Chapter 17Cassie
Chapter 17
Cassie
I left Lincoln at the house almost half an hour ago, and I’ve only just started to calm myself down. Once I begin to think about things logically, the wheels in my brain start turning, taking me to the dangerous side of town. My dad used to tell me never to go there, even if I thought I had a good reason. One of the last episodes of my show came to mind, pushing me toward that side of town. The police were trying to track down a suspect and figured he’d be hanging around in that area. Being a detective on a show doesn’t make me one in real life, but by pretending to be, somehow, I feel like I know what I’m doing all of a sudden.
As the station wagon turns down the street, I’m reminded why my dad always told me to steer clear of this part of town. The buildings are run-down, and little groups of people here and there watch my car pass, suspicious looks in their eyes as if they’re already planning how they’re going to make me regret coming to this side of town.
I feel strangely calm in my surroundings. Perhaps it’s because I’ve seen the same thing replicated on set. Ironically, it was Rosie who helped me with my nerves that first day. Was that why she’d spread rumors I was a diva? Saying thank you to everyone was a habit of mine, and I’d never taken anything for granted, especially not my role.
There was no way I ever did anything bad enough to make her want to destroy my career.
A white patrol car catches my eye. They have the lights off and are heading down an alley. What Quinn and Lincoln said about the police comes to mind, about how they could possibly be on payroll since they didn’t show up to the shooting that most certainly claimed at least one of my lives. Without a second thought, I turn down the same road, keeping my distance.
Maybe I should apply to a police academy and become a real cop. After all, it seems I already have some skills to do it from all that practice. The idea of being a police detective in real life makes my blood rush ever so slightly. I crave excitement and adventure in my life. Perhaps while acting, I missed that a little more than I was willing to admit.
The cop car pulls up in front of a pawn shop. I don’t slow the station wagon. I go right past as if I wasn’t watching in the first place, but I get a good look at the officer who steps out. He’s heavy set, with a bald head and glasses perched on the tip of his nose. My heart aches for a second. The pawn shop reminds me of Lincoln. Why can’t he stay out of my thoughts for ten minutes?
I remember Xavier, my costar, on the big screen. He asked me out a couple of times, but I always turned him down. I’d seen enough of Hollywood to know those relationships rarely lasted. It wouldn’t be long before he was involved in another series or movie, kissing someone else. Some people could probably handle that sort of thing in their relationship, but not me. That didn’t keep the producers from wanting our roles more intertwined.
They convinced me to fake-date him for six months—something I regret to this day. The long days ending with me riding in the same car with him were insufferable. After being turned down, he didn’t take too kindly to me, and once we were out of sight from the cameras, his smile would drop, and we’d both stare at our phones until we had to put on yet another show.
Surely, Rosie knew we weren’t really together. Now that I’m back to thinking about those days, I remember one particular afternoon when Rosie was chatting him up. She looked interested and wrote her number on a napkin. I remember thinking they might be able to hit it off and wishing them well.
I frown as I circle the block. If she was into Xavier, that could explain her hostility toward me. Anyone being hostile toward me makes my stomach turn. All I ever tried to do was make friends on set, with all of my costars and the workers, but like Gary said the first day he hired me, ‘not everyone is going to like you.’
Maybe I should have taken his advice more to heart. I wonder what Lincoln would treat me like if we dated. Would he bring me flowers and chocolates? Or was he more the dinner date and a movie sort of guy? I banish the thought. Dating Lincoln shouldn’t be anywhere near my conscious or unconscious mind.
Maybe we wouldn’t have to date. We could just…
“ Stop it, Cassie,” I scold myself softly as I enter a coffee shop. I need a pick-me-up. Normally, stopping in this neighborhood would not be something I’d do. However, I remember this coffee shop. My dad used to love it. I grab my purse, and my eyes land on my phone. The screen lights up with an incoming call and my heart flutters. As I scoop it up, the flutter turns to dread. Fourteen missed calls. It must have been on silent thanks to a wonky button on my phone that occasionally knocks it into silent mode. The only person who would call me that many times is most likely Quinn or Lincoln, and not for anything good. I answer the phone.
