Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
C assidy flicked her wrist. The knife dropped into her hand as she spun in a tight circle letting loose with a hail of gunfire from the gun she was already holding. She shot with her right and threw the knives with her left.
She felt the bullets hitting her and stumbled forward under the almost overwhelming impact. She dropped to one knee refusing to give up the fight. She couldn’t have her mother finding out she died in a seedy alley in Crusina. Uncle Cy would dig her back up and kill her again if she didn’t take as many of these bastards down with her as she could.
The bullets hurt as they hit her body. She counted two so far that stole her breath. Cassidy fought the panic as she continued to spin on her knee, the broken concrete sending shooting pain into her kneecap and ripping her skin open. Only...
Cassidy stopped. Everyone was dead except for the man who had talked to her. He was nowhere to be seen. But she knew she didn’t kill them all herself. Then, with a slight movement in the shadows above her, Cassidy saw him. A man in black stood up from the shadows of the rooftop. He casually leaped from the roof onto the top of a dumpster and then onto the ground.
He wore black cargo pants, a long-sleeved black athletic shirt, and a black military mask that pulled over his head and only exposed his eyes and the top part of his nose before tapering closed at his temples.
“You!” Cassidy yelled and the bastard winked at her before running down the alley toward the main streets. “Wait!” Cassidy took off after him. It hurt to take deep breaths after taking a bullet or two to the bulletproof clothing she was wearing, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to lose him this time.
He smirked when Cassidy gave chase. He’d known she would. She was too curious not to come after him. He darted through another alley, ducking into the deep shadows of an enclave that had a small hidden path between buildings off to the side of where he stopped. The way the buildings stayed close together and the angle of the morning sun made him slightly hidden.
His heart was racing more than when he helped take out the men shooting at her. Today he’d come face to face with her. The woman he respected and slowly fell in love with as he investigated her.
Cassidy raced by and he stepped out into the alley. “Looking for me, Cassidy?” he asked, keeping his voice low and calm so as not to scare her.
Cassidy spun around, aiming a gun at him. Not unexpected. However, he didn’t aim at her. He knew enough about her to know she wouldn’t shoot him. She had too many questions only he had the answers to.
“You’re real.”
“In the flesh.”
“You’re almost as sneaky as Ahmed.”
“Ahmed is a grandpa. Sure, he was a good soldier in the day, but I’m the new generation.”
Cassidy chuckled and that worried him.
She kept steady as she held the gun on him. “I thought I was making you up. I would see flashes of you in the shadows. But when I looked again, no one was there. Who are you?”
“Just a man, standing in the shadows, shooting men to protect a woman.”
Cassidy raised an eyebrow. “I’m not helpless. I didn’t ask for your help. However, I’m also smart enough to know when I need it. So, thank you for helping me.”
“I know you’re not helpless. You bite your lip in the most adorable way when someone suggests you are.”
Her eyes blinked as if she were realizing how much he knew about her. Damn, this was fun. It almost made him forget all about revenge.
“So, you like watching. Are you man enough to do something more than watch?”
The lines between threats and flirting were blurred, and he loved every second of it. “Is that an invitation, sweetheart?”
Her eyes narrowed with annoyance, yet her nostrils flared with interest. He knew what he was doing. Cassidy needed a man to challenge her, not the men like Deming who hovered around her, hoping to get her attention. Cassidy needed a partner. An equal. She needed him. She just didn’t know it yet.
“Anytime, anyplace, babe ,” Cassidy said with a smirk.
He took a step forward until the gun was pressed to his chest. Cassidy didn’t back down as he stared down at her. Under the mask he was smiling. Under the barrel of the gun, his heart was racing, and not from fear. She smelled like gardenias and gunpowder. He’d never been so turned on. He stepped a little closer and she slowly lowered the gun as he raised his knit mask enough for her to see his smirk. He knew she was smart. She knew he was no longer a threat to her.
“I’m glad you’re so eager to see me again, sweetheart.” He couldn’t stop himself if he wanted to, and he definitely didn’t want to. He reached out and gripped her hips, pulling Cassidy to his chest. He loved the way she somehow hid her surprise at his move. She was such a small thing. The top of her head barely reached the middle of his chest, but she didn’t back down. She looked up at him with those big blue eyes of hers, taking in every detail she could. “Just so you know, the feeling is mutual.”
Then he kissed her. He hadn’t meant to, but the second he had her in his arms looking up at him, there was no stopping it. It wasn’t sweet either. It wasn’t a kind, slow, testing kiss. It was years of pent-up feelings for the woman now in his arms. He’d seen the other men in her life surrounding her when he’d been in Keeneston to help her friend out. He’d come because he knew Kale Mueez was important to her. He told himself it was to take down enemies, but it was all for Cassidy Davies. He saw them circling her, smiling, being sweet and gentlemanly. However, that wasn’t him. And by the way Cassidy was kissing him back as hard and demandingly as he was kissing her, told him he was right. Cassidy might look as sweet as a fairy but she had the fire of a warrior.
Sirens sounded in the distance and he knew his time was up. He reached down and patted her ass affectionately as he pulled his lips from hers. “Be a good girl and go back to the palace.”
He didn’t want to leave. Her eyes were still shut and her lips were red and swollen from their kiss. She was so gorgeous. But he was already halfway down the hidden alley when she opened her eyes.
