Romance: Wanted by the Alpha Lion (A BBW Paranormal Suspense Romance) (Heroes of Shifter Creek Book 2) (37 page)

X.

“This wig is super itchy,” the last nameless said as he sat with Cassius at the bar.

Cassius rolled his eyes and tapped his fingers, waiting for Amy to appear. She told him to simply come around the same time they’d come before. He thought this was interesting since she said before that made it seem like they were narcs if they came early, but he didn’t want to take any chances. Only the nameless came inside with him with the others scattered around outside keeping watch while also ready to enter at different intervals.

“You aren’t supposed to talk to me,” Cassius whispered.

“I’m talking to the universe, man. This thing itches.”

Cassius moved a seat away, not wanting to reveal himself and, really, to not talk to the guy any more. He wasn’t sure why he still didn’t feel like learning the last one’s name, but he didn’t have any interest in it. Maybe he’d just call him Gaddy too. He looked around, hoping to see Amy come in to the bar or come out from the back. His stomach felt tight, and worried sweat dripped down his face.
Where is she?

Suddenly, the phone in his pocket buzzed. He pulled it out to see a text from her – “I’m in the back. No one’s back here.” Another text came in quickly. “I’m scared.”

He rose and whispered to Gaddy, “Amy’s in the back. I’m going back there.”

“You probably shouldn’t,” the man answered, scratching his wig.

Cassius didn’t respond. He only moved to the back room. Voices bounced in his ears from the others outside, but he remained focused. He imagined terrible things happening to her as he walked. He couldn’t imagine anything happening to her; he couldn’t
let
anything happen. The voices became louder in his ear. It only sounded like he was having auditory hallucinations.

The room was bare and sterile. Shiny metal walls surrounded it with tile floor leading to a drain in the center. The entire room looked entirely too clean compared to the rest of the bar. Cassius’s heart started to beat quicker as he scanned the room, looking for her.

“This room looks like a serial killer’s dream,” a male voice came from behind him.

He jumped, turning around immediately to see Gaddy, his wig askew. “What are you doing, you idiot?”

“I’m your back-up.”

Before Cassius could respond, Amy’s voice echoed through the room, “No! Get down!”

Cassius dropped to the ground in a split second. Two gun shots rang through the air in quick succession, making his already ringing ears seem to lose all ability to hear. He froze, completely in shock.

“I’m shot,” Gaddy whimpered. “I’m shot, I’m shot. It’s bad.”

A man’s boots sounded on the floor. Cassius saw the boots, but couldn’t move. He hadn’t been shot, he knew that.
Play dead, play dead.

“Oh my God, I’m shot. Little Morello is dead.”

The foot kicked Cassius hard, but he still didn’t move. Amy started whimpering and crying from the opposite corner of the room. The boots kept moving, satisfied with his victim not moving and stopped before Gaddy. Gaddy started to speak before being shot again.

“Stay here,” the man said to the corner, then exited the room.

Alice’s footsteps pounded to the entrance of the room and slammed the door, locking it. Cassius hadn’t noticed a door when he came in. She ran to him and kneeled on the floor.

“Cassius,” she whispered. “Cassius? Please don’t be dead. Please, please.”

“What the hell was that?” he asked, finally regaining his sense. “You set me up.”

She nearly jumped back. “You’re okay?”

He rose up to his knees and rubbed his ribs. “Okay? I was just shot at, and Gaddy is dead.”

“His name is Fitzgerald,” Nina’s voice broke through the chaos. “He has a name.”

“They’re all Gaddy,” Jones repeated as he had before. “God, this is already out of hand. We’ve been here like ten minutes.”

“It’s a set-up,” Leo whispered. “Some guys are trolling around now. Some went in the back.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Amy answered, tears streaming down her face. She had a cut on her cheek and looked banged up. “They took my phone and texted you. I didn’t know, Cassius.”

“I told you my name is Casey.” She froze, her eyes wide. “How do you know my name is Cassius?”

“They have access to military records,” she said. “I looked you up. I know who all of you are. I just haven’t figured out why Vince is involved.”

“So, you set us up? You played with me?”