“Hello?”
Link
“Cassie?” My voice comes out a ghost of itself. Turns out I need to run more because my stamina isn’t what it used to be, and there don’t seem to be any taxis in this town.
“Lincoln? What’s going on? Why do you sound like you’re running a marathon?”
“I’ll… explain another time. Quinn needs our help… you have to pick me up.” My lungs burn even worse after I manage to squeeze that sentence out between gulps of air.
“Where are you?” Thank goodness she doesn’t demand the answers to what’s going on with Quinn because I don’t think I could explain it to her in my current condition. Sweat pours down my back and sides, and my legs burn.
“I’m on Vista, between the office and the laundromat. Hurry, Cassie.”
“Be right there.” The sound of brakes and tires squealing makes me cringe. She hangs up before I can say another word. On second thought, maybe telling her to hurry after saying Quinn was in trouble wasn’t the best idea. If she gets into an accident on the way over, that won’t help anyone.
Cassie’s coming, so I slow my pace and catch my breath. Me running a block or two won’t get us there faster. What is Phineas doing to Quinn while I’m not there? Would he really hurt her to get to me? I don’t want to answer those questions. I’ve heard the stories about Phineas and seen him at work firsthand.
He’s not a good guy, and he repeatedly proves he doesn’t care who gets hurt. Just because he pretended to get close to Quinn at a public event when she had no idea who he was doesn’t mean he’ll spare her. When the station wagon comes swerving around the corner at twice the standard speed limit, I don’t have time to think about Cassie’s bad driving. Instead, I vault into the passenger side when the car slows down.
“Keep driving. We need to get to the laundromat.”
“What’s going on?”
“Phineas has Quinn.” This whole situation is my fault. Usually, I’m a little better at spotting immediate threats or expecting the next bad thing to come knocking on the door. This time, I’d been so caught up with bickering with Cassie that the danger washed right over me.
We’d been so focused on the current case that I’d nearly forgotten about the storm cloud I put over myself and everyone in my near vicinity a while back. I’d kept planning to deal with it, but when the time came, I’d put it off because that’s the type of person I am.
Things weren’t put together for me. Nothing was organized or smooth. That wasn’t what childhood was like for me, and the curse followed me into adulthood.
“You okay? Is Quinn okay?” Cassie’s voice shakes and pulls me back to the present.
“No, I’m not okay. I have no idea if Quinn is okay. I thought there was more time before Phineas…”
“What? Why is Phineas doing this? Is this about what he was talking about at the skating rink? What is going on?”
“Nothing, everything. It’s too much to talk about right now. Besides, I have it handled.” That couldn’t have been further from the truth, and from the look of Cassie’s glare, she knows it. She pulls into the laundromat with style, just as much, if not more, as I would have if I’d been driving. We both jump out of the car, running to the front door.
“Wait, should we split up and go in there?” she asks.
“With what weapons?”
“Dad used to have weapons.”
“I know. I just didn’t bring one. A gunfight won’t help anyone, especially Quinn. I don’t think Phineas wants this to get dirtier than it already is. He just wants to get my attention, and he’s certainly done that.”
Fury coils inside of me. He was supposed to leave Quinn out of this and, by extension, Cassie.
“So, we just walk in there?”
“You’ve been watching too much TV. We don’t have any choice but to just walk in there.” I open the door for her as if we’re in the fanciest restaurant in Hollywood, and she walks through with an annoyed look of frustration and a hint of fear. She trusts me, or she wouldn’t be walking into the laundromat so confidently, and yet, that makes me feel worse.
One of Phineas’ men shows us through the empty laundromat, save for one young woman who most likely also works for him. The room at the back is dreary, a single light hanging from the ceiling, casting weird shadows on the wall.
