06 All Bark And No Bite

by Jana Leigh

  Sitting on the top floor of a highly secured apartment building they had bought when the prices were cheap in the mid 2530's, their apartment took up the whole floor and was huge. They divided it into sections for each of them with a common area in the middle. Every high tech gadget you could think of was in the place, since Rissa invented most of them, few people had them. If a stranger came into their place, they would probably try to steal their shit.

  Calli hung on the chains thinking that her bed sounded good about right now, considering the silver was making her tired, and her friends were still fighting, completely forgetting about her predicament. She growled when they began to walk out of the room, like she was supposed to follow them.

  "Bitches, get me out of here," Calli said, and her friends stopped and turned to look at her. Cherri put her hands on her hips.

  "Seriously, we escaped. Why can't you? I thought you were playing with him?" she said, losing her patience a little.

  "Really, and what would your clue have been? Possibly the silver chains that were hanging on me? Or maybe it was the way I was hung on the wall," Calli snapped.

  "Silver?" Rissa said and stepped closer and narrowed her eyes. "Well why the hell didn't you say something sooner? We were only tied to the wall with iron chains; the dipshit must have thought you were a bigger threat. You know I get sick and tired of everyone thinking you are some badass and we're like your weak, little sidekicks."

  Calli laughed as her friends grumbled and unchained her. She had been held in that position for so long that she fell to the floor. Her friends stood there with their hands on their hips and watched as she struggled to get up.

  "Fuck you," Calli said and finally made it to a standing position.

  "Hey, wonder girl, you're the one who usually kicks everyone's ass. We just clean up your mess. I hate to ruin my nails. Oh, by the way, we have a mani/pedi scheduled for three, so we kinda need to get cleaned up. I hate going to the parlor smelling like day-old BO," Cherri said. Then walked out of the room, while Rissa and Calli watched her in horror.

  "Shit, really, we have to do that again?" Calli said and growled. It was Cherri's latest thing that made them seem more like chicks instead of Enforcers. She said that you could kick ass and still look good.

  Excerpt from Playing with Zach

  Cassidy Family Series Book One

  By Jana Leigh

  Chapter One

  Jade Cassidy hated her name, and all that came along with it. Her brothers were the only family she had left and they drove her crazy. All of them were police officers, they loved using their jobs to keep track of her, and of course, whomever she was dating at the time. Lately, she had no dates because her brothers had a reputation for being overbearing. In the small town where they lived, they were the kiss of death for her to get a date, let alone sex. Jade loved her family, but she was close to killing each of them in a spectacular way.

  Her brothers were the reason that she was currently pissed and in a bad mood. Last night, she had finally gotten a date with a nice lawyer. He was tall and handsome, plus a little boring, but she could live with it as long as she got a little. She wasn’t a slut or anything, but her two-year dry spell was driving her nuts. All because her brothers had decided that she needed protecting.

  Her parents had died a few years ago in a plane crash. Jade had been devastated, they were the only ones who understood her need for independence from her brothers. The Cassidy name was well known in this area. Before their untimely deaths, her parents had developed one of the biggest cattle operations in Colorado. Then there were her brothers.

  They were the stars of the town. Each of them had their own successes that placed them apart from one another. Jared was the oldest and the biggest. He had led the school to their first State Championship in football. He was the All-Star quarterback who had all the girls throwing their underwear at him when he walked into a room.

  Miles was the middle brother but it never seemed to faze him that his older brother was the town hero. He paved his own way in a different sport, wrestling. Miles won the state title three years in a row.

  The youngest brother was Danny. He was still older than her but also the most sensitive out of the group. Only older by 16 months, he was the one she went to when she wanted to talk. Danny was the runner. He ran cross-country and track and won every event they ever put him in. It drove Jade crazy when she was younger because she was always compared with them.

  She was always the little sister, the cute little doll they would stand around and protect, never letting anyone too close for fear they would hurt her. Jade developed a temper because of all of their protecting. She had also had her wild phases, and refused to let them tell her what to do. They tried anyway and it usually led to a huge fight.

  She understood why they were so protective, since she had been attacked on a date, but she had taken care of herself and broken the guy’s nose. They were pissed because she had ended up in the emergency room with a broken hand, and they had not been the ones who broke the guy’s nose. They refused to admit she could take care of herself and therefore able to make decisions about whom she dated. One mistake and she was branded.

  Tommy had been her one mistake. Her boyfriend for a few months in college, he thought he would have the easy life and marry into the Cassidy family. Jade didn’t want to get involved in a serious relationship and when she saw things in his closet before a date one night, she knew they were not compatible. When she tried to break up with him, it had turned into an ugly fight. She ended up pressing charges because he refused to accept no for an answer.

  He had been sentenced to a few years in jail for domestic violence and attempted rape. Jade wasn’t going to press charges until the day after she had broken his nose for getting a little to frisky, the dumbass tried to break into her bedroom and rape her. Since then her brothers didn’t trust her judgment in guys.

