And just like that, Cassidy knew she’d made the wrong decision . . . again.
She’d thought she was protecting her son and her friends, but instead of being satisfied to have her at his mercy, Lloyd sounded almost desperate to find Mario.
“You’ll never find him,” she said, knowing her bravado was ruined by the quake in her voice.
“Wrong. I’m not only going to find him, I’m gonna make him watch as I fuck you,” Lloyd spat. “The boy needs to see firsthand what it’s like to be a real man. Then he’ll watch as Martin fucks you . . . and the last thing you’ll ever see is your precious boy getting beaten to within an inch of his fucking life! But we won’t kill him. Oh no. We’ve got other plans for Mario. You’ll die knowing he’s ours now. I’m gonna make him the fiercest and most ruthless enforcer the organization’s ever seen. He’s gonna sell drugs to kids. Gonna kill people . . . and like it. He’s mine.”
Cassidy whimpered in horror. She didn’t fear for herself. She’d known when she’d walked outside that Lloyd would violate and kill her. She was ready to suffer that, if only to keep her son safe. No. She feared for Mario. Knew Lloyd would do exactly what he threatened if he got his hands on him.
Deep within, her resolve firmed. Lloyd couldn’t do anything to Mario if he couldn’t find him. Leo would keep her son safe after her death. He and his friends would track down Lloyd and Martin and kill them. They wouldn’t stop until every threat to Mario was dead.
She’d die knowing Leo would do whatever it took to keep Mario safe.
One of Lloyd’s hands ran down her arm before caressing her ass suggestively. “Gonna love taking you back here,” he said almost conversationally.
Cassidy stiffened when he discovered her cell phone in her back pocket. He pulled it out and laughed. “Don’t want you using this,” he said, dropping the phone to the dirt and stomping on it as hard as he could.
Cassidy had been harboring the tiniest shred of hope that maybe Leo and his friends could track her using her cell phone signal. Or that she’d even find a chance to call him. But she realized how stupid that hope was now. That only happened in movies and the romance books she’d been reading lately.
“When do I get my shot at her?” Martin asked.
“When I fucking say you can,” Lloyd fired back. “Asshole.”
The last word was said under his breath, but Cassidy heard it.
Maybe . . . she could use Lloyd’s obvious irritation with Martin against him. She had no idea how, but if they were fighting each other, maybe they’d take their attention off her and she could somehow escape.
As terrified as she was, Cassidy tried to put on a brave face. Her chin came up, and she did her best to meet Martin’s gaze. She wasn’t surprised to see him here with Lloyd. She’d immediately suspected he was the other man who’d broken into her parents’ house. Probably the one who’d killed Alfred. Martin wasn’t the smartest man, but he was loyal. He did whatever Lloyd asked, without question.
Martin grinned then. A smile so evil, Cassidy immediately broke out in goose bumps. He cracked his knuckles—then stilled when a familiar sound wailed in the distance.
Sirens.
Thank God.
“Shit!” Lloyd swore, spinning her so quickly, she would’ve gone flying if he wasn’t holding her arm. He started walking fast. Cassidy had to jog to keep from being dragged along the ground.
“What about the boy?” Martin asked.
“No time,” Lloyd bit out. “The cops are on their way. We’ll snatch him later.”
Cassidy didn’t know if the police were coming. It could just be an officer on his way to some other call or trying to pull someone over, but she kept her mouth shut. If it got Lloyd to leave, keeping her son and the others safe, she was all for it.
Martin jogged ahead and got behind the wheel of the four-door sedan. The front grille was completely smashed in, probably from slamming through the fence surrounding the property. Lloyd pushed her into the front seat, smushing her between his body and Martin’s as he squeezed in next to her.
“Go, go, go!” Lloyd yelled.
Cassidy closed her eyes in terror as the car shot forward. The fog was still heavy, and she couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of them, but Martin didn’t seem to care. He slammed his foot on the gas and turned, careening toward the front gate. The gates began to roll open as the car approached, and they’d barely cleared them before Martin floored it, the car bouncing over the gravel road that led away from Silverstone Towing.
She felt Lloyd’s hand squeezing her thigh, and Cassidy kept both her eyes and her legs tightly shut. She had no idea what was going to happen next, but she could only pray Lloyd killed her quickly.
Chapter Eighteen
Gramps was standing off to the side scowling when his phone rang.
Smoke, Eagle, and Bull were talking to the guys from Fallport Search and Rescue, and they were all still waiting for someone, anyone, to utilize them. He was frustrated at how unorganized things were at the accident scene.
“Gramps,” he said brusquely into the phone.
“It’s Bart. The shit’s hit the fan here.”
Gramps immediately straightened. The normally unflappable man was definitely not happy about something. His words were shaky, and he was breathing way too loud and fast. “What’s wrong?” Gramps asked, gesturing to his friends.
As Bull, Smoke, and Eagle came toward him, he listened as Bart did his best to explain why he was calling.
“Some crazy asshole drove right through the fence on the east side of the property. He didn’t even slow down. I didn’t stick around in dispatch, just headed down to the safe room. Got the women and kids in there, and Archer. I figured whatever was going on wasn’t good and it was better to be safe than sorry. Skylar opened it, and we all got inside, but I was distracted, and . . . Cassidy left. The next thing I knew, the door latched, and she just wasn’t there. I tried to open the door, but it won’t budge. Molly said Cassidy must’ve hit the override code. We can’t get out, boss.”
Gramps’s stomach knotted. “Did you get the computers up and running in there to see what’s going on?” he asked.
“Yeah. It took a couple of minutes, and by the time I logged in and pulled up the cameras, Cass was nowhere to be seen. And whoever it was who came through the fence was gone too. I can’t figure out how to access the tapes from in here, though. I can only see the live feeds. I’m sorry,” Bart said. “I did call the cops.”
“Is everyone else all right?” he asked.
“Yeah. Mario is freaked, but he’s hanging in there.”
“And the women?”
“They’re good,” Bart said.
“Okay.” He gave Bart instructions to override the emergency code that Cassidy had entered, effectively locking everyone inside the safe room. “But don’t leave yet. I’m going to review the tapes with the guys. If this is an ambush, you’re safer right where you are.”
“You know who did this?” Bart asked.
“No,” Gramps said grimly. “But I’ve got a pretty good guess. Put Mario on.”
Gramps knew he should hang up. He had to check the security video and see what the hell was going on, but he needed to reassure Mario first.