Chapter 1 1

The borrowed Valentino gown felt like a vice around Cassidy Steele's ribcage, restricting oxygen just when she needed it most. She moved through the crowded ballroom of the Met, her eyes darting not at the priceless art, but at the exits.

She wasn't looking for a drink. She was looking for an escape route.

A flash of movement near the catering station made her stomach drop. Vargo. He had no business being here, yet he'd somehow managed it, likely by cashing in a favor from one of her father's less reputable contacts. He wasn't wearing a tuxedo. He was dressed as a server, holding a tray of empty flutes, but his eyes were fixed on her with the predatory focus of a wolf that had cornered a wounded rabbit. He stuck to the periphery, a shadow in her peripheral vision, and tapped his earpiece, his gaze never wavering from her face.

Cassidy's heart hammered against her ribs. He was going to make a scene. He was going to demand the money right here, in front of the donors, in front of the press. It would be the final nail in her career's coffin, and worse, it would leave her father defenseless in federal prison.

She turned sharply, her heels skidding slightly on the polished marble. The main exit was blocked by a wall of paparazzi, their flashbulbs popping like strobe lights in a nightmare. Too public. Service corridors were unpredictable, a potential trap. She needed a temporary sanctuary, a place to think.

Vargo eased past a woman in silk, dropping the pretense of service. He was coming.

Panic, cold and sharp, flooded her veins. To her left, a heavy oak door stood slightly ajar, guarded by a velvet rope and a distracted security officer. The brass plaque read: Private Lounge. It was a calculated risk. One guard, easily distracted.

Cassidy didn't think. She didn't breathe. She ducked under the rope, flashing a dazzling, fake smile at the guard.

"My partner has my inhaler," she lied, her voice trembling just enough to be convincing. Before the guard could check a list, she slipped through the crack and pushed the heavy door shut behind her.

The silence was instant and jarring. The roar of the gala vanished, replaced by the hum of aggressive air conditioning and the scent of expensive leather. The room was dim, lit only by low amber sconces.

Cassidy leaned back against the door, her lungs burning. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop her hands from shaking. She was safe. Just for a minute.

Then the door handle turned against her spine.

Vargo. He was trying to force his way in.

Cassidy's eyes snapped open. She scanned the room frantically. It was empty, save for a figure sitting on a velvet sofa in the deepest shadow of the corner.

A man.

He was motionless, a silhouette of broad shoulders and stillness. An unlit cigar rested between his fingers. He radiated a terrifying kind of calm, the kind that exists in the eye of a hurricane.

The door cracked open an inch. "Miss Steele," Vargo's voice hissed through the gap, low and ugly.

Cassidy's brain short-circuited. If Vargo saw her alone, he would drag her out. She needed a shield. She needed a reason to be here. Her gaze locked on the silhouette again, and a jolt of recognition, cold and electric, shot through her. She knew that posture. She knew that stillness.

She pushed off the door and ran across the plush carpet. The man on the sofa didn't move, didn't even turn his head as she threw herself at him. This wasn't a plea to a stranger; it was a desperate gamble with the devil she knew.

She crashed into his lap, her knees hitting the cushions, her hands flying up to cup his face. His skin was cool, his jaw rigid as granite. She blocked his view of the door with her body, her desperate eyes locking onto his shadowed ones for a fraction of a second.

"Please," she whispered, the word barely air.

She pressed her lips to his.

It wasn't a romantic kiss. It was a collision. A desperate, terrified plea for cover.

The man went rigid beneath her. His muscles turned to steel, his entire body radiating a sudden, violent tension. She expected him to shove her away, to throw her to the floor.

Instead, the door fully opened. Vargo stepped in.

Cassidy squeezed her eyes shut and deepened the kiss, trembling against the stranger. She smelled cedar, cold rain, and whiskey.

Vargo stopped.

The man beneath her didn't push. His hand, large and heavy, came up and clamped onto the back of her neck. His fingers tangled in her hair, forcing her head down, locking her mouth to his in a way that was possessive and punishing. He bit her lower lip, hard enough to taste copper.

It was a claim. It was a warning.

Cassidy gasped into his mouth, but he didn't let go. His other hand gripped her waist, his thumb digging into her hip bone through the silk of her dress.

"Sorry," Vargo mumbled, his voice shrinking. "Wrong room. Mr. Osborn... apologies."

The door clicked shut.

The man released her instantly.

It wasn't a gentle release. He practically shoved her back, his hand detaching from her neck with disdain. Cassidy scrambled off his lap, her legs failing her, collapsing onto the adjacent cushion. She wiped her mouth, her heart beating so hard it hurt her throat.

"Thank you," she breathed, staring at her knees. "I just needed..."

"To hide?"

The voice was a low rumble, familiar in a way that made her blood run cold. It wasn't the voice of a stranger. It was the voice of a ghost.

Lightning flashed outside the floor-to-ceiling window, illuminating the room for a split second.

Sharp cheekbones. Eyes the color of a frozen ocean. A scar cutting through his left eyebrow.

Kingsley Osborn.

Cassidy stopped breathing. She scrambled backward, hitting the armrest of the sofa. This wasn't a savior. This was the man she had run from six years ago. The man who believed she had sold his company secrets to his rival.

Kingsley didn't look at her. He picked up a gold lighter and flicked it open, the flame dancing in his eyes. He lit the cigar, took a slow drag, and then turned his head.

His expression was devoid of humanity. It was pure, distilled hatred.

"Hello, Cassidy," he said, smoke curling from his lips. "You have five seconds to tell me why I shouldn't throw you out the window."