Chapter 1
Sky Monroe didn’t belong in places like this. Not really. Not with the glittering gowns, the whispered names of foreign banks, or the scent of wealth so thick it stuck to her skin like perfume.
But tonight, she had to blend in.
She adjusted the slim black dress clinging to her like second skin and kept her pace even as she stepped through the glass doors of the Maddox Gala. There were security cameras tucked into every corner, waiters moving like clockwork, and power players everywhere she looked. Oil tycoons, European royals, Silicon Valley ghosts- they were all here. And so was he.
Luca Maddox.
Tech billionaire. Security mogul. Global elite with an empire built on classified software and carefully buried bodies. Untouchable in every way that mattered.
Sky spotted him within seconds. Standing near the balcony, one hand in the pocket of his tuxedo, drink untouched. Broad shoulders, clean lines, and a gaze sharp enough to cut glass. He looked like a man who never missed anything and took what he wanted.
Her orders were simple: get into his penthouse, retrieve the stolen intel, and disappear.
No personal contact.
No complications.
But as her eyes met his across the room, Sky knew this mission was already screwed.
She shifted her stance, angling her body toward the bar. Her heart was steady, but her instincts were screaming. She could feel the heat of his attention long before he started moving. She didn’t dare look back.
In her earpiece, a voice buzzed quietly. “Sky, you're hot. He’s looking right at you. Don’t let him isolate you. In and out. Copy?”
She pressed her thumb to the edge of the glass in her hand. “Copy.”
Another voice jumped in deeper, colder. Handler voice. “Don’t improvise, Monroe. Stick to the plan.”
Sure.
Sky’s lips curved slightly as she turned from the bar and walked right into Luca Maddox.
Tall. Intimidating. Smelled like spice and precision.
“Forgive me,” he said, not moving back an inch. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your drink.”
“You didn’t.” Her voice was smooth. Measured. She was trained for this.
He didn’t blink. “You’re not on the guest list.”
Sky smiled. “Maybe you missed my name. Sky Jameson. Private equity.”
His eyes didn’t leave hers. “You’re not a Jameson.”
That smile stayed on her lips, but her pulse ticked upward.
“And you’re not a mind reader.”
“No.” He finally took a small step back, his gaze sweeping over her again. “But I’ve been hunted before.”
For a second, she froze. It wasn’t what he said but it was how casually he said it.
Hunted.
Luca gestured toward the balcony. “Walk with me.”
She hesitated. Just for a second.
“Don’t blow it,” her handler hissed in her ear.
Sky took Luca’s arm.
They stepped out onto the terrace, the cool air biting against her bare back. Below them, Manhattan glittered like a trap. She glanced sideways, measuring the distance to the nearest exit, counting guards in the reflection of the glass. Luca leaned on the railing like a man with nowhere to be.
“I’ve had six different agencies try to infiltrate my systems,” he said without preamble. “Three of them sent women. Two tried hacking me. One tried sleeping with me.”
Sky didn’t react.
“None of them made it past the first layer of security,” he continued. “But you… you’re interesting. You know how to walk like you belong. But you watch too much. Your heels are tactical. And your earrings? Comms, if I’m not mistaken.”
She didn’t move. Couldn’t.
Luca turned toward her then, slow and calm. “Now here’s the part where I ask: who sent you?”
“I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” she said.
“I don’t make mistakes,” he replied, and pulled something from his pocket.
Her earpiece.
Sky’s stomach dropped.
“I lifted it when we passed the waiter.” He tossed it off the balcony. She watched it fall, heart hammering.
“You don’t seem very surprised,” he said. “That worries me.”
“Should I be?” Sky said tightly.
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “You tell me. What happens when the spy gets caught?”
She turned to walk away.
Behind her, someone screamed.
Then, gunshots. Two of them. Loud. Close.
People inside the ballroom panicked, ducking and scattering as glasses shattered and music cut.
Sky spun around just in time to see Luca stagger, eyes wide. Blood bloomed across his white shirt. He stumbled, catching the railing before collapsing onto the stone floor.
Her breath caught.
“Luca!”
He looked up at her, his expression dazed, lips moving.
Run.
She backed up, heart racing, scanning the crowd, trying to find the shooter while trying to figure out whether this was part of the plan or something far worse.
Her comms were dead. Her cover was blown.
And now the man she was sent to destroy was bleeding at her feet.
