Chapter 1
This is the sequel to The Million Dollar Virgin
Chapter 1
I didn’t scream.
I should have.
Instead, I spat.
Right in his face.
Because that’s the logical thing to do, right? Spit on the face of your captor?
Saliva slid down his cheek slowly, and down his perfectly chiseled jaw. I thought he might pull out a gun or shank me. Slap me. Punch me. Strangle the life out of me.
Instead, he smiled. He seemed…fine. Completely composed.
“Not a talker,” he said flatly.
My wrists burned behind me, the rope tugging at my skin. “Go to hell,” I grunted.
“Eventually,” he chuckled. “But not yet.”
He leaned forward. God, he was a sight to see. Even with the whole kidnapping-me-from-my-bed thing. His thick black hair was a stark contrast to his bright blue eyes. He had full lips that seemed to be formed into a permanent straight line—his expression unreadable. I hated to admit it, but he looked like a model.
“I want to discuss a matter with you,” he said. “Nothing else.”
I laughed. “Get fucked.”
He reached behind me and, without warning, loosened the ropes. They fell away. I stiffened.
What did he plan to do next? Would I be the star of the next Netflix documentary? The next face plastered all over social media? Would he bury me in a ditch or just chop me into pieces and throw me into the river?
He stood slowly, wiping his face with the back of his hand.
“I need your skills,” he continued, as if he hadn’t just captured me and locked me in a basement. “Nothing else.”
I rubbed my sore wrists, my heart slamming against my chest. “You think I’m just going to help you?”
“No,” he said. “I think you’ll need some persuading.”
I snorted in disgust. “And if I don’t agree to help you?”
He shrugged. “Then you’ll still be here tomorrow. And the next. And the next.”
I sprang to my feet, as if I was somehow going to make a run for it. But he didn’t move to stop me. Instead, he stood to his feet and sighed.
“There’s no point in running, Sloane,” he said, glancing down at the watch on his wrist. “You won’t make it far.”
“Watch me.” I glared at him.
He stepped back, waving toward the staircase behind him. “Go for it, then. I’ll be upstairs. When you’re done trying to escape and you’re ready to talk, find the nearest staff member. They’ll help you find me.”
Then he turned and walked away, leaving me alone and with zero answers. I stood there for what seemed like an eternity, my breath rapid and shallow. Then I took a deep breath and willed myself to move. And I did.
I made my way up the stairs. The door opened into something… unreal. Tall ceilings and marble floors. Art that looked like it belonged behind security glass.
I wandered, passing wide hallways and oversized rooms. My movements were silent thanks to my bare feet.
To my surprise, no one stopped me. It was as if the house were totally vacant. But then I heard muffled voices in the distance. I froze and peered around a corner into a grand kitchen. It was like one of those kitchens on cooking shows.
Silver pans hanging over an island counter, random floral shit in every corner. A massive oven that could bake enough pies to feed a small village in one go.
There was an older gray-haired woman dressed in a maid’s outfit. She was chatting with another younger woman in a similar uniform.
“I am telling you—when you make the pasta, you must add the truffle at the table. Shave it right on top, before they eat it,” she said sternly to the younger woman. I immediately backed up and turned, heading in the opposite direction.
I found glass doors at the back of the house and gently pried one open. Then I slipped into the cool night air. The garden stretched far and long, flooded with hedges, paths, fountains, and fairy lights.
“This looks like fucking Bridgerton,” I whispered under my breath. “Where the hell am I?”
My eyes scanned the perimeter. I saw a gate at the end of the garden, leading to some acreage behind it.
Freedom… maybe.
I could feel my heart thudding madly against my chest as twigs snapped under my bare feet. Sharp rocks bit at my toes. There was no time to think or plan. So I just moved like a madwoman. My breathing grew heavy as I sprinted forward, turned down a stone path, and rounded a corner—
And ran straight into something solid. Someone’s hard and rather muscular chest, to be precise. Strong hands caught my arms before I could fall backward.
“Easy there,” a voice said. Then he chuckled. It sounded musical. How ironic, given the situation.
I looked up.
