Regrets swamped her. Her life could’ve been so different if she’d just had the courage to go after what she’d wanted.
“Good. I’m not about to rush anything. You and Mario need time, and I’m going to give that to you. But I hope you’ll let me be your friend while you’re figuring things out.”
“Of course,” Cassidy told him.
“Good. So . . . back to the safe room. If at any time you feel nervous or uneasy, you come here. I don’t care if it’s two in the morning—get your ass to Silverstone, and lock yourself in. You can call me on the phone from in here, and I’ll do what I can to check things out. But honestly, you don’t even need a reason to come here. Bull and the others have told me that sometimes their wives have panic attacks because of what they’ve been through.”
Cassidy nodded. She’d also been informed by the men about the complicated backgrounds of their wives. How Skylar had gotten herself kidnapped by a pedophile who had actually been interested in little Sandra. That Taylor had been targeted by a serial killer who’d stalked and tormented her for months. And how Molly’s ex had stalked her, shot her, and then left her for dead. Cassidy had been intimidated to meet them, but she also felt a kinship with the women. They knew what it was like to feel helpless. To feel as if they had no control over their lives.
“Thank you,” she told Leo. “Those words seem so inadequate for what I’m feeling, though.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t find you faster,” Leo told her.
Cassidy moved without thought, putting her arms around him and laying her head on his chest. He embraced her back, and she sighed in contentment. As she stood in the middle of his safe room, it felt as if she were in a bubble. Michael was dead. Lloyd couldn’t get to her. Martin wouldn’t touch her son again and wouldn’t send him out into the dangerous parts of Kingston to deliver drugs. They could both relax. Let down their guards.
She still had a lot of shit to figure out, but she knew she wouldn’t be here now if it hadn’t been for Leo and his friends.
He didn’t have to share the safe room with her, but she couldn’t deny that she felt better knowing she had somewhere to lock herself and Mario down, just in case. Intellectually, she knew she was thousands of miles away from Jamaica, but frequently in the last couple of days, her heart had thumped in fear at the thought of what she’d escaped.
Several moments later, Leo pulled back, and Cassidy let him go. “Come on. Let’s go check on Mario. Sandra can be pretty bossy sometimes—and you have to try Archer’s mac and cheese.”
“Is his chicken and dumplings as good as Sandra claimed?” she asked.
“Better,” Leo said with a smile.
The safe room door closed heavily behind them as they walked toward the stairs. Cassidy had to smile again at the over-the-top games in the basement. Leo and his friends had gone overboard, but it was obvious they had the utmost respect for their employees. Silverstone Towing was an unusual place; she loved that everyone and their families were invited to hang out even when they weren’t on duty. They’d created a community, and it was hard for her to believe that she and Mario had been invited into the fold.
As she followed Leo up the stairs, she couldn’t help letting her gaze wander over the man . . . stopping to check out his ass. Now that she was out of Jamaica, she could think of something other than keeping her son safe. Leo was a hell of a good-looking man. He might be forty-five, but he could give many twentysomethings a run for their money.
As her libido flickered back to life, Cassidy smiled. The world truly was a strange place. She’d been rescued from a situation most couldn’t fathom, only to come full circle, back to crushing on Leo Zanardi like she had when she was a freshman. Even more amazing, he still seemed to be everything she’d ever wanted in a man. Protective, alpha, good with children, and a good friend.
She had no idea where this new phase of her life would lead, but she could only hope Leo would be involved. If she couldn’t have him as her lover, she’d take having him as a friend, because she could no longer seem to imagine her life without him in it.
Chapter Ten
Cassidy took a deep breath. A week had passed since she’d returned to the States, and it was past time she called her parents. She didn’t know why she’d been putting it off. She supposed it was because she had no idea how she was going to explain the last five years. She was so ashamed of what she’d done, of the situation she’d gotten herself and Mario into. And she knew her parents, her mom especially, would feel horrible that they hadn’t been able to help her.
She’d been forced to lie to them over and over. Whenever Lloyd had allowed her to call home, he’d listened closely. Standing over her as a physical reminder that she couldn’t tell them her true situation.
Mario was currently over at Tiana’s apartment. She’d offered to take him for a while so Cassidy could make the call in private. She wanted Mario to get to know his grandparents, but this first phone call was going to be tough, and he didn’t need to be there for it. There would be time for him to talk to them later.
Taking a deep breath, Cassidy dialed her parents’ number.
The phone rang once. Then twice. And just when she thought she’d get a reprieve, her mom answered after the third ring.
“Hello?”
Cassidy’s voice got caught in her throat at the sound of her mom’s voice. She’d stopped asking to call her parents because it had simply been too painful, and hearing her mom’s voice after so long was terribly emotional.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
Cassidy heard her dad in the background asking, “Who is it, Alice?”
“I don’t know. No one seems to be there,” her mom said.
“Mom?” Cassidy whispered, forcing herself to speak.
“Cassidy?” her mom asked, the shock clear in her tone. “Is it you?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” Cassidy said.
“Oh, Julio, it’s Cassidy!” her mom called. “Oh my goodness, it’s so good to hear from you. It’s been so long!”
“I know, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m just glad you called. How are you? How’re things in Jamaica?”
Taking a deep breath, Cassidy said, “We have a lot to talk about.”
“Oh . . . I know that tone,” Alice said. “Something’s wrong.”
“Well, it was, but now it’s okay,” Cassidy told her mom honestly.
“Okay, sweetie. I’m sitting, and I put the phone on speaker so your dad can hear too. Lay it on us.”
So she did.
Cassidy told her parents everything. They already knew she’d left Texas to get away from her ex and the stifling atmosphere of El Paso. They knew she’d taken a job as a nanny and teacher for a rich Jamaican, but that was as far as the truth went. She told them how Michael had turned out to be a drug dealer, and how she and Mario had been prisoners in his mansion. She told them how every time she’d called before, everything she’d said had been monitored. She even told them how she’d sent letters to the FBI to try to get help.
“I can’t believe it,” her mom whispered, not for the first time during Cassidy’s explanation. “But you’re all right? Truly okay?”