Kassie laughed at her sister’s unbridled excitement. Shopping wasn’t her favorite thing to do, but any day she got to spend time with Karina was a good day in her eyes. She’d do anything for her. Including going on a date with an Army guy she met online, intending to deceive him to give information to her ex-boyfriend’s thug of a friend so they could continue to find ways to torment the man.
God, she hated herself for what she was doing.
“I’ll wait out there. Hurry up!” Karina ordered, then left the small dressing room.
But to keep her sister safe, Kassie would do whatever she had to. She just needed to meet with Hollywood, see if she could get any information that Dean might consider useful, and she never had to see the hot soldier again.
She looked at her reflection once more before closing her eyes in despair. The shit thing was that she knew this wouldn’t be the end of it. The second she gave Dean any information, he and Richard would want more. She was deluding herself if she thought the night of the ball would end Richard’s threat to Karina or herself.
Kassie suddenly felt tired. Exhausted. If it was only her, she’d tell Dean to pound sand. She didn’t care what he did anymore. He could hit her—wouldn’t be the first time—get her fired—again, not the first time Richard or Dean had made her get a new job—but when they involved her family, she wouldn’t fight back, and apparently they’d figured that out.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she unzipped the dress and stepped out of it. If only she had someone to have her back she wouldn’t feel so alone. But she might as well wish for ten million dollars. It wasn’t going to happen. Not with Dean watching her every move and reporting back to Richard.
Taking a deep breath, Kassie hung up the dress and put her clothes back on. Crying about her life wasn’t going to change anything. She just had to get through today. Then tomorrow. Then the day after that. One day at a time. It was how she’d gotten through everything she’d been through so far. It’s how she’d get through anything life had up its sleeve in the future.
The most important thing in her life was family. She’d be damned if Richard would take that away from her.
Chapter 3
“I’m done,” Harley announced.
“What?” Rayne asked at the same time Emily said, “Not yet.”
“We’ve been here for two hours. You guys have tried on every dress in the store. You found what you wanted to wear, but there’s no way I’m going to do this for another two hours while you try to find the perfect accessories, shoes, underwear, hose, purse, and whatever else you think you need for this stinkin’ ball,” Harley told them.
She stood with her arms crossed, glaring at the two women.
“Are you sure you don’t want to try any other dresses?” Rayne asked. “You picked the first one you tried on.”
“I’m more than sure,” Harley said. “Seriously. At this point I’m ready to say to hell with it and sit at home in my fat pants and work on my code. I know how important this is to Coach, but I’m done.”
Emily gave Harley a one-armed hug. “Okay. No problem. I can take you home, then come back here and Rayne and I can finish up.”
Harley shook her head. “Nope. I’ve already texted Coach. He’s in the middle of something, but he’s sending Hollywood. He’ll be here as soon as he can.”
Rayne narrowed her eyes. “You already made your getaway plan?”
“Absolutely,” Harley told her without an ounce of remorse. “I didn’t want you to come up with anything that would guilt me into staying.”
Rayne and Emily giggled.
“Okay, okay, you’ve been a good sport,” Rayne acquiesced. “Thank you for coming with us. The dress you got is beautiful. Coach will lose his mind when he sees you in it.”
“I know,” Harley said without conceit.
Her phone toned and she looked down and read the text. “That’s Hollywood. He’s outside.” Harley hugged both Rayne and Emily. “I’ll talk to you guys later.”
The two other women said their goodbyes and Harley headed outside with her new dress flung over her arm. She immediately spotted Hollywood in Coach’s Highlander. He had parked next to the curb and was standing beside the passenger door, arms crossed over his chest, fingers drumming impatiently on his biceps. He was wearing the pixelated Army battle dress uniform he and the other men wore on a daily basis, not anything unusual in this part of Texas.
Like all of the men on the team, Hollywood was good looking, but he had that something extra that made women, no matter their age, sit up and take notice. Harley saw no less than five women do double takes when they saw him standing by the vehicle. She appreciated his looks for what they were, but she only had eyes for Coach.
“Hey, Hollywood. Thank you for rescuing me,” Harley told him as she approached.
“No problem,” he told her.
Harley knew it probably was, but she didn’t call him on it. She allowed him to open her door and take her new dress before she got in. She wasn’t comfortable with the way all the guys went out of their way to treat her like she was the Queen of England, but she’d learned to accept it.
Hollywood hung her dress on a hook in the backseat and climbed into the driver’s side. They were driving down the street to her place when Hollywood’s phone beeped. He glanced down at the phone clipped to his belt and then back at the road.
When it made another beep, Harley asked, “You want me to check that for you?”
Hollywood hesitated, but finally grabbed the phone, unlocked it with his thumb, and held it out to her. “Normally I wouldn’t care, whoever it is could wait. But we’re in the middle of something at work and in case it’s Ghost, I need to check it.”
“No problem,” Harley told him, glancing down at his phone. “It’s an email from someone named Kassie.” She looked up at Hollywood, surprised to see his impatient, no-nonsense expression morph into one of pleasure. “Want me to read it?”
