She shut the book. Cassidy had already seen enough. There had been other pages with other transfers similarly written and she was in no doubt that R/C meant Ryker and her. No one in the Bowker Street Devils seemed to ever pay off what they owed, and in most cases, it was hard to even see what that debt was. If she went back to Bowker Street, she’d still owe Kane, and he would extract what he wanted from her. Once he tired of playing with her, he’d probably put her to work on the streets, or maybe sell her on. Heaven forbid, she could end up like those women she’d seen the Creed brothers transporting. If she stayed, and even if she found someone within the gang to protect her, it still wouldn’t end. She would owe her father’s debt till she died, and then it would pass down to any child or relative she left behind.
Except… perhaps she did have a way to wipe the slate clean—for her and Ryker, and maybe even for Falcon. She stroked the surface of the book. This was something that Kane would very much like to get back, and that had to be worth more than one or two small debts crossed out. It had to be worth having their pages torn from this book forever.
Liam had talked about Ryker being her ticket out of the Bowker Street Devils, but perhaps this book was all she needed to finally make sure they were all free. The problem was, she did not know who to trust more—Liam’s secret organization that she had failed to find out anything about or the man who she had known all her life, who held her life in his hands?
Shit. There’ll be hell to pay, whatever I choose, so, is it better to go with the Devil I know? Or trust a vague promise from a man who lied to me?
So, what was it to be? Make a bargain with the Devil himself, or the Devil’s son?
Chapter 23
Liam left Joe to deal with the mess at the restaurant and hopped into his car. Joe was negotiating with the manager to try to get the address Cassidy gave the Uber driver out of him, but Liam doubted the guy would get anywhere, no matter what ID he flashed. Liam didn’t blame the restaurant for helping Cassidy, the service they provided their women clientele was a sorry necessity in this day and age.
He pulled out of the parking lot, and set off back across town. Lucky for him, Cassidy had limited options as to where she could go. He didn’t believe she was stupid enough to go back to Bowker Street, but as a precaution, he called Falcon as he drove and left a message on their mutual answering service, warning him to keep a look out for Cassidy.
Damn it, this was all my fault. Liam should have confronted her when he found the book earlier. He should have pulled Ryker two hours ago, instead of taking her to the restaurant in the hope that she might just tell him her secret. After Cassidy’s disappearance from Bowker Street, she must know Kane would be looking for the thing, so why had she chosen not to give it to Liam. Surely, Cassidy had to know this book was the reason Ryker and Falcon hadn’t pulled out the same night they arranged her departure. Fuck, none of this made sense.
And what was making it worse was Liam’s communication with Falcon had dried up. Even though he hadn’t given Cassidy Ryker’s message until today, it had been days ago that he’d received it. It was the last thing he’d heard from either of them, and he was beginning to wonder if the guy was in more dire straits than he’d let on. Perhaps if he’d let Cassidy listen to it sooner, it would have made her change her mind about keeping the book hidden.
Liam pulled in at the safe house, but it only took him five minutes to confirm Cassidy hadn’t returned. It had been a long shot, admittedly, but he had to eliminate it. Getting back in the car, he drove to the only other place he thought she could conceivably be, Saint Mary’s.
Outside the church there was no visible sign of life in the main structure. All the windows were dark and the door was closed. He left the car and strolled down the sidewalk that circumnavigated the grounds. When he reached the back of the church, he spotted a dim light coming from the office. Quickly, he ran across the grass and slipped a set of keys out of his pocket. There was a back door where he could let himself in. It was ridiculous that it was ever locked, as the main church was left open all the time anyway, and once inside you could pretty much access everything except for the cleaning cupboard. It was why he kept nothing there. Even in the office there was nothing of value. No computer or phone—just about the most valuable thing in there was a new pack of Bic pens he’d left on the desk.
