“You let me think you were…were just a normal guy…”
“I am a damned normal guy!” Cade threw his hands in the air, ignoring the furtive glances from the people trying to remain uninterested. “I ride a bike. I put my boots on the same as any other guy, with the noted exception that my boots are sitting on the patio trying to dry out at the moment. The point is…”
“The point is, I have work to do,” She stood up and tossed the rest of her lunch into the compost bin, the utensils and plate in another bin.
“We aren’t finished here,” Cade stood up, looking from Cassidy when she moved away from the table to Mac who remained in the chair.
“We are for now,” Abby informed him flatly. “Cassidy and I have something planned for tonight, so don’t look for us. We will continue this tomorrow. Please.”
Cade sat back in the chair, watching them each go off into their own areas. “That went better than I anticipated.”
“A little more groveling…and I think we’re in the clear,” Mac remarked, finishing off Cassidy’s sandwich with a sigh. “I’m going to rip apart wires and kill bugs. See you later.”
****
Cassidy picked up the iPad from her desk when it chirped at seven-thirty in the morning. Fingers tapped over the screen, her frown deepening. She moved to the larger computer, tapping on the keys until the printer moved. She carried the page to her assistant, gesturing to the copier and then around the area before striding off, iPad in hand toward the main entrance.
Her hand was up, tapping on the closed door and entering when she heard Logan’s voice.
“Cassidy…you got my note,” he said flatly.
“Carson Strang?” She said aloud, standing before his desk with a frown.
“What do you know about him?”
“Up and coming politician,” Cassidy said, placing the iPad on the edge of his desk and pacing slowly. “One day popular candidate, the next, his headquarters are claiming he’s secluded and entered a facility for stress related illnesses and cannot be reached for comment. One day news, the next…poof…he’s gone.”
“He started stalking Sam about a month and a half ago. Attempted kidnapping and threatening her with a gun,” he glimpsed the anger and surprise on her face. “She’s fine. For reasons…unforeseen, let’s say…we couldn’t file charges against him. Couldn’t do a damn thing about him, but two nights ago, he called her on the phone. He wants to see her. Wants to talk to her, make amends.”
“You don’t trust him,” she said quietly. “I’ve had the picture copied and it’s being handed out to all my people now,” she glanced at her watch. “I’m going to talk to Abby, too…let her get her people familiar just in case they come across someone suspicious. If he’s that intent, it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to try hiding who he is,” she remarked with a frown.
“Good. The police are also aware now because we filed a restraining order,” Logan pushed back from his desk, watching her as she tapped over the iPad. “Sam should be here soon for the meeting. She’s traveling with Ian and Anya, so she’s okay.”
Cassidy offered a crooked grin. “And she’s hating being babysat.”
“Fighting it like a wildcat,” Logan shook his head. “You independent women…”
“Ahh…you love us, and you know it, boss…” She chuckled. “Is that it?”
“How goes the war?” He asked casually, counting the seconds of silence.
“Are you asking as a boss or…”
“An innocent bystander.”
She considered this skeptically. He was male. “Undeclared?”
Logan laughed. “Giving aid to the enemy kind of thing? Undeclared, Cassidy.”
She sighed, eyes rolling. “It won’t last much longer. Abby and I know they didn’t…it wasn’t done to intentionally hurt us…after thinking it over, we’re more pissed than hurt. But that’s not the point.”
“Nope…it never is.”
“It’s not effecting their work,” she kind of asked.
“They’re both professionals, just like you and Abby. I personally read through the personnel manual we created and there is no conflict of interest, no reason you can’t be part of a couple while working, Cassidy. Let Abby know that, would you?”
“Yes, sir,” she said with a half grin.
“Oh…and thanks for the video,” he said when she had almost made it to the open office door. She turned and offered a wide grin.
“I thought you’d enjoy that. Just testing the system, boss…nice sound quality and great clarity.” She tried to sound casual. “Have you shown them yet?”
“I plan to in a few minutes,” he admitted with a chuckle. “It’s just nice to know I’m not the only guy who can botch up a good thing. Get to work.”
“Yes, sir…” Cassidy could be heard humming as she walked gingerly through the halls to the canopies.
Chapter Twenty-One
Samantha Sheffield entered the main entrance and caught sight of Mac and Cade walking to join them. She linked her arm with Mac’s.
“So how goes the war?”
Mac groaned. “Is everyone following our love life?”
“Yep…I hear there’s even a pool on how long they can make you squirm.”
“Well…on the upside, Cassidy isn’t trying to skewer me anymore in the game,” he admitted with a shrug. “But she still has me on effing ignore.” He grumbled testily.
Sam laughed. “I love that game.” She straightened her jacket and entered the conference room, all business.
An hour later, Logan tossed his pen on the table, glaring at the redhead pacing the conference room. “You have to be willing to give up some concessions, Sam.”
“Why? You show me where it will benefit the employees or the company, long term and I’ll negotiate,” she said simply. “Anya and I have gone over and over the statistics. Like it or not…whether it’s the going trend or not…”
“You know damn well this has nothing to do with trends,” Logan returned hotly. “What we’re building here is going to be a model for other large communities.”
