Serve ‘N’ Protect by Tee O’Fallon
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Is it in your car?” He hitched his head to the door.
How to answer him? She didn’t know what response wouldn’t get her dead in two seconds or endanger someone she loved.
Cassidy let her head fall back onto the edge of the sofa where he’d unceremoniously dumped her a minute ago. No, the laptop wasn’t in her car, but if she said it was, could he possibly be dumb enough to leave her alone in the house while he went out and searched for it? Or was he dumb enough to take her with him, possibly giving her the opportunity to yell and scream at the top of her lungs then make a break for it? Not that she could run very fast. Or that anyone would hear her in the sparsely populated area.
Stupid was not a word she’d use to ever describe this guy, so the answer to both her questions was a resounding no.
“Well?” He took a step closer, raising his arm as if to hit her again.
Though he didn’t, she flinched anyway. One side of her face still stung and throbbed from the first time he’d hit her, and that had been in the exact same place the burglar had punched her. “Yes,” she lied, hoping she sounded convincing.
“We’ll see about that.” Keeping one eye on her and still aiming the gun in her direction, he went to the contents of her overturned purse and snagged her car keys. “If you’re lying, I’m going to be really pissed off.”
Her heart raced with anticipation as he went to the window again and pulled the curtain aside. Just when she thought he would actually be careless enough to leave her unattended while he went to her car, he stuffed the gun back into his belt and pulled out two sets of plastic zip ties and a small roll of duct tape.
The groan she made was audible. The tape was no doubt for her mouth so she wouldn’t be able to scream, the ties for her hands and feet. So much for screaming or a quick exit out the back door. Not unless she could hop like a bunny.
Outside, an engine slowed. The guy whipped his head around. Headlights flickered next door as a vehicle pulled into John’s driveway.
He flicked off the overhead light, plunging the room into near-darkness. “Don’t say a word,” he growled in a deadly voice. “Not one fucking word.”
Cassidy’s heart raced with hope and fear. John wasn’t supposed to be home for at least another month. He usually came over to check on her and say hello when he got back from his trips. Even though the lights were out, she worried he’d come over anyway and walk right into a hailstorm of bullets.
A car door slammed.
“Shit,” he muttered then hauled her off the sofa and dragged her to a corner of the room next to the hall closet. Along the way, she nearly tripped over her cane. His strong arm came across her chest then covered her mouth with his hand. The tip of his gun pressed firmly against her temple. “Keep quiet, or die now.”
With his hand over her mouth and part of her nose, she could barely draw in a breath. Her heart pounded faster. The only reason she wasn’t dead already was because he needed her laptop.
Footsteps sounded on her front porch, then someone knocked. A few seconds later, the knocking came louder.
“Cassidy, are you in there?”
She tensed. Markus. What was he doing here?
The outer door opened then the latch jiggled.
“Cassidy?”
The hand over her mouth tightened. Hot breath washed over her ear. “Not. A. Word.”
Ghost’s claws clicked on the porch. Her breath quickened as a shadow passed in front of the window on the other side of the door. A flashlight shined through the window, sweeping the inside of the living room in an eerie glow.
The guy hauled her backward, tighter against his chest and deeper into the shielded area where the light wouldn’t hit them.
Please, please go away. Had she ever given Markus a key? She didn’t think so. The last thing she wanted was for him to bust through the door and get blown away. He might not love her, but she would always love him. Right up until the moment she took her last breath.
Which, sadly, could be very soon.
The light shining through the window went out. Booted feet sounded on the steps as Markus left. Cassidy let out a silent sigh of relief, tensing again moments later when the back doorknob in the kitchen jiggled.
That door was definitely locked, too, and with a brand-new deadbolt the security company had installed.
The jiggling stopped, and the only sound she heard was her own labored breathing as she struggled to draw in air through her nose.
Outside, the faint sound of a vehicle’s door opening came to her ears, followed by the same door shutting. Markus was leaving. Her gut clenched as she struggled not to cry. As much as she wanted him to come back, it was better this way. Watching him die trying to save her would kill her.