“No, no. My job was to figure out the military members out for them, and I said it was Hernandez, Christensen, and Fitzgerald. Or Gaddy, I guess.”

“Well, they seem to think I’m involved, don’t they?”

“I don’t know when they figured it out. I think after our date when you shot one of them.”

“Now who are they looking for? They must know about the others.”

“I assume the ones who attacked the bar. I don’t know. They told me to come back here and left me with Valentin. He held me at gunpoint.” She rubbed between her shoulders. “Right here.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe this. They all warned me. They told me not to believe you…”

“I didn’t tell them about you! They killed my brother, and when I figured out who you were, I couldn’t just let them get away with it.”

“So you used me?”

“No, no. Well, not really. I thought you were cute initially, and I thought it was a shame you were a SEAL. When we got along so well, I decided to give you information on the sly.” He kept shaking his head.

“Don’t shake your head at me. You’re not my dad or something.”

“Three people are dead, and they’re going after my friends.”

More gunshots emerged outside. She grabbed his hand and tried to help him up; he rose on his own, his ribs burning. Her face fell as her eyes filled with sadness. He pulled out his gun and moved to the door.

“Don’t go out there,” she pleaded.

“I need to help them,” he answered.

“Don’t come out here,” Orion’s voice rang in his ear. “She’s right. You played dead earlier; continue playing dead.”

“I’m going out there. I need to help.”

“He’s going to come back in here,” Amy said. “We can ambush him then.”

“I don’t know if I trust you anymore.”

The sound of the boots coming back to the room beat across the floor toward the door. They shared a look, and Cassius ran back to his former position on the floor.

“Give me the gun,” she said urgently.

“No.”

“Give it to me.”

Banging started at the door. Cassius sighed and handed her the gun before playing dead again. The door burst open, and the man screamed something at her in Russian. She answered him in a low, submissive voice. His boots stomped to Cassius and flipped him over. The man flicked open a knife and cut open Cassius’s shirt, then cut the wire to keep communication. After, he tore the ear piece from his ear. He paused for a moment, resting his finger on Cassius’s neck to check his pulse.

Amy padded closer slowly as Cassius willed himself not have a pulse. The man said something under his breath and picked up the knife again. Before the man could raise the knife to Cassius’s throat, another gunshot echoed through the room. Blood spurted onto Cassius’s face, and the man fell onto his potentialvictim’s bare chest.

“This is really horrifying,” Cassius said, not wanting to open his eyes.

“I hated that guy so much,” she commented. “I’m sorry I got his blood on you.”

He gingerly moved from under the dead, took off his shirt, and wiped his bloody face with the remnants of it. He sighed and opened his eyes. She softly took the shirt from him and continued cleaning his face. Her bruised eye looked a little better from even the day before, and even with the cut on her cheek, she still looked beautiful.

More gunshots came from outside; however, they didn’t notice. They stared at each other as she cleaned him off the best she could. It felt intimate and tender, even with the war so near them. He grabbed her hand as she started on his chest, then leaned forward and kissed her. The anger vanished from him as quickly as it appeared.

“Do you forgive me?” she asked. He replied with another kiss. “We have to get out of here. I have plane tickets.”

“You got us each plane tickets?”

“Yes. They know about both of us. We can’t stay here.”

“I… I don’t know…”

“I love you, Cassius. It may seem so, but I do. You have to come with me.”

He looked deep into her wanting eyes, longing to say
yes
but knowing he couldn’t. He opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t; his shoulders dropped. She grabbed his hand and held it. Suddenly, someone burst into the room and slammed the door. Amy reacted, pointing the gun.

“Don’t shoot.” Commander Jones raised his hands in the air. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Vince?” She rose. “What are you doing here?”

“That doesn’t matter now. Are you both okay?”

“We’re fine.” Cassius rose.

“I came to check on you both and get you out of here.”

“I want to help.”

“It’s important to get out of here right now. Come on.”

He guided them out, looking around each corner and scoping the place. He motioned for them to keep quiet, then moved swiftly through the bar with them. A noise came to the side of them, and Jones motioned for them to move behind him, using his body as a shield for them. He shot into the corner; a man fell to the ground. Finally, they got out and rushed down the street to a secluded alley.

