Knowing Cassian would be here any minute, Anastasia looked down at Rainee. “Where exactly were you planning to take me with that krofer? And what were they going to do to me once we got there?”

Rainee’s face went pale, staring at Anastasia in disbelief. She’d thought this woman would be easy prey, but now she was realizing just how sharp Anastasia really was. Nothing seemed to get past her.

Rainee didn’t know what to say. Her job had been simple – bring Anastasia to the location. It should’ve been smooth sailing; they were almost there. But Anastasia had figured it out. Rainee had been pretending to sleep, but the moment she saw Anastasia’s suspicious glance in the rearview mirror, she knew her cover was blown. That’s when she’d been forced to make her move early. She never expected Anastasia to stay so calm under pressure—or to end up getting hurt herself.

Seeing Rainee lost in thought, Anastasia smiled coldly. “Since they want you to take me somewhere, why don’t we stick to the plan?”

“What?” Rainee looked stunned. “What are you trying to pull?”

She stared at Anastasia suspiciously, not understanding this sudden change of attitude—why was she now volunteering to go along?

Anastasia’s expression was eerily calm, a slight smirk playing at her lips while her eyes remained ice-cold. “You were supposed to bring me to them, right? I’m cooperating. Isn’t that what you want?”

Rainee frowned, eyeing her warily. “What’s your game here?”

“I just want to see what they went through all this trouble for.”

Anastasia glanced toward the road where headlights were rapidly approaching—Cassian’s car. Her voice was quiet but carried an unmistakable edge of determination. “If they want to play games, I’ll play along.” She wanted to know exactly who was behind this. And after all the effort they’d put into this elaborate setup, it would be a shame to let it go to waste, wouldn’t it?

Rainee felt a chill run down her spine, suddenly realizing she might have seriously underestimated this woman. She gritted her teeth. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll actually hurt you?”

Anastasia let out a cold laugh, her gaze sharp as a blade. “You couldn’t do it before, and you sure as hell can’t do it now.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the screech of brakes echoed through the air. Cassian’s car had pulled up just a few yards away. The door flew open and Cassian’s imposing figure strode toward them, radiating barely contained fury. He rushed over and pulled Anastasia into his arms, his voice shaking. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Anastasia shook her head. “I’m fine, just some scrapes.”

That seemed to calm him down a bit, but then his attention turned to Rainee. “This the one?” His cold tone made Rainee involuntarily shiver.

“Yeah, but she’s just a pawn. I want to go with her and see who’s really pulling the strings,” Anastasia said casually.

Cassian frowned, clearly not liking this idea. “I can have people investigate. You don’t need to put yourself in danger.” After what had just happened, he was going to get to the bottom of this whether she asked him to or not.

“It’ll be fine—you’ll be there, won’t you? I know you won’t let anything happen to me,” Anastasia said, giving him her most persuasive look.

Cassian sighed and ruffled her hair. “Alright, if this is what you want to do, I’ll support you. But you better promise me you’ll stay safe.”

“I will, don’t worry, I’ve already got a plan,” Anastasia said mysteriously. She turned to Rainee. “Lead the way. And send them a message—exactly what I tell you to say…”

When Rainee had first seen Cassian, her legs had nearly given out from under her. This guy’s presence was overwhelming. Terrifying. The way he’d looked at her made her feel like she was being carved up with a thousand knives. Under their combined pressure, Rainee could only nod weakly. “Okay.”