I hated taking out the trash.

It was so upsetting that you have to get up, take the trash, walk out of your warm house and into the cold night. What did I have against taking out the trash? Easy. I didn't want to get up.

It was after midnight. If I didn't take it out now, I would continue to drag it out until my flat started to smell like something had died in it, and my eyes would start to burn. Deciding to go out now wasn't easy. I should be in bed, enjoying my pillow and soft sheets.

Fuck, it was freezing. The night was so dead. Not even a bark of a dog. It was usually like this at night. Silent. A little creepy. After throwing out the trash, I started to head for the doors. Suddenly, someone appeared from the shadows. Grabbing my wrist, he pulled me several feet to the side of the entrance.

I opened my mouth to scream.

"Don't." A single command. Rich and throaty, with a rumble and a hint of danger. Suppressing a shiver, he shifted us, and we were stepping out of the shadows. The streetlight under us flashed me his face, and I sucked in a breath when my eyes followed the structure of his face.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. Air was trapped in my throat, and it couldn't escape. A knife could be plunged through me, and I still wouldn't be able to move. He looked like a terrifying wolf as he examined me with sharp, gold eyes. Like a wild beast who had been thrown into the street to hunt. A hard man, cut from a ruthless cloth.

Rogue Slade's face was like concrete as it gave out nothing. If possible, he looked positively dangerous up close. His face was sharp in the angles of his jawline and cheekbones. The eyes that I used to stare at in the magazines were hazel, now seemed as black as night stared back at me, unsettling me to my core. Thickly lashed, they were relentless in their intensity. Pure and genuine panic started to filter in.

"Am I dreaming?" I blurted out. I had to be. There was no reasonable explanation as to why Rogue Slade would be here. This was a sick dream I had conjured up. It wasn't funny. I didn't want him in my dreams. He wasn't allowed in my dreams. I was going to have a long talk with myself when I wake up. Wake up, please.

His eyes narrowed at my words. He felt like the devil we were meant to stay away from. And this started to feel real. It was real. He was here. I opened my mouth to speak again, but I yelped when one of his hands moved to my neck, wrapping around it and choking me. My eyes bulged. I wrapped my fingers around his, desperately trying to claw his hand away so I could breathe, but it was no use. He was twice as strong as me, and his will seemed unbendable.

My eyes were wide. My chest was hammering. Rogue looked me straight in the eye, with chilling determination. With strength. With brutality. I knew then I had fucked up. I had somehow pissed the man, and he was here to kill me.

"I'm sorry if I did something wrong," I spoke each word carefully, in a controlled voice that I could muster. What else was I supposed to do besides begged for my life?

He didn't respond to my plea. Instead, his grip on my throat tightened as if he hated it when I speak. Did the sound of my voice make him angrier?

"Please," I squeezed out in fear. There was no one on the street to help me. If I shouted or called out for help, there would be nothing stopping him from snapping my neck. I took another calming breath. "I'm sorry I looked at you," I whispered. That was what this was about, right? Me looking at him. This must be it. I never knew staring at someone would be the cause of my death. It seemed a little extreme.

His eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned, seeming as though he was grinding his teeth. "Shut up." His eyes were on me, never diverting its attention from my green ones. It was not normal. He wasn't normal. "Where is Hanna?"

The question smacked me right in the face. Hanna? What the bloody hell did Hanna have to do with him choking me to death? How did he know her? Was he crushing on her? Was he like a sick, twisted stalker? An obsessed lover? Scorned lover? Which one was it? All of the above? I chose to keep my mouth shut, mainly because I was confused as hell. He was dangerous. I was not going to sell out my friend.

His fingers unraveled from my throat. "Speak." There he went again. Establishing force. Commanding. His voice was dark and full of unspoken words.

The absence of pressure had me breathing again, but he was so close to me that he ate up every distance and I couldn't breathe as I wanted. Two fingers snapped in front of my face. A warning. His eyes had a murderous look in them. He wanted answers. I wasn't giving it to him.

"You told me to shut up," I came to my defense.

His nostrils flared. He didn't like to be talked back. Fuck you. "Hanna," he gritted out. "Where is Hanna? What did you do to her?"

What did I do to her? Was he crazy? Why would he think I would do something to her? Was she ignoring him, and he thought pestering me was going to help him? The man practically choked me. Love really makes people do some crazy shit.

I tried to cool him down enough to escape. "That's not how love works, mate. If she doesn't love you, you can't force her to. If you harass her friends, Hanna would hate you even more. I would advise you to leave her alone. Somewhere out there, someone is waiting for you." You psychopath. Demented man. The way he had portrayed himself to the public...I shook my head. If only they knew. I had known all along there was something wrong about him. He was too perfect. Too attractive. Too good.

Rogue looked slightly disturbed by my statement. Shit.

"The next words that come out of your mouth better be the answer to the question I'm asking." His command was short and snappy. "And it better be the last time I ask you; where is Hanna?"

"Listen, I'm not going to tell you where she is. I don't care who you are, but if Hanna doesn't want to see you, she doesn't want to see you. I protect my friends from psychopaths, and clearly, you need some help."

Well, there goes it.

