Chapter 28
A woman’svoice pierced through the industrial overhead lighting, bouncing off the metal and obscuring the direction of the sound. Fear settled in his gut as he took off toward where they’d found the bedding and clothes.
Given the blood on the stair railing, Jesse figured Cassie was hurt. His heart was pounding in his ears as he rushed by pipes and machines, Craig keeping pace with him. The other man didn’t question where he was going.
As they drew closer, he heard voices, but they were moving away. He was about to adjust his direction when he saw her. Cassie was on the floor. She was sitting, her back against a pipe.
She didn’t notice him at first. Her head was turned in the opposite direction.
“Cassie?”
She turned, her eyes wild, her face red and a little swollen on the left side. At the sight of him, she let out a sound he couldn’t quite describe. It was somewhere between a sigh and a whimper. “Jesse.”
He rushed to her side. It was then he noticed her hands were behind her back. He cupped her face in his hands. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “They tied my hands. I can’t get free.”
Jesse dropped his hands from her face and reached behind her. He’d hoped they’d used rope to secure her hands—he was good with rope and knots—but no such luck. They’d used a large zip tie to secure her wrists. Her arms had been looped around a pipe sticking out from the floor. It went all the way to the ceiling.
He looked at Craig, who was on the phone, barking orders to whoever was on the other end.
“Knife?”
Craig didn’t miss a beat. He kneeled on one knee, raised his pant leg, and unsheathed a six-inch blade. He handed it to Jesse as he continued to talk to his man on the phone.
Jesse’s attention went back to Cassie. “Lean forward as much as you can. I don’t want to cut you.”
She bent forward, stretching the zip ties at her wrists.
There wasn’t much room between her wrists, the zip tie, and the pipe, so it took longer than he’d like to set her free. Eventually, the plastic broke, and her arms fell to her side.
Cassie’s head fell against his chest. He dropped the knife and gathered her into his arms. He could already feel her tears soaking his dress shirt.
“You’re safe now. I’m here.” It was then he noticed the gash on the back of her head. It was bleeding, but head wounds tended to do that. He couldn’t tell how bad it was, but the fact she was conscious and talking was a good sign.
Craig took a step toward them and picked up the knife Jesse had dropped. He lifted his pant leg and returned the weapon to its sheath. “I need to ask you some questions.”
Cassie clung to Jesse, the blood from her wrists staining his dress shirt.
Jesse didn’t care about the blood. Shirts could be replaced. “Who did this to you?”
She met Jesse’s gaze, then looked at Craig. “I don’t know who knocked me out. I think it was Crystal, but it may have been Sandy. I didn’t see.”
“They were both here?” Craig pulled out his phone again.
Cassie tried to nod but stopped herself mid-movement. She gripped the sides of her head with both hands. “Yes.”
“We need to get you checked out by a doctor.” Jesse began helping her to stand.
“Paramedics are already on their way, as are the police.” Craig turned his attention back to the phone. “We’re looking for Sandy Green and Crystal Carter. Check all the security cameras. I don’t want either of them leaving the building.”
“Can you stand?” Jesse asked Cassie.
She met his gaze. “I think so.”
Rocking back on his heels, Jesse stood and offered her his hands for support. She took them, pulling herself up. He didn’t miss her wince, nor the way she swayed on her feet. Bending, he placed one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, lifting her into his arms.
Cassie didn’t protest, telling him more than she could with words. She was hurting.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and followed Craig to the stairwell.
Her warm breath against his neck reminded him she was safe in his arms. Why the hell had she gone into the stairwell in the first place?
He held on a little tighter as they made it to the fifth-floor landing and entered the executive floor. The paramedics were already there, waiting for them.
As soon as Jesse laid her on the stretcher, two paramedics began working. They asked about her injuries and did a quick assessment.
Jesse didn’t like feeling helpless. Why had she put herself in danger like that?
The paramedics finished their examination. “We’re going to want a doctor to check you out. You might have a concussion.”
Instead of answering the paramedic, she turned to Jesse. “Where’s your dad?”
“I’m sure he’s around somewhere. We’ll see him later.” His father’s whereabouts were the farthest thing from Jesse’s mind. Cassie had been on the sixth floor. Somewhere he’d told her not to go. And she was hurt. “I’m more concerned with you at the moment.”
Before she could argue, Jesse made eye contact with the paramedic. The man nodded and they started toward the elevator.
Being Blake Masters’s son came with its share of benefits. One of them was that no one questioned him when he climbed into the ambulance next to Cassie.
He held her hand as they drove to the hospital. His head was swirling with questions, but they weren’t alone. His questions would have to wait until later.
