Cassian pressed his lips together. He accused, "You're such a player!" Natalie's eyes widened. "Me? You're the one who kissed me!" Cassian shot back, "You came into my room while I was asleep." Natalie held her ground. "That doesn't give you the right to kiss me." Cassian let out a frustrated laugh. "I'm a normal, healthy man. What guy wouldn't react when the girl he likes shows up in the middle of the night, wearing a thin nightgown, and climbs into his bed? Unless that guy's not even capable of performing in bed." He paused, then added firmly, "And I'm very capable." Natalie was speechless. There was no way to explain this mess. Natalie glared at him. "Well, I'm not the player here—you are!" Cassian blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?" Natalie scoffed. "You sure act ... experienced." Last time, he had told her it was his first kiss. But no way. Who kisses like that on their first try? No rookie lips could have turned her brain into jelly like his did. At the very least, he probably had three years of experience. Cassian stared at her, caught between laughter and exasperation. "That wasn't practice. That was me losing control. Natural instinct. No training needed." "Keep your fancy words to yourself," Natalie snapped. The room fell quiet. Outside, the rain tapped steadily against the window.Lucky, Baron, and Cash sat in a row against the wall, watching them without blinking. Natalie felt her skin crawl under their stares. "What are you looking at? Turn around!" Cassian chuckled calmly. "Don't take it out on the kids." Natalie froze. Kids? What kids? Where on earth did he get that idea? This scumbag must be out of his mind, talking nonsense this early in the morning. She turned her head away, refusing to answer him. Cassian finally noticed she was truly upset. He kept quiet, then stood and headed toward the kitchen. "I'll make breakfast." Natalie slumped into a chair, sulking. The old saying was right. Desire dulls her mind and turns her into a fool. Last night, she'd let Cassian's attractive looks get to her. Instead of blinking in her storage space, she caved into seduction. Big mistake. And this man clearly had no intention of letting it go. Her head spun with frustration. Natalie couldn't think straight. She turned to the side in annoyance. Her eyes landed on the computer screen. The security camera feed showed several figures lurking outside the door on the 14th floor. Natalie frowned. What now?She grabbed the pistol Cassian had handed over the day before, strode to the door, and yanked it open. The people whispering outside froze when the door suddenly opened. They saw the dark barrel of a gun was pointed straight at them. The man in front threw up his hands right away. "Wait, wait! We don't mean any harm!" Natalie stared at them coldly. "What do you want?" The man in the back rushed to explain. "Ma'am, we're from Clearview Court next door. We came into your neighborhood for a swap, but acid rain trapped us here. We haven't eaten in days." Natalie's face didn't change. "And what does that have to do with me?" They looked at each other, stunned. They hadn't expected her to be so blunt. People from Maplecourt had told stories about this psycho. They thought those tales had to be exaggerated. Even though others were too scared to come upstairs, this group decided to try their luck. They hadn't expected her to be this heartless. An older man stepped forward and pleaded. "Miss, we searched every floor on the way up. Every apartment was empty until we reached yours. If you don't help us, we will starve to death." Natalie swept her eyes over them. Helping was out of the question. If she gave food once, everyone would come to her door. Her peace would be gone forever. Sure, she had plenty of supplies. Feeding a few strangers wouldn't hurt her.But she couldn't feed the entire world. She had learned long ago to turn her heart into stone. She decided to scare them away. "You're right. The floors below are empty. Do you know why?" Her eyes swept across them, and she said each word slowly. "Because I killed them all." The group shivered. The stories they had heard came rushing back, and fear wrapped around them like chains. But hunger pressed harder. They were starving. The youngest man in the group shouted, "There's nothing to be afraid of, folks! She's just a woman. How dangerous could she be? If we gang up on her together—" The man at the front, who still had her gun aimed at him, widened his eyes in horror. "Are you crazy? Don't blabber nonsense!" Easy for him to talk tough when the gun isn't pointed his way. He turned back to Natalie, his voice desperate. "Please, doll, put the gun down. We mean no harm. We just want a little food—" But the young man kept yelling. "So what if she has a gun? It's probably fake! My family's got toy guns that look just like that! All we have to do—" Before he could finish, Natalie turned the gun and pulled the trigger. Bang! The young man's eyes went wide. Then he dropped straight to the floor.