“Depends on the movie,” Kassie finally said.
They’d been through this in an online chat before, and Hollywood knew exactly what Kassie’s tastes were in flicks. “Full Metal Jacket?”
He felt rather than saw her nose wrinkle. “No,” she emphatically stated. “What else you got?”
Hollywood named a few more films he knew she would reject, laughing inside when she categorically denied each one. He grabbed the remote and turned on the television, bringing up his Netflix account. “Stop me when something looks interesting,” he told Kassie.
Before too long, she said, “That one.”
“Sahara?”
“Yeah. It’s got everything. Adventure, humor, action…I like it.”
“You sure it’s not because it has Matthew McConaughey in it?” Hollywood teased, having no problem watching the movie. He’d seen it as well and enjoyed it.
“Pbfft,” she scoffed. “He’s fine, but I love Steve Zahn in this one. He’s hilarious. He might be the sidekick, but he carries this movie. Every time I see it, I wanna mail him a hat since he keeps losing his.”
“He is good,” Hollywood agreed, setting the remote on the coffee table and settling back into the couch with Kassie in his arms. He couldn’t remember a better evening.
Chapter 10
Kassie rolled over on the surprisingly comfortable bed and frowned, wondering what had woken her up. She was tired, but in a good way. She and Hollywood had watched Sahara—well, she had. Hollywood had fallen asleep under her within the first thirty minutes of the movie. She figured he’d probably had a tough week, because she didn’t think falling asleep like that was his usual MO. She’d spent the next hour and a half or so memorizing the feel of his hard body under her and alternating between watching the movie and him sleep.
She still didn’t really understand how he’d somehow decided that she was the woman he wanted to be with, but she’d had enough shit in her life that she wasn’t about to talk him out of liking her. He’d said that he was the lucky one, but she knew without a doubt that wasn’t true. Not by a long shot.
He’d been disgruntled when she’d woken him up after the movie ended, apologizing for zonking out on her. Then he’d refused to let her drive over to Fletch’s, insisting on taking her himself.
Kassie had given in, because it felt good to be looked after. He’d kissed her silly when they’d arrived at the small apartment, but had left her alone after making sure everything was all right. He’d reassured her that she was as safe as she could be and told her that he’d be back by mid-morning.
Glancing at the clock on the little table next to the queen-size bed, Kassie saw that it was only a quarter past seven. Not exactly mid-morning.
Then she heard a sound. Tapping at the front door. It had to have been what had woken her up. Kassie had no idea who could be here so early, but whoever it was couldn’t be bringing good news. Nothing good happened this early on a Saturday morning.
Suddenly wide awake, Kassie threw back the covers and rushed for the front door. Thoughts of Hollywood arriving to tell her something had happened to her sister ran through her head. The apartment wasn’t big. There was just one bedroom, one bathroom, and a small kitchen attached to an even smaller living area, so she got to the front door within seconds and looked out the peephole—then blinked. What in the world?
Kassie opened the deadbolt and undid the chain at eye level as well as the one at hip height. She cracked the door open and stared at the little girl standing there.
“Hi! I’m Annie! You’re Kassie with a K, right? That’s so cool. I couldn’t wait to meet you! Daddy Fletch and Mommy talked about you all night. They said you were dating Hollywood and staying here for the weekend. They laughed, I’m not sure why, but they thought it was really funny. But if you’re Hollywood’s girlfriend, then you’re my friend too. Daddy doesn’t let anyone stay here unless he likes them. And trusts them. Anyway, I used to live here before Mommy and Daddy got together. Are you sleeping in my room? Of course you are, it’s the only one. Isn’t this place great? Can I come in? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is on. Wanna watch it with me?”
Looking past Annie, Kassie didn’t see any adults with her. “Are you here by yourself?”
“Uh huh, but it’s okay. Daddy has cameras everywhere and I can’t get stolened again. So…wanna watch with me?”