She listened to Markus back out of the driveway and drive off. So much relief coursed through her, she sagged like a rag doll against the hard body behind her.
Markus was safe.
And now I’m truly alone.
…
Markus drove off, not in the direction he’d come but down Chesapeake Bay Retriever Lane, taking the bend in the road faster than he should before pulling over and parking out of sight from Cassidy’s house.
She was in there. He was sure of it.
Not only was her car sitting in the driveway, but there’d been a light on in the house and as he’d pulled up, the light had gone out.
Since she’d been staying with her parents, she could have attached a timer to one of the table lamps to give the impression the house was occupied, but he didn’t think so. The light he’d seen go out was the one on the ceiling right in front of the door. No way to stick a timer up there.
He hadn’t seen another vehicle nearby that he wasn’t familiar with, and he’d mentally tagged every neighbor’s car. Still, there could be a small army inside Cassidy’s house, and given the fact that someone had tried to kill her…
Having Kade and Matt with him on this would have been ideal, but they were both working a night shift two hours away.
He called the number for Dwayne Chang, the state police detective working Cassidy’s case. The call went directly to voicemail. When the recording said, “If this is an emergency, dial 0 now,” he did, clenching his free hand into a fist as he waited impatiently for the dispatcher to pick up.
“State police,” a curt woman answered.
“This is Sergeant Markus York with the U.S. Secret Service,” he began, then quickly related his situation, along with his request for immediate backup, and made sure the dispatcher understood Cassidy was the victim in an ongoing attempted murder investigation.
“Stand by,” she said in an emotionless voice.
With every second that ticked by, his blood pumped faster and with enough fury to light a rocket ship. Cassidy’s life could very well be on the line, and she wanted him to stand by? Not a chance in hell.
With the phone held to one ear, he shut off the engine, getting out and opening the rear door for Ghost. His dog leaped onto the pavement, his white coat evidencing exactly why he’d been given that name. With the sky dark and no moon visible, he looked exactly like a ghostly specter in what dim, ambient light there was.
“I’m sorry, sergeant,” the dispatcher said. “There’s a fatal wreck on the highway in the next town over. All units are tied up. I’ve relayed your message to Detective Chang, along with any available cars in all surrounding towns. I should get a response any minute now.”
Shit. “Just tell them to get here fast.” He stuffed the phone in his jacket pocket then went to the back of the SUV and opened up the tailgate. He pressed his fingers into the finger-sized indentations on the small safe bolted to the floor, holding them there until the door clicked open. He pulled out his Glock and two fully loaded magazines, shoving one of the mags into his rear pocket and slamming the other into the gun and racking in a round.
Ghost’s body vibrated as he waited for the command Markus was about to give. “Let’s go get our girl.”
They hit the pavement at a dead run.
Markus pounded over the asphalt until his lungs burned. Every second counted. Every second could mean Cassidy’s life.
Ghost ran ahead, constantly looking back at Markus to make sure he was still with him. Fuck, he was out of shape.
At the curb in front of the house, he stopped to slow his breathing and tug the gun from his belt. Ghost panted beside him, his front paws dancing on the grass. “Easy, boy.” They crept onto the lawn. At the base of the porch steps, he held up his hand, signaling for Ghost to stay. His dog wasn’t happy about that, but those thick nails would make too much noise on the wood porch.
He had no idea what the situation was inside the house. The only thing he was sure of was that the woman he loved needed him. A warrior who is prepared to fight must also be prepared to die. He was ready to fight to his last breath.
The light inside remained off, but he glimpsed a large shadow passing in front of the window, one way too big to be Cassidy’s slim frame. Dammit. Still no troops. He had no backup, but what he did have was the element of surprise.
Even a combat-trained soldier needed time to register a threat, send a signal to his or her brain, then react to it. Blasting his way in there without knowing Cassidy’s location wasn’t a risk he was willing to take. Whatever he did next had to be quick, and it had to be decisive.
Think, dammit. Think!
He looked around, peering through the darkness. There, at the bottom of the stairs, was exactly what he was looking for. He stuffed his gun back into his belt then grabbed it and crept onto the porch. Right before he swung, he signaled for Ghost.