My phone began to buzz in my pocket, the display telling me Enzo was calling. “Let me grab this … Yeah.”

The gravity in Enzo’s voice had me instantly on alert. “I just got a call. Sofia’s in danger.”

I hadn’t stopped smiling all morning. It was amazing what love and several mind-blowing orgasms could do for a girl’s outlook. I wasn’t a moody person, but I also wasn’t typically chipper either—no one had ever volunteered me for the Miss Congeniality ballot.

Nico had dropped me off at work with a packed lunch and strict instructions not to leave the gallery until he picked me up at the end of the day. He admitted that he’d been following me since being assigned guard duty and spent most of his days in his car watching me. Though I was a little disappointed in my observational skills, I was glad to know I’d had a protective eye watching over me. We decided if I wasn’t leaving the gallery, he could spend the day at his office and get caught up on some of his own work.

When I got a text from Michael asking me to meet him at a coffee shop two doors down from the gallery, I knew I’d be safe with him, and it was only about thirty feet from work. What could happen in thirty feet? Plus, it was broad daylight in busy Manhattan. I was worried there’d been a development with the cop and wanted to hear what he had to say.

It was midmorning, so only a couple of people were at the counter, neither of whom were Michael. The place had a small seating section in the back, so I scooted past the line to check back there. The moment I rounded the corner, something heavy crashed down on my head and everything went dark.

Hadn’t winter already ended? Why is it so cold? I thought it was spring, but everything feels so fuzzy.

My mind stirred to life in a groggy haze of confusion, cold, and pain—most noticeable was the pounding headache that pulsed angrily at the back of my head. As my eyes fluttered open, I wondered if I’d passed out after drinking and was hung over. None of it made sense.

I went to rub my aching temples and found that my hands were bound by a series of zip ties, as were my ankles. Adrenaline shocked my brain back to functional capacity, making me recall my search in the coffee shop and the pain that brought on the darkness. I bolted upright to sit on the frozen concrete floor and discovered I wasn’t alone.

“Finally, you’re awake. I started to think maybe I’d been a little overzealous when I hit you.” Sal. My father’s former best friend paced the small room in a wrinkled suit with several days’ worth of stubble on his jaw. I’d never seen him anything less than impeccably dressed. The sight of him so disheveled and frenzied was enough on its own to unsettle me. But knowing what had happened to Alessia and waking with my hands and feet bound left me absolutely terrified.