Assassin (14 page)

“If you can have that much zest when you speak, I guess you
are fine. But honey, if you’re going to say ‘fuck you’ to me, just say it.
Don’t mask it behind words like ‘fine’.” She can’t help it. The smile ghosts
across her face as she puts the brush back over her hand and starts to groom
the foal again. This one reminds her of Reese’s Pieces, and stroking across the
blaze on his face makes her heart ache.

“Fuck you, Vic.” She says with an amused voice. Her hair
falls into her face, and Victor follows her to the other side of the horse. His
hand comes up to brush away the new streak of black in her hair rather than
pink, and she freezes. The gesture cannot be construed as anything but
romantic, which makes her heart stop in her chest.

“Cassie, I know there’s someone out there you’re waiting
for. But what he never comes back?” The words are quiet and no one else can
hear, but her cheeks flush just the same. Cassidy knew this moment was coming
the second she laid eyes on Victor, but the spark he felt was just a fizzle for
her.

“He’ll come back.” She says heatedly as she steps away from
him, but it’s not Victor that she’s upset with. It wouldn’t be fair to blame it
on him.

“If he doesn’t…” Victor doesn’t finish the sentence as he
walks away. Cassidy feels her eyes fill with the familiar tears and wipes at
them angrily. She blames it on her raging hormones, and the doctor confirmed
that this would happen.

“He’ll come back.” She repeats quietly as she watches
Victor’s retreating form. Her hand trembles as she lifts it and the brush up to
continue her job. Feeling guilty for the twinge of doubt in her heart, Cassidy
tries to think of something else other than the fact that she’s alone on this
dude ranch with three lives depending on her. It’s surreal and frightening at
the same time, but she will
never
wish it hadn’t happened. That wouldn’t
be fair.

The afternoon slips into the evening, and she’s exhausted by
the time she goes in for dinner. No one complains if she eats more than her
fair share at a meal, and the women ooh and ah over a stomach that hasn’t even
begun to show yet. Cassidy fears the babies will be underweight, but her doctor
insists that even if they are the technology available today gives these kids a
much better chance at surviving than if it were fifty years ago. It still
doesn’t quell her fears much.

The stars are bright this evening as she sits on one of the
porch swings with a book in hand. Cassidy was never much of a reader before,
but sometimes things change when people are thrown into a strange environment.
Now she knows how Troy must have felt those few weeks he was at her father’s
farm. The man must have been more home sick than her right now. He came from
the city; at least she’s still on a farm of some sort.

At first, the sound of a vehicle doesn’t register in her
mind as she marks her place in the book and stands up from the porch swing.
Everyone else is either inside watching television or they’ve gone to bed
already. It was a rough day for most, and she’s no exception. She wishes she
could do more than just groom a few horses and water them, but she’s not
allowed to lift anything over ten pounds around here. Those aren’t the doctor’s
orders. They’re Victor’s.

Headlights wash over her as the vehicle pulls up to the
house, and something tells her to turn around rather than run. She can’t see
who is behind the steering wheel or sitting in the passenger seat, of anyone,
because of the headlights. They flick off, and she’s still seeing spots.
Someone opens up the door behind her, but she’s not paying attention to anyone
within the house. If there’s a threat, it’s the person in the vehicle.

Cassidy inhales sharply as the passenger door opens and a
large silhouette steps out. He sure is a threat, but not to anyone here. There’s
this moment where she knows he’s staring at her, and she’s staring back at his
hulking frame. In that moment,  she’s assessing whether or not she wants to go
to him, to accept him for who he is and what he’s done. It’s not the times that
he frightened her that runs through her mind. It’s all the times that she saw
him with his guard down around Hannah or Reese’s Pieces. Specifically, it’s the
moment where she realized she could love him even though she didn’t know every
detail of his life. They could be best friends and lovers if she could get
those walls down.

“Troy.” It’s a barely audible, breathed word from between
her lips as the cool night air comes rushing back into her senses. The man
standing beside her with a gun is Victor, and he has it pointed at the stranger
like an old time westerner.

“Cassie?” He asks, unsure if he should be shooting or asking
questions. But she’s not listening to him as she takes that first step forward.
It’s all the answer that Troy needs from her, and she doesn’t make it to the
first step before he’s up them and pulling her into a tight hug.

It’s not along hug because he pushes her away to study her
face and look her over as if he’s looking for battle wounds. She feels her
bottom lip quivering when his eyes finally reach hers again, and he says her
real name over and over again while he kisses her face. It’s a lot different
from their meeting his home in Colorado, and it’s only been a few days. But
perspectives can change within a few, short moments.

“Troy I’m-” He cuts her off with a long kiss as his large
hands move to her lower back and pull her in. When he finally pulls away from
her, the two of them breathless, he’s beaming.

