The first threat arrived on a crisp white card, neatly tucked into an unmarked envelope. No signature. No return address. Just six words written in bold, slanted ink:

"You don't belong here. Leave now."

I should have ignored it. Brushed it off as a prank. But a week later, another one arrived. Then another. Each one more chilling than the last.

At first, I told myself I wasn't scared. I was Evelyn Carter—CEO of Carter Enterprises. I had built my empire from the ground up, clawed my way to the top of an industry dominated by men who had laughed in my face. I was used to threats. Used to being underestimated.

But then my car was vandalized. My office ransacked. My security footage wiped clean.

And that's when I knew—I wasn't just being threatened. I was being hunted.

I needed protection. The best. Someone who could keep me alive long enough to figure out who wanted me dead.

That's when I met Adrian Black.

He wasn't what I expected. Not the typical ex-military brute with a gun and an attitude. No, Adrian was something else entirely—controlled, calculating, and devastatingly handsome. With black hair, sharp brown eyes, and a suit tailored to perfection, he looked more like the billionaire CEOs I dealt with than a man who made his living taking bullets for people like me.

But there was something in his gaze—something dark, something lethal.

Adrian Black wasn't just my bodyguard. He was a man with secrets. And I had no idea that hiring him would change everything.

Including me.