Chapter 1: Hallie

This is the third time in a row I've had this nightmare.

In the dream, I'm always gagged with my hands and feet tied up, and whenever my captor tries to show himself, I wake up.

Every time I wake up from this dream, I feel like every muscle in my body has locked up, and I didn't sleep at all. I'm exhausted, and now there's cold sweat dripping down the back of my neck. Lovely.

I sigh, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I fidget around the bed for my phone, find out my hands are rather clammy when I nearly drop my phone, then discover I have only an hour to prepare for my night shift at Don Hill's bar.

I groan as I drag myself out of bed and into the bathroom to take a cold shower, hoping to calm my racing heart.

Thirty minutes later, I am out of the bathroom and fully dressed in a peach top with the letter "P" boldly inscribed on it—I always wonder what the P stands for, as I do now—and plain black pants.

I grab my keys and purse and securely lock the door behind me before heading to the elevator, taking it down three floors, and entering the lobby, where I reach the glass exit doors of my apartment building.

I walk out and inhale sharply as the fantastic night breeze welcomes me. I enjoy the enticing smells of the city while I work on flagging down a cab. Two minutes later, I'm on my way to work.

The cab stops before a large building with blaring music emanating from within. I pay my fare and find my way into the bar, heading for the changing room.

I barely reach the door before Sienna, my redhead colleague with beautiful hazel eyes, greets me in her usual not-so-beautiful fashion.

"Ah. Hallie. Table 2 needs fried pickles, sparkling wine, and almond nuts. Table 5 ordered chicken tenders and stout—"

I do my own usual routine of zoning out and diving into my fantasy world, which I always visit during work. I can see myself doing what I have always longed for: I dream of Tech.

Sienna's voice fades into the background as I envision myself living the life that can only exist in my dreams.

Getting changed is an action so automatic, I don't even realize I'm staring at my bag, fully dressed in uniform, daydreaming the minutes away, until Sienna's piercing shout shatters my reverie.

"Hallie!"

I stare at her. "Huh?"

"Daydreaming again?" she says, putting her hands on her hips.

I shrug and offer her a warm smile, saying nothing. Shaking her head, Sienna places a full tray of food in my hands, nodding over her shoulder in the direction of the tables I'm serving.

"The orders?" she prompts.

"Okay, okay. Table 2: fried pickles, sparkling wine, and some almond nuts. Table 2: chicken tenders and stout."

Sienna cocks a brow. I frown, racking my brain, but apparently, I wasn't listening as well as I thought I was. Sienna snorts and shakes her head.

"Tequila for table 10."

I show her an apologetic smile as she hurries off. Then, I turn on my heel to take the food and drinks to their respective tables.

First, I approach Table 2, followed by Table 5, and finish up with Table 10. I almost stop midway through handing out the drinks when I see who's sitting at the table.

My breath catches in my throat as I recognize the dark, wavy hair, stunning amber eyes, and tall, lean frame. He's a beautiful nightmare, my worst nightmare.

Well, maybe not necessarily my worst nightmare. More like an unpleasant encounter.

I sure hated his guts while we were back in college.

Adrian Lockhart.

He looks up at me, and we lock gazes, his eyes searing deep into mine. I haven't seen him for a long time, and I sure didn't expect him to ever show up here.

I shudder as I remember the air of superiority that surrounded him back in college—the very thing that made me loathe him. We weren't on speaking terms back then. It should remain that way.

I shift my gaze away from him and place his order on the table.

"Your order, sir," I say in the most professional voice ever.

I turn around to head back into the kitchen when his deep bass voice stops me in my tracks.

"Hallie?" he calls out.

My heart skips a beat. I turn back to face him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Do I know you?"

"You don't remember me?" he says, smirking.

"I wouldn't be asking if I did," I snap. Then, I remember I'm at work, and I politely say, "I am sorry about that. Enjoy your evening."

"It's fine."

He waves his hand in dismissal, which irks me even more. I have a sudden urge to scratch his eyes out. He still has that air of superiority around him, like he thinks he's God's gift to the world.

I decide, for his sake more than mine, that I will stick to my narrative of not remembering who he is. He is just a customer, and I will tend to his table when he's a patron in the bar.

"Enjoy your meal," I say, shooting him a fake smile.

I walk back to the counter, where Sienna cocks an eyebrow at me. She doesn't say anything, though, which is one of her best attributes: minding her business. I love that about her.

The glass door creaks to admit new customers to the bar, drawing my attention. Another generic group of men enter the bar, the same as all the rest, although I do recognize some of them.