“You’re safe now,” he said wearily, leaning against the brick of the alley’s wall.

“Is everyone else okay?” Cassius asked, Amy clinging to him.

“Everyone else is fine so far. My wire stopped working, and Farson bobbled his gun – shot himself in the shoulder and foot, so he’s out right now. He shouldn’t die, but it isn’t good.”

“Oh, geez.”

“I guess I should’ve called him Gaddy too.”

“That’s not funny.”

“No,” he answered, showing no sign of a smile. He then pulled some car keys out of his pocket. “Look, I want you to take these. Get out of here. It’s the little yellow Yugo.”

“What?”

“You’re not meant for this. Get out of here.”

“I’m not going to abandon my team.”

He gave a slight smile, “Did you ever feel like you were ever a part of the team?”

Cassius didn’t answer. Amy stepped forward and took the keys. Jones motioned for him to go. He stepped forward, moving to hug his commander, but Jones wanted no part of it.

“Just go, Morello.”

Cassius nodded and ran with Amy to the car. She got into the driver’s side and looked at him in the passenger seat for a moment, then smiled at him. He smiled back and took her hand. She put the car in drive, and didn’t look back.

XI.

Cassius woke up with the sound of the ocean outside. He searched around the bed with his hands, his eyes still closed, until he touched the soft warmth of Amy’s skin. She stirred slightly, rolling over to nuzzle into his chest. His ribs still ached slightly, but they’d healed well over the weeks.

“I love France,” Amy said, opening her sleepy eyes to look up at him.

“I love you,” he answered, kissing her forehead.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

“You deserve it, my darling.”

She laughed as he pulled her closer. Every morning felt more magical waking up next to her; the horror of their last day in Russia now seemed like another day on a past calendar. What Cassius didn’t know when they left was that Amy had bought plane tickets to Poland in order to track down the man who’d ordered Alexei’s murder.

Though they ran from Russia, both Amy and Cassius felt like they had a responsibility to help still the dangerous waters of the pool of organized crime. She still knew the intricacies of the organization, and it hadn’t spread that she betrayed them – the bosses were going to see what happened the night of the final fight. Cassius joined her, acting as though he was a defector and knew inside military information himself. They moved from stronghold to stronghold, earning the crime bosses’ trusts before tearing them down.

Now, they stayed on the beach in France, taking a short break before moving on to England. Cassius swept back Amy’s blonde hair, staring into her eyes and feeling his body become warmer and more excited as he laid there with her. She placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him, drawing him closer to her. The bed quickly became more passionate as he moved his hands down her already naked body. He disconnected from her mouth to then kiss down her neck to her chest. He paid special attention to her breasts, sucking on each of her nipples,giving both equal attention.

She moaned, running her fingers in his hair. He continued kissing down her body, tasting every inch of her. As he settled between her thighs, her moans started to increase and her toes curled.

“Please,” she begged. “Please, Cassius.”

He grinned, kissing up her body again before adjusting his weight over her waist. She wrapped her legs around him, clutching his back as she kissed him again. Yet, she ripped her lips away to take a sharp intake of breath when he entered her. They rocked together, their bodies perfectly entwined. The soft ocean waves made a peaceful, even sensual soundtrack to their united movements.

The waves swelled and crashed on the beach as Amy came, her voice bouncing off the walls with moans of pleasure. As if from her moans, Cassius came shortly after. They laid together then, watching the water approach and retreat, approach and retreat.

“I love France,” he said softly.

“I love you,” she answered.

He laughed, hugging her tightly and kissing her sweaty shoulder. Birds bobbed and weaved in light of the sun, sending their images over the water like their aquatic twins who lived below them. Cassius and Amy felt completely free and secure, wrapped in the blankets of their shared bed. They no longer had to answer to anyone’s orders or expectations; they only had to answer to each other.

“If we get married and have kids, will we move to the suburbs?” she asked.

“We’ll be the most boring couple around,” he answered.

“I hope so,” she smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder and imagining the “boring” life full of love, laughter, and safety waiting for her, and the love of her life.

***

THE END