The hospital was bustling with activity when they arrived. They were set up in a room and left to wait.
Jesse sat next to her, not able to take his gaze off the marks on her wrists.
“I’m okay.” Her whispered words did nothing to calm him.
“You were lucky. What possessed you to go into the stairwell alone after I’d told you not to go to the sixth floor?”
She paled at the reminder. “I heard a noise.”
He stood and walked the length of the room before looking at her again.
There was a knock on the door a second before it opened and a woman wearing scrubs walked in. She spent the next ten minutes going over Cassie’s chart and checking her vitals.
He stood in the corner, observing while she worked.
When the nurse finished, she let them know the doctor would be in soon and left, closing the door behind her.
Several moments passed in silence before Cassie spoke. “I’m sorry.”
He met her gaze and held it. “Do you not understand how important you are to me? How much I love you? This isn’t a game to me, Cass.”
“It’s not a game to me, either. I love you, too.”
To his surprise, there was another knock at the door, but it wasn’t the doctor. It was two police detectives. They asked a lot of questions, and Cassie relayed what had happened to her.
“Did either of the women give any indication of why they’d done this?” the male detective asked.
Instead of answering, Cassie closed her eyes and brought a hand up to her head like it was pounding. He wasn’t sure why, but he got the impression she didn’t want to answer the detective’s question.
“We should let you get some rest. I know it’s been a long day.” The female detective removed a card from her pocket and handed it to Jesse. “We’ll be in touch in a day or so, but if she thinks of anything before then, give us a call.”
“Thanks.” Jesse tucked the card into his pocket.
The two detectives left the room, leaving them alone again. He was going to ask Cassie why she’d avoided the question, but there was another knock at the door.
A man stressed in scrubs walked into the room and introduced himself as Dr. Jasper. He inspected Cassie’s injuries, taking some extra time looking over her head wound. Cassie lay there stoically, allowing the doctor to poke and prod, only wincing a couple of times.
Jesse wanted to do something. He didn’t like this feeling of helplessness he felt. When they’d left, Craig’s men hadn’t yet found Sandy or Crystal and Jesse hadn’t wanted to step away from Cassie long enough to see if they’d been located.
Once the doctor was finished, he wrote some notes on his tablet, then addressed Cassie. “I don’t think you have a concussion, but I’d like you to rest for the next three days. No television. No reading. And try to avoid bright lights. I’d rather be safe than sorry when it comes to head trauma.” The doctor looked toward Jesse. “It would be best if she wasn’t left alone.”
“She won’t be.” He’d make sure of it.
“Does that mean I can go home?” Cassie asked.
The doctor smiled at her, the first one he’d seen from the man since he strolled into the room. “I’ll send the nurse in to get your bandaged up, then we’ll get your discharge paperwork going and get you out of here, all right?”
“Thanks.” Cassie smiled, although it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She looked exhausted.
It took another hour for the nurse to bandage all of Cassie’s wounds and the doctor to complete her discharge paperwork. Not knowing what was going on with Crystal and Sandy was driving Jesse nuts, but there was no way he was leaving Cassie alone.
When they walked out of the ER and into the waiting room, Jesse was ready to call for a ride when he noticed his dad’s driver, Micheal, sitting near the entrance. Jesse wheeled Cassie over to him.
Micheal stood. “Your dad thought you might need a ride.”
Jesse and Cassie waited in front of the building while Micheal went to get the car. It had gotten dark, but the temperature was still mild. He was grateful for the gentle breeze, but he wondered if it was too much for Cassie. “Are you cold?”
“No. I’m good. The breeze feels good.”
Micheal stopped the car in front of them and Jesse wasted no time opening the back door. He helped Cassie into the seat, returned the wheelchair inside, then climbed in next to her. “Take us to my condo, please.”
Jesse placed his arm around Cassie, and she snuggled against him. Her hair smelled of the disinfectant they used to clean her head wound, and it brought his anger to the surface again.
Cassie must have felt the shift in his mood. “I’m sorry I put myself in danger.”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
She was quiet for a long moment. “I need to talk to your dad.”
“I’ll call him once we get you settled and let him know what the doctor said.”
“No. I need to talk to him. In person.” She paused. “I know it’s late, but do you think he could come over tonight?”
Jesse tilted his head so he could see her face. “What’s going on?”
She pressed her lips together and played with his tie. “Crystal said something I think he should know.”
“What did she say?”
Her gaze darted toward the driver. While Jesse knew Micheal could be trusted, Cassie obviously didn’t want to discuss whatever it was in front of him.
