“Someone else is with them,” Blade announced, coming to the same conclusion he had.
Whoever had set those explosives was still in the building, and he’d found Cassandra and Rose. Depending on their motivations and who they were working for, that person could either kill both the women outright, or abduct them and take them to Dr. Gardner or the mystery woman.
January 9th
9:25 P.M.
There was nowhere to go.
They were trapped.
Cassandra scanned the ground in the thin light of the flashlight, praying that both hers and Rose’s lost weapons would suddenly become visible, and she could make a dive for them.
Without those guns, they were sitting ducks.
There was absolutely nothing stopping this man from doing exactly what he came to do. Which was kill them or take them.
She was leaning toward taking them. That had been the plan for the man who had broken into her home. That night felt like a lifetime ago, and yet in reality, it wasn’t even quite a week yet.
Six days that had changed her life, though.
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 buildingwith 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.”
