Chapter 22

The sun was sinking, and the sky was on fire with bands of burning clouds. Cassandra ran along the back mountain road. Thorns caught the hem of her long dress, but she tore the fabric free without hesitation and kept running. Behind her, bodyguards were closing in. Up ahead, a helicopter waited. "Cass!" Gavin waved at her from the open door. The rotor wash snapped the torn skirt fabric in the wind. Cassandra's mouth curved faintly as she sprinted toward the helicopter. Gavin ran forward to meet her. Then, an SUV slammed to a stop between them, cutting off her path. Ronan climbed out of the SUV, his face set in a grim line. His voice cut through the air like ice. "Cass, you're still just as stubborn." He thought her silence these past few days meant she had finally given in and was willing to stay with him. It never occurred to him that she was just buying time. Cassandra had tied bedsheets together and climbed out of a fourth-floor window. "Come back with me," he said, movi