Cassandra waited for the elevator on the penthouse floor, her heart hammering against her ribs. The slap had felt good-too good. It was a release of five years of pent-up rage, but her hand was trembling in her lap. She clenched it into a fist to hide the reaction.
She rolled straight to the intercom on the wall near the kitchen. She pressed the button for the study.
"I want to borrow Cerberus," she said into the speaker.
There was static silence for five long seconds. Then, Kade's voice came through, distorted but unmistakably deep. "Cerberus only takes orders from me. What do you want with him?"
"I want him to visit the guests in the basement," Cassandra replied, her voice devoid of hesitation. "They seem to think their current accommodations are too comfortable. I want to add some... ambiance."
Kade stared at the monitor. He saw the set of her jaw. She wasn't asking for permission; she was stating an intent.
"Viper will bring him down," Kade said, his finger hovering over the release button. "Don't let him kill them. The paperwork is a hassle."
Five minutes later, the elevator doors in the basement opened again. This time, Cassandra wasn't alone. Beside her stood a beast of a dog-a black Doberman Pinscher with cropped ears and a tactical collar. Cerberus. Kade's personal attack dog. A weapon with fur.
Viper held the leash, looking nervous. Cerberus usually growled at everyone except Kade.
Cassandra looked at the dog. In her previous life, she had studied canine behavior extensively for a covert op involving a drug lord's kennel. She knew exactly where to touch. She reached out, her fingers pressing firmly into the pressure point behind the dog's ear, a spot that triggered a calming endorphin release.
Cerberus stiffened, then leaned into her hand, letting out a low chuff of approval.
"Good boy," she whispered.
She took the leash, looping it around the armrest of her wheelchair. Viper let go, stunned.
She rolled back to the cell. Dillon and Bianca were huddled together for warmth. When they saw the black beast trotting beside Cassandra's chair, they scrambled back against the far wall, screaming.
"Open it," Cassandra commanded.
The door slid open. Cassandra rolled inside. Cerberus sensed the fear. His hackles rose. A low, rumbling growl vibrated through the room, bouncing off the glass walls.
"Get him away!" Dillon shrieked, pushing Bianca in front of him as a human shield.
Cassandra gave the leash a fraction of slack. Cerberus lunged, snapping his jaws inches from Dillon's shin.
Dillon fell to the floor, scrambling backward crab-like. A dark stain spread across the front of his trousers. The smell of urine hit the air.
Cassandra looked down at him with pure disgust. "Look at you," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "This is the man I was supposed to run away with? You're not even a man. You're less than a dog."
She pulled Cerberus back to a heel. She turned to Viper.
"Strip them."
Viper blinked. "Madam?"
"Every stitch of clothing on their backs was paid for by the Williams family trust," Cassandra said. "If I am cutting ties, I am cutting them completely. I want it all back."
"Take it off!" Viper barked at his men.
The guards moved in. It was efficient and humiliating. Dillon and Bianca were stripped down to their underwear. They shivered, crying, covering themselves with their hands.
"Throw them out," Cassandra ordered.
"Madam," Viper interjected quietly. "It's a blizzard out there. Ten degrees below zero."
Cassandra turned her wheelchair toward the elevator, the dog trotting by her side. She didn't look back.
"Good. Maybe the cold will wake them up."
The scene outside the service entrance was chaotic. The heavy steel doors opened, and Dillon and Bianca were shoved out into the alley. The wind howled, carrying biting snow that stung like needles.
They landed in a snowbank, gasping as the freezing cold hit their exposed skin.
"My coat! Please!" Bianca wailed, reaching for the door.
The door slammed shut with a final, metallic thud.
Passersby on the main avenue stopped. Phones came out. Flashes went off. The heiress of the Benson family and her fiancé, half-naked in the snow, kicked out of the Mullen tower.
Inside the security room, Cassandra watched the feed. She watched them shiver. She watched them humiliated.
She felt a presence behind her. The smell of tobacco smoke.
She turned. Kade was leaning against the doorframe, a lit cigar in his hand. He was watching her with a look she had never seen before. It wasn't anger. It was fascination.
"You're crueler than I thought," he said, smoke curling from his lips.
Cassandra rolled her chair toward him. She didn't stop until she was in his personal space, looking up at him.
"The girl who would have given them a blanket is dead," she said softly. "You buried her."
Kade's eyes narrowed. He took a drag of his cigar, his gaze dropping to her lips, then back to her eyes. The tension between them crackled, electric and dangerous.
"Good riddance," he murmured.
