Cassandra’s POV“Wait,” I said, stopping Lucinda before she could go. I wasn’t sure if she believed Ellie’s accusations that I was a criminal or not, but she was clearly unimpressed with all the drama. And I didn’t blame her! She was famous, always in the public eye. And Ellie with her loud mouth had caused a scene. People were milling about all around us. They were whispering behind their hands and watching the scene unfold with wide eyes.I glanced around at the group that had gathered. They were all smartly dressed, CEOs and other business elites I assumed. I mean, this cruise was full of important people. So not only was Ellie making a scene, she was doing it in front of a lot of people that we might need to work with in the future.And to make things even worse, just then, a camera flashed. Shit. Someone was taking a picture. I could almost see the headlines now: Famous actress consorts with accused criminal on a cruise ship. Drama unfolds…Of course Lucinda was trying to get away
Cassandra’s POV“I think,” I leaned in to whisper to Dillon. “I think people are looking at you.”Dillon turned to the crowd and shrugged back at me.“Yeah, probably,” he said.I looked back to the crowd. There was no ‘probably’ about it. People were definitely looking at Dillon. A few men dressed in collared shirts and polo pants were talking quietly to themselves, their eyes fixed on Dillon while another group off the left were whispering amongst themselves, occasionally glancing up to look at Dillon.“Why?” I asked. Stella, Ellie, Cameron, and Lucinda all noticed it too.“I guess I forgot to tell you,” Dillon said off-handily. “Remember when I said I had to go out for a bit, the day before we left for the cruise?”I remembered. I’d been just about to go and read by the pool when Dillon had appeared, dressed in a suit. He said he had to go but he’d be back in time to make dinner. When I’d asked where he was going, he was pretty vague and evasive. I hadn’t thought too much of it at th
Cassandra’s POVI blinked, stunned, as I looked at the man standing in front of me. He was dressed casually, in a loud Hawaiian print shirt and his hair had been cut short. But it was him all right, the same man that I’d caught Ellie with.I couldn’t believe it! What were the chances? He hadn’t recognized me yet though.When I bumped into him, I made him spill his drink down the front of his shirt. His eyes were fixed on the red stain.“Whoops,” Stella said, seeing the mess on the man’s shirt. She scooped a napkin off the table and handed it to him. He began dabbing his shirt.I wondered if he even WOULD recognize me. Our accidental meeting had been very short. But if I recognized him, there was a good chance he’d recognize me too. I waited for him to look up, but he was too focused on his shirt. He dabbed away at the stain as I apologized again.“I’m really very sorry,” I said, urging him silently to look up at me.“No harm done. It’s a hideous shirt anyway. Honestly, you probably did
Cassandra’s POVCam, Stella, Dillon and I all gathered in the hallway outside our rooms. We were on our way to a charity auction hosted by the cruise ship. After the strange meeting with Brock and his wife, we’d spent the afternoon at the pool. We’d left Dillon behind since he was knee-deep in networking, but I’d been thrilled when he joined us poolside a little later. It had been a fabulous afternoon and our faces all bore signs of the sun we’d basked under while lounging by the pool.Stella had taken forever to get ready. She put on one dress after another, discarding each one in a huff. She’d finally settled on a low cut, form-fitting red dress with cute, black polka dots. I opted for an emerald green silk slip dress with an exposed back. It fell to my just above my knees and the color reminded me of Dillon’s eyes.“Well look at you two,” Cam exclaimed, kissing us both on the cheeks. He’d had all afternoon to sober up and he looked charming in his pin-striped suit. “Aren’t we the lu
Cassandra’s POV “Are you fucking kidding me?” Stella spat out. Her face contorted into a look of seething rage. I didn’t blame her. I was really pissed off too. “Jordyn’s bidding against you?”“This is ridiculous,” Dillon exclaimed, shaking his head. “He just really won’t leave you alone.”The auctioneer gave the going once, going twice warning, so I lifted my paddle again.“Sixteen thousand,” I said loudly.I actually couldn’t believe this. Ellie was perched next to him, her hand on his. She glanced over at us, a smug smile plastered on her face. Obviously, they were there together. I should have known I’d run into Jordyn at some point during the cruise. I hadn’t seen him that afternoon, but of course he was there with Ellie.“Seventeen thousand,” Jordyn said, lifting his paddle. I heard a few people whispering in the crowd. It was a beautiful, rare fabric, most people didn’t understand it’s true worth. From their perspective, Jordyn and I were fighting over some old lace.“You have
Jordyn’s POV“You did it!” Ellie squealed, clapping her hands together like a child. “Thank you thank you thank you! That lace will be so amazing for my wedding dress. You have no idea.”Ellie leaned into kiss my cheek but I leaned away from her. She was grating on my nerves, as usual. When she found out I was going on this cruise, she insisted she come. I tried to tell her that I was going for business, not pleasure, but she threw a fit and then pouted for three days!“How will it look if you don’t bring your fiancé?” she had demanded the night I told her, slamming the salad tongs in the salad bowl like a woman possessed. “I mean, come on Jordyn. People will talk. You have to bring. I’ll make it worth your while.” She gave me a sly, sexual smile, and I knew what she was insinuating. But a blow job wasn’t worth the hassle of having her tag along on the cruise. I honestly really did just want to focus on my work there. I knew the cruise would be full of business execs and CEOs and I wan