“Yes, please.”
She was even more surprised he was going to let her read his personal email, but thrilled too. She, Rayne, and Emily knew Hollywood had a date for the Army Ball next weekend, but didn’t know anything about the woman he’d invited. He’d been closemouthed about how he’d met her, and really everything else, so getting this small glimpse of the mysterious woman was irresistible.
She clicked on the email and read it aloud.
“Since you’re an Army guy, you know how to hide a body so no one can find it, right? I’m about done with assholes at work. I just had to deal with a woman who wanted to return a dress. She claimed it didn’t fit, but it was obvious she’d worn it to a shindig. It smelled like perfume and even had sweat stains in the pits. When I confronted her and told her we couldn’t take back clothing that had been worn, she pitched a fit. Threatened to get me fired, said she’d tell all her friends not to shop here anymore and generally made an ass of herself. It’d be like me wearing the dress to the ball next week and then taking it back. I’m cheap, but I’m not that cheap. Good Lord. Anyway. I hope your day is going better than mine. And to answer your question, no, I’m not staying at the hotel. It’s hard for me to justify the expense when I live so close to downtown (told you I’m cheap). Hope you’re having a good day. Kassie.”
There was silence in the cab after Harley stopped speaking. She looked up at Hollywood and saw the grin that had been on his face before she’d started reading had blossomed into a full-fledged smile.
“You like her,” she blurted.
“What?”
“You like her,” Harley repeated.
Hollywood shrugged. “Yeah. I wouldn’t have asked her to the ball if I didn’t.”
“How did you meet her?”
“Online.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.” Hollywood looked over at her. “Why?”
It was Harley’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know. It’s just amusing. I mean, you’re the hottest guy on the team. For you to meet someone online is just
funny. You asked if she was staying at the hotel?”
Luckily Hollywood was used to the way Harley could shift topics in conversation. “Yeah.”
“And she lives in Austin?”
“Harley, yeah. Why all the questions?” Hollywood griped.
“Because we don’t know anything about this woman. If she’s gonna become one of us, we want to know about her.”
Hollywood’s eyes jerked to Harley’s, then back to the road. His voice got quiet. “Don’t go thinking I’m gonna marry her. It’s not like that. I haven’t even met her in person. Yeah, I like her, but I don’t know her. Not really.”
“What do you know?” Harley asked, not letting him off the hook.
Hollywood sighed, then said, “She’s thirty and has a sister who is a senior in high school. As you gathered, she works in retail, and doesn’t particularly like it. I get the feeling she’s not that comfortable with the fact I’m in the Army, but she’s trying not to let it bother her. But…” His voice trailed off.
“But what?” Harley asked.
“I don’t know. She’s funny and she makes me laugh. But I can tell she’s hiding something.”
“Of course she is,” Harley told him immediately.
Hollywood chuckled under his breath, but Harley ignored it and continued.
“She met you online. You’ve never met in person. You’re extremely good looking. She’s intimidated, Hollywood. I know how I was with Coach when I first met him. You have to understand, most normal women aren’t used to drop-dead gorgeous men having any interest in us. I don’t know what she looks like, but I’m guessing she’s probably more like me, Rayne, and Emily than a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. Of course she’s hiding part of herself from you. It’s up to you to make her feel comfortable and drop her shields so she can tell you her real thoughts and feelings.”
“Asking me to hide a body isn’t her real feelings?” Hollywood joked.
“You know what I mean,” Harley insisted, her lips not even twitching at his attempt to lighten the mood.
“I do, and I realize that meeting someone online will mean that there are a lot of things left unsaid. But it’s more than that. I can’t put my finger on it, but it seems like there’s more she’s hiding than just being uneasy about meeting a guy online,” Hollywood explained.
“Be careful,” Harley told him. “I’ve come to like you too much to have you be murdered by a chick you met online.”
Harley turned her head and looked out the window. They’d pulled up to her apartment without her even realizing it. She leaned down, grabbed her purse, and went to open her door. Hollywood’s hand on her arm stopped her.
“She’s not going to murder me, but you’re right. I like her. I’m not an idiot, I know what we have right now is somewhat superficial. We get along great via email, but I’m scared when we meet it won’t be the same. And that would suck because I do like her so much. I hate that she gets treated like shit at her job, but I can’t do anything about it. The only thing I can do is try to make her smile and continue her jokes. But I can’t help but feel that she’s hiding way more than merely hating her job. That’s what I meant. I’m more than a pretty face, even if that’s what most people see when they look at me.”
Harley looked into Hollywood’s intense brown eyes. “I know. Me and the girls’ll see what we can find out for you at the ball.”
“No, don’t,” Hollywood returned immediately. “I don’t want you to be a spy for me. I’d hate that. I want to learn everything about her myself. It’s underhanded and sneaky to sic you guys on her. Promise me you won’t pump her for information.”
“I promise,” Harley told him immediately. “I’d hate to find out anyone did that to me if I was in her shoes.”
“Exactly.”
