Chapter 19 #2
Made her realize things about herself that she hadn't known, admitted truths she’d been too scared to share, made decisions about what she wanted from life that a mere week ago she would have denied until her dying breath.
There was no way in heck she was losing that by going with that man.
Beside her, she felt Rose stiffen, felt determination flow back into her as her fear of being buried alive receded with this new threat.
While Ridge Gardner might have decided to set his sights on her because the mystery woman had identified her as a way to get to Delta Team, he had a personal grudge against his sister after Rose had betrayed him.
This man would do whatever it took to leave here with both of them, she was sure of it.
Still, it was two against one, which gave them at least some advantage, right?
“Didn't think hanging around here would pay off,” the man said, tone conversational as though they were discussing something mundane instead of him all but admitting he was there to abduct them.
It was hard to see anything past the glare of the flashlight, but Cassandra could make out the shadowy figure of the man.
He was huge, not quite as big as Dragon and the others, but big enough that it would be hard for them to take him down, even two against one.
Self-defense moves were helpful to know, but they didn't overcome a massive size difference.
Plus, the man would be armed, no way he’d come here without a weapon.
There was no sign of their lost guns, and Cassandra didn't know what she should do. She was woefully unprepared for a situation like this, and she now realized with horrifying clarity why Dragon had been so adamant that she not come.
Why had it seemed so important to prove that she wasn't going to sit back and let everyone else handle the threat against what was starting to feel like a new family?
This threat wasn't even really about her, it was about the guys.
She was only part of it because the mystery woman had somehow figured out her connection to Delta Team.
“Don’t think I was meant to figure out the connection to this place,” the man continued as he advanced on them.
“Someone had cleaned it out when I got here. I watched the team dressed all in white leaving in vans as I pulled up. Almost left then and there, assumed this idea was a washout. But I waited, and lo and behold, I watched another vehicle pull up not long later.”
That meant that this guy was just a mercenary, out to collect on the money Rose’s brother had put up to have her delivered to him.
He wasn't the one responsible for cleaning out the building with bleach, or the white noise generator, so he likely wasn't the one responsible for setting the explosions either.
If he wasn't then someone else was.
Someone who could also still be out there.
Be safe, Dragon.
“Have to be the luckiest guy around, right?” the man said, chuckling a little as he kept advancing on them. He was in the room now, backing them both up against the far wall as they retreated with each step he took.
There wasn't much further for them to go.
Still, Cassandra was clinging to the idea that the man couldn’t grab both of them at once. If he wanted the money, he had to bring her to Dr. Gardner alive. If he knew who Rose was, it made sense that there was a contract out on her, too.
“Two for one, means double the pay,” the man said, greed edging into his tone, and she knew there would be no point in trying to talk him out of doing what he’d come here to do.
“Might even be room for a little negotiating. I’m sure I can have a little fun playing with you both while I make a new deal with the doctor. ”
A shiver rocketed through her body.
There was no need to guess what he meant.
Instead of immediately delivering them to Dr. Gardner, he was going to take them somewhere else and rape them while he worked to get himself the most amount of money he could wring out of the crazed scientist.
When her back bumped against the piles of rubble they’d been clearing when they first heard the man’s approach, Cassandra realized it was over.
There was nowhere else to go.
The end of the line.
Rose’s hand suddenly landed on her thigh, fingers spread wide. At first, Cassandra thought the other woman was just drawing comfort from her presence, from the fact that they were in this together.
But then she felt one of Rose’s fingers move.
A moment later, another disappeared.
And it clicked.
Countdown.
The other woman had something planned, and whatever it was, she was going to enact it when she counted down from five.
The man continued to talk, but Cassandra was no longer listening.
Every muscle in her aching body tensed, and she prepared herself to follow Rose’s lead.
They had to assume that the mercenary had a weapon, and while he might not want to kill them, he wanted his payday too badly to risk it, that didn't mean he couldn’t shoot to incapacitate.
Still, she would follow whatever Rose had planned.
Two fingers still touched her leg.
The man continued to advance, confident he had them where he wanted them.
One finger.
She rocked on the balls of her feet, wishing she’d been able to spot one of the guns. If she could get to it, she wouldn't hesitate to shoot the same way she hadn't hesitated to shoot her own father when it was clear he was going to kill her and her sister.
The second that final finger moved, Rose darted forward. With practiced ease, she went in low, below the light’s beam, and caught their would-be kidnapper around the legs, taking them both down.
As he fell, the man lost his grip on the flashlight, and it clattered to the ground, rolling off somewhere.
“Get the light, find the guns,” Rose shouted, and Cassandra didn't hesitate to follow her order.
While the other two tussled, she battled against her fear for Rose and quickly scrambled for the flashlight. Once her fingers curled around it, she quickly moved the beam around the area where she’d fallen when the explosion went off.
There.
Something glinted in the light.
Behind her, Rose cried out, and for a second, Cassandra faltered. Maybe she should go to Rose and help her. There were still two of them against the man, and since he hadn't fired any shots yet, maybe he didn't have a weapon on him.
Deciding her best move was to go for the gun like Rose had told her to, she ran for it, dropping down and snatching it up into her hand. It felt heavy, but in a good way, it provided not just protection but could be the difference between life and death.
Another grunt from behind her, and then she heard Rose cry out again.
“Cassandra, syringe, he drug …” Rose’s voice wavered and faded as whatever she’d just been injected with obviously began to work quickly.
It didn’t matter, though, she had the gun and the flashlight.
Aiming the light right in the man’s face as he pushed to his feet, leaving Rose’s limp body lying beside him, she didn't hesitate to raise her weapon.
She wasn't going for anything less than a kill shot.
There was no time to play around. She didn't know if the guys were okay, or if there really was someone else there, she had to be smart and protect herself and Rose.
Pulling the trigger as the man moved toward her, there was no crack as the bullet fired, just a click and then nothing.
What the heck?
Again and again she pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The weapon must have been damaged somehow in the explosion.
The man chuckled as his body collided with her, sending her slamming into the ground, pain flaring through her already aching body.
“Too bad, little one, you lose.” The man chuckled, his much larger body pressing her into the ground, rubble digging into her back.
Not yet she didn't.
The weapon hadn't fired, but it was still in her hand. Raising it, she slammed it into the side of the man’s head with every drop of strength she had poured into the hit.
Grunting, the man stumbled sideways enough that she could scramble out from under his body. Swinging the weapon again, she connected with his temple a second time, and then she was up on her feet and running.
Debating whether she should try to drag Rose’s unconscious body along with her, Cassandra knew she couldn’t. Not realistically. The man was down, but he wasn't out, and she had no time to waste looking for the other weapon to try to finish the job.
She’d have to pray the man didn't hurt Rose while she tried to find the others.
Heading for the area where the secret door had been, she was halfway through it when, with a growl, the man threw himself at her. It wasn't the fresh wave of pain rolling through her that she focused on, though, it was the sharp scratch as she felt something pierce her skin.
A syringe.
She’d just been drugged as well, and the edges of her vision were already swimming.