“I know.” He tells her, and she immediately looks at Marty
Summers. He throws up his hands in surrender and shakes his head, so she looks
back at Troy imploringly. “You had your hand to your abdomen when you were in
Colorado, and you looked different. It wasn’t until I saw a pregnant woman in
LA that I realized-” She cuts him off short with a hand to his mouth, muffling
his words.

“You went to
LA?
” She screeches, causing the hairs on
every man’s arms to rise. Her hand falls away from his mouth when she realizes
that he can’t speak with it there. Victor clears his throat and invites Marty
inside for a glass of brandy.

“We have a lot to talk about.” Troy says quietly as he sits
her down on the swing. Cassidy notices the stitches on his arms at that point,
and hisses when she starts to inspect them. He stops her from lifting up the
shirt with his hands enveloping hers.

“We sure as hell do, Troy Red. Or whatever your name is now.
Who did you kill?” His face falls as he looks down at the wooden porch boards
below his boots.

“I think it’s best that the details are left out.” He says
with a rough voice. Cassidy inhales deeply and holds her breath as she counts
back from one hundred. She reaches sixty eight before she feels her heart rate
starting to slow down.

“I’m not a mobster’s girlfriend or wife, Troy. So you’re
going to tell me
exactly
what happened. I will not be left in the dark!
This is your first lesson in having a relationship.” She sees his ears visibly
perk at the word relationship and can’t help the small smile on her lips. But
it’s short lived.

“Where do you want me to start?” He sounds beaten and
defeated, and it’s not how she wants him to be. Cassidy pulls his hands up to
her lips and kisses each one his knuckles gently. Her gut twists with each
bruise and scrape she sees on them, and she wonders if she can do this. Can she
live with a man who killed? Maybe if she knew the reasons, the real ones.

“Tell me what happened after I left Colorado.” And so he
begins. He tells her about meeting up with people he knew in LA, and about the
club. He confirms her suspicions about having frequented there often, and he
tells her about the other two hit men he met. Then he tells her why her father
was murdered and exactly how he landed himself in the witness protection
program in the first place. Then he says the most chilling words of all.

“I’m a killer, Cassidy. I did it for money because that was
what my father did and trained me to do. Not knowing any better is an excuse
that I refuse to live behind. I did what I did. I’d do what I did days ago all over
again if it met keeping you safe. If it means keeping our child safe.” He sees
the twitch of her shoulders at the word child and quirks an eyebrow at her.
It’s an endearing look that she’ll never get her stomach to stop flip-flopping
over, even if they live their entire lives together.

“Children.” She says quietly. There are a few seconds where
he stares at her disbelievingly, and then his lips curl up at the corners.

“Twins?” He asks.

“Triplets.” The smile disappears as his jaw slackens, and
Cassidy wonders if it’s the first time Troy has ever been rendered speechless. He
looks at her lower abdomen as if it’s foreign to him, and then he looks
confused.

“You’re two months along, shouldn’t there be something by
now?” He doesn’t sound condescending, just curious.

“Yeah, that’s what I said, but the doctor says that it’s
normal. I should start showing any day now, and she said that everything will
be fine. But twins are considered high risk, triplets are extremely high risk.
I could give birth prematurely, one could die while the others live, and they’d
have to remove it, and they’re identical, so there are all these horrible
things that could happen!” She inhales to keep going, but Troy stops her with a
finger to her lips. He smiles at her as he pulls her in under his arm and looks
out at the trees beyond the pastures.

“I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you or them,
Cassidy. No matter what it takes.” She snorts at his absurd belief that he could
stop a miscarriage or anything else, but somehow his confidence in himself
makes her feel a little better. At least she won’t be doing this alone.

“So you’re staying?” She asks quietly and feels the tensing
in his arm at her question.

“I’ll never leave again.” He tells her. They have a long way
to go in developing a relationship, but Troy is certain of one thing. He loves
Cassidy Grant, no matter what her name may be now, and he’d never leave her
side for anything or anyone again. The world has enough killers in it, and to
him it doesn’t matter whether he’s on the right or the wrong side, he wants to
retire.

One Year Later

“Oh God! No, that one is
yours
!” Troy tries to stifle
the coughing fit while his eyes water and his hand comes up over his mouth and
nose. The gagging comes next as he retreats from the room. His fiance and the
mother of his children stands at the end of the hallway with her hands on her
bony hips and the bright red streak of hair like a flaming stop sign in front
of him. She’s let it grow out a little longer, but it’s still blonde with some
sort of streak at all times.

Her finger comes up, and points in the direction he’s
running from as she gets in his way. He’d never plow over her, but he’s
actually contemplating it for a second. The stern look on her face would make
any man quiver under that gaze, and he knows she’s an excellent mother just
from that glare. She can stop anyone short with that look.

