“No way,” I growled.
Faster. Closer. Almost…
I leaped and tackled him.
We went down on the hard floor. I felt his headthunkand my knee wrench. His hands were slapping at my face, but I had him pinned. A moment later, I saw the heavy boots of three security guards surround us and heard the clack of Gia’s heels.
“Is that him, miss? Is this the guy?”
I hauled Theo’s face around to where Cassie was standing right beside Gia.
“Yes,” said Cassie. “That’s him.”
And then another voice cut through the crowd. The loud cry of the other culprit, her voice making my back molars grind.
“Oh my God! You caught him! Thank God.”
Sophia was coming through the back door. Her eyes were wide and her mascara smeared down her cheeks. She looked as if she was horrified and indignant all at once.
The perfect actress.
“We have him now, Mr. Hart,” said the oldest security guard. At least he looked like he shaved. “Let us take him into custody.”
I nodded and gingerly crawled off the bastard. I wanted to make sure he didn’t try to bolt again, but I also was starting to worry about what I’d just done to my knee. Fortunately, the idiot didn’t run. Within moments he was in handcuffs.
“Cassie, are you all right?” Sophia cried.
Cassie nodded, her gaze locked on her stalker, but my movements were all for Sophia. I crossed to her side and gripped her by the arm.
“Take her into custody, too,” I said. “She’s the one who ordered him to terrorize Cassie.”
“What?” she gasped as she tried to wrench out of my hold. “Have you gone crazy?”
“Nope,” I answered. “I’m just coming to my senses. You couldn’t leave her alone, could you? You had to keep her off-balance, had to keep her fragile.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I love Cassie!”
“No, you love making money off of me. And you knew I wouldn’t dump you as long as she was too weak to face you.” Then I forcefully turned us both so that we were looking at Cassie. “Look at her now, Sophia. Really look.” Then I called out to my other sister. “Cassie, how are you doing now? How do you feel?”
Gia and Cassie turned to us, but it was Cassie who straightened and got that fierce competitor look that we shared. She stalked right up to Sophia, holding her sister’s gaze for a moment before turning back to me.
“I feel fucking fantastic,” she said.
I knew it was true. I could see it in every line of her body. And yeah, she went back to grab Gia’s hand, but there was no fear in her eyes. Cassie was good. After everything she’d been through, she was finally good.
I handed Sophia over to the cop, watching with satisfaction while he handcuffed her. She wasn’t silent. Not Sophia. She started with, “How dare you?” then progressed with a stream of, “Do you know what I’ve done for you? You owe everything to me. Everything!”
I threw an arm around Cassie, and we hugged like we hadn’t seen each other in years. Behind my back, Sophia was screaming curse words. Something about how she had made me.
And then she pulled out a new one.
“I slept with your coach. It was the only way I could get you into the minors. I had to sleep with him to get you your start!”
I straightened and turned back to her, shaking my head. This last attempt at making me feel guilty was appalling. It didn’t help her, and it tarnished a good man’s name. I stared at her, wondering how I ever could have let her control so much of my life. It shocked me.
“Anything else you want to confess?” I asked.
“Connor!” Gia whispered from behind me. “There are camera phones everywhere.”