Liam let himself in, cursing the squeaky hinges as the grinding sound echoed around him. To prevent any more noise, he left the door open as he slipped inside. But the damage had been done, because as he moved down the corridor, he heard the sound of glass breaking.
“Fuck.” But by the time Liam barreled in through the office door, whoever was in there was gone. All that remained was a busted window and Spook, sitting on the couch washing her furry black ass. “Great. That’s all I fucking need.”
Liam turned around and raced back outside. He held his breath while he listened for any sounds that might determine which direction the person had run. A noise down the road opposite sent him that way, and he pulled out his gun as he ducked into the shadows.
He had no intention of using it if it was Cassidy, but the Bowker Street gang were still doing regular patrols in the area and he didn’t want any surprises. If it was Cassidy, he hoped he got to her first, because he didn’t like the scenario where she ran straight into the arms of Kane’s men.
A glimpse of the person he was chasing confirmed it was indeed Cassidy, and Liam decided to keep his distance as he tracked her. The girl was obviously scared to death, as the noise she made panting and clattering down the streets suggested she was frantic and running without direction or purpose. Confronting her out in the open might lead to her doing something even more stupid.
At around three a.m., Cassidy finally stopped under one of the bridges by the river. They were downtown now, and she seemed reluctant to stray too far from her old hunting grounds. The streets here were too close to Bowker Street for Liam to be confident that she was safe, but he took up watch from across the river. Cassidy had long since stopped looking over her shoulder, and he guessed she thought she had lost him.
There were a few homeless guys dotted along the banks, so he huddled against a pillar and pulled up his jacket collar. From where she was, he doubted she could distinguish between the figures littered along the riverwalk enough to identify him. At one point, Liam saw her curl up on a bench, and when she didn’t move for a while, he expected she’d fallen asleep.
Liam knew keeping his identity from her was bound to have led to some drama, but he had hoped that the relationship they’d built up over the last week would have counted for something. Seems he was wrong on that front, too. What he felt for her was obviously not reciprocated, and that made him a bigger fool than he realized.
The wind blew around him, and it took all his willpower to not shiver. He wondered how Cassidy was faring, as she wore far less clothing than he did. Just when he decided he should try to get closer to her, and maybe persuade her to take some shelter, an elderly homeless woman hobbled toward the bench Cassidy was sleeping on. The woman stopped alongside the girl and then rummaged through some bags she was carrying. A few minutes later, she wrapped a blanket around Cassidy’s shoulders. Cassidy tried to give it back, but the woman must have insisted, because she set off down the riverwalk leaving Cassidy to wrap the object around her.
Liam decided to give her space. He watched her until dawn, never taking his eyes off of her, nor his hand wrapped around his weapon in case she needed his help. He still wasn’t sure quite how to handle this. If he tried to approach her again, he was pretty sure she’d run. But leaving her exposed like this for much longer wasn’t an option either. And there was that book. He needed that—now. Liam got up from the frozen ground and blew on his fingers. The damn cold had sunk into his bones.
Desperate for a pee, he relived himself against the bridge pillar, and after he finished, he walked towards a street hawker selling coffee by the steps to the bridge. He kept his eye on Cassidy’s st
ill prone form as he paid for two coffees. Then he set out over the bridge with his peace offering. With any luck, her uncomfortable night on the streets would have mellowed her.
He’d only got halfway across the bridge when he saw Cassidy emerge from underneath it, the little black book of Kane’s clearly clutched in her hand. She blinked in the early morning sun and looked around her. She looked rough, her hair was disheveled, and the cute sweater dress she had on was wrinkled and missing its belt. Her gaze drifted up to the bridge, and Liam froze as it settled on him.
As soon as she set eyes on Liam, she bolted.
“Shit.” Liam dropped the coffees and careered after her.
Jumping the last five steps off the bridge, he caught hold of the newel post at the bottom, and swung himself around the corner, and onto the sidewalk. Cassidy was way ahead of him, and despite the heels on her boots, she was creating even more distance between them.