Cassandra’s POVI was speechless when the staff set down the Earl Gray lace at my feet.“There’s been a mistake,” I told the staff. “I was outbid. This isn’t mine.”But just then, Jordyn’s voice ripped through the air, declaring that he’d bought the fabric for me.“What the hell?” Stella asked as all eyes turned to Jordyn. The room fell silent and I was painfully aware that everyone was staring at us.This didn’t make any sense. Why would he buy ME the fabric? Clearly Ellie wanted it. She shot daggers at me with her eyes as I struggled to understand what had just happened.Then I realized…he was just showing off. He was being arrogant. That had to be it. Why else would he spend a fortune on this lace and then give it to me? He was being his usual jerk self.“Why did you do that?” Ellie asked, her voice high and tight. Jordyn waved her off, his eyes fixed on our table.I glanced down at the lace. It was even more beautiful up close. I resisted the urge to reach out and fondle the delica
Jordyn’s POV At first, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe Cassandra hadn’t accepted my gift! Couldn’t she see that I was only trying to help her? She was an assistant for crying out loud. She couldn’t afford to spend fifteen thousand dollars on a roll of fabric.I knew from the moment she saw the lace that she wanted it. I didn’t really know much about the lace, but I knew it was rare and I could see the look in her eyes. So when she started the bidding, I knew what I had to do. I would win the lace for her. I didn’t know what she wanted to do with it. I mean, she wasn’t exactly a designer herself or anything. Maybe she planned on getting someone to make her a dress? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she wanted the lace and I was in a position to give it to her.But when the staff placed it down at her feet, she refused to accept it!Anger boiled up inside me. Ellie was yipping away at my side, complaining about what I’d just done. Ellie assumed I was buying the lace for her
Cassandra’s POVI waited with breath held for Dr. Forter to tell me about Dillon. Cameron and Stella appeared behind him and came to join me.“He’s out of surgery,” the doctor said. “We were able to extract the bullet cleanly. Thankfully, it didn’t hit any major organs. He’s stable, for now. But he’s lost a lot of blood so we’re monitoring him closely.”His words were like heaven to my ears.“Stable?” I asked. “That’s good, right?”“It is,” the doctor smiled. “He’s not completely out of the woods yet, so to speak. But it looks very promising at the moment. It’s a good thing he got here when he did.”“Can I see him?” I asked. I felt an enormous weight lifting off my chest. I’d feared the worst, we all had. I’d been terrified that the doctor was going to come and tell us that Dillon hadn’t made it. But now that he was stable, my mind immediately turned to thoughts of seeing him.“You can, yes. But not quite yet. He’s still waking up from surgery.”“I want to see him too,” Cameron quipped
Cassandra’s POVWe did our best to pass the time but it felt like the clock was moving backwards. Jordyn went to get us some food, and when he came back, we couldn’t help but chuckle. He dumped an armload of vending machine crap onto the table.“What did you do?” Cameron asked, “Rob every vending machine in the hospital?”“I didn’t know what anyone wanted,” he told us, suddenly sheepish at the mass amounts of chips, chocolates, and candies he’d purchased.“Thank you,” I told him. I knew it was his way of helping. None of us knew what to do, really, as we waited there in that room. Jordyn was at least trying to feed us.Stella reached for some chips and tore open the bag.“Cassandra? What’s your poison?” Cameron asked me. I was sitting, my knees nervously bouncing up and down. “Chocolate? Gummies?”I shook my head. “I’m not hungry,” I told them. Food was the last thing on my mind. Dillon had been in surgery for over two hours now. Several other people waiting had been called away, one b
Cassandra’s POVBeep. Beep. Beep.The red line gave way to little peaks again.“We have a pulse,” one of the paramedics said.“You mean? It worked? He’s…okay?”I let out a massive sigh of relief. I watched his heart beating on the machine. His heart had stopped. He had…he had died. I stared at the machine, studying the tiny peaks, as though, at any moment, they might betray us and flatline again. “His pulse is still weak, but he’s stabilized. ETA to the hospital?” one of the paramedics asked the driver.“Three minutes,” the driver said, as the ambulance lurched to the left in a hard turn.It had worked. Dillon’s heart had stopped and they’d restarted it. If they hadn’t come when they had, if they had been even a little while longer…Dillon would have died in that room in the warehouse. Without their machine, we wouldn’t have been able to resuscitate him.“Thank you,” I whispered.“We’re just doing our jobs,” one of them smiled kindly at me. “You can hold his hand again.”I felt so muc