“Uh…sure,” Kassie said, backing up to let the little girl inside. Hollywood had told her about the cameras and security on the property, but she still wasn’t sure it was a good idea for Annie to be wandering around by herself.
As soon as the thought went through her brain, she stiffened. This was Annie? The little girl Richard drugged, kidnapped, and threatened to hurt if Emily didn’t do what he wanted? Dear Lord. As she closed the door, Kassie felt her hands shaking. She didn’t know if she could face Annie knowing what her ex had done. She felt dirty just being in her presence.
Having no idea of the turmoil going through Kassie’s head, Annie reached out, grabbed one of her hands and started to pull her toward the couch. “Come on, it’s gonna start soon. Wow, your hands are cold. There should be blankets in the closet. Here, you sit. I’ll go get one for you.”
Annie pushed at Kassie until she sat, then quickly headed toward the bedroom. She ran back into the small living area seconds later lugging a large comforter. It was dragging on the ground behind her, but Annie didn’t even seem to notice. She plopped it on Kassie and made a big production out of spreading it out over her lap, then got down on her knees to tuck it in around her legs.
“There. Now you’re snug as a bug in a rug. My mommy says that all the time.” Then, without waiting for a comment, Annie skipped over to the television and turned it on. She grabbed the remote, climbed up on the sofa next to Kassie, and snuggled in next to her as if she’d known the woman her entire life. She pulled part of the comforter over her own legs and began to change the channels, looking for the cartoon she wanted to watch.
Kassie sat frozen. Paralyzed by thoughts of unworthiness. How in the world this child had such a sunny and positive outlook on life was beyond her. She’d been through hell, but here she sat, making friends with someone because she knew her parents trusted her. Kassie wasn’t sure she deserved that trust, but she’d rather cut off her own arm than do anything to hurt the adorable little girl next to her.
Tentatively, Kassie put her arm around Annie’s shoulders, and sighed in relief when she merely settled farther into her side. They sat that way for the next forty minutes. Annie keeping up a running commentary about her favorite turtle and how she was going to learn how to fight like they did, and someday she’d be a soldier and ‘kick bad guys’ butts just like Daddy Fletch did.’
When the knock on the door came, Kassie wasn’t surprised. She’d been expecting it long before now, if she was honest with herself. She patted Annie on the head as she got up. “I’ll get it.”
“Make sure you peep through the hole before you open the door,” Annie lectured, not taking her eyes from the screen.
“I will,” Kassie reassured her. She looked down at herself and grimaced. She wasn’t exactly dressed for company, but it couldn’t be helped. At least she had on sleep shorts and not just the oversized T-shirt she usually wore.
Looking through the peephole, Kassie saw Emily standing on the other side of the door. Relieved she didn’t have to face Fletch—Hollywood might be the best-looking man she’d ever seen, but his friends weren’t too shabby either; having Fletch see her in her pajamas would be pushing her comfort level at the moment—Kassie opened the door.
“Hi, Kassie. I’m sorry to bother you. I’ve come to collect Annie. I hope she wasn’t a pest,” Emily said easily, a wide, apologetic smile on her face.
It wasn’t lost on Kassie that Emily hadn’t asked if her daughter was there, she’d merely apologized for her being there. Hollywood and Annie had obviously been correct about the cameras.
“It’s okay. We were just watching TV.”
Emily leaned forward and said in a soft voice that her daughter wouldn’t hear. “I was going to be here thirty minutes ago, but Fletch decided since we had the house to ourselves that he’d take advantage of it.” She blushed, but continued on, “He’s also decided that Annie needs a baby brother or sister and takes every chance he has to try to make that happen.”
Kassie smiled at the other woman. It should’ve felt weird that she was basically telling her she and her husband had been going at it, but somehow it didn’t. It made Kassie feel like she was an honest-to-God friend rather than some random chick who was staying the night at the guest house on their property.
“As I said, it’s fine. I’m glad I could…err…provide a distraction for your daughter.” They smiled at each other for a beat, before Kassie added, “Oh, come in. I’m sorry, I should’ve said that from the start.”
