Last Dance (COBRA Securities Book 14)

by Velvet Vaughn

  Kai shrugged. “So? She’s still my favorite.”

  Mason shook his head and chuckled.

  “Can we take a selfie with you?” Zoe had her camera out.

  “Sure.

  “I’ll take it,” Taylor offered. Cassidy crouched down and the kids surrounded her. “Say cheese,” Taylor encouraged before snapping the picture. “Keep that pose until I can find my camera.”

  “Got it,” Dante said, showing her his iPhone.

  An ear-splitting shriek sent Cassidy tipping over and falling to the floor. She sat dazed, wondering if her eardrum was punctured.

  “Sorry,” Zoe haphazardly apologized as she took off running.

  A large hand appeared in front of her face and she clutched it. Mason helped her to her feet.

  “She’s a little excited to see her sister,” he explained.

  She followed his gaze to see Zoe clutching Harlow tight. The young girl finally stepped aside so Sawyer could hug his wife, followed by a distinguished-looking couple.

  Mason leaned down. “Her parents.”

  Harlow’s smile was radiant, and Cassidy didn’t blame her one bit. She’d kept her composure during difficult circumstances and she and Glen performed one of the best dances in the history of the show—maybe the best. Harlow accepted hugs from everyone, even Mason. Finally, she was able to reach her.

  “You were phenomenal.”

  “Oh gosh, thanks. So were you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It was so hard, thinking of the work Marcus put into our routine.” Harlow took a deep breath. “I’m glad they waited until after Glen and I danced before airing the tribute. I’d have been a blubbering mess otherwise.”

  “Harlow, Ms. Swain.”

  She turned to see Kai, the boy who’d saved Harlow’s sister from a predator. “Please, call me Cassidy.”

  “Okay. Cassidy, Harlow, I’m sorry about the man who died.”

  Harlow ruffled his hair affectionately. “Thanks, sweetie.”

  “I have a question for both of you.”

  Cassidy glanced at Harlow, who was fighting a smile. “Okay.”

  “Do you know why the skeleton wasn’t asked to be on Dancing With the Celebrities?”

  Harlow winked at her and then said, “No, Kai, why wasn’t he asked to perform?”

  “Because, because…” he doubled over in laughter before he could deliver the punch line. Zoe and Gracie were joining in, both girls practically rolling on the floor.

  She glanced at Mason, who was smiling fondly at the boy.

  Emma Eto came bounding over with a Diet Coke in her hand. “Wait, I heard someone telling a joke. Can I hear?”

  Kai nodded vigorously.

  “Kai, this is Emma Eto.”

  “I know. You’re my third favorite.”

  She jutted out her bottom lip. “Only third?”

  “Well, Harlow’s my favorite because she’s family. Then Cassidy, because she’s practically part of the family.”

  Cassidy’s heart clenched. He thought she was important enough to be part of his circle? Oh God, she wanted that so much.

  “So, you’re my third favorite, Emma—oh wait, can I call you Emma?”

  “Of course you can, Kai. That’s my name. And I’m not much older than you.”

  That made Kai’s chest puff out. “I’m not always going to be this short, you know. My dad is huge.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of his father. “He promised I’d have a growth spurt.”

  “Are you hitting on Emma, Kai?” Harlow asked with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Harlow!” A furious blush stained his cheeks.

  Emma ruffled his hair this time. “Call me when you hit that growth spurt. Now, weren’t you going to make us laugh?”

  “Oh, yeah. Okay, I’ll start over. Do you know why the skeleton wasn’t asked to be on Dancing With the Celebrities?”

  “I’ll repeat,” Harlow said, “No, Kai, why wasn’t the skeleton asked to perform?”

  “Because, because…he had no body to dance with!”

  Both she and Harlow burst out laughing. Emma spewed Diet Coke across the floor and then slapped a hand over her mouth. Kai looked pleased with himself and dashed over to the men to repeat the joke.

  Harlow waited until he was gone before she explained, “He’s such a sweet boy. He can’t stand for anyone to be sad, so he memorizes jokes to cheer them up. He knew Marcus’s death upset us.”

