Kaleigh swept the business card into the deepest corner of her desk drawer, slamming it shut. Out of sight, out of mind. A childish hope, but it was all she had.

She tried to focus on her afternoon patients, but his voice echoed in her head. "I've been looking for you."

Her phone buzzed on the desk. A text from an unknown number.

"Kaleigh, I need to see you tonight. It's important."

Her breath hitched. He knew how to spell her name. She'd never told him. She silenced her phone and shoved it into her pocket, a cold knot of dread forming in her stomach.

By the time she left the hospital, exhaustion had settled deep in her bones. The employee parking garage was dim and mostly empty, the air thick with the smell of gasoline and damp concrete.

She was just reaching her beat-up Toyota Corolla when the roar of an engine shattered the quiet. A brand-new BMW M4 shot backward out of the adjacent spot, its rear bumper smashing into hers with a sickening crunch of metal and plastic.

Kaleigh flinched, her heart sinking as she saw the deep dent and cracked taillight.

The BMW's door swung open, and a man in a tailored suit stepped out. Julian Sharp. Her ex-boyfriend.

His initial look of annoyance vanished when he saw her, replaced by a familiar, dismissive sneer. He puffed out his chest, looking every bit the smug, arrogant prick he had become.

"Well, look at this," he said, his eyes flicking over her old car with contempt. "Still driving this piece of junk, Kaleigh? I thought you'd have done better for yourself after me. But I guess without me, you are just destined to live a miserable life."

Kaleigh's eyes darted to his passenger seat. A limited-edition Hermès bag sat there, a gaudy trophy. It belonged to Chloe Hayes, the hospital dean's daughter. Julian had cheated on Kaleigh with Chloe for the sake of his career and wealth. Worse, he had flipped the script, spreading vicious rumors that Kaleigh was the one who had been unfaithful. If she had not been so well-liked by the hospital staff, people might have actually believed his lies.

She swallowed her anger, her voice tight but even. "You hit my car, Julian. We need to exchange insurance information."

He laughed, a short, ugly sound. "For this little scratch? Don't be so dramatic, Kaleigh. How much? I'll just pay you. Save us both the hassle." He pulled out a thick leather wallet, the gesture reeking of condescension.

His attitude ignited a spark of fury in her chest. "This isn't about money. It's about responsibility. You hit my car because you weren't looking."

Julian's face darkened. He hated it when she got like this, all stubborn and principled.

"Responsibility?" He stepped closer, his cologne acrid and overpowering. "You are the one who came stalking me in the parking lot because you know how hard your life is now. You are so shameless, clinging to me like a leech when I have already moved on."

She trembled with rage. "Clinging to you? Need I remind you who was following me around like a lovesick puppy, begging for my attention when we first met?"

Julian scoffed, his lips curling into a nasty smirk. "If I had known you had been passed around by so many men, I wouldn't have even looked in your direction."

Instead of shrinking back, Kaleigh let out a sharp, mocking laugh that echoed in the empty garage. The sound wiped the smirk right off Julian's face.

"Passed around?" Kaleigh stepped forward, her eyes blazing with icy contempt. "Don't project your own cheap choices onto me, Julian. We both know exactly why you spread those pathetic rumors. You had to make me the villain because the truth is too embarrassing."

She looked him up and down, her gaze stripping away his expensive suit. "You're a mediocre surgeon who had to sleep his way into a promotion. You didn't leave me because I was unfaithful; you left because Chloe Hayes was your shortcut to the top. You're nothing but a parasite feeding off her father's power."

Julian's face turned a mottled, furious red. She had hit the exact nerve he tried so hard to hide.

"You shut your mouth!" he snarled, his facade of superiority completely shattering. He pulled a wad of hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and threw them violently at her. The heavy stack hit her chest before fluttering to the concrete floor. "Take your charity and get out of my sight, you cheap bitch! You're nothing in this hospital, and I can ruin you with one word!"

Staring at the money scattered at her feet, and then at the ugly, venomous look on his face, something inside Kaleigh snapped. There was no humiliation this time, only pure, righteous fury.

She didn't say another word. She just raised her hand and swung.

The sound of her hand connecting with his face was a sharp crack in the quiet garage. She poured every ounce of her disgust into that slap, her palm stinging with the sheer force of it.

Julian stumbled back, his head snapping to the side. Five red finger marks blossomed on his cheek. He stared at her, his expression a mixture of shock and disbelief.

Then, his face contorted with rage.

