Page 1 of Serena (Shattered Queens #1)

“Isent over the information you asked for,” Miles says. “Everything is there, but I want to warn you, you aren’t going to like what you see.” My eyebrows furrow at the remark.

“Do I ever, when I ask for these favors?” It’s meant as a statement, not a question.

These requests aren't new, but I don’t make them often.

Not when I’ve got other options. I do what I have to in order to protect my family and my businesses.

If I don’t know you, I make sure I find out everything there is to know about your life. That’s it.

My fingers drum on my desk, already done with this call, ready to hang up on him and read the file waiting in my inbox.

“You owe me,” he says. “Put it on my tab.” Miles and I have been friends for years.

Any time I need a favor like this, I call him.

He’s good at what he does; actually, he’s the best, but I don’t tell him that.

His ego doesn’t need more inflating. Under other circumstances, I would entertain this conversation, but not today.

This one is different; I know it—he knows it.

Finally, he hangs up, and my focus turns to my laptop.

As much as I try to convince myself otherwise, this file is different from all the others.

I open it, and at first, it’s basic—birth records, school history, public crap that anyone could pull.

But then… My breath stops. I scroll again.

Then I feel it. Heat rises. My chest locks.

My jaw clenches so tight that my teeth grind.

I don’t even realize I’m moving until the laptop crashes against the wall, and my desk is stripped clean.

“No interruptions!" I bark as someone knocks. I grip the edge of the desk, head bowed, fists shaking. I close my eyes. And there she is. Just her.