  Emma clapped a hand over her chest. “That’s so precious.”

  “It is,” Cassidy agreed.

  “Kai’s a permanent member of our family. He saved my sister from a child molester.”

  “What?” Emma gasped.

  “I remember reading about that when it happened,” Cassidy said.

  “He’s fearless. He did the same thing for his stepsister, too.”

  Cassidy looked at the boy who would soon break hearts of girls everywhere. He was an adorable boy who would become a gorgeous man like his father. He had Mason, Sawyer and Kellan all laughing at his joke. “He’s amazing.”

  “He’s a pint-sized superhero.”

  Harlow’s parents came over and she introduced them to Cassidy and Emma. Her mother was on the phone and she handed it over to Harlow.”

  “Hi, Grandma. Thanks.”

  Emma’s eyes rounded and she elbowed Cassidy. The woman Harlow was chatting so easily with was the President of the United States of America. Wow.

  She spotted Colin standing off to the side, his weight propped on his crutches. “Excuse me, I need to talk to someone.”

  “Okay. See you tomorrow.”

  She waved to Emma and walked over to Colin.

  “You were something, Cass. I’ve watched you on television, but seeing you in person, well, you’ve grown so much as a dancer.”

  “Thanks, Col.”

  “I’m going to head to the motel. The police called and said my car was being released, and that I could pick it up in the morning from your apartment. I guess they didn’t move it.”

  “Are you heading home after?”

  “Yeah. I need to get back and start rehab. The doctor has already called twice now and chastised me.”

  “What time are you going to pick up your car? We’ll meet you there.”

  “The detective said after nine.”

  Mason walked over. “Detective Parsa said you could get anything you need from your apartment tomorrow, too. It’s been released.”

  “We’ll meet you at my apartment at nine, then.”

  After they said their goodbyes, Mason, Cassidy, Harlow, Sawyer and Kellan headed to the parking lot.

  “We’re all going to use the same SUV,” Mason told her.

  Cassidy grabbed his arm, stopping him. “I’m the one being targeted. I don’t want Harlow or the others in danger because of me.”

  “We discussed it. We all felt it would be best if the three of us worked together to keep both of you safe.”

  “But Harlow would be safe if Sawyer took her away from me.”

  “We don’t know that.” He tipped her chin up with a finger. “This person could’ve seen us leave together before. They could know that Sawyer and I work together. They could use Harlow to get to you.”

  Blood drained from her face. Maybe it would be best if she quit the show. She didn’t want anyone else hurt because of her. “What about Trey?”

  “He has his own bodyguards. I checked.” He took her hand. “Cass, we know what we’re doing. We’ll keep you safe.”

  She tried one last ditch effort. “Can we at least give Harlow the option?”

  He threw an arm around her shoulder and guided her to the SUV. “Already have. She insisted. That woman is tough. She survived a bloody drug war.”

  Sawyer climbed into the driver’s seat with Kellan riding shotgun. She sat in the back between Harlow and Mason, fighting the urge to lean closer to him, absorb his body heat.

  “Hold up, Sawyer.” Kellan indicated his phone. It w
as playing a tune, if she wasn’t mistaken, “Bugs” by Pearl Jam. A strange song featuring an accordion and lyrics about yes, bugs.

  “We’ve got a tracking device on board.”

  Harlow leaned forward to peer between the seats. “What is that?”

  “Something Tyler Redmond’s been working on. This is his prototype. It’s an app, uses the camera, I don’t know. He tried to explain it to me but then he geeked out and lost me. Woosh.” He waved a hand over his head.

  “Tyler is our resident computer genius,” Mason leaned over to explain. His scent wrapped around her in all its intoxicating glory.

  Kellan held up the phone. “If everyone will step outside, I’ll see if I can locate it.”

  Mason climbed out first and then helped her down. Kellan waved his phone in front of each of them like an airport security guard, but it remained mute. He opened the back hatch and came out with a bag—her bag. “We have a winner.”

