Cassandra

Whoever came up with the idea of blind dates should be drawn and quartered. While I walk into the posh Italian restaurant where I'm about to meet my doom—no, date—I ponder exactly how I'll make my sisters suffer my wrath. They were the ones who insisted on this terrible idea.

A blind date. I scoff. As if I'm not busy enough. I only started my new job a month ago and I barely have time to think. Even between us three PAs, the workload is draining, and the boss demanding. Not helped by working overtime preparing for a big company fundraiser. Dating is the last thing on my mind.

I smooth back my dark hair after the wind caught hold of it outside in the chilly February air of London. I look ridiculous, despite Meg and Aura adamantly assuring me I look amazing. My sisters dressed me up and put on the kind of makeup I wouldn't dream of wearing. The red lipstick reminds me of the pinups of old with its bold colour, making me feel like a different person. Someone who has time for dating, which is definitely not me.

It probably doesn't help that I'm still mentally ticking off all the things I need to do for my boss tomorrow, and the countless things I have to do at home. Paying the rent is the top priority. Dating is so far down my to-do list, it shouldn't even be on there.

Not to mention the part of my life I'm too busy to think about right now. The hidden part only my sisters know about.

With a sigh, I resolve to make this a quick date. Then I can be out of here without a guilty conscience and tell my sisters I did my best.

"How may I help?" A red-headed hostess with bright eyes smiles at me, possibly wondering why I'm just standing here like a lost sheep.

"Oh, hi. Hello." Sweeping my gaze over the guests in the restaurant, I wonder where the man is. "I'm meeting someone. I...don't have a name. It's a blind date."

Even saying it out loud sounds stupid, but the hostess's smile widens. "Oh! Your date has arrived. Follow me, please."

I stare. How does she know who my date is? As I follow the perky young woman, I glance around. It's a Thursday night, so it's fairly quiet, even for a popular restaurant. The hostess leads me towards some tables in the back, where there are even fewer guests. When we approach a table with a man sitting with his back to us, a sense of foreboding makes my nape prickle and my steps slow.

The world dims, and it almost seems as if all the light in the room is focused on this one man. Even sitting down, he appears tall. Larger than life. Broad shoulders in a black suit jacket. Jet black hair smoothed into a neat style. The back of that head looks awfully familiar.

He unfolds himself from his chair and turns around. My stomach drops.

"Mr Morningstar!" I curse the breathless quality of my voice. It must be the shock of seeing him. Not that my new boss isn't sinfully sexy. I just shouldn't care that he is, but it's hard to ignore.

He watches me, his dark eyes narrowing slightly as if he's trying to place me. Does he not even recognise his own PA? I know to him we are only working ants scurrying to do his bidding, but after a month working for him, that's just rude.

"Miss Cole," he finally says slowly, his smooth, dark baritone voice clipped. At least he finally remembered my name. "Is there a problem at the office?"

"No." I pat my thigh with my handbag, feeling like the worst idiot. Did Aura and Meg know who they set me up with? They must have. What were they thinking? "I'm... Apparently, I'm your date."

His forehead creases, and he pulls his phone out to look at it. "You're CC?"

My cheeks heat when he turns the phone around to reveal an old photo of me from Halloween, dressed as a scantily clad witch and barely recognisable. He gives me an appraising look. The little black dress my sisters squeezed me into has never felt as indecent as when his dark eyes roam over my body. I swallow with some difficulty. Why is my mouth suddenly dry?

"Yes. It's an old nickname. Cassandra Cole. CC. My sisters set up that profile on the dating app and accepted this date. I never would have come if I'd known it was you."

His lips twist into an amused smile, so I hurriedly add, "I mean, because you're my boss! Not because you're not..." I falter.

Still looking amused, he raises an arched eyebrow. "Yes? I'm not what?"

Sex on a stick. I quickly push the thought away, praying my blush isn't spreading. I have the distinct feeling he's toying with me. "Handsome."

He chuckles. A deep sound that ripples over me like a warm current. I've never heard him chuckle before. Come to think of it, I've never seen him smile, either. At work, he's always serious and demanding, exacting in his requests. I'm not sure how to handle this more relaxed, charming version.

"I'll just leave," I say. "See you tomorrow."

"Don't be silly. You're here now and might as well eat. I'm sure we can share a meal without the world ending."

