Aria's POV
"Aria? Earth to Aria!" Maya waved her hand in front of my face as we stumbled out of the elevator into the hotel lobby. "You're scaring me. What happened up there?"
I couldn't answer. My brain was stuck on replay: Kade. Victor's son. Kade. Stepbrother. Kade. Those gray eyes. Kade.
"I need to sit down," I managed, heading toward the leather couches in the lobby.
"You need to tell me what's going on," Maya insisted, following me. "One second you're fine, the next you look like someone told you the world's ending."
Close enough.
I collapsed onto a couch and dropped my face into my hands. This couldn't be real. It had to be a nightmare. Any second now, I'd wake up in my dorm room and laugh about the crazy dream where I met a gorgeous, dangerous man who turned out to be my future stepbrother.
"Aria." Maya grabbed my shoulders. "You're freaking me out. Did that guy hurt you? Because I swear I'll—"
"He's Victor's son," I blurted out.
Maya blinked. "Who's Victor?"
"My mom's boyfriend. The one she's planning to marry. The one whose penthouse we're moving into tomorrow." The words tumbled out faster. "That guy from the balcony—Kade—he's Victor's son. Which means he's about to become my stepbrother."
Maya's mouth fell open. Then she started laughing.
"This isn't funny!" I hissed.
"It's a little funny," she gasped between giggles. "I mean, what are the odds? You meet this hot guy at a random party, and boom, instant family member?"
"Maya!"
"Okay, okay, sorry." She tried to look serious but failed. "But come on, it could be worse. At least he's hot. Some girls get stuck with ugly stepbrothers who pick their noses and play video games all day."
I glared at her. "That's not helping."
"Fine." Maya sat beside me, finally serious. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know." I stared at my shaking hands. "Avoid him? Pretend the balcony thing never happened? Maybe if I just stay in my room for the next year—"
My phone rang. Mom again.
I answered this time, putting her on speaker. "Hey, Mom."
"Finally! Sweetheart, I've been trying to reach you all night. Did you get my message about moving into Victor's place?"
"Yeah, I got it," I said flatly.
"Isn't it exciting? A real family! Victor's so wonderful, Aria. And he has a son about your age. Well, a bit older. Twenty-eight. His name is Kade, and he's very successful. Runs some kind of security business."
Security business. Right. The tattoos and dangerous vibe suddenly made sense.
"I've already packed most of your things from the apartment," Mom continued. "The movers will get the rest tomorrow morning. All you need to do is show up at the penthouse by noon. Victor's so eager to meet you properly, and I know you and Kade will get along wonderfully."
Get along. Sure. Like fire and gasoline get along.
"Mom, maybe this is moving too fast—" I started.
"Nonsense! When you know, you know. Victor is the one, Aria. I can feel it. This time is different."
I'd heard that before. Four times before, actually. Each engagement had been "different" and "special" until it wasn't.
"Just give it a chance, sweetie," Mom pleaded. "For me? I really think we can be a happy family."
The hope in her voice made my chest ache. Mom had been alone since Dad died, jumping from relationship to relationship, always searching for someone to make her feel safe again. I couldn't crush that hope, even if my own life was imploding.
"Okay, Mom," I said softly. "I'll be there at noon."
"Thank you, baby! You're going to love it, I promise. The penthouse is gorgeous, and Kade is such a gentleman. Very protective, very responsible. You'll be safe there."
Safe. With the man whose touch still burned on my wrist. Sure.
We said goodbye, and I hung up.
"Well," Maya said, "at least you've got until noon to mentally prepare."
"Twelve hours to figure out how to live with a guy who makes my brain stop working," I muttered.
"Who makes your brain stop working and looks at you like he wants to eat you alive," Maya corrected with a grin. "I saw how he watched you at that party, Aria. That man was obsessed."
"Stop." But my face heated remembering his intense stare. The way he'd smiled. How his voice had dropped when he said my name would find out anyway.
"You like him," Maya accused.
"I don't even know him."
"But you want to. I can tell." She poked my shoulder. "This is going to be so messy. Like, reality TV level messy."
She had no idea.
Because Maya didn't know about Isabella Moretti. About witness protection. About the fact that I'd spent three years hiding from a murderer who wanted me dead.
And now I had to live with a man who made me feel things I'd sworn off forever. A man whose world probably included the same darkness I was running from.
"I should go back to the dorm," I said, standing up. "Pack. Prepare. Maybe fake my own death and move to Canada."
"Drama queen." Maya hugged me. "It'll be okay. And hey, if things get weird, you can always stay with me."
But I couldn't. Maya's apartment was tiny, barely big enough for her. And Mom needed this. After years of failed relationships, she deserved to be happy, even if her happiness was ruining my life.
We called a cab, and Maya talked the whole ride about Brandon Chen and some party next weekend. I nodded in the right places, but my mind was stuck on tomorrow.
On walking into that penthouse.
On seeing Kade again.
The cab dropped me at my dorm at midnight. I climbed the stairs to my room, each step feeling heavier than the last.
Inside, I stared at my belongings. My books. My clothes. My carefully constructed life as Aria Sinclair.
Tomorrow, it all moved into Kade Thornfield's world.
I pulled out my laptop and did something stupid. I googled him.
Kade Thornfield appeared immediately. Dozens of articles. Photos of him at business events, always in expensive suits, always looking dangerous even when he smiled. "Security mogul." "Self-made millionaire." "Youngest CEO in his field."
But there was something else. Rumors. Whispers about his "connections" to less legitimate businesses. Nothing proven, but the kind of smoke that meant fire.
My hands trembled as I clicked through images. Kade at a charity gala. Kade leaving some exclusive club. Kade with his father at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In every photo, those gray eyes seemed to look right through the camera. Right through me.
I slammed the laptop shut.
This was insane. Tomorrow I'd move into a penthouse with a man who made my body react like I'd been electrocuted. A man who might be involved in the same criminal world I was hiding from.
A man who was about to become my stepbrother.
My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number:
See you tomorrow, Aria. Sleep well.
My blood turned to ice.
How did he get my number?
Three dots appeared. He was typing again.
And don't bother looking for ways out. There aren't any.
The phone slipped from my hands onto the bed.
Kade knew. He'd found my number. He was telling me escape was impossible.
What had I just walked into?