Chapter 1The Rabbit's Trap

Riding the elevator after midnight.

A handsome guy walks in, an iron chain dangling from his wrist.

I stare at the chain.

He thinks I’m nervous. “Don’t worry,” he says, trying to reassure me.

“It doesn’t bite—holy crap, where’s my dog?”

* * *

Two in the morning. The world was dead silent.

I was standing in the elevator when a man in a face mask stepped in. The eyes visible above the mask were gorgeous.

I didn’t dare look for long. A quick glance and my head was down.

But then my gaze froze on the floor.

An iron chain, thick as my thumb, was stretched taut from the man’s wrist.

He casually rotated his wrist, and the chain let out a soft, metallic clink.

Late night… elevator… iron chain… handsome man…

Put it all together, and it felt unnervingly weird.

I swallowed hard, the gulp echoing in the silent car.

He must have noticed my anxiety.

His eyes crinkled into a smile. “Don’t worry,” he said soothingly. “It doesn’t bite… Holy crap, where’s my dog?!”

I pressed my lips together, shut my eyes, and fought with every fiber of my being to suppress the gale of laughter threatening to erupt. My face turned purple from the effort.

The elevator was still ascending.

The man looked like he wanted to pry the doors open and leap out. He paced frantically, a perfect picture of a doting dog owner in full-blown panic.

A few seconds later, to my utter astonishment, he started to cry.