Emily’s POV

"Twenty minutes," I choked out, the phone practically slipping from my sweaty palm. "Daniel... she said twenty minutes!"

Daniel didn't flinch, but every muscle in his back instantly locked tight. The lazy, after-sex exhaustion vanished from his features, replaced by the sharp, terrifying efficiency of a man in full crisis mode.

He swung his legs off the mattress, pulling up his suit trousers and zipping them in one swift motion.

"Get up," he commanded, his voice dropping into a harsh, low whisper. "Emily, move. Now."

"My knees are shaking—"

"I don't care," he growled, grabbing my arm and pulling me upright off the bed. "Go to your room....