“Appointment?” Jacob’s face flushed, not with embarrassment, or heat, but with pure unadulterated anger. “We’re talking about my sister!” he shouted.
“You’re upset. That’s understandable.” The man barely slowed his pace. “But I really need to go.”
“We want our money.” The words came out sharp, crisp, and laced with fury.
Riveted to the scene unfolding before him, Kade wondered who this guy was and why Jacob was so angry.
The man finally stopped and spun around to face the kid. “I’ve explained to your father—”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses. You’re nothing but a crook, and everyone needs to know it!”
Cassie’s fingers dug into Kade’s arm. “Uh-oh.”
“What?” Kade tore his gaze away from the unfolding drama and looked where Cassie’s eyes were glued to the young man and the one hand still in his pocket.Aw, crap. Just what they didn’t need, a distraught unstable teen with a gun.
“Gun.” Kade’s voice was a tight whisper. His jaw clenched and she could see his military mind calculating distances, opportunities. If he found the moment to reach for his own gun, that poor kid would not walk out of here.
Still shouting at the man, Jacob’s left hand gestured wildly, punctuating his words, but his right hand… his right hand remained jammed deep in the front pocket of his sweatshirt. It didn’t move. People who were this agitated, this angry, used both hands. They pointed, they balled their fists. Jacob’s stillness on one side was a glaring anomaly, a detail that was fundamentally wrong.
Cassidy’s eyes narrowed, her focus absolute. She saw the way the fabric of that one pocket sagged, pulled down by something heavy and dense. It wasn’t a phone. It wasn’t a wallet. It didn’t sway when he shifted his weight; it hung with a leaden, solid feel. He was angling his body, subconsciously shielding that side of himself, protecting it. The world narrowed to the space between the bank officer’s desk and the front door.
Kade’s body remained rigid beside her; she knew he was waiting for the right moment to pounce. Save the day. Her knight in shining armor.
The scene unfolded in a series of sharp, terrifying snapshots. Jacob Henderson, the tired, hard-working kid from the hardware store, was standing in the middle of the bank lobby, his face pale and tear-streaked, fury oozing from every pore. Worse still, she saw desperation in his eyes. She’d seen it a thousand times or more in the eyes of people who had gambled away everything they owned, and sometimes more. This was not looking good. Not at all.
“You’re upset.” The banker’s voice was deliberately calm, and clearly patronizing. “I understand, but making a scene isn’t going to help anyone.”
“Help anyone?” Jacob’s voice cracked. “My sister is in the hospital. They’re taking her to the ICU. The ICU!” he repeated. “None of this would have happened if she’d had the surgery. You promised my father.”
Cassie was struggling to put the pieces together. What did this man have to do with Emily going to the hospital?
The other customers in the bank had gone quiet, watching the emotional scene unfold like a made-for-TV movie. Eyes wide, a teller behind the counter whispered to another, the bank officer who’d been helping them slowly closed the folder containing their paperwork.
“Where’s security?” Cassie whispered, leaning against Kade.
“Small town,” he murmured back, his gaze fixed on Jacob. “No one thinks they need paid security. Not even a bank.”
The bank man was backing away, hands raised slightly. “Listen, young man, the market has risks. I told your father that. Nothing is guaranteed—”
“You said it was safe!” Jacob’s hand remained in his pocket. “You said you could double, maybe even triple our savings.” His eyes filled with unshed tears at the same time his jaw clenched, turning the pain to fury once again. “You promised.”
Cassie watched Jacob carefully. The dark circles under his eyes had deepened since she’d seen him at the Whiskey Moon. No sleep, a sick sister, and a loaded gun topped with a heavy dose of desperation were a very deadly cocktail.
“One of the lease holders defaulted. It happens. All the time. It’s no big deal.” The man’s voice was laced with impatience now. “It’s unfortunate timing, but if you just wait, the investment will likely recover—”
“Wait?” Jacob’s voice rose an octave. “Emily can’t wait. She needs that surgery now.”
The irritated man shook his head. “You should be having this argument with your insurance company, not me.”
Aw hell, Cassie thought. Pass the buck, just what this kid didn’t need to hear. And then it happened. Jacob’s hand slid out of his pocket, a semi-automatic handgun clenched tightly in his fingers.
“Put that thing away before someone gets hurt.” The man’s voice took on a dismissive tone. “This isn’t a video game, kid.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. Kade’s hands rolled into a fist. They both recognized this guy was clearly an idiot, beautifully skilled at making things worse.
Jacob lifted his arm, his gaze shifting to the front door. The crack of the gunshot was deafening—and terrifying.
A flower pot exploded in a shower of terracotta and dirt. The woman who had been at the teller window screamed a high, thin sound of pure panic. People instantly dropped to the floor, a few scrambling on all fours for cover. Pulling Cassie out of her seat, Kade had her smothered in his grip, his body molded around hers, shielding her from any more flying bullets. She could feel the frantic hammering of his heart against her back.