Emily waved away her concern. “No worries.” She went straight to Annie, who was now lying on the couch under the blanket she’d retrieved, eyes still glued to the antics of the turtles on the screen. Emily leaned down and kissed her forehead. Then said, “Hey, Annie.”
“Hi, Mommy.”
“Didn’t we tell you that it wasn’t polite to bother our guest so early in the morning?”
“Yeah, but Daddy said that Hollywood would come over and steal her away as soon as he could, and I wanted to meet her so I had to beat him here.”
Emily shook her head in exasperation then straightened. “You want something to eat, baby?”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“Surprise me,” was Annie’s response.
Kassie just gaped. Good Lord, the little girl sounded like she was in her teens rather than only…she didn’t know how old she was, but couldn’t be more than eight.
Emily caught her look and chuckled as she went into the kitchen. “I know, I know. She spends a lot of time with Fletch and his friends, and tends to pick up some of the things they say.” Emily shrugged. “Unless it’s something awful, I don’t bother correcting her.”
Feeling as if she had to say something—Emily was being really nice to her and Kassie wasn’t sure she deserved it—she blurted, “I didn’t know what Richard was going to do.”
Emily had opened the fridge, and she turned to Kassie in surprise. “Of course you didn’t.”
“I mean, I was dating him, though honestly I hadn’t really been for the last several months, but he didn’t really want to let me go. If I had known what he was doing to you, or what he had planned to do to you and Annie, I would’ve gone to the police. I swear I would’ve.”
Emily closed the refrigerator door and walked over to where Kassie was standing. She put her hands on her shoulders and said quietly, “Kassie, I know. Nothing he did was your fault. I know, more than anyone else, how threatening he can be. So relax, okay? Neither me nor Fletch think badly of you for anything.”
“If Annie was my daughter, I don’t think I’d be as forgiving as you,” Kassie said honestly.
Emily chuckled and gestured to Annie on the couch. “You think she’d let you be anything but forgiving?”
Kassie’s lips quirked. “Probably not.”
“Exactly. She wanted to come over and meet you, so she did. Sometimes we worry about how outgoing and fearless she is, but she’s smart about it. Fletch and I talked about you in front of her on purpose. We wanted her to know that you were a friend and it was safe for you to be here on our property. Yes, she’s tough, but she’s also only seven.”
“Thank you for trusting me,” Kassie said in a low tone.
“You’re welcome. Now, if I were you, I’d get showered and changed. I have a feeling Hollywood is going to be here sooner rather than later. We’re having a barbeque this evening and everyone is invited.”
“Everyone?” Kassie asked.
“Yup. You already met the girls, but Mary will hopefully be here so you can meet her too. You’ll meet Fish today though, at the meeting.”
“Meeting?” Kassie didn’t like echoing the other woman, but she was telling her things she had no idea about.
“Oh man. Hollywood didn’t tell you?”
“Oh, yeah, I guess he did. I must’ve forgot, or blocked it out or something.”
Emily chuckled. “I doubt it’ll be as bad as what you’re probably thinking. From what I gather, Hollywood called a meeting with his commander and the team. Fish is going to be there too, and you. They want to talk about Jacks and what the next step should be to deal with him.”
Kassie tried not to panic, but she really didn’t want to think about sitting in a meeting with all of Hollywood’s friends, probably in uniform. Especially not his commanding officer. It all sounded ominous, and brought too many memories of having to sit around with Richard and his friends as they talked. They liked to wear their uniforms and order her around as they had their meetings.
As if she could read her mind, Emily quickly said, “Don’t worry. Most of the higher-ranking guys at the post look scary, but they’re not. They just want to figure this out and make you and your sister safe as quickly as possible.”
Okay. Obviously Emily knew most of what was going on. “And you think Hollywood is going to be here soon?”
