Shadow of Deception

w gasps as she stared at the man st

ilored suit, the subtle gleam of an expensive watch-he was a man accustomed to commanding spaces, not invading them. Yet he

touch sending a shiver down her spine, and stumbled back, her heel

dancing in his sharp, predatory gaze. "Your loc

frantic drumbeat against the silence of

ng the distance between them. "You have no rig

caress her skin. But the weight behind it pressed against her c

uddenly dry. "Is this the p

sent a shiver down her spine. "I alrea

voice lost in the echoing silence. She had no weapon, no escape plan-just her instin

he di

ice, a defiance that belied the fear churning within her. "I'm a journ

f approval? Then it was gone, replaced by something colder, something that made

rstand

predatory than reassuring. "Then you know that people who look

held his gaze, refusing to let him see the fear that

i

lming. He smelled like crisp cologne and something darker underneath-dan

cting to the very man who was here to silence her. She was

ng up that easily.

with a determination that surprised even herself. "No matter what t

ething akin to admiration in his ey

ed, and pulled out a sleek black envelope. He held it out to her, and when she didn'

and persuasive. "And then decide if

sides, her nails digging i

cho

to something almost intimate, a whisper that s

urs, Ava. If you're smar

e to the door, his movements fluid and silent, leaving behin

ng like a gunshot in the silence, Ava lunged for

it open, the expensive pap

le sheet of paper

rds, her blood ran cold, a chi

roposition, a deal. It outlined

o further his own agenda. It promised access, resources, information-everything

te and unwavering. It demanded silen

hreats, the chilling messages, the subtle warnings that had escalated into this brazen intrusion. She revisited the memory of her brother's

herself before it was too late. But Noah didn't understand. He didn't understand the pull, the

ground dealings, the whispers of his influence that stretched into the highest echelons of power. Every search led her down a darker path, confirmi

aranoia spiked. She felt watched, observed, like a puppet on strings. Was it her imag

the contract in her trembling fingers. The choice was hers-play his game, dance wi