He stepped back.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I had done it. I had scared a powerful man. Cheers, Beth. Knew your dumbness would come in handy one day.

A black car sped and stopped in front of my building. The doors opened at once, the passenger front and the one behind. Three men stumbled out. Big. Deadly. I whipped a glance toward Rogue, his unmoving face told me they were with him.

I backed away. One second was all it took to make a decision, and a bloody good one that was. I ran. Not toward the entrance of my building because I couldn't have them trapping me inside. I ran for the street, away from them.

Rogue's smooth voice barked, "Grab her."

They were already on my tail at the command. Someone grabbed my arm, but I slipped past him. They were on my heels, running faster than me. Another hand shot out to grab me. I swung with a roundhouse kick to his face.

A shadow moved in from the side and fast. I didn't see him coming. It happened so fast that there was no time to react. An arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me as if I weighed nothing, then another wrapped around my neck, applying pressure.

My eyes widened. I couldn't fight. I was immobilized, and then...there was nothing but darkness. I was not even given the time to process that I had just been choked and knocked into consciousness.

*****

Freedom.

Such a beautiful word. Many had it, and a few didn't. And for those who didn't, it was the most precious thing to have, and it was the very thing I woke up and found stolen from me. My freedom.

It took me a few seconds to realize that I wasn't in my room. This was the biggest room I had ever seen. The bed was big. The sheets and pillow were softer than mine. The chandelier was elegant and low, brightening the whole room. I jumped down from the bed to open the green curtains, then found the window was boarded. My heart hammered. I raced to the door and juggled on the handle, but it was locked. I pounded my fists against it in frustration.

Rogue Slade had kidnapped me. This was the version of hell I didn't know existed. The less destructive and the more beautiful. The one if you peel off the beauty, you find hurricane. I was in that hell.

Why the hell would he kidnap me?

The answer dangled like a worm inside my mind. For Hanna. For fucks sake. I pounded on the door relentlessly, seeking anyone to hear me and open the door. To let me out. I needed to get out of here.

Bethany, Bethany, you just had to dig a hole for yourself.

I kept pounding and pounding. I opened my mouth and let out a petrifying scream. I continued to do so. Hurting myself. Scratching my throat. But if he thought he could bring me here, hold me in captivity for some sick, twisted love, he was insane. My fists hurt. I let them rest and kicked the door with my legs. When they hurt, I switched with my fists.

Suddenly, I heard a swoosh sound. Spinning around, my eyes darted around the bedroom. Smoke was coming through the air vents at each side of the room. So fast. I tried to block my nose from inhaling, but in seconds, the whole room was covered in smoke. I started to cough. I tried opening the door to which I assumed was the bathroom, but it was also locked. I was trapped.

The smoke was coming on me fast. It started to make me choke. My eyes watered. Everything around me began to spin. I was inhaling it. My vision clouded. Dizziness overrode me. I was falling to the ground in the middle of the room before I could even realize what was happening.

When I came to consciousness, someone had put me back on the bed. I scrambled into a sitting when I saw him staring at me. He was seated on a single chair that was positioned in front of my bed. Sucking in my breath, I did my best to appear strong. His gaze was still cold, hiding so much, but taking everything in. Rogue held authority without it being too much and too less. Seeing him right now gave me the chance to take in everything he offered. His chin was squared enough to expose every clench of his teeth, his nose straight and pointed, and his skin was so flawless and shiny as my eyes followed his dark grey shirt with the collar unbuttoned, exposing his neck.

Every small movement from him felt like he held unlimited power. The power to do as he pleased. The power to drown you and choke you in every sense without a drop of humanity. I couldn't breathe as he held me in his penetrating gaze, tilting his head back up, rubbing his bottom lip slowly and carefully, taking his precious time to strip me bare with his gaze. Every gaze and motion was perfected as if he had done this more than he shouldn't have.

When he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, splaying his arm on his thighs, I flinched and shrunk back. My heart did its very best to stay calm. His gaze danced over me, his face hiding his thoughts, but the fierce intensity in which he studied me granted fear rather than courage. I couldn't forget that he also knocked me out with teargas and choked me to unconscious.

"If you let me out of here, I won't tell anyone what happened. I promise." And I intended to keep it. Was I mad to challenge and accuse a billionaire of kidnapping me? Who would believe me in the first place? Rogue Slade was adored. Unless I still wanted a place in America, I wasn't going to accuse him of anything.

"That's not what worries me," he finally said, with a grin as cold and evil as they come. "Bethany Wallace, is it? Born and raised in London. Age twenty-five. Tell me, how long have you known Hanna Sinclair? And what is your relationship like? Straight answers. Don't go off-topic. Don't hesitate. Hesitation means you're lying, and I would know if you're lying. So, save me and you the trouble." The eerie warning behind his message sent shivered down my spine.

What was his obsession with Hanna? Either way, I was going to answer if I wanted to leave here. "She's my friend. The first friend I made when I came to New York. We became friends when I started working in her family's company."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

I shifted and a frown appeared on my face. But swallowing a lump, I answered, "Yesterday at the office."

His jaw worked. "And when was the last time you spoke to her?"

"Why these questions?"