Cassidy blinked into empty air where the man who had just kissed her senseless had been. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind for calling her a “good girl” when she opened her eyes to find him gone. She also found herself standing there, breathing heavily, and having experienced the best kiss of her life.
Cassidy shook her head as if to wipe him from her mind. It didn’t work. But it did bring her back to the present. Cassidy jogged back to where she’d been ambushed. She looked off to the side of the alley and found what she was looking for. Her small earpiece.
Cassidy slipped it into her ear and heard Warrick’s tense voice. “Can you read me? Are you there?”
“I’m here, Warrick. I had some unexpected visitors.”
Warrick let out a sigh. “Police and military are moving in. They’re rounding up everyone on the streets and taking their phones.”
“That didn’t take long. I’m sending you my location.” Cassidy pinged Warrick her location and then went about taking pictures of the dead men. She sent them to Warrick. He’d send them through the CIA’s database after he picked her up.
Cassidy looked up to see the van sliding to a stop at the end of the alley. Warrick was out of the van, his cane tapping at the pavement, as he rushed toward her. “Are you hurt?”
“I got hit, but my suit did its job.”
“Dammit, Cass. When you said some unexpected visitors, I didn’t think you meant a whole army!” Warrick turned, slowly taking in the alley. “It was an ambush.”
“It was. They wanted me to join them in overthrowing Deming. Find out who they are. He made it sound bigger than Deming. Plus, this one,” she said, pointing to the original man who had pointed a gun at her, “is second-in-command. The leader got away somehow. He said I owed him for taking out one of their men. I sent the photos to a friend, but I want you to run them as well. Let’s see what we can come up with.”
“How did you make it out?” Warrick asked, looking up at her. “You’re good. Don’t get me wrong, but it’s eight against one.”
“I had some help. Who is trying to take over now that Deming is gone?” Cassidy asked as they turned and headed down the alley after emptying the men’s pockets of any personal items.
Warrick frowned. “Jin.”
Cassidy stopped walking. “What? Jin is the traitor?”
“One of them,” Warrick confirmed. “He’s also demanded the judge release the defendants. The judge said no, and the court police are barricaded inside the courthouse with the defendants being held in the court’s jail.”
“What about the military and police?” Cassidy asked. This wasn’t good. If Jin managed to turn the military to his side, democracy would die a quick death.
“Jin’s allies in the palace guard have split on following him. The ones who are against him have been locked in the barracks. The military is less split and more in favor of following the new constitution, which names the Vice President as the new leader. My understanding is that it’s an armed standoff at the military base right now. The second Deming was declared dead, it became a power grab. The police seem more on Jin’s side and they’re the ones, along with some palace guards and military, who have secured the outside of the courthouse.”
Cassidy’s phone rang and Kale’s name flashed on it. “What did you find out?”
“What have you stumbled onto?” Kale asked as Cassidy put it on speaker so Warrick could hear too. “The guys you killed were either mercenaries or higher-ups in government militaries. But they wouldn’t show up because their identities had been scrubbed.”
Warrick looked disbelievingly at Cassidy. “Then how did you find it?”
Cassidy shook her head, trying to warn Warrick, but it was too late. “As good as my father is at killing and torturing people, I’m as good with tech. Also, even as a grandfather, my father would kick that man in black’s ass before he realized it was happening. Unlike some coward who only hides in the shadows, my father would kill you face to face. Even if that coward did help me in Keeneston.”
Warrick’s eyes shot to Cassidy’s with surprise. “You saw the Boogeyman?” Cassidy rolled her eyes. The man who had helped her was very real. “It’s said he stays in the shadows. That no one has ever seen him. He swoops in and delivers justice.”
“What is it with that nickname? The dude isn’t John Wick. Remember, I see and hear everything. Now, Cass, I’ve sent in the military to help with the attempted coup.”
“You can do that?” Warrick asked, still surprised.
“Bruh.” Was all Kale said as if Warrick wasn’t smart enough to put two and two together.
“How long?” Cassidy asked, ignoring Warrick.
“The U.S., while Birch has already put soldiers on alert, would take a good eight hours to get there. However, we have Rahmi soldiers nearby. An entire force of them was there training soldiers at the more rural base since it involved aircraft too. They can be transported to the city via helicopters.”
“Do it,” Cassidy ordered.
“Already done, I was just being nice and giving you a say. They’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Kale told her, causing her to laugh. Kale was one of her best friends and they loved to tease each other.
“Are you for real?” Warrick asked, probably feeling a bit left out of the decision making.
“King Dirar ordered it the second the first bullet was fired. They’re already on the way with loyal Crusina military forces. Half will go to the military base and deal with the coup there and the other half will come to the city and squash that coup,” Kale told him. “It’s above your pay grade, Ricky. Ironically, it’s not above mine or my father’s.”
“Okay, Kale. You made your point,” Cassidy told him. “Look into the second-in-command. I sent you his picture. They told me I took down an ally and now I need to fill his spot. He made it sound as if the person was in the government passing secrets.”
“You thinking who I am?” Kale asked her.
“Yup. But I need proof,” Cassidy told him.
“Who?” Warrick asked impatiently.
“Former CIA Agent Aaron Naylor,” Cassidy answered.