Chapter One

JACE

“You sure this is the place?” I ask my brother as I drop the binoculars from my face. “I haven’t seen shit and we’ve been here for over an hour.”

“It’s the right address,” Red replies before sighing heavily. “Maybe we got false intel, but I had the guys check it out. It seemed legit.”

“But you didn’t vet it yourself?” I ask, the corner of my mouth quirking. Red might be the leader of our operation, but he’s still my older brother. I’ll take any opportunity I can get to rib him a little. “Sounds like you’ve been busy with Evie.”

“She’s pregnant,” he snaps, immediately defensive of his wife. “Maybe if you found yourself someone to love, you’d understand where I’m coming from.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I say, waving my hand in his face before turning back to the building. “Anyway, do you really think they’re trafficking women out of here?”

“Their president is a scumbag,” Red says, the venom obvious in his voice. We’re not saints, but there are lines we’d never cross. Preying on innocent people is one of them. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

I nod, my jaw tightening. The guys on the south side have been a problem for years—always scheming, always looking for a way to make a quick buck. But this? This feels like a whole new level. As much as I don’t want this stakeout to be a waste of time, a part of me hopes the tip is wrong. For the women’s sake.

“Another half hour and we’ll call it,” Red mutters after a few minutes of tense silence. “Doesn’t look like there’s anything here. I’ll look over the information. Might have gotten the date wrong.”

I’m about to agree with him, the night feeling like a bust and a waste of time, but before I open my mouth, there’s movement.

A girl bursts out of the building, well-dressed and mostly put together, but even from this distance, I can see the streaks of tears on her face. She’s been crying. Looks like our informant wasn’t wrong after all. Who knows how many more girls are still inside.

I act before I can think twice about what I’m doing. I shove the door open, and my feet hit the ground running. My speed eats up the gravel as I sprint toward her, and when she sees me, she freezes. She’s deciding if I’m less of a threat than whatever she’s running from. After a breath, she stumbles towards me.

As I pull her into my arms, she lets out a broken sob, clutching at my biceps. Her manicured nails dig into the fabric of my leather jacket, desperate and trembling. A moment passes before she tilts her face up to mine. Her mascara is smudged, and her green eyes glisten with tears, raw and pleading.

“Please,” she whispers, her voice cracking. A stray curl clings to her trembling lips. “You have to help them. There are—there are so many girls in there. They’re going to sell them. They’re going to—”

“Shh, okay, okay,” I say gently, cutting her off. My voice softens despite the storm brewing inside me. “We’re here to help, sweetheart. We’ll get everyone out of there, I promise. And we’ll make sure the bastards who did this pay for it.”

She stiffens in my arms, every muscle wound tight with fear and panic. She’s shaking against me, her small frame barely holding itself together. Comforting people has never been my strength—my go-to advice is usually something along the lines of grabbing a gun and dealing with it—but right now, all I want is to ease her pain.

Something about her stirs something primal in me. Protectiveness, maybe. Or something deeper—something I’ve got no business feeling right now. But whatever it is, it’s enough to make me silently vow that no one will ever hurt her again.

“Look at me,” I say, my voice firm but steady as I tilt her chin up, drawing her gaze to mine. Red and the guys sprint past us, weapons in hand, but I keep her focus on me. She doesn’t need to see that right now. It takes her a second, her wide green eyes darting before locking onto mine, but when they do, a jolt of electricity surges between us. Her breath hitches, and I know she feels it too. “There you are,” I say softly.

She nods, her grip tightening on my arms like I’m the only thing keeping her upright.

“I’m Jace,” I tell her after a moment of debate. My name isn’t something I usually offer up in situations like this—missions like this. But looking into her scared, vulnerable eyes has a way of making a man disregard all the rules.

“Natalia,” she says, her voice steadier now, but still soft—a melody that grazes my ears. It’s not dramatic or high-pitched, just smooth and mesmerizing, like silk slipping through my fingers. I could lose myself in that voice, listen to it for hours—maybe forever.

Pull it together, Jace. She just crawled out of hell. The last thing she needs is you projecting your savior complex onto her.

“Hi, Natalia,” I say softly, my hand moving on instinct to tuck the stray curl off her lip, brushing it back behind her ear. “I’m going to keep you safe. And I’ll make sure everyone else in there is safe too. I promise.”

She nods, a flicker of belief shining through her tear-filled eyes. But her body’s still trembling, every muscle locked with residual fear. She needs to get out of here, far away from this nightmare. But I can’t move her yet. Not until Red gives the all-clear. And odds are, we’ll need the cops once this is over.

We’re good at tearing down operations like this. But reuniting these girls with their families? That’s for people with more resources—and less blood on their hands. All I can do right now is keep Natalia close and let her know she’s safe.

Gunshots crack through the night, sharp and distant. Natalia flinches, panic flashing across her face. Her head snaps between me and the doorway she stumbled out of, like she’s expecting someone—or something—to emerge.

I open my mouth, searching for the right words to calm her, to tell her that no one undeserving is getting hurt. But before I can speak, her voice rushes out in a frantic whisper.

“I can’t be here,” she says, her fingers gripping my arm, her touch urgent but trembling. “They can’t see me, Jace. I can’t be here. I need to go. I need—I need to leave. I need to hide.”

“Okay,” I say, forcing calm into my voice even though I have no idea what’s scaring her so much. “Alright. I’ll get you out of here.”

Her legs look ready to give out, the shock of whatever happened inside still paralyzing her. Without hesitation, I scoop her up, cradling her against me. Her arms wrap tightly around my neck as I carry her back to the car, and I can feel her head turning, her gaze locked on the building, scanning for threats.

When we reach the car, I nod to the driver, my tone leaving no room for argument. “Take us to the penthouse.”

Red can chew me out later for ducking out early. Right now, Natalia needs space, safety. And even though I just met her, there’s something about her—something in the way she clings to me—that makes it impossible to say no.