Chapter 1 - The Lion's Den
His eyes were not the cold, lifeless voids I had expected from the city's most feared man.
They were a piercing, stormy gray, sharp and entirely awake.
Victor Sterling, the ruthless kingpin who held the metropolis in a vice grip, stared directly at me.
I stopped breathing entirely.
My hands trembled so violently that my knuckles ached.
I braced myself for the shout, the guards, or the drawing of a weapon.
Instead, Victor simply raised a single finger to his lips.
"Shh," he murmured, his voice a deep, gravelly baritone.
"She just finally went to sleep."
I stood frozen, unable to comprehend the surreal image before me.
My tiny, fragile Maya was curled up on the chest of a criminal overlord.
Her tiny fist was wrapped firmly around the fabric of his expensive silk shirt.
Before I could form a single word, the heavy door behind me swung open again.
"Sarah, you are absolutely fired!" my supervisor, Marcus, snarled as he stormed into the room.
Marcus froze mid-step, the color draining instantly from his face as he realized whose sanctuary he had just breached.
Victor's stormy eyes shifted from me to Marcus, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
"Who gave you permission to enter my private quarters?" Victor asked, his voice dangerously soft.
Marcus stuttered, taking a terrified step backward.
"Mr. Sterling, sir, I apologize, but this waitress smuggled a baby into the hotel!"
"I was just coming to remove them both from your presence," Marcus babbled, sweating profusely.
Victor carefully shifted his weight, sitting up while keeping Maya securely cradled in his massive arm.
"The only person being removed from my presence is you, Marcus," Victor stated coldly.
"You are fired."
"Leave your keycard on the desk and get out of my sight before I lose my temper."
May you like
Marcus scrambled out of the room, slamming the door shut in his haste to escape.
I was left alone with the most dangerous man in the city, and he was holding my entire world in his arms.