“Welllll, Fletch was talking to him when I left the house, telling him that Annie had most likely woken you up at the crack of dawn. And if Hollywood is anything like my husband, which I know he is, if he knows you’re up and awake, he’s going to want to be here, up and awake with you.”
Kassie glanced at her watch and saw that Emily had been there for about ten minutes. “How long did you know Fletch before he decided you were it for him?”
“After he figured out that we’d had a massive communication breakdown and he realized Jacks wasn’t my boyfriend, but had been blackmailing me?”
“Uh…yeah?”
“About three point two minutes, I think.” Emily beamed. “I take it Hollywood hasn’t hesitated to let you know that your life has changed now that he’s in it.”
“Something like that,” Kassie murmured. A part of her wanted to be upset or freaked, but the feelings of satisfaction and contentment won out.
“Welcome to the family,” Emily told her, completely serious. She pulled Kassie into a brief hug, then said nonchalantly, “It doesn’t take too long to get here from Hollywood’s place. This time of morning, fifteen to twenty minutes maybe.”
“That sounds about right,” Kassie told her.
“Right. So you better get that shower then, huh?” Emily said dryly.
“Thank you,” Kassie told Emily, hoping she’d understand what she was thanking her for.
“You’re welcome. Now go. Tick-tock.”
Kassie made a quick detour to say bye to Annie and let her know she’d see her later before rushing into her room to gather what she needed to get ready. Even knowing she’d have to talk about Richard and Dean with all his friends, Kassie couldn’t wait to see Hollywood.
Chapter 11
“Are you sure you’re okay about Annie coming over this morning?” Hollywood asked Kassie as they headed for the post.
“I’m fine, seriously.”
“You didn’t have any bad moments?” he insisted.
Kassie turned her head to look at Hollywood as he drove. She shouldn’t be surprised he was so in tune with her, but she was.
“Maybe one or two, but it’s fine.”
“Tell me?” he asked.
It wasn’t quite a demand, and Kassie appreciated it. She knew he was worried about how she was going to react to the meeting they were going to with all his friends and commanding officer. If she was honest with herself, she was worried how it would go down. But in the short time she’d known Hollywood, she knew he wouldn’t put her in a position where she’d be attacked.
“Annie shocked me. I’d met Emily at the ball, but seeing how amazing, funny, and cute Annie is with my own eyes made it hit home all the more. I felt guilty that I even know Richard.”
&n
bsp; Hollywood reached over and grabbed her hand, once more interlacing their fingers. The familiarity was reassuring to Kassie. “No one blames you for what happened. Least of all Annie or Emily.”
“Intellectually I know that, but emotionally I’m still wrapping my head around it.”
“As long as you don’t let it get between us, you can keep doing that,” he told her with a serious look on his face. “But I hope after today, you’ll get even closer to believing it. You’ve told me some of what that asshat did to you, and I hate that he touched you at all. But even without knowing all of it, I’m astute enough to know you’ve been through, and are going through, hell with him. Your hell and their hell might be different, but it’s still hell.”
Kassie thought about his words for a long moment. He was right. She had to stop thinking about the way Richard used to be before his injury. That man was long gone. She knew without a doubt that Hollywood and his friends would help her get out from under her ex’s thumb once and for all. And hopefully take Dean down at the same time. “You’re right.”
Hollywood chuckled. “You certainly thought about something for a long time before coming to that conclusion.”
“Well, you know,” she said, not smiling, “First, I thought about all the good looking men in uniform I’ll be seeing once we get to Fort Hood. Then I had to decide if I could get away with taking pictures without them knowing so I could share with Karina when I get home. Then that made me think about you in your uniform at the ball and how I didn’t get to properly appreciate it. And that made me think about what you might’ve been wearing under your dress blues…so yeah, sorry, I got distracted.”
At the shocked look on his face, Kassie couldn’t hold back her grin any longer. She giggled like she hadn’t a care in the world. “You should see your face,” she got out between giggles. “Priceless!”
Rescuing Kassie: Delta Force Heroes, Book 5 Page 12