Ignited Heat: An Age Gap, Friends to Lovers Romance (Heat Between the Sheets Book 2)

Chapter 8

It”s been a couple of weeks since we made love for the first time, and every time we’re together again, I fall just a little more for Cassandra Dalton. This feeling is terrifying because I know that deep down, I”m not good enough for her. When things end, my heart will be shattered, and I don”t know how I will deal with that other than retreating into myself the way I always have.

The bruises on Cassie”s body are finally fading, but until they”re totally gone, they”ll still make my blood boil. We”ve gotten a few tips about Solis”s whereabouts, but nothing has panned out. I won”t give up, though. This man needs to be neutralized; otherwise, Cassie will always be looking behind her.

I have a meeting right now with the Lee brothers to give them an update. I don”t really work for them, but they”re Cassie”s family, and I want them to be involved. It”s early afternoon, so the card room is available for us to meet. I go to the back of The Dragon”s Lair and knock softly on the door. Carlos opens it and smiles at me.

”Good to see you, man. Come on in.”

As soon as I enter, I see the Lee family sitting around a huge table in the back. Even Mama Lee is here, and a bit of apprehension runs through me. She”s a force of nature, and I think she suspects Cassie and I have been intimate. There”s a single chair empty at the table and I”m guessing that”s mine. I sit down and wait for them to get started.

”Jason, thank you for coming. What have you found out?” Mama Lee asks.

”He”s in hiding. He”s not using any of his credit cards or accessing his accounts. We found his phone destroyed and I”ve got surveillance on his family”s properties. I”m doing everything I can think of, but he”s being really smart or someone powerful is helping him.”

”He doesn”t have that much pull here in Miami,” Brandon adds.

”Why didn”t you have him followed after the first time he assaulted Cassie?” I say, looking him right in the eyes.

”Are you trying to pin this on me? I couldn”t have done that even if I had wanted to. I don”t have the resources you have.”

”There”s seven of you.”

The brothers all get up and start shouting at me with excuses and platitudes.

”This is your only sister. I think we all dropped the ball where she”s concerned.”

Mama Lee tells them to sit down, and they reluctantly do so.

”When are you bringing Cassie home, Jason?”

”When she feels safe. You”ll have to talk to her about that.”

”She can”t hide away forever.” Papa Lee says.

”She”s still healing physically and emotionally.”

”The nightmares?” Mama Lee asks.

”Have lessened in intensity, but they”re still there. She”s very brave.”

”Do you have a plan? Something we can do to get this threat out of the way?” Papa Lee asks.

”We need to have patience. I know it”s a lot to ask, but I”m certain the surveillance of his family will turn something up.” I hesitate. ”Mama Lee, maybe it”s time for another sleepover? She needs someone to talk to. I”m not really good in that department.”

”I”ll do that, Jason. Thank you.”

I get up, and the brothers all rise at the same time. I wonder if I”ll have to fight them. The odds are on my side anyway. I”ve studied them since working at Midnight Heat and can take them. Unless they fight dirty and pin me down, but besides their stubbornness, they are good men. Looking at their faces, I see some are mad, others are worried, and others are resigned to the situation. I nod at them and take off, giving my back to them so they know I”m not afraid.

Getting to Cassie is my priority right now. The road to my safe house seems longer today, but the wind in my face and the rush of riding my bike are enough to keep me from getting desperate. Talking about her situation without her present seems wrong, but the family needs to be included. I”ll tell her everything we said and urge her to consider going back home.

It”s not that I don”t want her here, but I think her emotional healing will be faster if she has someone like her mother to talk to. Or have her attend the counseling they suggested, which she has refused so far. But I don”t dare mention that to her. Not right now. I”m close to the property, and everything looks good. As I park in the driveway, Cassie comes out to greet me.

”Hey, I”m glad you”re back.”

”Are you okay? Do you need something?”

”Nothing like that. I just missed you.”

She comes to me and gives me a hug and a kiss. Her smile is enchanting, and I know she”s in one of her ”talking” moods. The closer we grow, the freer she is to express herself with me, and that”s intoxicating. She trusts me with everything she is. These days, I find myself examining all the things she makes me feel. I”ve never had these feelings for anyone. There”s a war in my head about whether I deserve her at all.

Inside the house, I take off my jacket and hang it on the coat rack by the door. I lock the gun I”m carrying in a safe that”s in my room and come back to talk to Cassie.

”I met with your family just now.”

”Oh, oh. What did they say?”

”They want you to be safe.”

”It didn”t get violent, did it?”

”You know your brothers too well. But no. Some of them were upset that I haven”t found Solis, but they”re handling it. Your mother is coming for a visit, though.”

”Yeah, she texted me.”

”I think it will do you good to spend some time with her.”

”So she can convince me to go home?”

”She told you about that?”

”She doesn”t have to. I know my mother.”

I approach her and take her good hand in mine. It”s small in comparison to my hands and so soft. You”d think she doesn”t work hard, but she does. Carlos told me how she”s always been there for her family, helping as soon as she was allowed to in her teens. I bring her hand to my mouth so I can place a kiss on her palm. She shivers in response.

”More than anything, I want you safe. But part of the healing process involves talking to others about what you went through.”

She pulls me to her and burrows against my chest.

”I”m not sure my parents are going to like you staying with me under their roof.”

I tense at her words.

”What do you mean?”

”I mean, you go where I go. I”m not separating from you ever again.”

”I won”t be able to be with you all day, every day. I”ve got work, and so do you.”

”But at night. You make me feel safe. What if he comes after me again? He”ll kill me this time.”

”That”s why we”re doing the shooting practice, and soon, we”ll start self-defense classes that will help you feel more confident.”

”Do you want me to go back to my parents?”

”I want you to do what is best for you. When you”re ready, you”ll know.”

I feel the tension run out of her body in a rush and I suspect the worse.

”I”m not trying to get rid of you, Cassie.”

”Sure feels like it.”

”I care about you. I worry about you. I…”

I can”t say the words. It”s too soon, and it”s too much. I move us to the couch, and we lie down together. Having her body pressed against me reassures me that she”s there and that I”m keeping her safe. A part of me is scared of her going back as well. I couldn”t protect her back then. How am I going to do it now?

If I could just find that bastard Solis, I could bring him to the authorities so he can go to trial and be convicted. I can feel the moment Cassie drifts off to sleep in my arms. Her body relaxes, and her breathing evens out. I feel like I”m between a rock and a hard place with her and her family. I decide to rest my eyes for a few minutes before contacting my team for an update.

Wouldn”t it be wonderful if life was this simple and perfect? Just the two of us, isolated in our own little bubble where nothing and no one can hurt us. But that”s never been the life for me. It”s always been hard decisions and unbearable consequences. All I know right now is that if I”m going to join Cassie”s life to mine, I have to close some doors from the past. That way, going forward, we can build a future together.