“Now, let me go so you can get back to whatever war game you’re playing with my man, would ya? I wasted too much time as it was at the mall with Rayne and Emily. I have a million things to do for the new This is War game I’m working on. Do you know what time Coach might be home tonight?”
Hollywood shrugged. “Not sure. If things go the way we want them to, probably around six. If not, it might not be until the morning.”
Harley paused with one foot outside the SUV and asked, “Are you guys going to have to leave? Will we get to go to the ball?”
“We’ll be at the ball,” Hollywood said firmly. “I’m not going to miss my chance to meet Kassie.”
“Good,” Harley said with a nod and got the rest of the way out of the SUV. She shut the door and got her dress from the backseat. Hollywood had rolled down the passenger window and she told him, “Kassie. I like her name.”
Hollywood smiled. “Me too. See you later.”
“See ya. Thanks for rescuing me from the mall.”
“Anytime.”
Harley watched as he rolled up the window and drove out of the parking lot. Her mind was going in a thousand different directions as she headed up to her apartment. It was obvious Hollywood was more than intrigued with the mysterious Kassie, but now, so was she.
Chapter 4
Kassie sat on the large couch, more nervous than she could remember being in a very long time. It didn’t help that there were men in their fancy dress blue uniforms all around. She couldn’t help but remember the military party she’d been to with Richard. It had been horrifying, and the last straw in their relationship. She’d hated to throw away two years of dating, but after that, she knew without a doubt she wanted nothing more to do with the man…or his friends.
Wanting to keep her hands busy and not look like she was about to puke waiting on Hollywood to arrive, Kassie resisted the urge to pull out her phone and pretend to be engrossed in it.
Karina had come over to her apartment and helped her get ready for the ball. She’d given her tips on her makeup and they’d taken a million pictures. It was a Saturday, and Karina couldn’t stay long because she’d needed to get to the high school. There was a football game and the cheerleaders had to be there early to help loosen up the crowd and welcome the team to the field. Kassie hated to miss the game, she tried to go to all Karina’s events, but her sister didn’t hold her skipping this one against her.
They’d giggled and gossiped as they’d gotten Kassie ready for the evening. Karina talked more about the new mysterious guy at school and told Kassie she thought he might be interested in her. Kassie wasn’t thrilled with that news, but Karina was almost an adult, so she let it go. It was nice to see her so excited about a boy.
Kassie had tried to hide Richard’s crazy from her sister for the longest time, but the last time he’d been around, Karina had witnessed him yelling at her. She’d even tried to intervene, but Richard had just turned his sights on Karina. It hadn’t been the best night, and as a result, her little sister had been reluctant to really get involved with anyone…until now.
After Kassie had been dressed, made-up, and lectured about having a good time and “getting some” by her little sister, she’d left to head downtown. It was still fairly early—Kassie was always early wherever she went—and now she was sitting in the lobby of the Four Seasons in downtown Austin, anxiously waiting for Hollywood.
She’d started out calling him Graham, but since he signed all his emails “Hollywood,” she’d begun calling him that in her mind.
Kassie tried not to fidget as she took in the people around her. The women were dressed in amazing floor-length gowns of all colors. Most were dark, black or navy, but there were the occasional orange or yellow dresses as well. Kassie knew she was supposed to be bowled over by all the men in their fancy uniforms, but honestly, they brought back so many bad memories of the “ball” Richard had in his apartment, complete with all his friends wearing their dress uniforms, that it was more comfortable for her to focus on the women than the men.
She had a wristlet in her lap, and she felt her phone vibrate with an incoming text or email. Kassie thought about ignoring it, figuring it was her sister, but then had the thought
that maybe it was Hollywood. Maybe he was canceling and she could leave.
Unzipping the small purse, Kassie pulled out her phone and glanced down, expecting to see an encouraging note from her sister or one from Hollywood. That’s not what she’d received.
Have fun tonight. Suck his cock, let him stick his dick inside you, it doesn’t matter, just get the job done. By the way, Karina looks lovely in her cheerleading outfit tonight. Later
Kassie drew in a quick breath and clicked the phone so the screen went dark. She robotically put it back in her purse and stared straight ahead. She held back her tears by sheer force of will. Dean had threatened Karina before, of course he had, it was why she was sitting in this hotel lobby in the first place, but nothing like this.
The fact that he was there at the football game, watching her sister, made her want to scream in frustration.
Kassie made the decision right then to warn both her parents and sister. She was done hiding the evil that was Richard and Dean from them. But neither man was stupid. The text from Dean just now didn’t sound exactly friendly, but it didn’t have anything that could be construed as a blatant threat…even though it was.
Kassie wasn’t an idiot either. And keeping the threats to herself any longer was just plain stupid. Hell, it had been to keep them secret for as long as she had, but she’d honestly thought Richard would get tired of her and fade away. Kassie had evidence of the vague threats in the texts and emails from Dean. The rest of the things Richard had done to her were going to be her word against his, but it was something.
She needed to go to the police and get a restraining order, not that it would do much good, but it was better than nothing. She needed to get her life back.
Rescuing Kassie: Delta Force Heroes, Book 5 Page 3