He pulls out a chair as if it's settled that I will join him. I want to say no, but a low rumbling in my tummy reminds me I'm currently running on an abundance of caffeine and an oat bar. With a faint smile, I sit down. The hostess appears to have escaped during our awkward encounter, and I'm relieved she didn't witness the entire thing.

Mr Morningstar gives me another appraising look before taking his seat again, and I realise I've never been this close to him. There is an aura about him that demands your attention. Pretending to look at the menu, I peer over the top of it.

My unexpected dinner companion is studying the menu as well, allowing me a moment to observe him. Had this been a normal blind date, I would have been lucky to meet a man this handsome and charismatic. His face is almost too perfect, like a photo someone has airbrushed. If not for the scar dissecting one of his eyebrows, one might think he's not real. He looks up from his menu, and I'm staring into his impossibly dark eyes, the sudden contact sparking something equally dark inside me.

Quickly, I lower my gaze to stare unseeingly at the food options. I've heard others mention his nearly irresistible appeal, and I can't disagree. No wonder he's so popular. As one of London's richest and best-looking men, he's in the tabloids every so often, always with a new woman on his arm. It's how my sisters and I discovered him, and why I sought a job in his company after discovering that several women went missing after dating him.

But dating him myself was never on my agenda.

"Can I take your order?" A young server with a polite smile interrupts my thoughts, and I make my order, wanting this evening to be over as quickly as possible.

After Mr Morningstar orders and the server disappears, he leans back in his chair. I can feel his gaze, and the silent scrutiny makes me fidget. I should have left the moment I realised who my sisters set me up with. It's a terrible idea to stay. But of course they didn't tell me. They knew I never would have agreed to this.

It's one way of getting closer to the elusive Mr Morningstar much quicker. Even after a month of working for him, I have had very few interactions one-on-one. But it's also incredibly risky if any of our suspicions are true and I have to move on to the next step of our plan.

"How are you enjoying your job?" he asks conversationally.

I smile and take a quick sip of water from my glass before answering. "It's great. Thank you so much for the opportunity."

"No thanks needed." The corner of his mouth twitches with the hint of a smile. "Especially since I don't do the hiring. But I'm glad to hear you're happy at Morningstar Enterprises."

"It's hard work, but I enjoy it. You are a demanding boss, Mr Morningstar," I tease, hoping to keep him relaxed.

"We're not in the office. I think you can call me Luce tonight."

I blink. I must have heard that wrong. "Lucy?"

A muscle twitches in his jaw. "No. Luce."

"I'm so sorry. Luce." I smile, hoping to brush over the whole thing. He's only 'Mr Morningstar' at work. "So, is it short for something? Like Lucian?"

"Something like that." His lean fingers grasp his wineglass and he brings it to his lips. I try not to pay attention to the way his sensual mouth touches the glass as he takes a sip. He's most definitely an incredibly handsome man.

It's almost a shame I might have to kill him.

"Are you from London?"

His polite question is the perfect distraction to make me stop ogling him. I shake my head. "No, from the south coast. I moved here with my sisters a couple of years ago."

After my parents were killed by a monster not entirely unlike you. I take another sip of my water, hoping he doesn't see the slight tremble of my fingers. He might be handsome, but he's still a monster, and since the murder of my parents four years ago, I've dedicated my life to hunting them down and disposing of as many as possible.

We don't know exactly what they are, but they are not fully human. If they're human at all. Aura can see them, even when they look normal to everyone else. Without her, we'd never have known our parents' murderers were literal monsters.

Aura discovered Mr Morningstar—Luce—by chance when he appeared on TV for a rare interview. It's a little intimidating to target someone this rich and powerful. This well-known.

Most of the monsters I've hunted down have been on the fringes of society, their deaths never registering beyond a small notice at the coroners. Some of them look human, like Luce, while others could pass as extremely ugly dogs. Some are visions from your worst nightmares. None of them have been sexy billionaires whose disappearance or death will be questioned by many.

This monster won't be easy to take down. Especially not if I want to avoid being thrown in prison for murder. And that's one thing not on my to-do list.

"With your sisters? Does that mean you live together?"

"Yes. Rent prices here make anything else impossible." Well, probably not for him. I can't imagine he shares his home with anyone unless he wants to. "And my youngest sister is only nineteen."

A server appears with our food, and Luce thanks them before turning back to me. "Oh? Does she not live with your parents?"

