Rebecca Martin knows how to survive. She's spent her whole life slipping out of cages built by men who claimed to love her. But nothing prepares her for James?the charming real estate developer whose affection curdles into control so slowly she barely notices the door locking behind her.

And then Cal walks into the diner where she works.

A track coach running a summer program, Cal notices the bruises she tries to hide?and the fear she's terrified to put into words. He becomes the one bright, forbidden thing in her shrinking world. Safety where she's learned to expect punishment. A connection that feels dangerously like hope.

But James is watching.

And James never lets go.

When a violent attack shatters everything, Rebecca realizes she has one chance to escape?and Cal is the only man brave enough to help her do it. Their night together changes them both...but danger, longing, and heartbreak collide in a way neither of them sees coming.

This is the story of the woman who becomes Rayna.
Before the seduction. Before the honey trap.
Before she learned to turn survival into power.

A love powerful enough to change her.
A danger deadly enough to chase her.
A choice that will cost her everything.