“Then you must make it the right model,” Anya said quietly. “Without preventative, good medicine, you are setting everyone up for failure. The amount in the budget is negligible compared to the long term savings and health of the people and the company. They are still paying for their own hospital coverage, Logan.”
Mac held up two palms when Logan looked at him. “Hey, I’m the youngest and probably the most liberal guy here. I’ve long ago concluded it ain’t going with me, so I don’t have a problem giving it to anything that might help the way this society has gone…besides, what I’ve been through at the hands of a female lately…I’m voting yes just so I can have a few of them on my side.”
“They’re right. We might not like having to be low scale dictators, but we all know there are humans that have to be sheep, for whatever reasons. That means they have to be taught good nutritional habits, good diet, and all that goes with it,” Cade shrugged. “I’m a yes vote.”
Sam took her seat. “Thank you…both…he’ll come around,” she said with a half grin.
“I’m just glad you’re on my side,” Logan said with a long sigh. He straightened up in the chair, his hands moving over the keyboard of the large laptop. He turned it for viewing by the others. “On another more entertaining note…”
Silence filled the room until the video began with the inside of the pool room.
“You have got to be kidding me?” Mac exclaimed, wide eyes and hands clenching the edge of the table.
“Shit,” Cade slid down in his seat, one hand over his face.
“And you keep asking me if things can possibly get any worse?” Mac snorted.
Logan looked at the two women, each with a palm over their lips but only after some long girlie giggles escaped.
“It was pointed out to me by my highly trained and extremely qualified security Director that we have an incredible system for monitoring the proper
ty,” Logan improvised. “The sound clarity and video quality are amazingly clear and sharp.”
“Hey,” Mac leaned closer, glaring at the screen. “That’s not accurate. They…you can’t tell who the females…damn it to hell! She manipulated the video…you can’t tell who…I will get her for this if it takes the rest of my unnatural life.”
“Referring to a comment coming up in the video,” Logan looked at the screen with a broad grin. “Never underestimate the devious minds of two extremely skilled and pissed off women.”
“No kidding,” Cade murmured, accepting the laughter around him.
“You two have proven to be a lively portion of entertainment during an otherwise dull section of the business setup,” Logan chuckled.
“How many…” Cade started to ask.
“I’ve been informed that discretionary measures have been taken. The original purged…” Logan held up a disc. “There are two others.”
“Oh, why did I not see that coming,” Mac groaned aloud. “Probably locked in a vault by now. I swear, I will…”
A loud pounding brought all the heads up sharply. One of the security guards opened the door without waiting.
“We have a situation, Mr. Sheffield…you need to come out front,” he said hurriedly. “We had a man in a vehicle come through the gate with an older woman driving. He has a gun on her and says he’ll kill her if you and Mrs. Sheffield aren’t outside in ten.”
“Older woman,” Sam stood up and ran for the door, not stopping to see if anyone else was following.
“Where’s Parker?”
“Trying to talk to the guy,” the guard answered on the run. “The police have been notified.”
Logan caught Sam just outside the main entrance, his hands biting into her shoulders.
“Let me go! That’s my mother!” Sam twisted but fell back when his hands refused to give.
“Sam…rushing in there isn’t the answer,” Logan said quietly. “Let Cassidy do her job.”
No one on the concrete moved. Cassidy could see Logan and Sam out of the corner of her eye. Mac and Cade had come from the far side and stopped approaching when the shot was fired into the air. She had to give Elizabeth Elliott credit, she looked entirely bored with the whole thing. It almost made Cassidy laugh.
“What do you want?” Cassidy asked quietly, keeping her voice deliberately low, deliberately even and calm.
“This isn’t your business,” he told her with a growl, waving the gun toward Samantha and Logan. “I want her. I want a car and we’ll leave. No one has to get hurt.”
“Yeah…but I can’t let that happen…” Cassidy’s voice filled with regret. “And you’re seriously messing with my career at the moment,” she said with a casual shrug. “I thought you went into therapy?”
“Shut up…there’s nothing wrong with me. It’s her fault…and she’s going to make it right,” he said viciously.
“I know a lot of people who were interested in your platform. They were disappointed when you dropped out of the race,” she kept racking her brain, working to keep him talking until the police arrived. The gun wavered a little, some of the anger fading.
Cassidy saw movement out of the corner of her eye and hoped fervently that Mac wouldn’t do anything stupid. Her gaze swept the area, taking in all the possibilities and tools available. She looked deliberately into Elizabeth Elliott’s eyes, gesturing to the ground with her own. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she glimpsed understanding from the older woman.
“I really am more trouble than I’m worth, you know,” Elizabeth said dryly.
“Shut up!” He brought the gun up again, his fingers taut on the butt and trigger. “You…I want her and I want a car. Now.” The words were pushed thickly between his lips.
“You can have me and a car, best offer I got,” Cassidy replied flippantly, her palms up and open.
Cade had a firm grasp on Mac’s arm. “No.”
“This isn’t your problem, bitch…now get out of the way before I…”
Coincidence, shouted the universe.
