Kimberly stirred from her troubled nap. She tried to breathe in deeply, but her lungs quickly filled with damp, cold air that smelled of oak and mildew. A weak, lone overhead bulb flickered, shedding a stuttering light across the room.

Slumped in a corner with wrists and ankles bound with ropes, Kimberly flexed against the restraints, the chafed skin already raw. She shivered from cold and hunger, missing her jacket and warm food. Still, her hazel eyes burned with defiance, the same fire that fueled her podcast.

Her gaze swept the windowless room. Stone walls dripping with condensation, rows of ancient wine racks, a shaft overhead letting in a whisper of air. Wine cellar. Maybe a basement.

The two mean-looking guards played cards in a corner, their voices low. Kim tilted her head, listening. They'd said little since dumping her here, but she'd caught fragments. Enough to piece together that they were waiting for someone.

"...buyer... confirmation..." one of them had muttered earlier.

"...photo... wakes up..."

Buyer? Confirmation? The words made no sense, but they terrified her. Confirmation of what?

Her feet were going numb. She forced herself to stretch her legs slowly, quietly. The guards didn't look up from their cards.

Kimberly tested the ropes around her wrists, twisting carefully. The knot was tight but not professional. They would give if she worked at it. She'd been working at it for the past hour, ignoring the burn, the way the rope bit into her skin.

The food they'd shoved at her earlier sat untouched in the corner. Something gray and congealed that made her stomach turn. Even starving, she couldn't bring herself to eat it.

One of the guards' phones buzzed. He glanced at it, then stood abruptly.

"Change of plans," he said to his partner. "They want the photo now."

The second guard cursed. "She's barely conscious."

"Don't care. Boss wants proof before final payment."

They moved toward her, and Kimberly's pulse spiked. She kept her hands behind her back, hiding the loosened rope, her eyes downcast.

The guard pulled out his phone, angling it toward her face.

A muffled noise from outside stopped him.

Both guards froze, hands moving to their weapons. One moved toward the door while the other positioned himself between Kimberly and the exit, gun raised.

The door burst open.

The first guard managed half a shout before gunfire cracked through the cellar. His body fell backward, the door slamming open behind him to reveal armed men in tactical gear flooding in.

The second guard spun toward Kimberly, whether to use her as a shield or finish her off, she'd never know. He dropped before his finger found the trigger.

Kimberly's ears rang from the gunshots. Her whole body shook. Heavy boots crunched across the concrete toward her.

"Clear!" a gruff voice announced.

A tall figure emerged from the chaos, blocking the flickering light. His shadow cut sharp across her face.

Kimberly looked up, heart hammering.

That face.

Piercing green eyes met hers, and four years collapsed into nothing.

"Xavier?" she whispered, not quite believing.

She stared at the sharp outline of his face, the strong chiseled jaw, the jet black hair, those unfairly long lashes. It was him. Older, harder, but unmistakably him.

He crouched before her, and in a flash of metal, the ropes binding her wrists snapped free. Then her ankles.

His jaw flexed as he took in her disheveled state, the blood on her lips where she'd bitten them, the bruises forming on her wrists. But those hazel eyes still burned with the same fire he remembered. Even terrified, even bound in a cellar, she looked ready to fight.

Something tightened in his chest.

The room simmered with tension, everything and everyone fading away as their gazes locked. In that split second, memories surged—her laugh, her skin against his, the way she'd looked at him like he was worth something.

But Xavier caught himself, forcing his mask back into place. He stood abruptly.

"You're coming with me."

Kimberly tried to stand but her legs buckled. Xavier caught her before she hit the ground, lifting her effortlessly.

"I can walk," she protested, but her voice was weak.

"No, you can't." His tone left no room for argument.

As he carried her out of the cellar, Kimberly's mind raced. Xavier. Here. Rescuing her. How? How did he even know where to find her?

They emerged into a warehouse, more of Xavier's men securing the perimeter. SUVs waited outside, engines running.

"Wait," Kimberly said as Xavier moved toward the vehicles. "Those guards, you killed them. We could have questioned them."

Xavier's eyes cut to hers. "They were dead the moment they touched you."

"But we need to know who hired them. Why they took me... "

"I'll get the why. Those minions won't know much, anyway." His voice was cold. "And I'll handle it."

He placed her in the back seat of an SUV. A man built like a brick wall slid into the driver's seat. Arturo, she'd learn later. Xavier climbed in beside her.

As the vehicle pulled away, Kimberly caught sight of the warehouse in the side mirror. More men were arriving, securing the scene. This wasn't a rescue. It was a military operation.

She turned to Xavier. "How did you find me?"

His jaw tightened. "Does it matter?"

"Yes. It matters." Her voice gained strength. "The police hasn't found me. But somehow you knew exactly where I was within twenty-four hours?"

Xavier was silent for a long moment. Then: "I have resources."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting right now."

Kimberly stared at him, at this man who'd disappeared from her life without explanation and had just reappeared like an avenging angel. Nothing about this made sense.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere safe."

"My apartment is safe. Take me home."

"No." The word was final.

"Xavier..."

"Your apartment is compromised. Whoever took you might know where you live, your routines. You're not going back there until I know you're protected."

"Protected by you?" Anger flared through her exhaustion. "You don't get to make decisions for me. You don't get to just reappear after four years and..."

"And what?" Xavier's eyes flashed. "Let you walk back into danger? Let whoever took you try again?"

"I can take care of myself!"

"Really?" His voice dropped dangerously low. "Because from where I'm sitting, you were bound in a cellar waiting to be sold to the highest bidder."

The words hit like a slap. Kimberly's breath caught. "Sold?"

Xavier's expression shuttered. "We'll talk when you're safe."

The SUV sped through the night, and Kimberly realized with growing dread that she'd traded one cage for another.

Except this time, her captor was the one man who'd ever had the power to break her.

And she had no idea if he was her savior or just another threat.