Aria recovered slowly.
Her steps were steadier, her breathing calmer, but the exhaustion still clung to her like bruises beneath the skin. She returned to work with her shoulders squared and her eyes determined, trying to pretend she was not the girl who had collapsed in Damian Wolfe’s arms or slept against his chest like a frightened child.
But Sabrina Knox didn’t allow her even a whisper of peace.
It happened in the early afternoon, when the executive floor emptied for a brief meeting on the 73rd level. Aria carried a stack of files through the corridor and stepped into the small executive lounge to catch her breath. She had barely set the papers down when the door slammed shut behind her.
Sabrina was already inside.
Her smile was sweet enough to poison honey. Her heels clicked softly across the marble as she approached, all grace and venom wrapped in silk.
“Well,” she purred, “look who crawled back from Damian’s bed.”
Aria stiffened, throat tightening. “I’m working. Leave me alone.”
Sabrina moved closer, brandishing a silver dagger so small and beautiful it looked like jewelry. She pressed the cold tip against the metal collar circling Aria’s throat, dragging it lazily along the edge with a scraping sound that made Aria’s blood freeze.
“Relax,” Sabrina murmured. “If I wanted you dead, you’d already be bleeding.”
Aria swallowed hard. “What do you want from me?”
Sabrina’s smile widened, cruel and delighted. “To educate you, sweetheart.”
She tapped the dagger lightly against the collar, watching the metal tremble.
“He doesn’t protect you out of affection,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. “Damian Wolfe doesn’t do tenderness. He does ownership. Greed. Rage. Obsession.”
Aria tried to step back, but Sabrina blocked her path, her perfume thick and suffocating.
“You think he saved your life because he cares?” Sabrina whispered. “Oh, darling. He only protects what he refuses to lose. And Damian Wolfe refuses to lose anything with Navarro blood on it. Not even you.”
Aria’s heartbeat hammered painfully. “You don’t know anything about him.”
Sabrina laughed softly, brushing a strand of Aria’s hair aside with the tip of her blade.
“Oh, but I do. I know every woman he’s ever kept close. And do you know what they all have in common?” She leaned in until her lips nearly brushed Aria’s ear. “None of them stayed alive long enough to understand him.”
Aria tried to pull away.
Sabrina’s hand shot out, gripping a fistful of Aria’s hair and yanking her head back with brutal precision. Aria gasped, her scalp burning.
“Let go—”
“Shh.” Sabrina tugged harder, forcing Aria’s body to arch. “You want to know the worst part? I saw the way he looked at you.”
Aria’s breath caught.
Sabrina’s eyes gleamed with malicious triumph.
“Oh, yes. Don’t pretend you don’t know. You slept in his bed, didn’t you? You clung to him while he held you like something fragile, something precious. And he sat there watching you like you were… dangerous.”
Aria’s stomach twisted violently.
“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about—”
Sabrina dragged the dagger down the front of Aria’s collar, tracing a slow line along the metal.
“He’s unraveling,” she whispered. “And it’s your fault. You’re making him weak.”
Aria flinched. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Oh, I know.” Sabrina’s voice softened mockingly. “You’re just the innocent little lamb who walked into the wolf’s den. But wolves don’t love lambs, Aria. They eat them.”
Aria shoved against her, but Sabrina slammed her back against the lounge counter, trapping her with a knee between her thighs.
Sabrina lifted the dagger again.
“Do you want to know how he breaks people?” she hissed. “Slowly. Intimately. Thoroughly. He’ll break you in ways even your father never imagined.”
The blade pressed harder.
Aria’s breath hitched—
And then the room exploded with movement.
A strong hand seized Sabrina’s wrist, twisting hard enough to make her cry out. The dagger clattered to the floor.
Jaxon Reed stood behind her, breathing hard, gun drawn, eyes burning with lethal promise.
“Touch her again,” Jaxon said, voice low, deadly. “And I swear on every grave you’ve ever stepped on—I will bury you alive.”
Sabrina’s chest rose and fell, fury contorting her beautiful face. But she didn’t fight back. She knew better than to go against Jaxon with a weapon already knocked from her hand.
She smoothed her hair slowly, forcing her mask of elegance back into place.
“You boys and your obsessions,” she murmured, looking between Aria and the dagger on the floor. “You think you can control what’s coming. You can’t.”
She turned to Aria, smiling like a viper.
“He’s already splitting apart for you. And when Damian Wolfe finally breaks?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You will be the one who dies for it.”
She slipped past Jaxon gracefully, leaving a trail of venom behind her.
Aria sagged against the counter, legs shaking.
Jaxon moved toward her, concern etched deeply into his features. “Did she hurt you?”
Aria shook her head, but her voice was barely a whisper. “Not physically.”
Jaxon’s jaw tightened. “I’ll handle her.”
But Aria already knew the truth.
No one could handle Sabrina. And no one could handle what was happening inside Damian Wolfe.
Not even Damian himself.