I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. As much as I wanted to keep Cassie safe, I knew it was going to ruin my investigation if James found out we were outside watching and waiting.

A man’s voice became apparent. He was angry and then I heard something shattering. A woman screamed and then the sound of a door slamming caused me to hide behind a hedge. I watched the tall blonde storm out the front door. She climbed into her sport’s car and took off down the road. Not one person came out to catch her before she could leave. Now there were only three people in the house.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on what they were saying. “Brant, we have to leave. Get up. I can’t carry you. You’re in danger. It’s not safe here. The FBI is watching the building. They know what Rocky is up to. Get up. I don’t want you to go to jail. I know this FBI agent who can help us. Please come with me. I forgive you for what happened with Tammy. I need you to come with me.”

“Get the fuck off me, Cassie. You’re too good for me. I fucked up. I can’t do this anymore. We don’t want the same things. You should just go home to your family. It’s what you want anyway.”

“No. I won’t leave you. Aren’t you hearing me? The FBI task force is coming to arrest you. They probably have the house surrounded.”

“Get my gun. It’s in my duffle bag under the bed. Ain’t no one taking me out of here.”

Her boyfriend’s words were unnerving.

Panic struck me when I realized how loud they were talking. It was only a matter of time before James heard them and realized he was about to go down. I had to get inside of that house.

I didn’t care if I was spotted as I darted across the back lawn to enter through the rear.  Then I saw him, James loading a gun as he listened from the next room over. My eyes widen and focused on the coffee table where a silencer sat in front of him. He slowly began screwing it on, giving me only seconds before I could get inside and attempt to save them from their impending fate.

Chapter 17

Cassie

I was desperate and enraged. I’d arrived to discover Tammy and Brant fucking on the bed we’d shared. I should have known he was drunk from the way he smiled, as if being caught was funny to him. I slapped him several times while giving Tammy a piece of my mind. I shouldn’t have expected her to be trustworthy. I’d known all along she was only out for herself.

She tried to say Brant had come onto her when we first arrived. She claimed they’d had sex several times while I was in the house with them. I didn’t know who to believe.

Then I remembered why I’d come back, and what I needed to do to convince Brant staying was a bad idea. Tammy was still giving me hell about not being good enough to satisfy my boyfriend, so I did what every country girl would have done when they felt threatened. I jacked her ass up, smacking her hard enough where I sent her down to the floor. She fell so hard her high heel broke in half and flung across the room. She kicked off the other shoe and whined about them costing more than I was worth, before running out the door to avoid me killing her with my bare hands.

Once we were alone, I went after Brant, desperate to convince him we needed to get out of there. In those moments I didn’t care about him cheating, or what our relationship would be going forward. I just needed to know he was away from Rocky.

I shook my boyfriend while trying to get him to sober up enough to hear me. “Brant, we have to leave. Get up. I can’t carry you. You’re in danger. It’s not safe here. The FBI is watching the building. They know what Rocky is up to. Get up. I don’t want you to go to jail. Please come with me. I forgive you for what happened with Tammy. I need you to come with me.”

“Get the fuck off me, Cassie. You’re too good for me. I fucked up. I can’t do this anymore. We don’t want the same things. You should just go home to your family. It’s what you want anyway.”

“No. I won’t leave you. Aren’t you hearing me? The FBI will arrest you. They probably have the house surrounded.”

Finally, I had his attention. His eyes widened and after staring at me for a second he pointed toward something. “Get my gun. It’s in my duffle bag under the bed. Ain’t no one taking me out of here.”

I rushed for his gun, only to realize what I was about to do. Did I want a shoot out happening between my boyfriend, Rocky and the FBI? Would I be caught in the crossfires? I handed him his gun, but refused to let go of it. “Wait. Don’t do this. We can leave out the back and the agents will protect us. My agent friend is right outside. He’ll keep you safe if you just tell him what you know.”

“I’m not a rat, Cassie.” He aimed the gun at me after jerking it out of my hold. “What have you done? Do they have me on tape? Did they see what we did? Do they know it’s going down right now?”

I threw up my hands to keep him from pulling the trigger. “No, please don’t hurt me. It’s not what you think. I didn’t go to the police or the FBI. Are you crazy? I wouldn’t do that. I didn’t want to tell them anything. They threatened me. They said I’d go to jail if I didn’t tell them what Rocky was up to. They don’t know anything. They have no idea about anything tonight.”

“What did you say to them? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but closed it when I heard Rocky’s voice coming from outside of the room. “Yo, Brant. Can you come out here for minute? I think we need to discuss the future of your relationship with your girlfriend. I warned you about what would happen if either of you fucked this up for me.”

Brant shoved me out of the way and left the room. I covered my mouth and tried to remain calm. Rocky had heard what I was saying. He knew he was in a ton of trouble, and blamed it all on me.

Rocky wanted me gone. He was threatening to kill me, and Brant was defending me still. I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t even sure if Agent Campbell knew I’d arrived and gone inside the house. The other agents didn’t know who I was. They could have thought I was someone there for the party. All of a sudden it got quiet.

I peeked around the corner to find them gone.

Then I could hear the conversation still going on. It was getting louder again. I prepared to run in and plead my case to Rocky, begging for him to spare us because I didn’t have a choice. Even if he was a cold-blooded killer, he had to have a conscience. If this was the last thing I did in my life I wanted to die because I was trying to save someone I cared about.

The voices were close again. There was arguing and then a loud gunshot, my body startled and became full of worry.

I waited to see Brant come back into the room. I thought he was the one who’d shot Rocky.

Then I heard a man’s voice, and I knew Brant wasn’t the one coming to rescue me. Rocky was alive.

“Brant!” I called out.

“Sorry, your boyfriend had to go. I told him it was a bad idea to bring you along. He said you wouldn’t be any trouble. Girls like you are always the problem, Cassie. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve worked to be successful? You think the cops are going to come in and haul me away? Even if they do, I’ll be out of jail in a matter of days. They can’t stop me. I’ve got a few of them in my pocket. This is way bigger than you think, little girl.”

I had to find a way out of the house. He’d be coming for me next. He knew my being alive jeopardized everything he’d worked so hard to protect. He needed to tie up loose ends, in order to continue with his plans. I knew at any minute he’d find me hiding. His gun would discharge and put me out of my misery. As hard as it was to focus, I began to pray for someone to save me before it was too late. I begged for an angel to guide me into the light when it happened. I didn’t want to die within the darkness, alone, without the family I longed to be able to see one more time.