He cocked his head, running a hand over his shadowy jaw. "When was the last time you spoke to her?" he repeated tightly.

My head roared. My heart jumped. So many questions wanted to spill from my lips, but I wasn't given the permission to ask. "She texted me that she wanted to meet tonight, but she didn't show up." Nor did she reply to my texts. She was going to explain to me about her disappearance earlier.

Something clicked in my head. I straightened and gave him an icy stare. "Did you do something to her?" I demanded. I remembered she had gotten a text two days ago. She looked off after that text. Did Rogue text her?

"I ask the questions here, Beth." His expression was completely dark. "You were the last person she contacted, and the last person she was going to meet before she went missing."

The air in the room left me, and my head started spinning. "What in the bloody hell do you mean before she went missing? Hanna is not missing." She couldn't be. She had just texted me a few hours ago. We were going to meet. What the hell?

"We located her phone and found it along with her bag." He rose from the chair and stepped closer to me. When he was at the foot of the bed, he stopped and bent, so he was leveled with me. "Five minutes away from where you live."

I gasped as an impending attack swirled. "And you think..." Blood rushed through me. "You think I have something to do with this?"

He yanked me upright, his hands fierce and unyielding beneath my arms. "You will tell me where she is," his hissed with heavy glare, watching as several emotions unfolded on my face.

"She can't..." I shook my head, visibly shaken by the news. "Hanna can't be missing. You're lying to me."

"Why do you think I'm here?" His temper was built like the storm, aiming to blow and destroy everything in its path. "Because her brother wants to find her. He's worried, and as his friend, it's my job to find his sister and make sure she's safe." He pushed me back and stepped away from the bed, leaving me shocked and petrified.

Hanna knew Rogue? Her brother, Taylor, was his friend? And he was the one who sent Rogue to me to find her?

Hanna was missing.

Hanna was missing, and I was the prime suspect. I was kidnapped because they thought I had something to do with her disappearance.

Oh my god.

I scrambled out of bed. "I don't know where she is!" I screamed. "You can't kidnap me because you think I had something to do with it. Why would I do this to my friend?"

Rogue crossed his arms, his shirt pushed up to his elbows, revealing huge muscles. "You know where she is. I know this. You know this. So, I will give you an option. If you tell me, I will return you to your home right this second, but if you don't and keep denying, you will be here until you're ready to tell me where she is."

"I'm not fucking lying! I have no idea where Hanna is!" I glowered at him, digging my fingernails into my arm.

He lowered his jaw and murmured, harshly. "Shut up."

I wanted to scream, so that was what I did. I snapped his name out with so much force to show him I was not someone he could command. "Rogue!"

"Don't speak my name. I haven't permitted you to."

I shriveled beneath his heavy glare latched onto my face. "I—" I dragged my stiff fingers through my hair. "You're wasting your time on me. I'm not the one who has Hanna. Whoever does is out there." My eyes wanted to jump into tears. If something had happened to Hanna, he shouldn't waste time on me.

We stood in silence, dripped in tension before he deemed fit to ask, "Is he your partner?" His face blackened.

I blanched. Slowly exhaling, my temper overshadowed his. "My partner? Mr partner?! Are you not listening to me? I didn't do anything to her. We were going to meet, but she stood me up. If you had bothered to check her phone, you'd see that I texted her, asking her where she was!"

"That's not reason enough to clear you. You could've used that to take suspicion from you, which is really just amateur stuff." He looked me up and down, which, for some reason, felt insulting and demeaning.

"Are you kidding me?" I stomped on my feet, my temper gathering into a huge ball that was ready to explode. He wanted to twist and own the narrative, to put the blame on me before tossing me to Hanna's brother. He desperately wanted me to admit what he suspected me of doing, so he could take the win. Rogue Slade didn't want to lose, that much was obvious.

I crossed my arms and went up on his face, despite the pounding of my heart. His eyes flashed, and a dangerous kind of adrenaline began to work its way through me. "Kidnapping usually needs a motive, and I have no motive. If you could just let me out of here, I will talk to Taylor. I will tell him what I know and convince him of my innocence." I tried to exercise my dominance, which he had funny because his face shone with amusement.

"Stupidity doesn't look good on you." His voice dropped to a scary whisper. Then he ate the distance between us, our chests brushing against one another, sending a giant blot of lightning that started from my head to my toes. He was so tall that I was left to stare at his chest, suddenly unable to look him in the eyes, but I had to. I had to show him I wasn't scared of him.

Rogue clenched his jaw, his eyes hooded and dark. "When you're ready to talk, I'll come to fetch you. In the meantime, think about what you will be putting yourself through. I'm a man of many great talents, and breaking people is one of them. Let that be the only thing you think about tonight." He spun, and I caught a whiff of his scent—sandalwood and sin.

"Rogue, please—" Alarmed, I charged after him as he head for the door, but his strides were longer, and he was out of the door in seconds, shutting it as soon as I reached for it.  It slammed on my face. I pounded my fists against it. "Rogue! Rogue, please, open up! Rogue!" I screamed, but my scream went unheard.

I pounded and pounded against the door. "Rogue!"

But he never came back.