“Get your ass back in there, Troy Evans! I had to get up all
last night and do my shift, and now it’s your turn!” She also knows how to make
a man feel guilty. He even tries to beg with his eyes for a few seconds, but
it’s no use. Troy would never run from a fight, but smelly diapers are not
playing fair.

Dejectedly, Troy returns to the room to do his duty. He
sucks in a deep breath before he returns to the changing table and gags as he
removes the disposable diaper. The screaming he can handle, but the smell?
That’s worse than a nuclear bomb.

Unfortunately, Robert’s screaming is like a fire engine
siren. It’s loud, ear piercing, and grates on the nerves. There is no denying
that all three triplets are Troy’s. They each have dark brown eyes like his,
and they all are quite bull-headed already at five months of age. They’re
healthier than anyone expected, too.

As soon as he’s done changing the diaper, Troy puts Robert
back in his crib and runs a finger over the baby’s cheek. Then he stands in
front of Troy Jr.’s crib, and checks to make sure this one isn’t in need of
changing. And he finally ends with Jack, the littlest of the triplets. He was
born one pound underweight, but he was not in need of a respirator.

They got lucky, and so did Cassidy.

His heart swells with pride when he leaves the room as if
changing diapers is a feat only a real man could accomplish and sits down to
his breakfast of eggs, bacon, and home fries like Cassidy’s father used to
make. It’s five thirty in the morning, and the day has officially started. He’s
not a religious man, but each morning he thanks the universe that he has a
chance at a normal life.

A five year engagement seems like a long time, but getting
married with three kids running around still learning how to be polite seemed
like a fairy tale notion. Cassidy fixes the veil atop her head and looks at
Troy Jr. sitting behind her quietly in a chair. His chubby cheeks come up to
reveal dimples when he smiles at her, and she can’t help but return it.

“You look like an angel, Mom.” Coming from anyone else would
make her feel silly, but coming from her brutally honest son makes it mean the
world to her.

“Thank you, Troy. Could you help me with this last button?”
He hops off his chair, and his feet hit the floor gently as he walks towards
her. She can see the lithe way he moves even though he’s only five, and feels
something she does not want to admit to herself, fear. They are definitely
their father’s sons the way they compete with one another. But Troy Jr. is the
most gentle of the three.

She bends down so that he can reach up and fit the white,
satin covered button into the loop and then he positions her hair back into
place. Before he can retreat, she pulls him into a tight hug and plants a kiss
on his forehead. He struggles and looks embarrassed by her show of affection,
but she can see the light in his eyes when she finally lets go.

“Moooom,” he drags out pithily.

“Don’t Mom me. It’s my wedding day, and I get to kiss
whomever I want. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up with Robert and Jack after all this
rigamaroo.” He looks satisfied with that, and she straightens his little tie. It’s
hard not to choke on one’s own wedding day, but even harder when she’s fixing
her son’s tie. Sometimes she thinks about what it will be like when they turn
eighteen and run off to college. Will they stay out of trouble? Or will they be
like their father?

Then she thinks about the man that Troy Evans has become,
and her fears are stifled. He’s stayed true to his word and left behind the
ways of a brutal man. Not once has he laid a hand on another in anger since
that night she told him she was pregnant with triplets. Oh, he’s looked as if
he wanted to quite a few times, but his self-control almost seems endless.

Troy Jr. is prattling on about the cake and all the great
things they’ll get to eat, and she lets the warmth of love embrace her as she
leads him from the room. Judy, one of the farmhands at the dude ranch, helps
him to his seat and shoos Cassidy back into her room. “You can’t let him see
you yet!” She whispers hurriedly.

This all seems very silly to her. The man has seen her naked
over a thousand times, and yet they had to sleep in different rooms last night.
The key word being
sleep
because they spent over three hours together in
the wee hours of the morning before they went to their separate rooms again to
get more rest. No one said they couldn’t do other things while they weren’t
sleeping.

It’s another half an hour before Victor comes to retrieve
her from her room. He’s wearing a black suit with a black shirt and a white
tie. Leave it to him to stand out a little at a wedding, but she doesn’t mind.

“Are you ready for this?” He asks her with a small smile.
After Troy returned, she had a long talk with him about his feelings for her,
and she assured her that they didn’t go beyond casual interest. She won’t feel
better about it all until he finally finds someone of his own.

“I’ve been ready for five years, Vic. Just get me down that
aisle so I can eat some cake. I’m starving!” She moves with easy grace towards
the door that leads to the room they turned into a makeshift chapel. Each
person from the dude ranch was invited, as well as a few friends that they’ve
made in town. Overall, it’s a little less than a hundred and fifty people, but
it’s a large crowd to Cassidy.

