GENEVA

Itried to squirm, but the tight, plastic zip ties digging into my wrists and ankles stopped me. The carpet underneath me scratched my bare back and shoulders. The pain made me wince, and tears sprang to my eyes, but that was nothing compared to the terror consuming me right now.


I fought back the urge to start crying, but the gag in my mouth muffled any sound. Shadows crossed back and forth beyond my field of view, but the darkness didn't stop me from hearing every word my captors said.

'As soon as you consummate the marriage, we can transfer her assets to our family trust."

'And make sure you do it right," another harsh voice snarled. 'You need to make her understand the position she's in. We're here to ruin her, not turn her into some kind of martyr."


'The Levine chopper is moving off," a third announced. 'We're all clear."

'Good." A figure stepped out of the shadows, and just in case I didn't already understand how much danger I was in, Don Marco Navaro stopped in front of me.


He smiled down at me in what was probably supposed to be a fatherly smile. 'So kind and generous of you to accept my son's proposal of marriage, Miss Levine. I know our families are going to be the closest allies."

Enzo and Ricky Navaro advanced behind their father, and they both burst into sadistic laughter. Enzo leered at me.

Don Marco strolled the rest of the way over to me and prodded me with his toe. 'Hmm. You don't look like anything but a slut to me. If you are still a virgin, you won't be after tonight."

I really did start crying then, but that only seemed to encourage them. Enzo dropped on one knee in front of me and started groping my bare shoulders, down my arm, and stroking me through my dress.

'Is that true, you little slut? Are you still a virgin, or did you give it up to Charles Terranova? He won't look at you again after tonight. No one will. Maybe when we're finished with you, you really will be ready for the street because you won't have two pennies to rub together."

He ran his hand down my leg and started pulling up my dress. His hot hand touched my thigh, and I exploded in a terrified frenzy.

I screamed through the gag and tried to kick him away, but he only laughed. He squeezed the back of my neck and then caressed down my chest to manhandle my breasts.

This couldn't be happening. I couldn't be the Navaros' prisoner. No one knew where I was. Levi wouldn't be able to find me before the Navaros ruined my life completely.

Enzo's hand glided up between my thighs, but Marco yanked him away. 'Not yet! You can help yourself later. Right now, we have to focus on business."

Enzo straightened up, but he didn't stop glaring down at me in primal greed. I knew exactly what was on his mind.

I tried again to twist out of my restraints, but I only hurt myself doing it. I couldn't let this happen. I had to find a way to escape… but how?

Marco waved behind him. 'You know what you have to do. Get it done, and we can finish this once and for all."

My blood ran cold when Ryder stepped out of the shadows. His eyes barely registered that I was there at all, or if they did, they had gone so dead and unfeeling that he hardly looked like the same person.

His countenance smoldered with barely suppressed malice. He looked even more like the Prince of Darkness I thought he was at my father's funeral.

He wore his usual black suit. It set off his black hair, dark goatee, and deep, black eyes, but now his skin looked deadly white in the dim light. The shadows cast his eye sockets in darkness, so his features looked more like a skull.

He crossed the floor toward me, and I froze when I noticed that he was holding a powerful handgun in one hand.

He halted, staring down at me like I was nothing but a piece of meat on the floor. His lips hovered just far enough apart that I could see his teeth between them. That expression looked so brutal and heartless. This couldn't be the same man I actually cared enough about to consider marrying.

'Do it," Don Marco snapped again. 'Take her now. She won't be able to put up any struggle, and as soon as you do, we can deal with the marriage paperwork. She never has to leave this room until we're ready to send her to the whorehouse where she belongs."

Ryder took a step nearer. He turned his back to his father and stood directly over me. I couldn't look at him. He wasn't going to do this. He wasn't going to take me by force to set off his father's evil plan.

Ryder couldn't be the one to steal my inheritance and destroy my father's empire. I didn't want to believe it, but here he was, standing over me under his father's and brothers' cruel eyes.

I gulped down rising desperation, but I couldn't stop myself from crying. The zip ties dug into my wrists even tighter, and trying to struggle only made them hurt worse. How much worse could it be when Ryder started… whatever he was going to do?

He wouldn't be nice the way he was in my bedroom. As soon as he finished, Enzo and Ricky would be sure to take their turns. They definitely wouldn't be nice.

Didn't they just say I was here to learn a lesson? They brought me here to ruin me, and they wouldn't stop until they did.

Did Ryder ever feel anything for me? Was his visit to the estate all part of this plan? He fooled me, but he also fooled Levi, Nico, and Charles.

'Go on," Marco insisted. 'What are you waiting for?"

Ryder didn't move. The moment dragged on so long that I couldn't restrain my curiosity.

I looked up at Ryder, and I froze a second time when three Genevant figures materialized out of thin air. Charles, Levi, and Nico vaporized out of the darkness itself. They surrounded the Navaros, but they appeared so silently that Marco, Enzo, and Ricky didn't notice them.

Ryder didn't show any sign that he saw them, either. He kept glaring down at me like he might attack me at any second, but now I knew he wouldn't. The three guys wouldn't let him lay a finger on me. They would kill him first, and I held my breath for that moment when they took revenge on him.

Without warning, Ryder whipped around fast. His arm shot out, and his gun went off before he even took the time to aim.

The shot exploded in his father's face, and Don Marco's head exploded in a cloud of blood and gore. He tilted backward and slammed down on the floor. Enzo and Ricky both spun around and came face to face with three guns pointed in their faces.

Ryder dropped on his knees in front of me, and his gun fell to the floor. His hand came to rest on my shoulder, and it was the soft, gentle hand I remembered. 'Are you okay? I'm so sorry about this. Here. Let me take those off."

He started to take the gag out of my mouth and then bent over my back to cut the zip tie around my wrists.

The minute he moved out of my way, Enzo and Ricky collapsed under a rain of blows as the three guys moved in. Thumps and brutal groans drifted from the shadows, and then two quick gunshots echoed through the room.

'Never mind about them," Ryder murmured in my ear. His arms surrounded me, and he started to pick me up. 'Come on. Let's get you home."