"You bitch," he snarled, his voice low and dangerous. "You dare hit me?"

He raised his hand, his intention clear. Kaleigh braced herself for the blow, her chin held high in defiance.

Just as his palm was about to swing, a hand, larger and far more powerful, shot out from the shadows and clamped around his wrist like a vise.

"Touch her," a deep, chilling voice rumbled from the darkness, carrying a dangerous aura that instantly sucked the air out of the garage, "and you will never use this hand to hold a scalpel again."

Kaleigh stared, her heart frozen in her chest. Cade. He stood there, a silent, imposing figure in the dim garage light, his body a solid wall between her and Julian.

His gaze wasn't on Julian. It was on her, taking in her flushed cheeks and the tremor in her hands.

Julian struggled, trying to yank his arm free, but Cade's grip was like steel. "Who the hell are you?" he seethed. "Let go of me!"

Only then did Cade slowly turn his head, his eyes cold and flat. A shiver of pure, primal fear went through Julian.

"Touch her again and you'll regret it," Cade said in a low, deadly calm voice.

Julian, though terrified, tried to bluster. "This is between me and my ex-girlfriend. It's none of your business."

A humorless smile touched Cade's lips. He tightened his grip until the sickening sound of bone grinding against bone echoed in the quiet garage. A sharp cry of pain escaped Julian as his knees buckled, forcing him to bow under the unbearable pressure.

"It is now," Cade said. Instead of just shoving him, Cade twisted Julian's arm further, slamming the man face-first into the hood of his own car.

Julian gasped for air, his cheek pressed against the cold metal. He looked up at Cade with wide, terrified eyes, his previous arrogance entirely shattered.

Cade ignored him, turning his full attention to Kaleigh. He stepped in front of her, shielding her completely. He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. It was warm from his body and smelled faintly of him, a scent that was surprisingly grounding.

She looked up at the hard line of his jaw, her mind a whirlwind of confusion. Why was he here? Why was he helping her?

He leaned down, his voice a low murmur meant only for her. "Are you okay?"

She could only nod, a lump forming in her throat. The sting of tears pricked at her eyes. His fingers brushed her wrist as he adjusted the jacket, sending an unexpected spark through her skin.

Seeing their proximity, Julian's fear mingled with a new, ugly jealousy. "Who are you to her?" he demanded, his voice cracking like a pathetic coward's.

Cade turned, positioning himself even more firmly in front of Kaleigh. He looked Julian up and down as if he were something unpleasant on the bottom of his shoe.

"I'm her friend."

He then bent down, collected the hundred-dollar bills from her car's hood, and walked over to Julian. He grabbed the cowering man by the lapels, hauling him up, and roughly shoved the crumpled money directly down the front of Julian's expensive suit.

"Keep your money," Cade said, his voice level, giving Julian's cheek a degrading, mocking pat. "As for her car, we'll be in touch. My lawyer will send the bill from the best body shop in the city directly to you and your insurance company. And if you ever come near her again, I won't just break your wrist—I'll destroy your entire pathetic life."

Julian's face went from pale to a blotchy red, sweat beading on his forehead. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He knew, with absolute certainty, that this was a man he could not afford to cross.

Cade took Kaleigh's hand. It was ice-cold. He wrapped his large, warm hand around hers. "Let's go."

He led her out of the garage, leaving Julian slumped against his car, utterly defeated.

The cool night air hit Kaleigh's face, clearing her head slightly. She pulled her hand from his grasp. "Thank you," she said, her voice shaky. "But... how did you know I was here?"

He looked at her, his expression unreadable in the darkness. "I sent you a text. You didn't answer. I was worried."

She was speechless. Worried? They were strangers, bound only by one reckless night.

As if reading her mind, he said, "I need to take responsibility for what happened two months ago."

"Responsibility?" The word sounded absurd. "That was a mistake. A one-time thing. We're adults. No one needs to be responsible."

"I do," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Get in my car. I'll take you home. We need to talk."

She was about to refuse, to insist on her independence, when a movement at the end of the street caught her eye. A man was lurking in the shadows, his posture sleazy and familiar.

Jeb Fields. Her step-brother.

The blood drained from her face. Her body went rigid with a fear far deeper than anything Julian could inspire.

Cade noticed the change instantly. He followed her gaze and saw the man swaggering toward them, a predatory grin on his face.

Jeb's yellowed teeth flashed under the streetlight.

Kaleigh's breath came in ragged gasps. She grabbed Cade's arm, her voice a panicked whisper. "We have to go. Now."