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I fish out my phone to find an Uber, praying for a strong enough signal. Barely two bars, but it’s enough to try.

I open the app with shaky hands.I can’t go home. Campus maybe?

But then it’s only a matter of time before my father’s people find me and drag me back home to Clemenza.

I swipe to my keypad and the numbers 9-1-1 swim before my eyes.

I may be scared but I’m not that stupid. Calling the cops would be like ringing the dinner bell for every shark in Chicago.

Cade’s words echo in my head:Tell your father.

It feels futile, but what choice do I have left? I dial Papa’s number.

It rings off.

“Pick up your phone Papa, please,” I whisper, my voice breaking.

It rings off again. And again. That’s when the tears come, hot and fast, blurring my vision. Regret burns through me, bitter as bile,as I realize I’m truly fucked. The guys upstairs will show up any second now.

I should have trusted Cade. I should have followed him. And now he’s gone.

Another sob escapes, and I don’t bother wiping away the tears.

Just then, the roar of an engine, amplified by the enclosure of the underground parking lot, makes me jump out of my skin.

My phone clatters to the ground as a huge motorbike pulls up beside me, the engine’s growl reverberating through my bones.

The rider flips up his visor, and familiar green eyes meet mine. Cade’s drawl is scathing. “Oh, look who’s decided to join the party.”

I’m too terrified, too relieved to rise to his bait. I point frantically upstairs. “Th-they were at your door. Men with guns. A-And a woman. Pretending to be room service. They’re coming!”

Cade’s expression hardens. Without a word, he snatches up my fallen phone and tosses it into a nearby trash bin with unerring accuracy. “It’s too late to call anyone now.” He holds out a helmet to me. “Let’s go.”

I eye the bike with skepticism, my heart racing. It’s a sleek black beast, all gleaming metal and power. It looks like it’s been forged from shadows and steel. The tires are thick—like they could grip the earth itself, the whole thing radiating a wild energy.

“You have two seconds before I zoom off, princess,” Cade snaps.

His words jolt me into action, but my tight skirt restricts me. Short of pulling it over my ass and bunching it at my waist, there’s no way I’m going to be able to straddle this huge monster. So I perch myself sideways on the seat and brace both arms at my sides.

“Hey, hey!” Cade barks. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“What?”

“Throw a leg over,” he orders.

My temper, already frayed by terror and adrenaline, snaps. “Fucking make me,” I spit out, staying put.

Before I can finish my tirade, Cade swings off the bike in one fluid motion. His hand finds the hem of my skirt, and with a single sharp tug, he rips it all the way to the waistband. The sound of tearing fabric is shockingly loud in the underground parking lot.

“Are you crazy—” I shriek, but my words die in my throat as Cade grabs my leg and swings it over the bike, positioning me properly. His gloved hands are rough against my skin, and I try to ignore the jolt that runs through me at his touch.

He plonks the spare helmet onto my head, the padding pressing against my cheeks, muffling the world around me.

I’m still sputtering indignantly when Cade climbs back on the bike. He takes my hand, guiding it around his stomach. I snatch it away, but not before registering the hard planes of his abs beneath the tight-fitting jacket.

The bike roars to life beneath us, taking off like a rocket. The sudden acceleration nearly throws me off, making me throw my arms around Cade’s torso and plaster myself against his back, burying my head between his shoulder blades as we tear out of the parking lot.

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