  Well damn it, this stopped now. She groaned when she saw her brothers, who still lived in their parent’s house, had a visitor. The other bane of her existence, her brother’s best friend and fellow police officer, Zach Trent was inside. He had moved to Johnstown, Colorado in the second grade. Zach and her oldest brother had gotten into a fight in the schoolyard his first day of school and they had been inseparable ever since. No one even remembered what the fight was about but they had differing opinions on who won.

  Jared was the Chief of Police and Zach was his Assistant Chief. The other brothers were both deputies and with four other men, they made up the local Police Department. Her father wanted his sons to go into ranching like him, but accepted they had a different calling. They worked at the ranch on their days off, which seemed to make her parents happier. Zach and his parents had moved into the farm next door, and the families liked each other so much, they went into business together. Zach’s parents grew the feed for their cattle ranch.

  For years, she had pined after her brother’s best friend, tagging along when they went to the movies or play football. She had a stupid schoolgirl crush and had no idea how to deal with it. To top it all off, the dumb ass never looked at her as something other than a little sister. She had tried everything to make him see she was a grown up. Traci had helped and over the years, she had come up with some very good schemes to do it. Nevertheless, the big thickheaded asshole never saw the signs.

  Jade made the decision a few months ago that she needed to try to make the man take notice. So far, all she had to show for it was a bunch of pretty underwear and used batteries that she needed to dispose of. It was sad when the best action she had seen in the last few months was with a silicon toy. She just had no clue how to make the man stand up and notice what was right under his nose. She watched as he dated blonde bimbos for years, never once bringing them home with him to meet the family. No, his mom complained right along with theirs before she died, about the lack of grandchildren.

  For too long she fascinated about being the woman who gave him a child. She couldn’t even get him to a
dmit she was a grown up, let alone a woman he wanted to live the rest of his life with. “ARHHHHH,” she yelled in the car interior.

  Jade sighed and decided she had postponed the confrontation for long enough. She just wanted them to back off long enough for her to make a real play for Zach. So far, she had been tiptoeing around the issue. Dating other men in front of Zach, until he realized what he was missing. It was all a process to get him to wake up. That didn’t mean her brothers had any right to interfere and screw up her time frame. By now, she was supposed to have him jealous from all the guys she was seeing. This of course would not work if her brothers kept scaring the shit out of her dates. Zach had to be laughing.

  Needless to say, this wasn’t going to be fun, but it had to be done. These dumbasses couldn’t and would not, run her life. She sat in her truck for a few minutes, thinking of what she needed to say before storming into the house. If she went in there half-cocked like usual, they would pat her on the head and send her on her way. Her friend had listened to her rant and rave for the last two hours. She agreed that something needed to be done if Zach was ever going to look at her like an adult.

  None of her brothers were married or in a solid relationship. Basically, they had slept their way through the women in the town. Now they were working on the rest of the Front Range. They had no room to talk about her dating life, when they couldn’t make it through a week with one woman.

  Last night had been the last straw. She had been on a lovely date with Rodger, a new attorney in town, and then her brothers had showed up. They reminded her date that she was their little sister and as such needed to be home at a good hour safe or he would have them to answer too. That had made the evening go downhill and soon she found herself left on her doorstep without even a good night kiss. Frustrated after another night with her battery operated best friend, she had woke up with one thing on her mind and that was vengeance.

  Pushing open her door, she jumped from her truck, ready for battle. She stormed up to the front of the sprawling front porch and barreled through the door. Her brothers were all sitting in their living area watching football, comfortably sprawled across the recliners they had each bought for themselves. The room was huge, it held all three recliners and two deep couches that were also recliners for their guests. When they had remodeled the house together last year, they had made sure the living room would hold a giant big screen television and their chairs so when they hosted football parties their friend would all have places to lay and see the television. In the corner, they had built a wood bar, so they would not have to leave the room to refresh their beers and miss anything important. On top was their snack food they always had in stock.

  Jade stormed in front of the TV, blocking their view.

  “Hey!” Jared her oldest brother yelled.

  Miles, Danny, and Zach followed, yelling at her to get out of the way. Jade stood firm and glared at each of her brothers in turn.

  “You may watch your precious game when I am done. This is it! I have come to let you all know if you do not stop interfering in my life, you will all be sorry,” she ground through her teeth.

  Silence fell and her brothers waited for the punch line. It would have been a lot better if she were big enough to back up her threat. Jade had regrettably not been as blessed with her father’s genes. Her brothers were all lucky to have taken after him, they all had black hair and blue eyes, and stood at least six foot five, all of them had been compared to Greek Gods. They were all gorgeous and the women in town panting after them told them way too often. Jade, on the other hand, was only five foot two. She had long red hair, green eyes, and a temper to match. She was a pint sized Madonna (not the singer), with classically beautiful bone structure. Which made her seem fragile but she was just the opposite, and she was gonna get it through these idiots’ thick heads.

  Jared started laughing and the others followed. They loved it when she got riled up, they said she was cute. “Arhhhhh, listen you Neanderthals, I am serious! I just want to have a nice normal life, a normal date! You have to stop interfering and showing up wherever I go with my dates!” she yelled, frustrated.