Don Hills is a trendy bar around the area, but we do have our regulars. I peek at my wristwatch, finding the time to be 7:00 pm—the time for regulars to start dropping in.

I sigh and flex my arms, prepping myself for another long workday, as I'm unfortunately on midnight duty tonight. These nights always manage to feel like long nights.

A man laughs at a booth by the window, distracting me from the newest order popping through the kitchen window. He's one of the men who entered the bar just a few minutes ago.

For some reason, I feel off when I look at the three of them, but I just can't place my hand on exactly what that is. They have a strange air about them.

"You're being called," Sienna says, nudging me.

I follow her gaze, and I realize she's looking right at the three men.

I immediately feel a cold chill run down my spine, but duty calls, and I must answer. I slowly and cautiously approach them, putting on my work smile. Their anticipatory smiles remind me of hyenas, which only further puts me on edge.

"Hello, Beautiful," one of them calls out, giving me a lewd look.

"Hello, sir," I reply. "What would you like?"

"You," he replies, whistling lowly. "What do you say?"

His friends chuckle beside him as he shamelessly trails his eyes up and down my body. I'm trying so hard not to be unprofessional, but I'd give anything to serve him backlash for flirting with me so tastelessly.

His intentions are anything but sincere. He's not even attractive himself: he looks like he's in his late thirties, with long shoulder-length black hair, sea-green eyes, and an ugly-looking mustache.

I pay his comment no attention. I clear my throat and take a few deep breaths to keep myself collected, then continue my server's speech.

"I would like to take your order and move to the next person, sir." I state, stressing the "sir" at the end for emphasis.

The smile on his face slowly turns into a frown. I cringe when he glares at me, unwittingly taking a step back.

"How dare you interrupt me?" he growls.

People from other tables are staring now. My eyes flicker between the customers, then land on him once again, my heart rate spiking as I begin to strip over my words.

"I… I was only trying to get your order."

"Really, huh?"

He stands, his face contorting with anger. He's tall, tall enough to tower over me, and his intimidation factor doubles in the face of this major detail. I'm in trouble now; there will be nothing I can do to defend myself from this giant brute.

One of the golden rules of the bar is respect the customers no matter what. Without any way to verbally tell him off and have him listen to me, I am trapped in this situation.

No one will be able to help me out in time, not even Sienna, who's busy yelling orders to the kitchen staff only ten feet away. She's not aware of the danger I'm in.

The man's hand flies out and grabs my elbow before I can blink. I try to pull away, but he painfully wrenches my elbow and starts dragging me to the door.

I struggle relentlessly, my heart about to beat out of my chest, a scream somewhere between livid anger and ice-cold terror bubbling up my throat.

Damn the job! I won't stand here and allow this man to assault me!

"The lady doesn't want to go with you!" a familiar voice thunders.

My captor turns around, and I see Adrian glaring at the man.

"Stay out of it. Mind your own business!"

Adrian's lip curls into a snarl. "Who says it isn't?"

"You are asking for trouble, pup?"

"Not at all. But you are."

Before I can say Jack Robinson, his fist flies into the man's face. He grunts, releasing his hold on me in the heat of the moment, and I scramble away. He growls, his eyes darkening with fury, and I can see a trickle of blood on his lips.

Serves him right.

The man throws a punch at Adrian, who is quick to duck, and yet another one. Sienna finally notices the commotion and furiously hits the bell on the counter.

"Security!" she yells.

On hearing this, the jerk signals to his friend, and they take a walk of shame out of the bar, but not before giving me a death glare. I make a mental note to report the case to the cops just in case the jerk decides to show up again.

"Are you okay?" Adrian asks.

He walks up to me, eyeing me carefully. The memory of how I behaved earlier comes crawling back to haunt me, which hurts more than my arm, so I look away from him. I simply shrug off his question.

"Thank you," I whisper.

It's nothing," he says. He glances at my arm. "That looks like it'll bruise. You're sure you're not hurt?"

I nod. "I'm fine."

"Okay, then."

He returns to his seat, and I hurry off behind the counter, feeling my legs shake with every step. I lean on the counter to steady myself as I take a moment to collect myself.

"Sorry about that," Sienna says, putting her hand on my shoulder. "I'll try and be quicker with security next time."

I simply give her an appreciative nod, unable to speak.

The atmosphere in the bar soon returns to normal, and I carry on with my bartender duties. After a few hours, Sienna prepares to leave, and she waves goodbye as she clocks out and walks out the back door.

I notice that Adrian remains at the bar, even several hours into my shift, and I wonder why. I am so embarrassed; I wish he would just go already. But he saved my sorry ass today, which I never expected from him.

