Chapter 3

　　"Sit," Rick gestured to the chair across from his desk.

　　Eve sat, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "If this is about my performance..."

　　"Your performance was fine," Rick interrupted. He pulled out a tablet, tapped the screen a few times, then turned it toward her. "This is about an offer."

　　Eve leaned forward, reading the document on the screen. Her eyes caught on the number first because it was impossible to miss.

　　$2,000,000.

　　Two million dollars.

　　Her vision blurred. "What..."

　　"Exclusive contract," Rick explained, his voice careful. "Six months. The clients want to book you for private performances. Every night they want you, you go. No refusals."

　　Eve's hands started shaking. Two million dollars. That was more than enough for her mother's treatment. More than enough for everything.

　　"Who?" she whispered.

　　Rick's expression darkened. "The Blackwood brothers."

　　The name meant nothing to her, but the tone in Rick's voice said it should. "The men in VIP?"

　　"Yes." Rick leaned back in his chair. "Look, Eve, I'm going to be straight with you. These men... they have a reputation. They're not gentle. They're not kind. Girls who've performed for them come back..." He paused, searching for words. "Changed."

　　"Changed how?"

　　"Shaken. Marked. Some quit dancing altogether." Rick met her eyes. "I'm not going to tell you what to do with this offer, but I need you to understand what you might be signing up for. These aren't normal clients."

　　Eve looked back at the tablet, at the number that could save her mother's life. "What exactly would I be doing?"

　　"Private performances. In their home. Whatever they want, within the bounds of the contract." Rick tapped the screen, scrolling to another section. "It specifies dancing and... companionship. The contract is ironclad.....you'd be bound to fulfill it."

　　"Companionship," Eve repeated. Her stomach churned. She knew what that word meant in this context.

　　"You don't have to decide now," Rick said. "Sleep on it. This is a big..."

　　"I'll do it."

　　The words were out before Eve could stop them. Rick's eyebrows shot up. "Eve...."

　　"How soon do I need to sign?"

　　Rick studied her face, and she wondered what he saw there. Desperation, probably. Maybe resignation. "They want an answer by tomorrow night. But Eve, seriously, think about this. Two million dollars isn't worth..."

　　"It is," Eve interrupted. "It's worth everything."

　　Because it was her mother's life. And there was nothing..nothing...she wouldn't do to save the woman who'd raised her, loved her, sacrificed everything for her.

　　Even if it meant six months with three dangerous men who had reputations for breaking women.

　　Rick sighed heavily. "I'll tell them you're interested. They'll want to meet you first, probably. To make sure you're... suitable."

　　Eve nodded, her heart pounding. "Okay."

　　"Go home, Eve. Get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

　　She stood on shaky legs and walked to the door. Her hand was on the handle when Rick spoke again.

　　"Eve? Be careful. The Blackwoods don't play nice, and they don't do mercy."

　　She looked back at him, forcing herself to smile. "I can handle it."

　　She didn't know if that was true. But it didn't matter.

　　Her mother was dying, and two million dollars could save her.

　　Everything else.....fear, self-preservation, dignity...was secondary.

　　Eve left Eclipse an hour later, changed into jeans and an oversized sweater, her face scrubbed clean of makeup. The mask was carefully stored in her bag, a reminder of the woman she became under the lights.

　　The drive to her apartment took thirty minutes, long enough for doubt to creep in. Long enough to remember Maya's words: There are stories about what they do to women.

　　Long enough to wonder what she'd just agreed to.

　　Her apartment was tiny...a studio in a rundown building that smelled like mildew and broken dreams. But it was hers, paid for with money she'd earned, and it was close to the hospital where her mother was slowly fading away.

　　Eve dropped her bag by the door and collapsed onto her bed without bothering to change. Her phone buzzed.....a text from Maya.

　　Maya: You okay? Rick looked serious.

　　Eve stared at the message, her thumb hovering over the keyboard. How did she explain that she'd just possibly sold her soul? That she'd agreed to six months with three dangerous men because the alternative was watching her mother die?

　　Eve: I'm fine. Just tired. Talk tomorrow.

　　She set the phone aside and stared at the ceiling, her mind racing.

　　Two million dollars.

　　Six months.

　　The Blackwood brothers.

　　She'd made her choice. Now she just had to survive it.

　　Somewhere across the city, in a mansion she'd never seen, three alphas sat in the darkness and smiled.

　　They'd found her.

　　Finally.

　　And in six months, they'd make sure she never wanted to leave.

　　Eve didn't sleep.

　　She lay in bed staring at the water-stained ceiling of her apartment, watching shadows shift as cars passed on the street below. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt those watching gazes from the VIP section...intense, predatory, claiming her before she'd even signed anything.

　　At 3 AM, she gave up and made coffee she didn't need. Her hands shook as she poured it, exhaustion and anxiety creating a toxic cocktail in her bloodstream.

　　"Two million dollars."

　　The number felt surreal. Impossible. Like something from a dream that would evaporate in daylight.

　　She pulled out her laptop and did what she should have done in Rick's office...researched the Blackwood brothers.

　　The results were... extensive.

　　Damian, Damon, and Silas Blackwood. Triplets, though not identical. Ages listed as twenty-nine, which meant they were six years older than her. They controlled the Northern Territory.....a massive expanse of land that included three major cities and countless smaller towns. Their pack was one of the largest and most powerful in North America.

　　The business articles painted them as ruthless entrepreneurs. Blackwood Industries had holdings in real estate, technology, private security, and entertainment. They were billionaires several times over, though exact numbers were hard to pin down.

　　But it was the other articles...the ones in supernatural gossip blogs and whispered forum posts that made Eve's stomach clench.

　　"The Blackwood triplets don't date. They share."

　　"Girl from my pack spent one night with them. Came back covered in marks and wouldn't talk about it for weeks."

　　"They have a reputation for being... intense. And they always hunt together."

　　"My friend's sister was involved with them for a month. She quit her job and moved across the country after. Won't even say their names."

　　Eve closed the laptop with shaking hands.

　　What had she agreed to?

　　Her phone buzzed...a text from an unknown number. Her heart jumped into her throat as she opened it.