The chill of the New York night clung to Alana as she hurried down the street, the echoes of her disastrous blind date still ringing in her ears. He was crude, possessive, and a nightmare she desperately wanted to forget. But forgetting wasn't an option. Not when he grabbed her, shoving her into the shadowed maw of an alley. The streetlights offered no comfort, only long, predatory shadows.

His hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her scream. The tearing of fabric, the brutal force, the sickening realization of what was happening. Pain, sharp and raw, bloomed through her. Tears streamed down her face, a silent testament to the terror.

Then, a rumble. A distant growl that grew into the roar of a motorcycle. Suddenly, he was gone, a guttural curse flung back at her as he scrambled away. A hard punch to her temple, and the world spun. She slid down the cold brick wall, a searing pain across her face, blood warm and wet on her cheek. The motorcycle lights cut through the darkness, illuminating a pair of black boots. She looked up, her vision blurring, to meet intensely blue eyes from beneath a helmet. Then, everything went black.