Chapter One

Why would Jennifer be going upstairs now?

For a split second, I was torn between staying to watch the reenactment of a soap opera and catching up with my friend. Following after her, I forced my way through the throng of people, who had finally calmed down enough to focus on the victim.

Jennifer was moving faster than I had originally thought, but I managed to reach her before she made it to the staircase.

I grabbed her elbow. "Jennifer!"

She spun around, eyes huge and full of fear.

"What..."

I froze as something poked me in my lower back. A voice sounded by my ear. "Don't say a word. Just walk."

*

I cursed myself mentally. Keeping my hand on Jennifer's elbow, I moved in the direction I was prodded, towards the staircase, away from witnesses.

It would definitely have been better if I had stayed home.

*

Alexander watched as the trio prodded Jennifer and her guest up the staircase and cursed. It was bad enough that he would have to protect Jennifer, now he would be responsible for the woman that Jennifer had been enjoying herself with.

"Ryder, you there?"

The sound of someone cooing was cut short. "Alexander? Oh my gosh, you would never believe the pair of skinny jeans I just found. It's the perfect shade of tyrian purple and it's only—"

Alexander rolled his eyes, keeping track of his three targets as they reached the top of the staircase. As they turned right and began walking down the hallway, Alexander grabbed a glass of champagne from a useless waiter and began to move towards the stairs.

"I've told you before that it's Alexander. Our man has made his move."

The sound of Ryder sitting up in his chair was heard. Alexander continued.

"Turns out he has some help. A guest was stabbed by one of them a few minutes ago." He peered up into the semi darkness of the landing above to make sure that it was clear of people. Slowly, he began climbing the stairs, taking care to remain near the railing. Grumbling could be heard through his headpiece about "the cutest pair of tyrian purple skinnies I've ever seen in my life. Ever."

"Do you have an ID on the guest?"

"No, I didn't recognize her face off the guest list. She's one of her friends that just decided to show up, I'm guessing."

Alexander finally made it up the stairs and crouched in the shadows. As he expected, the trio stopped the pair at the door to one of the rooms, the man pausing for a moment to look around. Seeing no one, the man walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

"You want me to send help, Alexander?" Ryder asked.

"You insult me, Ryder. Really? Backup?" Alexander reached the door and took a swig of alcohol, spitting the mouthful back into the glass. His stomach clenched as adrenaline began to pump through him. "Just make sure the police get here when I'm done."

*

"Get on the wall and turn around."

I did as the man asked, turning slowly to face the captors. I caught Jennifer's eyes for a moment, seeing the fear emitting from them before I finished the revolution.

The trio who had grabbed us was composed of two men and a woman. The first man stood closest to the door and was pointing a gun at us, but he wasn't the only one armed.

I had glimpsed the guns the others had as they had closed the door behind them. The woman stood a little away from me and, seeing me looking at her, pulled out her gun. She trained it on me with a smirk that would have been seductive in another situation.

I slid a glance towards Jennifer. She was standing tall, her face composed, but I could sense the terror just beneath the surface. Guns tended to do that to a person.

The second man, who was clearly the leader, studied Jennifer for a second before refocusing his gaze onto me.

"Linette Rose, international model, and playgirl. The woman with her face all over the place. I am honored to be in the presence of someone so great…" The man gave me a mocking bow. "What brings you back to town?" His words were heavy with an accent I couldn't place.

I shrugged, keeping my face calm. "This and that. If I'd known this is the welcome I'd be getting, I would have stayed longer."

The man smiled. "I always knew this one would have a great sense of humor." He turned to the other man. As he did, I glimpsed a tattoo on the leader's neck. It was a black crescent moon. The man continued. "Doesn't she have a great sense of humor?"

The first man grunted in agreement.

Jennifer's eyes flashed in anger. "What do you want?"

The leader ignored her and turned back to me, standing tall before me. "You know, when I received this assignment, I was so… excited." The man's eyes glinted. "To be the one in charge of getting rid of such a high profile individual, I thought that I was lucky. But now, getting you to get rid of you too… that is a blessing." The man took a deep breath, keeping his gaze focused on me. "It's just too bad that it'll be so short lived."

The leader stepped away from me and signaled to the other man. "Shoot her first."

Jennifer's eyes widened. "Wait-!"

The door suddenly opened.

Everyone turned towards it, the trio all pointing their guns at the doorway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jennifer's eyes widen in shock as someone entered. Looking at the person, I felt my own eyes widen.

The man I had momentarily seen downstairs staggered into the room with a glass of what had to be alcohol, looking more drunk than anyone had a right to be. The man froze—or tried to, as he was still swaying dangerously when he stopped moving—at the sight of three guns being pointed at him.

"Whoa…" He put his hands up. "Sorry, I'll just…" He made a vague gesture that looked more like flopping than anything meaningful. "Didn't mean to interrupt the party." He turned around to exit.

I watched as the drunk's feet somehow got tangled among themselves, causing him to fall into the man by the door. The man cursed and shoved the drunk off of him. Amazingly, the drunk didn't fall.

"This fucking—"

The leader made a gesture and said something in another language to the others. The man by the door moved forward and shoved the gun into the unwanted guest's ribs. Apparently, the jab had been too violent, because the drunk toppled over from the force of it and fell onto his butt. His drink, however, sloshed minimally. The leader said something again in the foreign language, his voice sharper. The already agitated henchman looked at the drunk nervously and shouted at him.

"Get up!"

The drunk looked up at the man for a moment before a giggle escaped past his lips.

I stared at the man in amazement. People were stupid, but there really was a limit to just how stupid you were allowed to be in a situation.

The drunk dissolved into a fit of giggles, trying to get something out.

"Please…please…don't…don't shoot…" the man gasped for air through his giggles.

The leader didn't wait for him. Walking up to the giggling man, he hit him in the face with the butt of his gun, watching with pleasure as the man's head flew with the blow. The laughter stopped as the man fell back, holding his jaw.

The leader pointed the gun at the silent man.

Jennifer screamed. "Alexander!"

That was all it took.