The old fashioned, high neckline dress with chiffon overtop
of the satin suits her elegance as she makes her way down the aisle. Victor has
to stop her from moving too fast several times, and she can see the twinkle in Troy’s
eyes as he tries to wait patiently. They’ve been talking about this day for
over four years, and now that it’s finally come, they both want it over with so
that they can celebrate and call each other Mr.
and
Mrs. Evans.

It took a lot of convincing and pleading to Moonlight to get
Troy’s first name changed, but they managed it. Yet to Cassidy, it’s not the
name that matters, but the man behind it. She stumbles over the words that the
pastor has them repeat until she gets to the final ‘I do’. Those two words come
out loud and strong, and as the rings are exchanged she can feel Troy’s hand
shaking.

There is nothing chaste about the kiss that sends tremors
down her spine and her legs. It’s like that first kiss in her father’s barn,
and there  is a few clearing of throats as it lasts much longer than necessary.
Their three, identical sons stand and clap with everyone else, and finally they
get to go into the room with cake.

With three five year olds and all their friends, it’s a
mess, but it’s light hearted and fun. There are games. The kids get to go
outside and ride horses while the adults sit inside and talk about their lives
and their own weddings or their hopes for one. Cassidy can’t stop looking at
the man she can now call husband, and wonders if it will always be this way
between them.

When he pulls her into for another kiss as they get a moment
alone from the well-wishers, she’s pretty sure that the way he makes her legs
weak and her heart stammer will never end.

“Cassidy,” he whispers to her as he pushes her hair back.

“It’s Cassie,” she whispers back to him with a little smile.

“I don’t care what your name is. I love you.” They’ve said
those three words to each other countless times over the years, but this feels
different. This feels as though he’s making a commitment for an eternity with
those words and Cassidy puts her forehead to his chest. The shirt hides the
scars, but she knows what they stand for.

“I love you, too, whoever you are.” They snicker and laugh,
and then her breath catches when his warm hand moves down her waist and he pulls
her in for another kiss. It’s a promise of what will happen tonight in the
bedroom, and it makes her knees weak when she has to turn to another person
wishing her a wonderful rest of her life.

Moonlight Rogers and Marty Summers both stand with one hand
clasped over their wrist in front of their pelvises. They look everything like
a secret agent should with their black suits and black ties. Even their shoes
are shiny and perfect. The guests seem to realize that these men are dangerous,
predatory and shy away from them.

“We came to see if everything is going well.” Marty says
formally as he looks at Cassidy. She glances around at the party and the smiling
guests.

“I’d say it is going pretty well.” Troy puts an arm around
her shoulders and looks at both men with no expression. He hasn’t lost the
ability to make someone squirm with that look. It’s not something he learned,
but something ingrained in him.

“You enjoyed the gift?” Moonlight asks with little emotion.

“We did,” Troy answers this time. “Reese’s Pieces is
currently causing havoc in the herd as we speak. He seems to have a roaming eye
for the ladies.” Both men’s lips upturn and Troy returns the small smile.
Feeling silly, Cassidy moves away from her husband and pulls each man into a
tight hug with a few tears shimmering in her eyes.

“I don’t know how you did it, but I don’t think words can
express how I feel about having him back.” Moonlight pats her on the shoulder
once in an awkward show of emotion and clears his throat.

“It really wasn’t that hard.” She doesn’t ask them about the
details, and hurries to find her sons. They’re bound to get into some sort of
trouble tonight.

“You’re still not interested in the offer?” Marty asks
lightly. He knows that Troy will say that he’s not, but he still has to ask.

“No, I like my life here. Besides, the world has you two.” After
that tidbit of business is over, both men relax, and all three of them sit down
at a table to discuss politics. It seems to be the only safe subject with these
two, considering they cannot talk about work.

At the end of the night, Troy and Cassidy slip into the
black sedan that Moonlight and Marty brought. They wave to their three sons and
Cassidy worries that they’ll cause more trouble for Victor than the man can
handle, but everyone insisted they have a honeymoon. She leans forward between
the two front seats with a glimmer in her eyes.

“So where are we heading?” She asks.

“You know I can’t tell you that, right?” Moonlight responds
seriously, and for a second her heart stutters. Then both agents look at each
other and laugh as they speed up the car. “Paris, honey. You’re going to
Paris.” Cassidy leans back with relief on her face and snuggles into the side
of her husband.

“Our tickets say Mr. and Mrs. Evans, right?” She asks
worriedly.

“Nah, we thought we’d change it up.” She narrows her eyes,
but neither one of them laugh. Annoyingly, their tickets don’t have their real
names on them, and they’re handed new identifications along with new passports
as they get to the airport. It’s better to be safe than sorry.