Cassandra’s POVThe ambulance tore off down the streets, sirens blaring. I sat on my seat beside Dillon’s stretcher. I felt like I was in the way. The paramedics went to work, trying to stabilize Dillon, they told me. He had an oxygen mask clamped over his face. His face was white as a ghost. They put a tiny thing on his finger to monitor his heartbeat.“Can I…can I hold his hand?” I asked, my face wet with tears. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and hold him. I wanted to stroke his hair. But I didn’t want to get in the way of whatever they were doing. “Of course,” one of them smiled kindly at me. I took Dillon’s limp hand in mine and squeezed it. His hand was so cold it made my stomach drop. “Will he…will he be okay?” I asked.One of the paramedics looked me in the eyes.“We’re doing everything we can,” he said.I didn’t like that answer. I wanted to hear, ‘yes, of course, he’ll be just fine.’ The vague response only made me feel even more uneasy.How had we come to this? I wonde
Cassandra’s POVEverything happened so fast. It was like a blur.The paramedics rushed at us, asking me to step aside. They removed Dillon from my lap and tore open his shirt. Blood squirted from the hole in his stomach. I felt weak in my knees. I gasped and covered my mouth.They started firing questions at us.“When was he shot? How long ago? Does he have any pre-existing conditions? Any allergies? How long has he been unconscious?”Stella and I tried to answer their questions as best we could, but I was so panicked I could barely speak.“He was shot about three minutes ago?” Stella said. “He just passed out, moments before you got here. We’ve been applying pressure to the wound. He doesn’t have any allergies. He’s healthy.”“What’s his name?” one of the paramedics said.“Dillon,” Stella said.“Dillon? Can you hear me? I’m a first responder. Dillon?” the paramedic asked. Then he glanced up at the other paramedic.“Pulse is 124. He’s gone into shock. He’s lost a lot of blood. We need
Cassandra’s POV“Dillon!” The scream escaped my lips before I could stop it. Dillon hunched over, his face contorted in pain. He clutched his stomach.I couldn’t believe it! Ellie had shot him. She’d actually shot Dillon!“What have you done?” Stella hollered at Ellie. I glanced at Ellie. She was holding the gun in her shaky hand, looking as shocked as we all were.“I…oh my god…I,” Ellie stammered. I rushed to Dillon just as Jordyn charged at Ellie. Jordyn grabbed her wrist and she gave up the gun.Just then, we were sirens wailing in the distance. Finally, the police were coming. And just in time.“Call an ambulance,” Stella cried out, also rushing towards Dillon. Blood was gushing out of his stomach. His hands were covered in his own blood. He looked at me, his face growing paler by the moment. I no longer cared about Ellie. The room swam in my vision. The only thing I cared about in that moment was Dillon.“Dillon?” I asked. He stumbled and I knew he was going to collapse so I tried
Dillon’s POVThe moment we pulled up to the abandoned warehouse, a surge of adrenaline rushed through me. Ellie’s sweater was still lying in a heap on the ground where she’d carelessly tossed it aside. We glanced around, but there was nothing in sight. No other people, no other cars.“They must be inside,” Jordyn said, heading to a door. I motioned for everyone to be quiet with the tip of my finger. If Ellie was inside with the girls, I wanted us to be stealth, so as not to tip her off with our arrival. I didn’t want to give her a chance to escape.The door creaked open and we found ourselves inside a dark corridor. There were several other doors, all leading to other rooms. We walked quietly down the hall, peaking into the rooms, but there was nothing.Then, suddenly, I heard the sound of a voice. “We won’t let you do this!”“Stella,” Cameron said, recognizing the voice. We all tore off down the hall towards the voice. I was in the lead and soon enough, we came t
Cassandra’s POV“I don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head. “If you planned it all out, then how did I end up in the right car?”“That’s what I’ve always wondered,” Ellie said, her jaw tight.I searched my mind, trying to remember that night, and slowly, the memories came back to me.Yes, I had been at the bar that night. I remembered because when I woke up the next morning to watch the news, Ellie’s car accident was the top story. Woman runs a red light. I could still see the headlines.I remembered it now because I’d thought, at the time: ‘I drove right down the same street as her accident, only ten minutes before her.’Ellie had blown right through a red light, t-boning an on-coming car and smashing into a cement wall. It was because her brakes had failed, I realized now.But as I’d sat there, watching the news story, my heart had hurt for her. Car accidents had always scared me and I hated hearing about them. The people that she’d t-boned had been okay. Ellie was not though, tha
Cassandra’s POV “Dillon!” I cried out. His face scanned the room, his eyes wild. Jordyn and Cameron both appeared behind him. “Cassandra,” he said, taking a step. But I stopped him. “Watch out. She has a gun,” I hollered. I had no idea how the men had found us. Cameron had tried to tail the black car, but it had lost him. I’d never been so relieved to see any one in my whole life though. However, my relief was short-lived. It quickly gave way to fear. “No,” I said, shaking my hand. “Get out of here. All of you!” I didn’t want them here. Ellie had a gun and she had completely lost her mind. I was terrified that seeing Jordyn, Cameron, and Dillon would set her off and she’d start firing at us. The men all whipped their heads towards Ellie. She was in the corner of the room, a shocked look on her face. “What the fuck?” she said. “How did you find us?” “That picture you sent of Stella bound t