Rain fell in a torrential downpour as Greg dropped me off at the Navy Pier Grand Ballroom. I gathered the gown and exited the car as quickly as I could. Large umbrellas held by event personnel protected me from getting soaked. Inside the arched doors, Richard waited, wearing an elegant black tuxedo with black tie and red cummerbund. “Thena, how are you?” He took my arm and leaned in to kiss my cheek.“I’m well, thank you,” I replied. Richard had combed his dark wavy hair, but that did little to tame it. Though he might have been overdue for a haircut, I liked it longer.The creases around his eyes revealed his angst. “Thank you for coming.” He took my hand and lead me inside.We ignored the camera-toting media and TV news people as best we could, stopping only for obligatory event photos. Inside the Grand Ballroom, white linen and crystal glasses covered round tables set for ten. Each chair was enclosed in a white seat cover. Tall centerpieces, vases filled with bold blue flowers and

Around three in the morning Greg arrived at Richard’s Lake Forest mansion with my personal items. I tossed and turned for a few more hours then got up, found my suitcase inside the bedroom door and my laptop case beside it. I showered and dressed, then took my laptop to the kitchen.Greg awaited outside my bedroom door to shadow me wherever I went. A team of security professionals, some with sidearms holstered beneath their jackets, others carrying Uzis, patrolled the grounds around. Men and women flanked the entrance and prowled around the pool house. They congregated near the back porch, gazing ahead with eyes hidden behind dark glasses. The sun hid behind dark clouds today. The light I flicked on in the kitchen cast a yellow glow over the room. Neither Grant nor Richard were around, but the invigorating aroma of simmering fresh coffee filled the room. The house was unusually quiet considering the number of people wandering the grounds. I poured myself a cup, added cream, and sprea

Sticky sweat glued our bodies together. Satiated and basking in the incandescence, we moved slowly, unwilling to let go. I wanted to lie in his arms until Natasha’s threat and all that surrounded it disappeared. I could love Richard.When finally the source of summer heat sank beneath the horizon, I opened a window and let in a cooling breeze. Our stomachs growled. Richard and I sat up from my bed. His hand on my back. My fingers on his cheek. His lips on my shoulder. I donned panties and a t-shirt—still too hot to wear anything else. Richard slid into his slacks and hung his shirt to smooth the wrinkles. He took a call in the bathroom. When he exited wearing only his slacks, Richard said he checked in with Greg and Erik. The second shift bodyguards had arrived so they could get dinner. They would stand watch in the building lobby and the underground garage.“Let me cook for you,” he said.“I didn’t know you had the talent.”“There is much you still don’t know about me.”Truer words

Fy scorched me inside. If Richard knew something about Roman’s disappearance, he’d have hell to pay. Once we arrived at Lake Forest, I flew around the house looking for him. He wasn’t in the kitchen, nor was Grant. The empty black leather desk chair in his office faced the window as if watching for someone to return.Two at a time, I leapt up the stairs and opened the Kendo room door—hushed quiet. I exited quickly. Down the hall to my left, Richard’s stark bedroom. I swung the door wide and let it crash into the wall behind it. Benjamin Kyle stared back at me.“Richard?” I called.No answer. Frustrated and angry, I backed out of the room and right into Jonathan’s arms.“Thena. I—”“What the hell, Richard?” I backed away from him and faced him head on. “This is your fault!” I was furious. I was frightened. I was losing control.“I’m so sorry.” Richard didn’t say a word in his defense. He looked me in the eye. “I’m calling FBI Agent Curbelo now. We need to inform her.” Richard already h

I spent a week in Chicago, visiting Roman and diving into work. I avoided Richard because I needed time to think things through. Richard said he loved me. He’d done everything in his power to help find Roman. Then he donated the one million dollars to the battered women’s shelter.I needed to go to him. I needed to see if he could give me what I wanted.I stepped into the dimly lit Lake Forest house with my agenda at the forefront of my mind. With the FBI team gone, an unusual sense of quiet had settled over the house. Security guards hung around quietly minding their own business, yet ever watchful.The scar on my leg ached. I dropped my things in the bedroom and went to the one place where my dark fantasy could be realized. Where the security guards would not be. The dungeon. In the basement, I pushed open the unlocked door to Richard’s playroom. As if he’d been expecting me, red nightlights on two walls cast long shadows of the X-rack and a coffin-sized cage. My eyes adjusted, an