Chapter 12

Chloe’s POV

The city night was a whirlwind of motion as I sped away from the Renwick Gallery. I didn’t know the name of the driver or the model of the black SUV that collected me discreetly two blocks from the main entrance, but I recognized the efficiency. This was the movement of a man who commanded swift, silent obedience.

I had barely closed the heavy, soundproof door when my phone buzzed with the location: a pinned map coordinate deep in the hills north of the city, labeled only with a vague address for an exclusive private community. It looked like an hour’s drive, minimum.

It wasn't a hotel this time. It wasn't his office. It was a place designed for utter isolation, and the thought thrilled me. He was running. He was so panicked by the proximity of his wife and the audacity of my public defiance that he was fleeing his own environment just to be alone with me.

You broke first, Drake.

I leaned back against the leather, the emeral