Dillon’s POV“It’s not far from here,” Jordyn said, showing us the location on his map. “It’s an abandoned warehouse.” Then he paused and inhaled a sharp breath. “Oh my God,” he said.“What is it?” Cameron and I both asked at the same time.“That’s Ellie’s sweater. Right there. In the picture. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”He pointed to a sweater on the ground near the chair in the picture.“How do you know?” I asked. I mean, it looked like any other sweater to me.“I gave her that sweater for her birthday,” Jordyn told us. “I ordered it from France. She had gemstones added to the cuffs, right there.” He pointed again.My heart sank. I’d had a feeling Ellie was behind this.“This is fucking unbelievable,” Jordyn sighed. “Why would Ellie kidnap Stella?” he mused out loud.“To draw Cassandra in.” It was Cameron who said it.“Shit. I think you’re right. I have no idea how she kidnapped Stella, but I think she’s using her as bait,” Jordyn replied.“I think so too,” I added. “The
Cassandra’s POV“Ellie, you can’t possibly blame my family for your parents’ death,” I said. Ellie was pacing around the small room, a menacing look in her eye. Stella was standing beside me, clutching my wrist.“Of course I do,” she said. “Who else is there to blame?”“I’m very sorry that that happened to you,” I told her. “But I don’t see what I can do…”“Shut up,” Ellie snapped. “I know what you’re going to say, you righteous bitch. You’re going to yammer on about how kidnapping you won’t make up for my parents’ death.”I snapped my mouth shut. That was exactly what I was going to see. An uneasiness washed over me. What were Ellie’s intentions, really? What was she planning on doing to us?“You’re going to tell me that two wrongs don’t make a right,” Ellie scoffed. She stopped pacing and faced us, a maniacal smile on her face. “But I think they do,” she said, her smile spreading wide across her face. “I believe in ‘an eye for an eye.’ That’s why I brought you here.”“Cassandra,” Ste
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
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
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“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
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 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 POVThere are no words to describe Bora Bora. That was the first thing I thought as our plane landed. The water was so clear you could see right through it. And the colors in the ocean were so spectacular, it didn’t even seem real. There were palm trees everywhere, and a huge, towering mountain in the distance. The moment we stepped off the plane, we were hit with warm, salt-scented air. It was impossible to be stressed here. The island had a welcoming, relaxed vibe that washed over you immediately. It truly was one of the most beautiful places on the planet, and I had to physically pinch myself because I couldn’t believe we were there.We climbed into a luxury sedan that drove us along a coastal road, past sun-kissed beaches. Dillon and I were sitting beside each other, and I couldn’t help but glance at his profile. He had clearly put a lot of effort into this trip and I was touched by it. This wasn’t just some run of the mill vacation. This was a once in a lifetime
Cassandra’s POV“This is already amazing,” Stella said, bubbling with excitement. “And we haven’t even left yet!” She popped the cork to a champagne bottle and it fizzled over. We both giggled.Dillon had sent a limo to pick us up, to our surprise. We were meeting him and Cameron at the airport.“It’s a pretty great way to start the vacation,” I agreed. I could only imagine what Dillon had in store for us, but if this limo was any indication, then we were in for a real treat.I felt a little bad about not telling Stella that I’d taken out a loan against our company to pay off the venue bill. But I was still confident it had been the right choice. Besides, we were on our way to an amazing vacation, so what was the use in bringing it up now? With all the shit that Stella and I had been through, we both deserved to have a marvelous time on a tropical beach somewhere. I made a vow to myself to leave work behind and to just have a fabulous time.“You still have no idea where we’re going?” S
Cassandra’s POVI would have taken out a personal loan if I could have, but I didn’t have enough collateral to take out a personal loan.So the only way I could take out a loan big enough to cover the venue bill was to use Hot House Flower as collateral, which meant it would have to be a business loan.The idea had come to me late in the night, but I’d dismissed it right away. It had seemed too risky. If I defaulted on the loan, the bank could seize our company. But as I sat there in my office, the idea of a business loan started to seem more and more appealing.I mean, we had more than enough orders coming up to make the payments on the loan. Heck, I could possibly even pay it off before any one even noticed. One of our orders in particular, from a filthy rich heiress in Europe, would cover a good portion of the loan. She’d seen our designs in a high end fashion magazine and she wanted ten different pieces of unique formal wear. TEN!Plus, we had some orders for high end department st