Jesse wasn’t sure what to think about that, but he didn’t want to argue with her. The doctor said she needed rest, so he wouldn’t push her. Not yet anyway.
His dad’s driver brought them to the front entrance of Jesse’s condo building. He waited while Jesse lifted Cassie from the vehicle, then held open the door to the building. “I’ve got it from here.”
Micheal nodded.
Cassie rested her head on his shoulder as they made their way up in the elevator. Once they reached the door to his condo, it was a little more of a challenge. “Can you stand?”
“Yes.”
Jesse set her down on her feet, making sure she wasn’t going to lose her balance before digging his keys out of his pocket and opening the door. He flipped on the lights and lifted her into his arms again.
She giggled and his heart warmed at the sound.
It was quickly followed by the realization that he could have lost her had his dad not called him to let him know she was missing. Had he and Craig not gone looking for her.
Jesse got her settled on the couch with a blanket and pillow. “Are you hungry?” The doctor had warned him Cassie’s appetite might be off for the next few days.
“I’m starving.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple, then headed into the kitchen to see what he could whip up.
“Jesse?” Her voice was softer than usual, but he still heard her.
“Yes?”
“Can I borrow your phone? Mine’s still at the office.”
* * *
Cassie was nervous as she waited for Blake to arrive. She had no idea why. It wasn’t her secret. And she wasn’t even sure if it was real.
Jesse had tried to get her to explain why she needed to see his dad, but it didn’t feel right for her to tell Jesse before she told Blake. This whole secret thing put her in a weird position she didn’t like.
At ten o’clock, there was a knock at the door and Jesse went to let his father in.
“How is she?” Blake’s asked.
“Tired and in need of rest.”
Blake’s gaze shifted to where she was reclining on the couch. “I won’t stay long.”
Cassie tried to sit up a little straighter. Even though this wasn’t work related, Blake Masters was still her boss. “Thank you for coming. I know it’s late.”
Blake waved her comment away and sat down on the chair across from her. “I’m just happy to hear you weren’t seriously hurt.”
“Me too.”
When she didn’t say any more, Blake decided to take charge of the situation. “What is it you needed to talk to me about?”
Her gaze shifted to Jesse. She wasn’t sure she wanted him to find out like this, even if it was true, but she couldn’t exactly ask him to leave his own living room. And even if she did, she wasn’t sure he’d go. “Have you talked to Crystal?”
“Personally? No.” Blake’s jaw tightened. “Craig got a few minutes with her before the police took her away, but she wasn’t talking. Did she say something to you?”
Cassie played with the blanket draped over her lap. “She said Grayson Hyde created the code to skim money from the company.”
Blake nodded. “That’s consistent with what Grayson told Craig.” He paused. “Did she say why he did it?”
This was where it got complicated. “She said he did it for her.” Cassie glanced at Jesse before continuing. “That the money was supposed to be her inheritance.”
Jesse took a step forward. “Her inheritance?”
Cassie licked her lips, suddenly feeling parched. “She said she’s your daughter.”
Blake froze.
“That’s impossible. Crystal’s around my age. That’s…” The words died in Jesse’s throat when he saw the look on his dad’s face. “Dad? Tell me it isn’t true. It’s not possible.”
Instead of answering Jesse’s question, Blake stood and walked to the large bank of windows overlooking the city. “I can’t tell you that. I wish I could.”
“What about Mom? How could you?—”
Blake turned to face his son. “After you were born, your mom and I had some difficulty adjusting. She went into a deep depression, and we separated for a few months.”
“And you cheated on her?” Jesse’s voice was hard.
His dad didn’t deny it.
Jesse blew out an angry breath. “Does she know?”
“About my dalliance? Yes.”
“Dalliance?” Jesse’s eyes were wild. She’d never seen him this way. Not even when he found her tied up.
Blake’s mind seemed to be elsewhere. “I need to go.”
“You’re leaving?” Jesse asked.
His father walked past them both and headed for the door. “Get some rest, Cassie.” Then he looked at Jesse. “Take care of her. She’s a keeper, you know.”
Jesse didn’t respond.
When the door closed behind his father, Jesse sat down next to her on the couch. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair before turning to look at her. “Now I understand why you didn’t want to tell me.”
“It’s not so much I didn’t want to tell you as I thought I needed to tell your dad first.” She placed a hand on his thigh. “How are you holding up?”
“Not great.” He stood. “Let’s get you to bed?”
“Did you want to talk about this?” The news was a big blow.
He shook his head. “Not right now. Right now, I want to punch something. Or fuck you until you can’t walk straight. As I can’t do either at the moment, I’m going to take you to bed and hold you in my arms until the need to pummel something dissipates.”