Quinn is sitting at a small card table. She looks like she’s about to cry, though thankfully very much unharmed, which makes me want to cry. Quinn has become like a little sister to me, and seeing her in pain brings up a lot of emotions I wasn’t even aware I had anymore. I brush away that thought. The great Lincoln Suco crying? Unheard of.
Phineas steps forward, the slick grin on his face reminding me of a snake and not some harmless garden snake.
“What are you doing, Phineas?” I have to convince this man not to push right now, not to put everything I hide on display in front of the two people I still care about. I more than care about Cassie. That thought certainly has to stay buried.
“Ah, Lincoln. Good to see you. Glad you could make it.”
“I didn’t know you expanded your headquarters to the laundromat.” I make a show of looking around the place. It isn’t impressive, and Phineas probably doesn’t use it for anything important. Otherwise, he never would have lured us here.
Phineas’ expression darkens. “I’d forgotten how annoying your sense of humor is. Tell me, do you remember a deal we made, say six months, maybe seven back?”
“I remember.” I push the words through my clenched teeth. He can see he’s making me uncomfortable and enjoying every second. I feel Cassie’s eyes on my back. The judgment radiates off her in waves. I can feel it like tendrils reaching out and suffocating me. “I think you’ll agree that not only is this whole display unnecessary, it’s also not worth the headache.”
I’m not entirely without leverage. When it became clear Phineas was my only option, every bit of information that might have been useful in some situation was stored away in my mind. If he decides to double-cross me and crack everything open, I’ll be sure to return the favor in kind as much as I can. Realization flickers in his eyes.
“Settling this in private would be more my style, but for some reason, I get the feeling you’re avoiding me.”
“Lincoln, what’s this about?” Cassie sounds scared, and I hate myself for putting her in this position. Of course, she’s frightened. Two goons are pointing guns at her new friend, and I seem to be the cause of it. She’s never going to look at me the same again.
Stepping forward, I force Phineas back until the two of us are far enough away from the girls to have a semblance of a private conversation.
“What are you doing, Phineas?” My tone is barely above a whisper.
“I’m tired of waiting for what I was promised, and on top of that, you and your crew are investigating me. Have you forgotten the evidence I have on you?” Phineas means business. It is evident in every fiber of his being.
“No, I haven’t forgotten. I have my own leverage if you want to do this the difficult way. We’re all going to walk away from this, and you and I will meet privately without involving people who have nothing to do with this. Understand?” It’s a gamble pressuring Phineas and demanding cooperation, but I can bet he wouldn’t want to draw attention to himself more than he already has.
He holds my gaze for the longest time, then steps back.
“I’ll be seeing you, Lincoln. And I’m going to remind you that this was just a taste. You’re running out of time. Make sure you don’t wait until the timer’s on zero.”
He motions to one of his men, and they pull Quinn up to her feet and push her toward me. She falls into me with a soft “oomph.”
One of Phineas’ men gives me a little shove as he passes, and the others follow suit. Phineas leaves last.
“Tick tock, tick tock.”
He leaves us all standing in the empty room; I’m shaking slightly. He could have done so much worse. We could have shown up to the laundromat to find Quinn… I won’t think about that. I’m lucky my threats of retaliation were enough to send him on his way, but there’s something else I don’t know about him. It bugs me. If I don’t know what I’m up against, I’m in more danger than I could have ever anticipated.
Word on the street is that if you make a deal with Phineas, you don’t need money; you just need something good to trade. If you have nothing good, you trade your soul. Phineas wants a trade for a favor, and then I’ll be in his pocket. One favor will lead to another until I’m a shell of the man I used to be. I’ve seen it happen. I owe him a favor, but I need to get ahead of it, figure out how to pay it back, then walk away. The rabbit hole of constant debt to a man with no conscience is not my future. That is not going to happen to me, no matter what.
Cassie spins on me as soon as Phineas is gone. “You have some explaining to do. Start talking, now .”
Her eyes spit fire, and she crosses her arms, staring me down like I’m a kid in the hallway in need of a good scolding. She’s not wrong; I’ve messed things up, but it’s also much worse than she could imagine.