Chapter 4 4

Cassidy stood by the side of the bed, feeling ridiculous. She was wearing a pair of cotton pajamas that buttoned up to her chin-armor against the man who was currently in the bathroom.

The door opened. Kingsley walked out.

He was wearing nothing but a towel low on his hips. Water droplets clung to the dark hair on his chest, trailing down his abdomen.

Cassidy jerked her gaze away, staring fixedly at a painting on the wall. Her pulse jumped in her throat.

Kingsley scoffed. "Don't act like a virgin, Cassidy. We both know you aren't."

He dropped the towel and pulled on a pair of boxers. Cassidy kept her eyes averted until she heard the rustle of sheets.

She grabbed a pillow and marched toward the chaise lounge in the corner. "The contract didn't specify I had to sleep in the same bed."

"The lounge is bugged," Kingsley said from the bed. He was lying on his back, hands behind his head.

Cassidy froze. "What?"

"Elmore planted bugs. If he hears you sleeping on the sofa, he'll know the marriage is a sham. Get in the bed."

"You're lying," she said, though her voice wavered.

"Am I? Do you want to risk your father's plea deal on a gamble?"

Cassidy gritted her teeth. She walked back to the bed and climbed in, staying as close to the edge as physics allowed. She turned her back to him, curling into a tight ball.

The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.

Hours later, the nightmare came.

She was back in the courtroom. The judge was screaming. Her father was crying. Vargo was laughing.

Cassidy thrashed in her sleep, her arm flinging out blindly.

Smash.

The sound of breaking glass shattered the night.

Cassidy woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright. Kingsley was already moving, snapping on the bedside lamp.

On the floor, next to the marble nightstand, lay a watch. A vintage Patek Philippe. The crystal face was pulverized.

Kingsley stared at it. His face went completely white, then a dark, terrifying red.

"No," he whispered.

Cassidy scrambled out of bed, falling to her knees. "I'm so sorry, I was dreaming, I didn't mean to-" She reached for the pieces.

"Don't touch it!" Kingsley roared.

He grabbed her wrist, his grip like an iron shackle. He squeezed so hard her bones ground together.

"That was my grandfather's," he hissed, his eyes wild. "It survived two wars. It didn't survive one night with you."

"I'll pay for it," Cassidy cried, tears springing to her eyes from the pain in her wrist. "I'll fix it."

"You can't afford the air inside the case," Kingsley snarled. He flung her hand away.

Cassidy stumbled back, her elbow cracking against the bedpost. She cried out, clutching her arm. A bruise was already forming.

Kingsley saw it. For a second, his eyes flickered. Something like regret flashed behind the rage, but he crushed it instantly.

He stood up, breathing hard. "Add it to the debt. The interest just doubled."

He walked over and picked up the broken watch with trembling hands. "And since you like destroying my assets, you can work for them. The shareholder gala is in five months. You will handle the board members' widows. You will charm them. You will make them love you. If you fail, I sell your father's debt to a collection agency in Russia."

"I understand," Cassidy whispered, cradling her arm.

Kingsley turned off the light. "Go to sleep. And don't move."

He lay back down in the dark, clutching the broken watch to his chest. Cassidy lay on the edge of the mattress, tears leaking silently onto the pillow. She bit her lip to keep from sobbing.

Kingsley put in earplugs, but he didn't sleep.