His Broken Bride Is A Hidden Genius

The rain in Hell's Kitchen didn't fall; it attacked.

Adeline Summers kept her head down, her cheap canvas sneakers splashing through the oily puddles of the dark alley. The cold water soaked through her thin jacket, making her shiver, but she didn't slow her pace. She needed to get out of this neighborhood. Now.

A sickening crack echoed through the narrow space.

It was the sound of bone snapping. Adeline's body went completely rigid. Her breath caught in her throat. She pressed her back against the rough, wet brick of the building, her eyes piercing through the heavy curtain of rain.

Ten yards ahead, a massive man wearing a black surgical mask had another man pinned against the wall. The masked man's eyes were dead. Empty. Like a reaper calculating the weight of a soul.

The pinned man let out a wet, gurgling plea.

The masked man didn't hesitate. His massive forearm flexed, pressing harder against the victim's windpipe. The man's eyes rolled back, and he slumped into the muddy water, completely unconscious.

Adeline stopped breathing. She took a slow, agonizing step backward.

Crunch.

Her heel found a broken beer bottle hidden in the puddle. The glass shattered, the sharp noise cutting through the rain like a gunshot.

The masked man's head snapped toward her. His gaze locked onto the trash cans where she stood. A heavy, suffocating pressure slammed into Adeline's chest. Her heart hammered against her ribs so violently it hurt.

She turned and ran.

Her wet soles slipped on the slick asphalt. Her knees slammed into the ground, tearing the skin. Before she could push herself up, a large, freezing hand clamped down on the back of her neck.

He lifted her entirely off the ground.

Adeline choked, her hands flying up to claw at the iron grip. He spun her around. The smell of fresh copper blood and expensive, woody cologne invaded her senses. It was a terrifying, aggressive combination.

His dark eyes scanned her terrified face. Without a word, his free hand ripped open the pockets of her jacket.

Adeline kicked and thrashed. His fingers tightened on her throat. Black spots danced at the edges of her vision. Her lungs burned for oxygen.

His hand dove into her inner shirt pocket. He yanked out a silver necklace with a thick pendant. Her grandfather's only relic.

Panic spiked in Adeline's veins. She reached for it instinctively.

He caught her wrist and twisted it backward. A sharp, blinding pain shot up her arm. She gasped, her knees buckling.

He stared down at her, the killing intent in his eyes solidifying. He was going to snap her neck. Adeline's brain fired on all cylinders. She needed a way out. She needed him to see her as something else. Something harmless. Something broken.

She let her body go completely limp.

The sharp, calculating light in her eyes vanished, replaced by a hollow, vacant stare. She let her jaw drop slightly. A string of saliva pooled at the corner of