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CHAPTER ONE
The dark hood over Angela’s head was suffocating. Every breath felt thick, and her heart pounded furiously to make up for the lack of oxygen. Or so it seemed. A good deal of her racing heart was from pure terror.
It seemed ludicrous that just ten minutes prior, she had been getting into her car in the parking lot at the hospital where she worked as a surgeon, and now she was rolling around in the trunk of a stranger’s car with her hands bound behind her back and a hood over her head. It wasn’t her first time in this kind of predicament, and she reminded herself that she could breathe through the thick fabric. So, she ordered herself to take one measured breath in, then exhaled slowly. She repeated the action three more times before she was able to breathe with more ease and wonder just how she had gotten into the situation.
A group of three men had walked over to her, and her well-honed spidey senses flared to life. But, like an idiot, she ignored them when one of the men spoke politely.
“Excuse me, are you a doctor?” the man questioned.
Angela confirmed that she was indeed a doctor, then the man grimaced and said, “I’m really sorry about this.”
He moved with lightning speed, wrenching her hands behind her back at the same time as a black hood was pulled over her head. She had gotten a few kicks into some shins before she was shoved into the trunk of a flashy car.
Now, here she was, being driven to a second location like a victim. But she wasn’t a victim. She never would be again. Which was why, when she felt the car slow down and eventually stop, she tucked her feet underneath her in preparation for the trunk to open.
She strained, listening to the sound of the doors opening and closing, followed by some muffled voices. She quickly looked down, shaking her head vigorously and dislodging the black fabric. She gasped, blinking and trying to see anything at all. But there was nothing but her in the surprisingly large space. When the trunk opened suddenly, she pushed up from her knees, ramming her head into the chest of her nearest abductor. He grunted but didn’t go down.
“Shit! Grab her!” the man yelled.
She found herself in the arms of not one but two men as she was hauled bodily out of the car. They continued to carry her — swearing all the way as if she was the problem — across what looked to be an underground parking garage. It was large, with polished concrete floors and dozens of vehicles. Unfortunately, she was unable to get a good look at any license plates before she was loaded into an elevator.
The man she had rammed into grabbed her jaw, forcing her to look at him. “Will you calm down? Nobody’s going to hurt you,” he said.
Angela yanked her head back. Her skin was already crawling from the unwanted touch. “Like I haven’t heard that before. Fuck you!” she snarled at him.
He shook his head, stepping back and not saying anything else. She watched the numbers on the elevator go up and up until the doors finally opened on floor fifty. She was finally placed on her feet as the men dragged her from the elevator, down a hallway with closed doors, and into an open area with couches. She took in every detail she could, from the soft-gray walls to the plush carpet beneath her feet. She realized she was in a very expensive building, and the underground area must have been a private garage.
“Hey.” Her abductor clicked his fingers in front of her face. “I’m going to untie you because you’re going to need your hands. Don’t try anything stupid, Doc,” he ordered her.
Angela had no intention of listening to him, but she nodded her head, feigning submission. Her right fist shot out the moment her hands were freed, striking one of her kidnappers in the throat. The large brute of a man choked, his blue eyes going wide before he bent forward and coughed. Angela took great satisfaction in the look of shock and pain on his face as he struggled to breathe. She raised her foot to kick the man’s testicles into his abdomen, but a silky-smooth voice stopped her.
“Enough of that.”
The words, spoken casually, held a command her body was unable to ignore. She hesitated, and it cost her dearly. The big man was up and holding her arms to her sides in seconds. She cursed her own stupidity more than anything else. Never hesitate, she told herself. You know better. “Let me go.”
“Not gonna happen,” her captor snarled at her, giving her a shake.
Angela ignored him, her brain working quickly. He had a very strong grip on her arms and was standing back enough that she had no hope of inflicting damage with her feet. So she bit him instead. At least, she tried to. The moment her teeth grazed his knuckle, he swore and jumped back, releasing her from the prison of his arms. She made it one step before she was brought up short by the barrel of a gun.
“I need you to calm down, Doctor.”
Her eyes flicked past the deadly weapon to the man holding it. She was sorry to find the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. It was just her luck to discover the reincarnation of David, only for him to be a criminal. He had dark-brown hair that was thick and wavy, tanned skin, and eyes that were several shades lighter than his hair, making them a startling and beautiful contrast. “Who are you? Why have you taken me?” she finally demanded.
“Vincenzo Romano.”
Angela was so shocked that she stopped all attempts to escape. She knew the name well, even though she had never had the misfortune of meeting the man before. “Romano? The rebel mafia prince?”
He grimaced. “Call me Roman. I’m no prince,” he responded.
She snorted. “No shit, you’re not a prince. A killer is what you are.” Angela slammed her mouth shut, cursing her runaway mouth. She knew the man’s reputation. She knew he had killed his own father so he could inherit the mantel of Don of the largest mafioso in the country. His face turned hard and cold, and she saw the monster beneath the thin veneer of civility he’d had in place.
“If I am a killer, you’d do well to be a little nicer to me,” he told her silkily.
“Nicer? I’ve been kidnapped!” Angela yelled.
“It was an emergency,” Roman said, as if it absolved him of his sins. “We need your help.”
Angela slammed her mouth shut and blinked. “I’m sorry. Did you just say you need my help?”