The streets began to grow more crowded as the commuters swarmed off the L, and it became almost impossible to keep sight of her, as she dodged through the pedestrians packing the sidewalks.
Liam took out a couple of people as he crashed into them, and got turned around when he scrambled back to his feet. For a moment, he’d lost her, and his heart clamored against his chest. Searching the sea of faces, he caught sight of her again, this time running across the highway, her arms pumping, the little black book still tight in her fist.
“For fuck’s sake!” Cars screeched to a halt, and he feared at any moment a driver would take her out. But against all odds, she made it to the other side and disappeared into the park opposite.
Liam was halfway across the traffic when he spotted one of the Devil gang members steer off the road, dismount from his bike, and then disappear into the park.
“Godfuckingdamnit!” Liam’s luck had run out.
Chapter 24
Cassidy cowered in the bushes, her heart racing and her feet throbbing. Why she always ended up running for her life in heels was beyond her, but if she got out of this alive, she swore that she was never wearing anything but flats for the rest of her life.
She swept her eyes across to the park entrance, expecting Liam to appear any moment. But unfortunately, the man who did walk into the park was way worse than Liam. It was Slade. “It never rains, but it fucking pours,” she muttered, as she watched Slade walk across the grass.
He’d obviously seen her and recognized her, because he was scouring the area. She held her breath, wondering if she’d be safer staying where she was or making a run for it. Slayer was pretty close to her now, and although she knew he couldn’t possibly have seen where she went, it probably didn’t take a genius to guess where she might be hiding. This area was pretty open, with very few places offering cover, and this circle of bushes was the obvious choice. A fact that she supposed hadn’t even slipped past Slade.
He wasn’t one of the sharpest tools in the box. Kane Munch kept him close for his fighting ability, not his mental prowess. She thought about running for it again, but her feet ached even more in response. Cassidy doubted she could outrun Slade, even if these boots didn’t slow her down.
She looked down at Kane’s book. If she was going to have to go back to Bowker Street, then she was going to do it under her own terms. Cassidy weighed the book in her hand. How could something so small and innocuous looking hold the key to the rest of her life?
Spying a McDonald’s nugget box discarded in the shrubbery; she picked it up and opened the lid. God, it reeked in there. She tipped out the rancid, leftover chicken, and closed the book up inside the container. Then, after one more look up to check if she had been spotted by Slade, she dropped to her knees and hid the box further under a hydrangea bush.
Cassidy got back to her feet. She was still trying to work out how to play this, when she saw Liam appear at the park entrance. Now she was between the Devil and the deep blue sea. She closed her eyes for a second and ruminated on that one. It was a more apt and literal idiom than she cared to admit. Slade was an actual Devil, and Liam was–well, he had come into her life like a freaking tidal wave and swept her off her feet.
With her decision made, she stepped out of the bushes right in front of Slade. The guy froze on the spot, and she saw the light dawn in his eyes when he realized he was right about who he had thought he’d seen. Ah, so he hadn’t been sure when he followed me into the park.
“Well, look who we have here. A lot of people are looking for you, Cassidy.”
Her eyes shot to Liam, and when she saw the fear on his face, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake choosing Slade over him, but there was no turning back now. “Well, you’re the one that found me. Are you ready to take me home?”
Slade grabbed her by the bicep and tugged her against him. “Kane’s gonna be mighty pleased to see you, little lady.”
Cassidy jutted out her chin defiantly. “And I’m looking forward to seeing him, too.”
Okay. This may have been the number one stupidest thing I have ever done. Cassidy sat for as long as she could on the toilet, trying to gather all her wits before going out to see Kane. Slade was just outside the door, and hadn’t let her out of his sight since he’d spotted her in the park. The goon even made her ride in front of him on his bike, and when he pulled up at the Bowker Street Motel, he’d been grinning from ear to ear, no doubt thinking about the massive reward Kane was going to give him for bringing her back.
