---- don't know what price I'll pay, but I know there's a big gift waiting for you tomorrow." Her eyes glittered with malicious anticipation. "Tomorrow, the entire pack will know that the woman you love got drugged at a party and ended up in another man's bed. Your precious Aria's reputation will be in ruins." Kieran felt ice form in his veins. ''What are you talking about?" "Oh, didn't you know?" Scarlett's smile was venomous. "Isabella Winters and I had quite the chat. She's just as eager to see your little princess fall from grace as I am." "The drug in her system, the compromising situation-it was all planned. Even if Sebastian Cross saved her tonight, the damage is already done. People will talk. They always do." Kieran gripped Scarlett's chin, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. "Tf you dare touch Aria again, I guarantee you'll ---- die horribly!" But Scarlett wasn't intimidated. She'd already lost everything-her job, her security, any hope of a future with Kieran. She had nothing left to lose. "With you two as my company in death, dying doesn't seem so scary, does it?" she sneered. "Besides, it's too late to stop what's already in motion. The wheels are turning, Kieran. Your perfect little world is about to come crashing down." With that parting shot, Scarlett strode away into the night, leaving Kieran standing alone with his mounting dread. Everything in Scarlett's words suggested she intended to harm me further. That tonight was just the beginning of whatever twisted revenge she had planned. Panic clawed at Kieran's chest. He couldn't lose me -not to Sebastian, not to scandal, not to anything. Despite Sebastian's warning, despite knowing he ---- wasn't welcome, Kieran turned back toward the hotel entrance. He couldn't protect me from the past. He couldn't undo the lies he'd told or reclaim the heroism that had never been his. But he could still try to shield me from whatever Scarlett had planned. Kieran took the elevator back to the penthouse floor and positioned himself in the corridor, determined to stand guard all night if necessary. Inside the room, I had already been awakened by the earlier commotion. I'd heard every word of the heated conversation between Sebastian and Kieran.