to discuss."
The door opened, and they all walked in.
Tony was alone, defenseless, his green eyes meeting mine as soon as I was in his line of sight.
"Katherine." His voice caught slightly on my name.
"Tony, don't-" I began, but Angelo interrupted me.
Tony stepped in slowly, his eyes never leaving me. I watched as he calculated probabilities, determined threats of danger, and planned violence.
"She is not involved in this," Tony whispered. "Your issue is with me."
"On the contrary. She's very much part of this."
Angelo offered the contract to me.
"Simple choice, really. Katherine signs a ten-year contract of employment with us, or both of you will die right here in this alleyway. What is it worth to you, Tony Marvin? Her life?"
I watched as Tony's jaw clenched, as the conflict raged within his eyes. He was going to refuse. He was going to get us both killed rather than let me become a slave.
"Don't sign it," he said, affirming my fears.
"Your last chance, Miss Blaire. Sign or die," he said while pressing a gun against my temple.
I glanced at Tony across the table from me. At a man I'd known for less than a month, yet he'd turned my whole world around. The dangerous, ruthless mafia boss, who's willing to give it all up for me.
"I love you," I said. "I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner."
Tony's expression shattered. "Katherine..."
"Touching," interrupted Angelo. "But time's up. Mr. Marvin, final answer. Is she worth your life?"
My eyes met Tony's, and in them I saw absolute certainty.
"Yes," he said. "She really is."
Angelo's finger tightened around the trigger.
Then came an explosion of windows behind us.
Glass erupted inward as men in tactical gear rappelled in on cables, guns drawn. Thomas Marvin's voice thundered above the din. "Drop your weapons!"
Gunfire erupted. A body landed on top of me as bullets ripped through the conference room. I crashed to the floor as splinters of glass showered down around me.
Amidst all that was happening, I heard Tony shouting my name.
I crawled towards his voice, disregarding the pain, disregarding the blood, disregarding everything else to get to him.
A hand grasped mine. Tony dragged me back over an overturned table, his body protecting mine as bullets flew back and forth.
"Are you hurt?" His palms touched me to check if I was injured.
"I'm fine. Tony, Victoria Sterling was just here - she's somehow involved-
"I know. We'll take care of her later." He kissed me passionately and desperately. "First, we have to survive."
Thomas materialized alongside us, gun in hand. "Can you move?"
I nodded.
"Then let's get the hell out of here." Thomas fired three shots as Tony dragged me towards the emergency door.
We ran.
Behind us, I could hear Angelo screaming out orders, hear gunfire ringing out, hear the sounds of a war we'd sparked just because we'd fallen in love. But as Tony's hand clasped mine, drawing me to safety, one thought crystallized with absolute clarity in my mind: I'd walk through hell for this man.
And from the looks of it, that's precisely where we were headed.