  Mason took it from Kellan and dug inside until he found the small silver device, removing it with a tissue.

  “I’ll call Parsa.” Sawyer dialed the number and spoke with the detective. He disconnected and said, “He’s sending a squad car in the area to pick it up.”

  They waited a few minutes for the car to arrive. The cops took the device and dropped it into a small plastic bag. Hopefully they would be able to trace it and catch whoever wanted so badly to find her.

  #

  After the excitement of the day, Mason was exhausted, but he had too much work to do to sleep. Russell had hired additional personnel and Mason planned on meeting with them in the morning to go over the details. They might be trained security agents, but they weren’t COBRA Securities-trained agents. There was a difference.

  The police took the tracking device and drove away. He replaced Cassidy’s bag in the back of the SUV and closed the hatch. He climbed inside and fastened his seat belt. Sawyer shifted into drive and attempted to pass through the gate when a group of people holding signs jumped in front of them and blocked their exit.

  “She killed him!”

  “Murderer!”

  “Marcus is dead because of you!”

  “You deserve prison time, not prime time!”

  Mason’s jaw clenched. They were blaming Cassidy for Marcus’s death. And, man, they were determined to have waited so long.

  “It’s probably the same four women who sent threatening notes to me after we broke up.” Cassidy’s voice was resigned. “They’re his personal fan club. That woman in the black hat and jacket is the president, Marie Marvin.”

  Sawyer laid on the horn and inched forward. The four stood their ground. The women were nothing if not persistent, refusing to move until the guards came out and physically removed them from the road.

  “Don’t listen to them, Cass,” Harlow insisted.

  “I don’t. They tried to make my life miserable before. They’ll eventually move on.”

  “I’ll have a talk with them,” he promised her. He’d make those women understand that if they did anything to upset Cassidy, they’d regret it.

  She grabbed his arm. “No, don’t. Please. They hate me enough already, I don’t want to give them more ammunition.”

  He opened his mouth to argue but the words died in his throat at the look of misery on her beautiful face. It gutted him to see her upset. He wanted to slay all her dragons. But, he didn’t want to cause her more grief, so he’d defer to her wishes.

  Sawyer made random turns and utilized back roads to make sure they weren’t followed. After several miles, Kellan punched an address into the GPS system and soon, they were navigating the Hollywood Hills. They passed massive sets of gates most likely belonging to the Hollywood elite. When the GPS indicated they were at the correct location, Sawyer turned into the drive and pulled up to a box in front of the gate. Kellan read a code from his phone and Sawyer entered it on the touchpad. The code would change each time someone entered or left, the new sequence sent to an app on their phone. It was unhackable, thanks to Tyler.

  The previous owner had been security-conscious, so it was a perfect setting to hide away for a few weeks. Mason didn’t even want to know how much it cost, but Jade Bradley, aka Academy Award-winning actress Juliet LaRue, knew the owner. The man had purchased an even bigger, better house somewhere nearby and was about to put this one on the market. Mason thought it might belong to a major producer, but he wasn’t sure.

  The drive was long and winding through a dense copse of trees. When the house finally came into view, his eyes widened. Mansion was a better description. The place was massive. It looked like it belonged on a hilltop in the Alps or something.

  Perched on a hill that overlooked the glittering valley below, the gigantic house was mostly glass with wood and brick accents. The landscape was professionally maintained with palm trees, flowers in a riot of colors and exotic ornamental grasses.

  “Wow,” Cassidy said, leaning down to gaze out the window. “This is extravagant.”

  “I’d hate to know how much this cost,” Harlow said. “It has to be in the double-digit millions.”

  Kellan punched a button on his cell and one of the ten garage doors lifted skyward. Sawyer executed a U-turn and backed into an open bay between a Maserati and a Rolls Royce Phantom as the door slid closed. The back of the SUV was packed with luggage and the security supplies shipped from the office. He wouldn’t need most of the equipment since they weren’t staying at Cassidy’s apartment any longer. He made a mental note to box the unnecessary gear up and mail it back. He grabbed a couple of the bags and followed Cassidy inside, crashing into her when she stopped abruptly.

