Mario wasn’t happy about Leo touching her so much, but he was also smart enough to keep his complaints to himself. When she’d told Mario she trusted Gramps . . . he knew it was a huge deal. They’d had a long conversation about a year and a half ago in which they’d agreed they couldn’t trust anyone in this house. No one.
But if they ever found someone they could trust, Cassidy would ask him, or her, to help them escape.
She wasn’t sure Mario had remembered the conversation until earlier, when she’d told him she trusted Leo. She wanted to sit down and tell her son everything Leo had told her, that he was working undercover, but she also didn’t want to do anything that might put Leo in danger. If someone suspected everything wasn’t as it seemed, they might interrogate Mario. If the boy didn’t know anything, he couldn’t spill any secrets.
As soon as they were safe, though, she’d tell him everything. Mario deserved that. He was living in the same hell she was. Suffering just the same as she was. Probably more.
“Mario, I want you to go over there, pick up that stick, and start playing with it,” Leo said in a soft but firm tone.
“Play with it how?” Mario asked.
Cassidy winced. She hated that her kid didn’t even know how to play like other kids his age.
“Bang it against stuff. See if you can break it by hitting it against a tree. Draw circles in the dirt. See if you can touch the top of the wall with it if you jump,” Leo suggested.
“You want me to be a decoy while you guys talk, don’t you?” Mario asked.
“Knew you were smart. Yes, that’s what I want,” Leo said.
Mario and Leo stared at each other for a long moment before her son finally nodded and went to pick up the good-sized stick.
Leo turned her so she could still see Mario, but he didn’t shift her away from him in the process. They were still plastered together, and Cassidy couldn’t remember when she’d liked something more. “Talk to me about the security out here,” Leo said to her quietly.
His words brought home the fact that this wasn’t a date. They weren’t enjoying a day out watching her son play. Leo was undercover in a drug dealer’s home, and one wrong move could get all of them killed.
“As far as I know, Lloyd’s people patrol the grounds twenty-four hours a day. Once I came out here around three in the morning, because I wanted to see if I might be able to sneak out, and was stopped by one of the guards. He wanted to know what I was doing. I claimed I simply couldn’t sleep and wanted some fresh air. I don’t know if he bought it or not, but I found out what I needed to know . . . that I wasn’t going to be able to sneak out in the middle of the night.”
“What kind of weapons do they carry?”
“I don’t know what kind of guns they are, but everyone has a rifle. And they’ve got knives strapped to their legs. I even saw a pistol in a holster on Martin’s hip once.”
“Do the employees in the house do drugs?” Leo asked.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen anyone actually shooting up or snorting cocaine, but that doesn’t mean they don’t do it. I do my best to stay away from everyone as much as possible. Every now and then, Michael parades me in front of guests, like he did last night with you, but every other time I’ve been allowed to go back to my room. I’m followed like I’m a thief, and if I step out of line even a little bit, I’m reprimanded, and they threaten to take Mario away from me. I . . . I told the FBI all of this in the letters I wrote. Didn’t you read them?”
“I did,” Leo said. “But I wasn’t sure if anything had changed since you wrote the letters. And I have to say . . . I’m kinda pissed at you about those.”
“About what? The letters?” Cassidy asked.
“Yeah. It was dangerous as fuck to write that shit down. What if someone had found one? Intercepted you when you went to mail it? These aren’t men to fuck with, Cass. Believe me when I say they have no problem killing you or Mario. They won’t hesitate. As long as you’re useful to them, they’ll keep you around, but the second they find out you’re narcing on them, you’re as good as dead.”
Cassidy stiffened in his hold. “What was I supposed to do? I know better than you what everyone around here is capable of.”
“No, you don’t,” he said, his tone hard and steely.
“Yes, I do,” she insisted. “I’m the one living it. I’m the one who sees what Coke really is. He stole my passport. He’s keeping me hostage. He shot one of the guards right in front of me! What do you know about that kind of evil?”
Leo brought one hand up, grabbing hold of her chin to lift it so she had no choice but to look him in the eyes. His hold was firm but not painful. “I know too much about evil, Cass . . . but you’re right. You know a lot more about this particular evil than I do because you’ve lived with it for years. I just hate the risk you took, even though I know it brought me to you.”
Cassidy shivered at the helplessness and anger she saw in Leo’s eyes. It struck her then that she had no idea what he did for a living. She knew he’d gotten out of the Army—that was one of the last things her parents had heard and passed on to her. She hadn’t even questioned what he was doing in Jamaica and how he was going to rescue her. She’d been too relieved to see him, to know that her letters to the FBI had reached someone who was willing to help.
“I’m sorry too,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to be a bitch.”
“Fuck,” Leo breathed and closed his eyes. He didn’t take his hand from her chin, and Cassidy waited for him to look at her once more. He opened his eyes and said, “You weren’t being a bitch. I was out of line.”
“I was desperate,” Cassidy said softly. “I knew writing everything down was dangerous, but I’m not an idiot. I know my time as a teacher is coming to an end. It’s obvious, since Michael hasn’t brought any additional children into the house. I’m only allowed to teach them in the mornings, then one of the security guys comes and takes them away. I know they’re being groomed to work for Michael’s organization. It was one of the main reasons I reached out. To try to save Mario.”
“Sending those letters was brave as fuck, despite the risk. I know you did what you had to do.”
“Watch this!” Mario shouted from nearby.
Cassidy turned her head after Leo let go of her and watched as her son jumped as high as he could and knocked his stick against a branch high above his head. “Good job, Mario!” she told him.
“Look at me, Cassidy,” Leo ordered.
As if drawn by a magnet, Cassidy turned to meet Leo’s gaze.
“We have a lot to talk about, but now’s not the time. You can trust me, just as you told Mario. My team and I will get you both out of here, no matter how many guards there are or how many weapons they have.”
“How?” she whispered.
Instead of answering, Leo shifted a hand beneath her shirt so his warm palm rested on the bare skin of her lower back. He dropped his head and kissed her at the same time, making Cassidy moan low in her throat.
Leo Zanardi was her weakness, and it was as if he knew it, taking advantage of their electric chemistry to avoid answering her questions.