Chapter 3 - THE PENTHOUSE PRISON
I expected a warehouse. A basement. Something out of the crime movies that aired on late-night cable. Instead, the SUV pulled into the secure underground garage of the most exclusive high-rise in downtown Chicago.
I was escorted up a private elevator that opened directly into a penthouse that looked like a modern art museum. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a dizzying, panoramic view of the sparkling city skyline. The furniture was sleek, dark, and expensive. But it was the man standing by the glass, holding a crystal glass of amber liquid, that sucked all the oxygen out of the room.
Dominic Moretti turned around.
He was just as striking as I remembered. Dark, disheveled hair, piercing hazel eyes that missed absolutely nothing, and a jawline carved from granite. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the faint scars on his forearms—and the fading pink line on his palm where I had stitched him up.
"You're a hard woman to find, Claire," he said. His voice was smooth, dark honey laced with arsenic.
"I wasn't hiding," I lied, lifting my chin. "I've been working."
He took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes raking over my exhausted form, lingering on my navy scrubs. "You changed your phone number. You moved out of your apartment on the South Side. You changed your shift schedule. For a woman who isn't hiding, you certainly leave a lot of ghosts."
"Why did you bring me here, Dominic?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly. I gripped my bag tighter. The ultrasound was burning a hole in the manila envelope.
He set his glass down on a marble side table and closed the distance between us with the silent grace of an apex predator. When he was just inches away, I could smell his cologne—cedar, smoke, and danger.
"Because," he murmured, looking down at me with an intensity that made my knees weak, "I don't like things being taken from me. And I don't like it when people walk away before I dismiss them. We had an incredible night, Claire. Then you vanished. I spent three months turning this city upside down looking for my beautiful nurse."
"I'm not part of your world," I whispered, forcing myself not to look away. "I save lives. You take them. We have nothing to say to each other."
May you like
His jaw tightened. A flash of dark emotion crossed his face. "You're staying here tonight. My men are stationed at the door. Tomorrow, we will discuss exactly where you fit into my world. Because whether you like it or not, Claire, you are mine now."
He walked out of the room, leaving me alone in the gilded cage. I sank onto the plush sofa, finally pulling the crumpled ultrasound from my bag. Tears spilled over my cheeks. I was trapped.