I've hated him for so long without a second thought, and yet here he is, running in to help when I'm in trouble without a moment of hesitation.

"Martini and two tonic shots."

Ella's voice pierces my thoughts. I didn't notice when she approached the counter because my mind wandered again. I am now taking up the position behind the counter, where Sienna was during her shift, and Ella has taken over my job as server.

If only those hooligans had come over when it was her turn to serve, maybe that little brawl wouldn't have happened. Ella is a lot sweeter than I am.

"Coming up."

I pour the drinks and place them on a tray, which I push over to Ella. She gives me the most stunning smile, then hurries back across the restaurant, her smile lighting up the whole room.

Yep. She definitely would have handled that better than me, I think to myself, sighing heavily.

I keep taking orders and mixing drinks until 1am when my shift ends. I didn't see Adrian leave, and I didn't have the time to thank him properly for standing up for me.

I'm not sure how to feel about it; I'm too exhausted to think straight. I walk into the changing room to collect my things before heading out through the back door.

I barely start walking when I hear footsteps approaching. My heart skips a beat, and the first thought that crosses my mind is that the men from earlier must have been lurking somewhere for hours, waiting for the end of my shift.

I increase my pace and hold my handbag tightly across my chest while muttering silent prayers. The footsteps come closer, and I almost take off running when I hear Adrian's voice.

"Hallie?"

I freeze in my tracks, take a deep breath, and then sigh in relief.

"Hallie!" he calls out again, and I slowly turn to face him, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

"Adrian," I greet. "I thought you'd left."

"I went out for some fresh air, and when I returned, you were gone. I figured you had finished work, so here I am."

My heart thumps loudly, prompting me to say the words swimming through my head. "Thank you for earlier. I—"

"That was nothing," he interrupts, giving me a wide grin. "It's quite late for you to walk home alone. Do you mind if I give you a ride?"

I hesitate for a split second, then jump on his offer. "I would like that."

My initial dislike of him still lingers somewhere deep in my gut. I guess this could be a chance to get to know him better while I'm seeing him in a better light. His actions today made me think that maybe I was wrong about him.

I walk with him to where his car is parked, where he holds the door for me. I tell him my address, and he starts the ignition and steps on the accelerator, driving along dark streets only illuminated by dim streetlights and moonlight.

"Um—" Adrian pauses, clearing his throat. "Are you okay?"

"I am."

It is suddenly quiet again, unsaid words hanging heavy in the air. I decide to break the silence with a confession.

"I hated you back in college, you know?"

He chuckles and casts a quick, kind glance at me before returning his eyes to the road.

"I know. I always wanted to catch your attention, but you blatantly ignored me. Why was that?"

"You were loud, rude, and thought everyone should listen to you."

He laughs at what I believe to be an accurate description. It throws me off guard. I wonder if I'm missing something, but he speaks before I get the chance to think.

"I was always looking for a chance to speak to you, but you made things so difficult," he admits.

It's my turn to chuckle. "It was easier to avoid you than to let you know what I thought of you."

"And now? You like me now?" he says, grinning.

"We'll see. You get points for tonight."

"I'll take the points."

We fall back into a comfortable silence, our eyes on the road.

After about thirty minutes, we arrive at my apartment building. I look at him before I go, a smile playing on my lips.

"I don't have enough words to thank you for your help today, Adrian. I really—"

"There's no need to continue thanking me. I only did what any reasonable person would have done."

I nod slowly, not knowing what to say next. Then, I blurt out, "Would you like to come in for tea or coffee?"

I immediately feel my cheeks heat. What am I babbling about? It's the middle of the night. I must be an idiot to think—

Our eyes lock, and I suddenly find breathing difficult.

Amber eyes dart from my lips to my eyes and back again, a light flashing there, something like hunger. His cheeks become a soft pink as he stares, his whole body tensing up. I'm not sure whether he's scared or struggling that hard to restrain himself.

My heart beats so loudly, I'm certain he can hear it. The anticipation is alive in my body, something like fireworks sparkling in the most unexpected places.

He leans forward, his lips barely grazing mine, the heat from his body sending ripples of excitement coursing through me.

Then, a flash from an oncoming car disrupts the kiss, and we pull apart almost immediately.

"I…I am sorry about that," he says.

"Goodnight," I say, opening the car door in a hurry.

I run into my building, without looking back, I only stop when I hear the engine rev to life and the car pull away. I stand at that spot for a few seconds, my fingertips caressing my still quivering lips.

I can't deny that I enjoyed the kiss, more than I care to admit.

And I want more.