Protection What's His

Cassandra stared at the words written in blood.

You're too late. She's already mine.

Her blood ran cold. Her mind raced through a list of names—her grandmother, Samantha, Isabella, even Elena. Who had Marcus Kane taken? Who was he holding over her head now?

Dante's jaw was tight. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides. He didn't know either. But he wasn't going to wait to find out.

"Search the building," he ordered his men. "Every room. Every closet. Every inch. Find something."

They scattered, their footsteps echoing through the empty safe house.

---

They found nothing.

The building was stripped clean. No documents. No weapons. No sign that anyone had ever been there. Just the message on the wall, written in blood that was already drying.

Then Marco called from the basement.

Dante and Cassandra went down together. Marco was standing by a small table, a single photograph in his gloved hand.

It was old, faded. A picture of Grace Hayes holding a baby. Cassandra.

On the back, in handwriting Cassandra recognized from the letters, a note:

She was always meant to be mine.

Cassandra's stomach turned. Marcus Kane wasn't just after the necklace. He was after her. He'd been watching her since she was a child. Waiting. Planning.

Dante's fury was cold and quiet. He took the photograph from Marco, studying it.

"He's been watching you your whole life," he said quietly.

"I know." Cassandra's voice was hollow. "I've always felt it. Someone watching me. I thought I was paranoid."

"You weren't."

---

Dante's phone rang.

A blocked number. He answered, his jaw tight.

Marcus Kane's voice was smooth, calm. "I see you found my message."

Dante's grip on the phone tightened. "Where is she?"

"Safe. For now." Marcus paused. "I want the necklace. The original. Not the copy you've been carrying. The one with the encryption key. Bring it to me, and I'll let her live."

"Who?"

"You'll find out. You have twenty-four hours."

The line went dead.

---

Cassandra looked at Dante. Her heart was pounding. "Who does he have?"

Dante didn't answer. He was already on his phone, calling Evelyn. She answered on the first ring. She was fine. Safe.

He called Samantha. No answer.

He called again. Still no answer.

Cassandra's blood ran cold. "Samantha."

Dante didn't speak. He just called one of his men who had been watching Samantha's apartment. The man answered on the second ring.

"I'm sorry, sir. She's gone. Someone took her."

---

Cassandra's world tilted.

Samantha. Her best friend. The person who'd been by her side through everything. The one who made her laugh when she wanted to cry. The one who promised to stand with her until the end.

Marcus had her.

Cassandra sank onto the sofa, her body trembling. Dante was beside her in an instant, his hands cupping her face.

"We'll get her back," he said. "I promise."

"How?" Her voice cracked. "He has her. He has all the power. He has everything."

"No." Dante's voice was fierce. "He doesn't have you. And he's not going to get you."

---

Cassandra made a decision.

She wasn't going to let Marcus hurt Samantha. She wasn't going to let him win. She was going to give him what he wanted—the necklace, herself, everything—and she was going to do it alone.

Dante tried to stop her. He argued, pleaded, tried to reason with her. But she wouldn't listen.

"I'm not losing anyone else," she said. "Not Samantha. Not you. Not anyone."

"You're not going to lose me." His voice cracked. "But if you walk into this alone, you will lose yourself."

She looked at him, her eyes wet. "I have to do this."

"No." He took her hands. "We do this together. Or not at all."

---

That night, Cassandra made a plan.

She would give Marcus what he wanted. The necklace. Herself. Everything.

But she wasn't going to do it alone. She had Dante. She had Marco. She had Adrian and Daniel. She had an army behind her.

She was going to walk into the lion's den. But she wasn't going to walk out alone.

---

Dante watched her prepare, his heart aching. He wanted to protect her. To lock her away where no one could touch her. But he knew he couldn't. She was stronger than that. Fiercer.

"What's the plan?" he asked.

She looked at him. "We give him the necklace. We give him me. And then we take everything from him."

Dante nodded slowly. "Together."

"Together."