Page 48 of Prey

Her eyes narrow, studying me through the cigarette smoke. “People say Nikolai has a superhuman level of tracking—like a fucking animal almost. Once he locks onto a target, they’re done. He can follow someone for weeks without them ever knowing.”

My skin crawls at the memory of being watched. The way he’d known my routines so well and entered my apartment while I slept.

“The Architects usually hold their acquisitions in Wisconsin as far as I’ve heard,” she continues. “Got a huge reserve up there. Isolated. Secure. Multiple buildings for different… purposes.” Her voice drops. “I’m surprised he kept you in their home. That’s not normal.”

Heat creeps up my neck. The way he’d carried me to his quarters. His bed. The first woman he’d ever brought there, he’d said.

“What was he like with you?” She leans forward, cigarette forgotten between her fingers. “Most collectors keep it strictly business.”

I stare at the cracked linoleum, face burning. How do I explain what happened between us? The way he’d trembled when I said his name. His hands on my throat. The desperate hunger in his eyes when he finally?—

“He was…” My voice cracks. “Intense.”

“Intense how?”

The words lodge in my throat. I can’t tell her how my body responded to him. Can’t admit that some sick part of me had wanted it.

“And how the fuck did you even escape?” She stamps out her cigarette, immediately lighting another. “That complex hasmore security than Fort Knox. Cameras everywhere. Multiple checkpoint doors. Nobody gets out without?—”

“I noticed he was obsessed with me.” The admission makes shame coil in my gut. “Got hard around me. So I used it to my advantage.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “You seduced him?”

“When we slept together in his room, he fell asleep.” I force the words out quickly, like ripping off a bandage. “I just… left. Took his clothes and walked out.”

She stares at me for a long moment, cigarette dangling from her lips. “You’re telling me you fucked Nikolai Vex and then just… walked out while he was sleeping?”

I nod, unable to meet her eyes.

“Jesus Christ.” She lets out a low whistle. “You’ve got bigger balls than most. But sweetheart, when he wakes up and finds you gone…” She shakes her head. “He’s going to tear this city apart looking for you.”

16

NIKOLAI

The cold hits my naked chest before consciousness fully returns. My arm reaches across the bed, seeking warmth, finding nothing but twisted sheets and empty space.

“Jenna?”

The name escapes before I’m fully awake, my voice rough with sleep and an edge close to panic. I bolt upright, scanning the bedroom.

Empty. The bathroom door stands open—no movement, no sound of running water. My tactical gear lies scattered across the bathroom floor where I’d torn it off hours ago, but something’s wrong with the picture. Missing pieces.

My shirt. My pants. My boots.

“Fuck.”

I’m off the bed and pulling on spare clothes before the thought completes. Jeans, T-shirt, different boots—muscle memory taking over while my brain struggles to process what I’m seeing. She’s gone. Actually fucking gone.

The elevator takes too long. I slam my fist against the button repeatedly, as if that will make it move faster. When the doorsfinally open to the common level, the sound that comes from my chest is barely human.

“EVERYONE UP!”

My voice echoes through the space like a gunshot. Lights flick on in rapid succession as eight figures emerge from various rooms and corridors, all in different states of undress and confusion.

Damon appears first, pulling on a shirt. “What’s the?—”

“She’s gone.” The words tear from my throat. “Jenna’s fucking gone.”