  “Sorry.” His apology fell on deaf ears. She was staring straight ahead, her mouth open in shock. He followed her gaze and his mouth almost dropped open, too. The entire back of the house was a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing an arresting view, even at night. Thousands of lights twinkled merrily in the distance. A few feet below the windows, a stone waterfall cascaded into a glittering pool of Olympic-sized proportions. The interior of the home was as luxurious as the exterior, with high-end furnishings and artwork that cost more than Mason would make in a lifetime.

  “I’ve stayed in worse places,” Sawyer drawled.

  Mason figured this was right up his teammate’s alley. Sawyer’s parents were Bill Gates-rich, so he’d grown up with money, even though he didn’t act like it.

  Harlow and Cassidy set off to explore while he, Sawyer and Kellan went over the security features. A room off the gourmet kitchen featured an entire wall of monitors, covering almost every outside angle of the house. If so much as a mountain lion tried to get inside, they’d know. The property was surrounded by a fence, only the top half electrified so as not to barbeque said mountain lion. There was even a panic room. The owner had been paranoid, which served their purposes nicely.

  He fired off a quick text to his bosses and to let them know they’d arrived safely, and then checked out the contents of the kitchen. It was fully stocked with food, including fresh fruit and vegetables. BeBe had worked with the caretakers to have the entire place furnished with anything they would need. How she’d managed it in such a short time was beyond Mason. Maybe she was part witch.

  “This place is palatial,” Cassidy said as she and Harlow returned from exploring.

  “There are supposed to be like five bedrooms.”

  “There are. Three are masters, one on this level and then one on either end of the house. There are two nice-sized bedrooms upstairs, too.”

  “Harlow and Sawyer can take one of the masters upstairs and you take the other,” he told Cassidy. “Kellan can have the one down here and I’ll take one of the other rooms upstairs.”

  Cassidy looked like she wanted to argue but closed her mouth and nodded. While the others carried their bags to their rooms, he lifted her luggage and followed her up the steps. Her corner suite featured two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, offering the same sweeping views as the living room. A slidi
ng glass door led to a small deck with two lounge chairs. He completed a thorough check of the room, the attached en suite and a closet bigger than his entire apartment.

  “This place is awesome.”

  He smiled at her excitement and wished he could put that look on her face every day. For the rest of her life. She’s a client. She’s a client. Maybe if he repeated it enough, his stupid heart would believe it.

  He turned to check out his room when she stopped him with a hand on the arm. “I, um, don’t know how to ask this,” she admitted.

  “You can ask me anything, Cass.”

  She inhaled deeply. “Will you stay here with me? I don’t want to be alone. The things that have happened—well, I’m not used to it and I don’t think I’ll rest. The bed is huge.” She gestured to the king-sized mattress. “I promise not to climb on top of you again.”

  His body reacted instantly, remembering the last time. He could still feel her soft curves pressed intimately against him. The overwhelming need that locked him in a vice.

  “We can even put pillows between us like a wall so I don’t cross the divide again.” Red crept into her cheeks. She was so beautiful, it took every ounce of restraint he possessed to resist kissing her. She mistook his hesitation.

  “I’m sorry. Forget I said anything. It’s not professional, I know. I shouldn’t have asked.”

  With the tip of a finger, he tilted her chin up. “I’ll stay.”

  “You don’t have to, I can—”

  He moved his finger to cover her lips. “I want to stay. I’d rather the others not know, so I’ll leave my things in my room, but I’ll come back to be with you at night.”

  Sky blue eyes blinked at him. “I don’t want to get you in trouble, you know, crossing some bodyguard-bodyguardee line.”

  He smiled and just because he couldn’t help himself, he touched his lips to hers. Mistake. Fireworks exploded. Danger. Danger. He needed to pull back. He’d meant to make it a platonic, reassuring peck. Instead, he was feasting on her like a starving man and she was manna. Her breathy moan buckled his knees. He slid his hands in her hair and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Her arms wrapped around him and he walked her backward, intending to take advantage of the huge bed.