Cassandra’s POVMonday morning at the office and felt like it was crawling at a standstill. I’d barely slept the night before because I was so stressed about the bill. I chugged coffee, trying not to feel like a stressed out sleep-deprived zombie.The venue called again, at exactly 9am, and this time, I didn’t even pick up. It went straight to voicemail. I felt bad avoiding the calls, but I didn’t even know what to tell the woman on the other end at this point. She’d want to know when we were going to pay the bill, and I didn’t have a definitive answer.The unpaid bill was causing me so much stress, that I was biting my nails down to the skin. I tried to focus on work, but I couldn’t.Stella came into my office around 11am, perky and polished, with two cups of fresh coffee in her hands.“You sure know how to hire them,” she told me, taking a seat.“What?” I asked.“Everything okay?” she asked, passing me my coffee. “You seem a bit distracted.”“Everything’s fine,” I forced a smile.“Th
Cassandra’s POVI stepped out into the early evening air and shut the door behind me. I stumbled down the front steps, steadying myself on the hand railing.What the hell had just happened?My mind spun as I tried to process it. Jordyn had kissed me. He’d actually kissed me. I was furious and shocked. I was mad as hell. What had he done that? It was inconceivable to me.I got into my car and gripped the steering wheel with both hands.His company was bankrupt? I was stunned. He was a hot mess and I knew why now. He’d wanted to merge with my company to protect his assets. It was the only way to save him company. But what about my company? Did he even care what a merger would have done to Hot House Flower?“Fuck!” I slammed my hands on the steering wheel. This was so typical of Jordyn. He hadn’t been honest from the start. He’d hid the fact that his company was in financial trouble, knowing damn well we’d find out sooner or later.Needless to say, this was NOT what I’d been expecting whe
Jordyn’s POVThe moment I kissed Cassandra, I regretted it. She shoved me, tossing me from her. In my drunken stupor, I lost my balance and tumbled to the floor.“What the fuck, Jordyn?” Cassandra seethed, daggers in her eyes. “Why did you do that?”“I’m sorry,” I said from the floor. “I didn’t mean to. Honestly. I just…got confused.”She stood up. Her anger was palpable. “You didn’t MEAN to? Are you serious? Was this all just some ploy? Some master plan to make me feel sorry for you?”“What? No,” I shook my head.“Is it even true? Is your company really bankrupt?”It took me a moment to understand what she was saying. She thought I was lying? About all of it? That I was just trying to earn her sympathy so I could…“This is unbelievable!” she shouted. “But I guess I should have known better.”“It’s all true, Cassandra,” I said, scrambling to my feet. “My company is bankrupt. I would never lie about something like that. I honestly didn’t mean to kiss you. I’m not…I’m not myself. I’ve be
Jordyn’s POVIt was stupid, I know. Thinking that just because our companies merged, they’d all somehow accept me as their friend. But the pressure and the lack of sleep were catching up to me, and my thoughts were hazy.All I knew as I stood there in that door at Dillon’s house, was that I wanted to be inside, with them, celebrating whatever it was they were celebrating. Our business collaboration was over so Cassandra had no need to see me anymore. And given the way I was treated at the hospital, I doubted any of them would ever willing hang out with me.BUT…if our companies merged and I was working alongside Cassandra, if we were colleagues, then they’d have to include me. It sounds so pathetic, now. Like I’m some kid on the playground, sitting alone on a bench because no one will play with him. But that’s honest to God how I felt.I harboured no delusions of winning Cassandra back. Not anymore. I just wanted to…to be her friend. So, in my twisted way of thinking, there was a lot mo
Jordyn’s POVAs soon as I said the words, I was embarrassed. I hadn’t meant to just blurt that out. I blamed the alcohol. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’d been drinking all day.Cassandra’s face contorted into a shocked expression. I didn’t blame her. Hell, I was shocked too. I’d known the company had been in trouble, but I hadn’t known how bad. Apparently, we had a very irresponsible CFO and he’d gotten us into some really hot water. He’d brokered some bad deals, big ones, without really crunching the numbers. And now?We were fucked, for lack of a better term.I’d received the frantic calls while we were in the hospital with Dillon. First from my business partners, then from the members of the board of directors. Our quarterly financial reports had just been released and all hell had broken loose. We were spending way more than we were bringing in. And the business deals that the CFO had made went bust.At first, I’d been convinced that we could dig our way out. We had assets that we c
Cassandra’s POVI glanced down at my arm. He was holding it way too tightly. I saw anger flash in his eyes, but then as quickly as it had come, it dissipated. A shadow crossed his face as he furrowed his brows and frowned.“Let go of my arm,” I told him curtly. He did, but his gaze remained fixed on me.“Please,” he said. “You can’t cancel the meeting. You have to…think about it. The merger.”I remained standing. I didn’t want to think about. Hell, I already had. But Stella had seen it all so clearly. The merger would benefit Jordyn’s company far more than ours. Hot House Flower was on the up and up. We were becoming quite well known. That was all Jordyn care about. He wanted to exploit the little bit of fame we’d built.I knew how his business mind worked. His company was not the right match for us. We didn’t have the same values. We didn’t want to be a corporation, not in that sense. We cared about our brand, our image, and our employees. If we merged, we’d lose all sense of what ma