She didn’t trust him.
That didn’t mean she had a choice.
👉 Next Episode →
Captured – Episode 1
The alley smelled like rain and bad decisions.
Lexi Grace didn’t slow down.
Her boots hit the pavement in steady rhythm—controlled, measured. Not running. Not yet.
Running meant panic.
And panic got people killed.
Behind her, footsteps echoed.
Not hurried. Not sloppy.
Whoever was following her knew exactly what they were doing.
Lexi turned the corner hard, pressing her back against cold brick. Her fingers flexed once at her sides, already calculating distance, angles, exits.
Three options.
Run. Hide. Fight.
A shadow stretched across the ground.
Too close.
He stepped into view like he’d been there all along—tall, broad, composed in a way that immediately set off alarms. Dark hair, rough jaw, eyes that locked onto hers like he’d already made a decision.
Not a stranger.
That was the problem.
Recognition hit like a spark catching dry fuel.
“Lexi,” he said.
Her stomach tightened.
“You’ve got the wrong person.”
The lie came easy.
Too easy.
His gaze didn’t waver. “No. I don’t.”
Footsteps sounded at the far end of the alley.
Different pace.
Faster.
More than one.
Lexi’s attention snapped past him for half a second—and that was all it took.
His expression shifted. Not softer.
Sharper.
Calculating.
“Move,” he said.
She didn’t.
Trust wasn’t something she handed out to men who appeared out of nowhere knowing her name.
“Now.”
That wasn’t a suggestion.
It was urgency.
The kind that didn’t fake well.
Voices cut into the alley.
“Spread out.”
“Check both sides.”
Lexi’s pulse kicked harder.
Before she could decide, he closed the distance in two strides and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the shadows just as two figures rushed past the mouth of the alley.
Too close.
Way too close.
His grip tightened—not rough, but unyielding—as he pulled her in behind him, shielding her from view.
“Stay quiet,” he murmured near her ear.
Command, not request.
Every instinct she had told her to fight him.
Break contact. Create distance. Control the situation.
Instead…
She froze.
Because something about this didn’t add up.
He knew her name.
He wasn’t surprised to see her.
And whoever was out there…
Wasn’t looking for him.
Which meant—
Her breath caught.
She wasn’t the one in control of this situation.
Not even close.
And for the first time all night…
Lexi Grace realized she might not be trying to escape the wrong person.
She might be standing next to him.
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