She wiped, pulled up her panties, then flushed and left the stall with no clear plan in place.
“Hurry up,” Slade growled as she washed her hands, but she took her own sweet time.
Inside, she was the most terrified she’d ever been, but outwardly, she was determined to present a totally unflustered and cool Cassidy. Slade tried to grab her and she shoved him hard in the chest. “I can walk by myself.”
Whether it was sheer surprise at her sassiness, or Slade was just humoring her, he put up his hands and waved her in front of him. Cassidy held her head up high and walked into the courtyard.
Every head turned in her direction, and the loud chattering stopped abruptly. She glanced around her, searching the crowd for her brother. She didn’t see Ryker, but her eyes landed on Falcon, and he shook his head before looking away from her. A pathway cleared in front of her, opening up the view to Kane Munch perched on his platform.
“Well, what a nice surprise, Cassidy. You decided to come home?”
She strolled towards him, willing herself to take slow, sure steps. The last thing she needed was to fall over her feet and land at his. When she was about ten feet away from Kane, she stopped and placed her hands on her hips. “I want to see my brother.”
“I don’t think you are in any position to demand anything.” Kane stood up, his ears glowing red, and his eyes growing black.
Cassidy didn’t alter her stance, she just lifted her chin a little higher. “Show me Ryker, and then we’ll talk.”
Kane laughed. “We have nothing to talk about, woman.” He looked around at his men. “In fact, I prefer my women silent. I’m quite happy to gag you when I fuck you, Cassidy.”
She ignored his attempt to intimidate her. “Oh, I think you might like to talk to me.”
“I never talk to women, especially if they’ve still got their clothes on. Now, maybe if you took yours off, you’d get my attention…”
The shakes started in her belly and threatened to take over her legs. “I have something of yours.”
Kane narrowed his eyes at her, and the laughter from his men fell silent.
“Ah, that’s better. It seems you do know how to listen after all. You see, I have this little book… with rather a lot of handwritten notes in it.”
Kane jumped off the platform, and strolled towards her. “Hand it over.” He grabbed her by the hair, pulling her so close to him she could smell the tobacco on his breath.
Cassidy struggled against him. “If you want it back, then let me see my brother.”
“You really thi
nk you are in the position to bargain with me? Now give me the fucking book, or I’ll strip you down and take it from you myself.”
Somehow, she managed to conjure up a convincing laugh. “You really think I’d have brought it with me? I don’t have it here, it’s somewhere safe, with someone who is going to take it to the police in one hour if I don’t return.” How she had the nerve to lie to Kane’s snarling face, she didn’t know.
He stared at her, trying to assess the truth. She only hoped her face didn’t give her away. Right now, she felt like she must have had a neon sign over her head flashing “Liar!”
“Falcon!” Kane barked, and Falcon made his way to the front. He thrust her into Falcon’s arms. “Keep hold of her this time.”
Falcon lowered his eyes and nodded. Kane turned to another of his lackeys. “Fetch me Ryker.”
“What the hell are you doing?” Falcon whispered to Cassidy through clenched teeth.
“I’m getting Ryker and you free.”
“Oh, no, you don’t, Cassidy. You are not involving me in this. Shit, I risked everything to get you out, why the hell did you come back?”
“I have Kane’s book. The night of my party, I found it in his pocket in the car. When you let me go, I took it with me.”
Falcon stared at her in disbelief. “You had it all this time? Jesus, Ryker is going to lose his shit over this. Why didn’t you give it to Liam?”
“Because Liam is…” She clamped her mouth shut as a door slammed, and the crowd stepped aside. Two men supported Ryker’s slumped body between them. He clutched his side and dragged a leg as they bundled him across the courtyard. “Oh, God!” Cassidy surged forward, but Falcon kept hold of her, wrapping both arms around her waist.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Cassidy. You can’t bargain with Kane.”
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