  “Hey now, you went on a date last night. I am sure you had fun. That was a really nice restaurant the slimy lawyer took you to. What more do you want?” Miles said trying to look around her to see the game.

  Jade moved to block his view. “Okay, let me clarify myself. I want you to stay out of my personal life. No more showing up when I am on a date for a late dinner. No more pulling my boyfriends over to discuss imaginary traffic infractions. No more background checks. And finally, no more putting out Bolo’s for me when we go to Denver. I want you to respect the fact that I am a grown woman, who has the intelligence to take care of herself when she is out on a date.”

  “Jade, we do trust you, and respect you. We just happen to know what goes through the minds of men when they are in the presence of a woman. We just need to remind them to be on their best behavior, that’s all,” Danny said in his condescending tone.

  “Really, maybe I want them to think about me that way. Maybe I want to have dirty thoughts, and dirty sex!” she yelled, which caused all of her brothers’ jaws to drop. Zach raised his eyebrows. “I am not thirteen anymore, you giant dumbasses! I refuse to let you keep doing this to me!”

  “Baby girl,” Zach said, thinking he was going to be the peacemaker. “Your brothers just want what’s best for you. If you need to have a little dirty sex, I will be happy to help you out.”

  “Zach, shut the hell up!” Jared said, turning back to his sister. “What the hell are you talking about? SEX! You are so not having sex with anyone!”

  “Just saying,” Zach said and sat back and smiled at Jade. Holy shit, did the man she had been pining for all these years just say he would have sex with her?

  “Right on! Shut the hell up, Zach!” Miles said and smiled at her. “Listen, there is a new guy from the station, and I think he would treat you right. Let me see if he wants to take you to dinner.”

  “Yeah right, a nice, little, safe date. I suppose you all have spoken to him about what is allowed and not allowed on a date.” She steamed, distracted from what Zach had said. “Do you think you can run my life forever?”

  “We’re not running your life! We are just giving you safe and reasonable men to choose from!” Jared yelled back at her. “Do you know what could happen to you? Well I do, and I will be damned if I let some slimy, little pecker anywhere near you!”

  “You do not get to decide who I date or who I do not date! Do you not get it? I don’t want your help! I want you to all leave me alone. I am serious. If you do not stop, I will be forced to do something drastic.” Jade cried, frustrated they were doing what they always did, and tried to organize things around her.

  Jared and Miles laughed at her threat; Danny frowned knowing that she was thinking of something. Danny was the one who was closest to her age and knew when she was backed into a corner; she had always come out fighting. That led to problems, she never made the best decisions when she was pissed.

  Zach, watching the Cassidy family show, was amused they thought they could do anything about what Jade wanted. He had watched and encouraged their over protective attitude over the last several years. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt better knowing she was at home alone without any male companionship. For him, the last few years had been lonely as well. For some reason, and one he wasn’t quite ready to examine closer, he had been more worried about who Jade was seeing and what she was doing at night. He drove by her house so many times to check, he knew her schedule better than he knew his own.

  When she was in a bad mood, she sat in front of her front window with her best friend, Traci, eating chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. When she was happy, she would turn up the music and dance around her living area. Zach would never cross the line between his friends, but he was fast becoming to like the addiction he had to Jade. Hell, he had not even had sex in the last year, because all he could thi
nk about was Jade.

  When they were growing up, he noticed when she turned sixteen and she began to develop. He was right in line with her brothers when they decided she needed looking after. Jade tended to jump into a situation feet first and then weed through the consequences. Two years ago when he received a call while on duty that she had been attacked by her date, he had seen red. The guy had been lucky to just escape with a broken nose. He had been ready to kill him. Since then, he had quietly looked after her while she tried to regain her life.

  The yelling that had been going on around him drew him back to reality, and to the hot red head in front of him.

  “You guys need a little taste of reality! I am 27 years old and you cannot keep trying to run my life! Who I date, sleep with, or for that matter, look at, is none of your business!” she screamed.

  “Let’s get back to the whole sex thing. Do you need it to be dirty, or can it be vanilla sex?” Zach asked, loving to rile up the Cassidy siblings, but the thought of sex with her had him asking bizarre questions that could get his ass kicked.

  “Seriously, dude, I’m gonna kick your ass if you do not stop talking about sex with my sister.” Jared pointed at him. Zach chuckled and leaned back, waiting for Jade to get good and pissed.

  “Oh really, you don’t think I can make my own decisions, is that what you are saying? Why can’t I have sex with Zach, he is your best friend surely you can trust him to be with me?” she yelled. “Besides, any kind of sex would be good, even if it is with Zach!”

  “Hey,” Zach said, feeling as if he may have been insulted.

  “Okay, yes, that’s what I’m saying. Look at the losers you keep going out with. Stop talking about my best friend like you stand a chance of doing him. He is way out of your league.” Jared stood and towered over his pissed off sister.