Shit. This wasn't a topic I had planned to touch upon, but I've heard he is amazing at sniffing out direct lies, so I force myself to answer. "No. They're gone."

His hand stills, holding the fork just above his plate, and his gaze sweeps over me. "My condolences. That must have been difficult. Losing them so young."

I stare down at my food, not sure how to respond to his words. He sounds sincere, but how can he be? All those women who have disappeared or died after dating him... Far too many to be a coincidence. How could someone like that feel empathy?

"Thank you," I mumble since I have to say something to not raise his suspicions.

Stabbing at my fish, I hope this date will be over soon. This is such a half-arsed plan. What did my sisters expect would happen? Did they think he would try to seduce me and kill me? He has shown no inclination to flirt. Maybe I'm only to his taste if dressed as a scantily clad witch like in the photos.

I try to finish quickly so I can go home and yell at Meg and Aura. Across from me, Luce is eating at a leisurely pace, as if he has not a care in the world. He probably doesn't. With his fortune, he never has to worry about having enough money to pay for both food and rent. Whatever sins he's committed, they don't seem to weigh on him at all. What kind of monster is he?

"No need to rush." His voice is smooth, and my hand slows its progress towards my mouth. "I realise this must feel odd, but I assure you I will not make a pass at you. I never date employees. It sets a dangerous precedent."

"That's..." I swallow with some difficulty, trapped in his dark eyes. "That's probably wise."

He raises one shoulder in a barely perceptible shrug. "I find it makes my life easier. Apps are much better."

Is that how he's been finding his victims? By swiping right? There might be more than we realised if he's been meeting large numbers of unknown women from dating apps. We finish our meal between extended silences and shallow comments about the weather.

"Would you like to see the dessert menu?" the server asks cheerily as she comes to take our plates.

"No, thank you." All I want is to get home.

"Just the bill, please." Luce smiles at the server before she disappears. When his gaze returns to me, he chuckles as he sees me open my handbag to take my purse out. "Put that away, Miss Cole. This meal is on me."

"I'd rather not owe you anything."

"Because I'm your boss?"

"I don't like owing anyone anything."

"I insist."

With a huff, I put my purse away. This meal will probably barely register on his bank balance, while it would make a significant dent in mine. Let the monster pay.

When the server returns, Luce swipes his card and leaves a few notes as a tip before he stands. I stand as well and we exit the restaurant together. Once we're through the doors, I turn to him while inching away.

"I will head home now. Thank you for the meal, Mr Morningstar. See you in the office tom—Oof!"

He's pulled me close, halting my retreat, my body flush against his. His tall frame looms over me, his chest solid against mine, and I struggle to tear my gaze away from the dark look in his eyes. Our breaths mist between us in the cold winter air.

"Oh no, not yet," he murmurs. "I have a few questions for you, Miss Cole."

"About work?" I ask hopefully, while my heart thumps painfully in my chest.

"No." He leans a little closer, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, but there's a hard glint in the depths of his eyes. "I'm very curious about that dagger in your handbag."

My mouth opens, then closes again. How can he possibly know about the dagger?

"That's a very special dagger," he continues, nodding towards my bag as I clutch it tightly. "Where did you get it?"

"How do you know?"

He raises a dark eyebrow. "I think the pertinent question here is why you would bring a dagger to a blind date."

"Protection?" It sounds more like a question than a definitive answer.

"I would have thought pepper spray was more common these days." He sounds amused. "Daggers are quite...medieval."

I raise my chin. "You never know what type of monster you might meet."

The smile on his lips freezes and his eyes narrow. "Are you on a monster hunt, Miss Cole?"

"A woman can never be too careful these days."

We stare at each other. He's trying to figure out what I am, just as I am him.

"My sisters are waiting for me," I blurt out. "If I'm not home in time, they will know something is wrong."

His eyes widen, and he immediately releases me. He scowls. "You're expecting me to hurt you? What do you think of me, Miss Cole?"

I'm not sure what to make of him. Aura says he's a monster, and there is definitely something off about him. But he could drag me away right now if he wanted to, and he hasn't.

Is Aura wrong?

My thoughts are interrupted by my phone playing the notes of the Imperial March - the text tone I've assigned to my sisters. I fish the phone out of my bag and stare at the screen. An icy chill travels up my spine.

'They found us.'