Terrified, she had no idea what to do. Where to go. Her first thought was to call Leo, to tell him what had happened, to ask for his help. He’d know what to do. And as weak as it made her feel, she knew he’d keep her and Mario safe.
She’d just touched the screen on her phone to bring up her contact list when a loud boom sounded from somewhere outside.
Freezing, Cassidy instinctively knew time had already run out. Lloyd was here. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did . . . probably the same way she suspected it was most likely Martin with him, another of Michael’s most vicious guards.
She had no doubt whatsoever they’d kill everyone around her. Just because they could, to make her suffer, and to show the world that no one messed with their organization.
A small whimper escaped before she could swallow it down.
“What was that?” Molly asked, sitting up on the couch.
Skylar clicked off the TV, and all four women listened intently.
They heard noise over their heads from the first floor, then footsteps rushing down the stairs. Holding her breath and praying she wouldn’t see Lloyd appear in the stairwell, Cassidy sighed in relief when she saw Archer and Mario, Bart close on their heels.
But her relief didn’t last long.
“Into the safe room,” Bart barked. “Now!”
Feeling as if she was trying to swim through quicksand, Cassidy watched with wide eyes as Archer helped Molly up from the couch and the other two women stood. Bart herded them toward the room at the end of the short hallway.
Mario rushed over and took hold of her hand. “Come on, Mom!” he said, tugging at her. “Bart said someone just rammed through the east side of the fence. He saw it on the security cameras! They didn’t come through the front ’cause the gate’s fortified and they wouldn’t be able to get through. He said we have to hide!”
Her son’s terrified voice forced Cassidy out of the weird trance she’d been in.
She knew what she had to do.
She wouldn’t let Mario suffer, or any of her new friends, because of a bad decision she’d made years ago. If Lloyd got his hands on her, he’d leave everyone else alone. She believed that down to her bones. Once they had her in their grasp, they’d take her and go. Mario would be safe.
Looking down at the best thing she’d ever done in her life, she nodded.
“Is it them?” Mario asked.
There was no way Cassidy was going to tell her son that his worst nightmare was coming true. “I don’t know who it is, but just to be safe, we need to stay put until Leo can come. Promise me you’ll do everything Bart and the others tell you to, okay?”
“Okay, Mama,” Mario agreed.
Inside, Cassidy was dying, but outwardly, she stayed as calm as she could. As she hurried toward the safe room with the others, she shoved her phone in her pocket. Bart gestured for Skylar to use her fingerprint to open the door. The Silverstone Towing employees might not know what their bosses did on their semifrequent “business trips,” but they all knew that besides the owners, their wives were the only ones with access to this room.
The door clicked open. Cassidy tried to maneuver herself so she was at the end of the line, but Bart was standing outside the door, obviously making sure everyone was inside before he entered.
Once inside, Cassidy squeezed Mario’s shoulder. She wanted to hug him tightly one last time, but didn’t want anyone to get suspicious of what she was about to do.
Her heart breaking, Cassidy moved quickly.
Archer was busy helping Molly get comfortable, and Bart was trying to calm the other women and answer their worried questions. With everyone distracted, Cassidy slipped out of the room and shut the door to the safe room. Turning to the keypad on the wall, she hit the emergency lockdown code that Leo had told her about.
She couldn’t hear anything from behind the steel door, but she could imagine how upset her son would be. Not to mention the others.
They wouldn’t understand. They’d tell her to get inside, to stay safe with them, but no one knew Lloyd and Martin like she did. They’d never stop. They’d hurt everyone she cared about until they found her. But if she gave herself up . . . if Lloyd killed her . . . there’d be no other reason for him to linger in the States. The others would be safe.
It was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make in order to prevent anyone else from getting hurt or killed.
If Leo was here, he might be able to help her, but he wasn’t. It was up to her to protect her son and friends. She’d told Leo that no one would ever come before Mario again, and now was the time to prove it.
Turning and heading for the stairs, she ran up them two at a time. She had no idea where Lloyd might be, and the last thing she wanted was for him to set the building on fire or something. She wouldn’t put it past him. Thinking of her friends burning to death inside the building was horrifying. More terrifying than anything Lloyd might do to her.
The garage was eerily silent. She couldn’t hear anything going on outside. She was tempted to go into the dispatch room and look at the cameras, but she doubted she had the luxury of time. Taking a deep breath, Cassidy paused at the back door. She calmly reached for the name tag on her shirt and took it off, then placed it back on the magnetic board. She felt as if she were outside her body, hovering, watching from above.
She felt numb.
But if sacrificing herself would save Mario, and baby Kevin, and Molly’s unborn child . . . then she’d do it. They didn’t deserve to die. Not because of her mistakes. No one did.
Glancing up at the camera she knew was pointed at the door, she mouthed I love you before reaching for the doorknob.
She quickly stepped outside and made sure she heard the lock engage before walking away from the door. She headed around the side of the building, looking for Lloyd.
She turned the next corner leading to the front of the building and almost ran smack dab into the man himself. He was surprised for just a second, then he grinned in triumph and grabbed her biceps so hard, Cassidy flinched. But it was just the beginning of the pain he was going to inflict. She knew it . . . and she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he was hurting her.
“Got ya, bitch!”
She’d never thought she’d hear his voice again, but he was truly here. In Indiana.
“Where’s the brat?”
Pressing her lips together, Cassidy decided she wasn’t going to say a word.
Lloyd stared at her, then turned her in his arms. “Martin, convince her to tell us where her son is.”
This wasn’t what she’d thought would happen when she gave herself up. They were supposed to grab her, stuff her in their car, and take off.
Before she could blink, a meaty fist was flying straight toward her face. Cassidy couldn’t even duck to avoid it because Lloyd was holding her too tightly. Pain bloomed in her cheek. The punch hurt bad. She’d been hit before, but for some reason, maybe because she’d known nothing but love since Leo had found her, this time the pain was so much deeper.
“Again,” Lloyd ordered.
“No—” Cassidy moaned, immediately forgetting her vow to keep quiet.
But Martin didn’t hesitate, using his other fist, his knuckles making contact with her opposite cheekbone. Now her entire face was throbbing.
“Where’s the brat?” Lloyd seethed, shaking her hard but not letting her fall to the ground.