“Cass? Have you seen that file I sent you about…” Abby came from the shielded side of the canopy, unaware of what was happening on the cantina side of the parking lot. Her body came to a stop, the folder in her hand and eyes widening considerably as the whole picture flashed before her.
The gun hand swung toward Abby.
Elizabeth pushed against the arm holding her and went to the ground. Cassidy came forward with a strong, high kick. The gun sounded once before her second kick landed on his knee. Cassidy went to her knees with a soft curse.
The gun exploded once more as he was going down, Abby’s body crumpling to the ground as the gun slid across the concrete.
A deafening silence filled the air.
Cade and Mac saw the whole thing in slow motion.
A scene that would replay itself in their nightmares for years to come.
“Cassidy!” Mac’s voice filled the silence around them as he rushed forward, Cade coming up the other side. It couldn’t happen again, his brain screamed!
Ian tossed a set of keys to Sam. “Bag in the back of the car. I want ice and lots of it and towels…Now!” He ran and slid to the ground beside Abby. “Anya…take Cassidy…get some ambulances here…ok…Abby…can you hear me…come on…plastic bags…find some…”
Items requested arrived quickly, tossed from various places and then to Ian and Anya.
“She is breathing…unconscious…no exit, Ian,” Anya took the ice that was brought over, filling a plastic bag and knotting it, settling it over the bleeding. She looked up and grabbed Mac’s hand. “Stop! Stop thinking that she is gone!” Her fingers gripped his hand, taking it to Cassidy’s wrist and positioning his fingers over her pulse. “Do you feel that?”
“Yes,” was the whispered, tense response.
“She is strong and healthy. Listen to her heart beat and remember that it beats for you, Mac,” she ordered firmly. “I must focus on Cassidy…it looks like it missed her lungs…I cannot tell without…yes…she is breathing evenly…no damage to the lungs…it went in at a long angle…probably barely missing her heart…”
“Over here, Anya,” Ian switched places with her, taking the stethoscope out and listening intently.
“This is the same, Ian…no exit…a slight bit lower,” she deftly caught the stethoscope, listening quickly. “No lung damage…” She checked her eyes. “She has fainted…” She repeated the ice bag, pressing it firmly against Abby’s shoulder, very aware of the two men watching them with their hearts exposed for all to see.
“Get him secure,” Cassidy’s voice was hoarse, pale lashes fluttering. “Get that gun…out of…damn guns…”
“Cass…shh…it’ll be okay,” Mac was on his knees at her other side, his palm brushing the hair from her face. “I can’t let you alone for a minute…”
“Hey…we got good healers,” she whispered with a weak smile. “I love you, Mac…I’m sorry…so sorry…oh, god…Mac, it hurts…”
“Cass…Cassidy?” His voice raised sharply.
“Mac…she fainted again…” Anya put her hand on his shoulder. “The ambulance is here. You will have to ride with another. Ian will go with her.”
Cade had blocked out a lot of things from his time in the military. Things like this. His fingers wrapped around the small, motionless hand.
“Where are they taking them?” He asked tersely, his jaw set and pulse pounding in his brain.
“St. Michael’s,” Ian answered tensely, issuing orders for IV’s and oxygen.
“I’ll drive,” Cade told him, nodding toward the bike. He tossed the spare helmet to Mac and mounted quickly, the engine firing up immediately. He saw Mac’s palms curl around the bar beside him seconds before he hit the throttle and went speeding out of the parking lot.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pembrook had one large bay ready when the ambulances screamed beneath the emergency room overhang. Gurneys came rushing inside, I
an following one and Anya the second. She listened intently, following the progress of each one, impressed with the dexterity Anya had, her patience and command of the situation. Drips and blood were hung, clamps and gauze soaking up the damage.
She didn’t have to be told who the bikers were that came storming in through the emergency room doors. Pembrook moved quickly, looping one arm in each of theirs and guiding them to the waiting room.
“They are in the best of hands,” she said before either could form words. “The instant…and I mean instant…I can let you in to see them, you will. Got it? And you are?” She looked at Cade.
“Cade Rollins…the brunette is mine, Abby Murray,” he answered immediately, confidently.
“You…aren’t looking well,” She led Mac to the chair and pushed on his shoulder. "Sit…Angela, get me some orange juice…now…with lots of ice…”
“Mac Lawson,” Cade filled in the question she hadn’t asked. “Cassidy Parker is his…he…uhh…lost a couple really good friends in a drive by a while back…”
Pembrook nodded, understanding immediately. “Listen to me…I don’t allow people to die in my bays…it makes me grouchy and then my husband ends up paying for it…” She shoved the tall glass of juice into his hands. “Drink that…now…”
Cade almost smiled. She was small but had the attitude of a linebacker. Mac downed the juice and handed her the glass.
“Good…now…I can’t rush this,” She looked from one to the other honestly. “But I promise you, they are in very good hands. Don’t make my people nuts and I’ll be back to talk to you when I find out where things are, okay?”
WindSwept Narrows: #2 Cassidy, Abby & Mia Page 17