Part 1Your First Love My First Payday

Damon Blackwood’s first love—the one he was always meant to have—was finally back in New York. They had been locked in a volatile, toxic dance of love and hatred for over a decade, their relationship all-consuming and messy.

And me? I had been Damon Blackwood’s gilded cage pet for three long years.

On Day One, Tori Harrington publicly humiliated me by trying to tear my dress off. Damon’s eyes shifted slightly, but he said nothing.

On Day Two, Tori slapped me across the face, left, then right. Damon simply asked her if her hand was sore.

On Day Three, Tori aimed a gun at my stomach, threatening to shoot the child I carried. Damon cupped her hand, guiding her aim.

When I demanded to know why he was doing this, he said:

“Using you to keep Tori happy is a price I’m willing to pay. You’re worth the trade.”

Honestly, I was pretty happy too.

I never wanted the baby anyway, and I knew a five-million-dollar wire transfer would hit my account the moment it was over.

Damon didn't know I was actually on his mother's payroll. My real job was to be the irritant—the perfect foil to push him and Tori back into their destructive, passionate embrace.

My contract was up in one month. I was almost free.

...

* * *

I squeezed my eyes shut, but the searing pain I expected never arrived.

When I opened them, I saw it: Tori Harrington’s lips curled into a faint, knowing smirk, her eyes fixed solely on Damon Blackwood.

“You think if you pretend not to care, I’ll let her off the hook so easily?”

Damon didn’t respond. They stood there, framed in the tension of their years-long standoff.

I managed a strained, bitter smile. He wasn’t pretending not to care. He truly didn’t. I was just the hired shield, a pretty, disposable distraction he used to keep other casual flings away. Three years hadn’t managed to warm his stone-cold heart one degree. Expecting him to save me now was just delusional.

“I’m going to kill this baby, no matter what!”

Bang.

The bullet struck my lower abdomen.

Shit. That actually hurt.

Blood instantly welled up, pouring through my clutching fingers. I was slick with sweat from the shock and the sudden, wrenching agony.

“Damon Blackwood, if you have any shred of a soul, get me to a hospital, now!”

He finally frowned, and that minimal sign of distress was enough to make him move. He stripped off his tailored suit jacket and draped it over me. I saw it clearly in his eyes: a deep, unmistakable flash of disgust.

“Stop right there!” Tori’s voice sliced through the haze. “Walk out that door, and the only thing left between us is hate!”

Damon froze. He started to turn, preparing to abandon me.

I reached out, my trembling fingers catching the edge of his sleeve. He scowled, probably assuming I was about to beg or plead for him to stay.

But I just managed to whisper through cracked, dry lips, my voice barely a thread:

“Re-re-remember... to wire... the money...”

He raised an eyebrow, a strange, almost amused smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“Fine. Sierra Vaughn, you truly are a piece of work.”

Right there, right in front of my face, he transferred five million dollars to my account.

Finally satisfied, I let my eyes drift closed.

I was loaded onto a stretcher and rushed toward the nearest trauma center. But the security guard at the emergency entrance stopped us.

“Sorry, we can’t admit her here.”

Too weak to argue, I could only manage to peel my eyes open slightly. Damon’s men were arguing fiercely with the hospital administrator, but it was useless. We were turned away.

It happened at five hospitals in a row. Not a single one would take me.

Through the fog of pain, I heard someone say:

“Ms. Harrington gave the order.”

Tori Harrington. Always Tori Harrington. That woman was trying to murder me, and Damon was letting her. Ruthless. Cold-hearted.

Men really couldn't be trusted.

A sickening, twisting pain shot through my stomach again and again. The white blanket they’d wrapped me in was completely saturated, dyed crimson. I couldn’t even bring myself to look down. For the first time, I felt something close to despair.

I used the last reserves of my strength to grasp a bodyguard’s hand.

“Take me... to the Blackwood... estate...”