Dark brown hair. Perfect Colgate smile. Bright hazel eyes.
He looked at me like this was exactly where he expected me to be. As if he had been waiting. He was not the same man from the basement… he was someone new.
“Well,” he said, his voice laced with amusement. “You must be Sloane.”
My heart slammed into my ribs, my body shaking.
“And you,” he added, gazing past me toward the mansion, “are already causing trouble.”
He turned back to me and grinned widely, his eyes lighting up. Dammit, he was beautiful.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Just call me Knox,” he said. “I’m the brother of the guy you met in the basement.”
“And who is he?” I asked.
“Just call him Rowe,” he said with a smirk.
“Great introduction—now let go of me, you psychopath,” I hissed, taking a few steps back.
“This is going to be fun,” he laughed. Then he tugged gently on my arm, leading me back toward my prison.
I sat stiffly in the chair, arms crossed, as I glared at them. Both Knox and Rowe sat on the other side of a long dinner table.
Knox leaned back in his chair like he was enjoying a dinner party instead of holding me captive against my will. He smiled effortlessly, as if this was all hilarious to him.
Rowe sat silently, his arms folded neatly on top of the table.
A maid stepped forward and placed a plate in front of me.
A steaming pile of pasta stared back at me. She reached forward and held up some sort of dark mushroom and shaver. She leaned forward and shaved bits of the mushroom over the top of the pasta.
I squinted at it. “What is that?”
The maid paused mid-motion. She blinked at me in confusion, as if everyone knew what the fuck that was.
“Truffle,” she said slowly, then shaved a few more thin curls onto my pasta.
“I’d rather eat dirt,” I hissed at her. Her eyes widened, and she backed away from me.
Knox snorted. “You might be surprised. Just try it.”
“No,” I snapped. “You probably poisoned it.”
Rowe didn’t even look at me when he spoke. “Eat.”
I laughed darkly. “Choke on your dinner. Slowly.”
Knox smirked. “I like her.”
Rowe finally lifted his gaze to me. His eyes were steady. Unamused.
“You’re not here because we want to hurt you,” Rowe said. “You’re here because three men decided to use you.”
I scoffed. “They paid me. For the sex and to do my job. That’s not the same thing.”
Rowe didn’t react. “Money is how it starts. When that stops working, they use force.”
“You don’t know anything,” I snapped.
Knox didn’t even look up as he twirled pasta around his fork. “We know their company is a cover.”
I turned to him. “What does that mean?”
“It means cybersecurity is the cover,” he said. “Cybercrime is the product.”
Rowe took over smoothly. “They erase digital footprints and make problems disappear.”
My stomach tightened, but I stayed silent.
“And when erasing isn’t enough,” Knox added, leaning forward, “they connect people who shouldn’t be able to find each other.”
I swallowed. “You mean…”
“Criminals,” he said.
I sucked in.
“They’ve been doing it for years,” Rowe said. “And they’re very good at it.”
“You’re full of shit,” I snorted.
“They vetted you,” Rowe replied calmly.
His words hit me hard, and I felt a wave of nausea forming.
“When you first started your job in tech support. When you started poking around places you weren’t supposed to,” he paused. “You were hard to track. That impressed them.”
My chest tightened. “The ad—”
“A coincidence,” Rowe said. “They never expected you to apply. That was all to amuse themselves.”
“So when they chose me…” I trailed off.
“They already knew who you were,” he said. “They were planning to move you up at BD Systems anyway. New title. New salary. They needed you close.”
Knox set his fork down. “Because they almost had a breach. Someone nearly cracked their system. They needed fresh code. A fresh mind.”
“To protect it,” Rowe said. “Because if it’s exposed—”
“Politicians. Criminals. Everyone,” Knox finished. “All out in the open.”
Silence stretched between us.
“We want you to break the system,” Knox said. “Not protect it. You already cracked their protection software at BD Systems, which means you are also capable of cracking the code they use to run their underground organization.”
I stared at my untouched plate.
“You should eat,” Rowe said lightly.
"We will pay you," Knox added. "Another one million."
I looked up. “I’m not helping you.”
Knox smiled. “We’ll see.”
