High-Sided: An Armed & Dangerous Novel (29 page)

I heard the beeps as he pressed in the number. I couldn’t hear the guy from this phone, only muffled gibberish, so I only got Micah’s portion of the conversation.

“Yep, got everything. I’m assuming the drugs are for the girl?” There was a long pause. “Two days then,” he said. “I’ll kill Chandler and drop his bitch off at your location. After her father’s dead, I’m done. I don’t want to see or hear from you ever again, got that?”

The call ended and I grew sicker by the minute. Killing me was one thing, but getting Kassie involved was a hard limit. I didn’t like it, but what else could I do? It was the only way we could catch the fucker.

“I’m calling you, Logan,” Micah warned.

My phone rang and I picked it up, hands shaking with rage. “I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I. Killing you will be easy. Having to take your girl isn’t; especially if I kill you in front of her.” He sighed. “Fuck. She’s going to be so pissed at us when it’s all over.”

“Yeah, she will. I’m only worried how she’ll take it. Knowing Kassie, she won’t go down without a fight. I don’t want her getting hurt.” She’d fight to the death if she had to.

“Think we should tell her what’s going on? She’d have to be good at acting.”

An idea came to mind. I couldn’t let her go into this ordeal helpless. To keep her sane and safe, it was the only option. I just had to believe she could handle it.

I explained everything to Micah and we contacted the bureau and Gary to let them know what we were doing. Gary was going to stake out the abandoned cabin with me and be there to make the arrest. If everything went according to plan, we’d have the case solved in two days. All that was left, was to tell Richard and Kassie. I texted them both and waited for them to show up. Kassie came first and when she got out of her car, I could tell she knew something was wrong. I was worried about her.

“I don’t think I like that look on your face,” she called out. “Why didn’t you come back to the shop? Everyone was wondering where you were.”

“Was Sean pissed?” I asked.

She climbed up the steps and wrapped her arms around my waist. “He was a little agitated at lunch today.”

“You ate lunch with him?”

She nodded. “At the shop. Dad picked us up some sandwiches.”

“What time did you guys start and finish?”

Her lips pursed. “I’d say probably around twelve to one-thirty. We talked about Janie and the race.” Then she poked me in the ribs. “And about your slacking. Sean’s worried about our image. I keep telling him not to, but he doesn’t understand.”

Holding her tight, I kissed her forehead. “Soon they’ll all know.”

She jerked out of my arms, eyes wide. “Really? What happened?”

Richard’s car caught my attention. “I’m about to tell you both.”

Her father parked beside Kassie and stormed out of his car. “Hope you have a good reason for skipping practice. You have a big race this weekend,” he pointed out.

“I’m ready for the race. Unfortunately, we have something more important to discuss.”

They followed me inside and we all sat down at the kitchen table. When I had their attention, I blew out a heavy sigh. “Apparently, someone out there wants us both dead. The hits have been planned.”

Kassie gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. “Planned? What do you mean?” Richard stared at me, mouth gaping.

“They want me dead first,” I explained, looking straight at Kassie. “That way, they can get to you. They plan on kidnapping you and asking for a ransom, then killing your father when he shows up with the money.”

Kassie grabbed my hand. “How do you know all of this?”

I glanced at Richard and he answered, keeping his eyes on mine. “From his partner. Looks like the plan actually worked. No wonder they asked him to be the one to kill us. The man’s got a volatile temper.”

“Wait,” Kassie demanded, jerking her hand from mine. “How come my father knew about this and I didn’t?”

I grabbed her hand back. “It had to be done. We needed everyone to think me and him were enemies. I’ll give you one guess at who you think it might be.”

It took her a few seconds, but then she froze. “Holy shit. Micah?”

I nodded. “He’s my partner and a good guy. Everything you’ve heard about him is a farce we put together to make people believe he’s dangerous. Looks like it worked.”

“So what do we do?” Richard asked. There was fear in his voice and I could see it in his eyes.

“This will go down two days from now. Micah will be the one to pull the trigger. It’ll be blanks. After he shoots you, I need you to be perfectly still and pretend to be dead. Whoever shows up for the money will probably be someone you know. Whatever you do, don’t move until I have him in custody.”

“Where is all of this taking place?”

I showed him the directions and he caught his breath, a look of terror on his face. “What is it?”

“I know that place,” he choked. “It’s a rundown cabin in the middle of nowhere.” He glanced at Kassie and lowered his head. “It’s where I used to gamble.”

So many scenarios ran through my mind, I couldn’t put them together. “How many people know about this place?”

Richard shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“What about the people in the racing world. Any of them know about it?”

“Not that I know of. It was used as a gambling house. None of my friends were into gambling like I was.”

It was a mystery. Everyone I’d researched checked out to be fine, including the men he’d gambled with before. There was something I was missing, a piece of a puzzle that’d been hidden.

Richard put his arm around Kassie’s shoulders and hugged her close. “What about my girl? I don’t want her getting hurt.”

“She won’t, I promise. I’m going to be right there. As soon as our guy shows up, it’ll all be over.”

His phone beeped and he huffed when he looked at it. “I have to go. The parts for Miller’s bike just got shipped. I need to give them to Ethan.”

“Okay, we’ll meet tomorrow to go over the plan in detail.”

He leaned down and kissed Kassie on the cheek. “Be safe, peanut. I never wanted you to get involved in this.”

She stood and hugged him. “I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl.”

We followed Richard outside and watched him leave. “Do you know who wants you dead?” she asked, her voice low. Her body trembled and I could tell she was afraid.

I put my arm around her and led her to the front steps so we could sit. “It’s a man, that’s all I know. They had some sort of voice manipulation device on the phone. The good thing is, they don’t want you harmed.”

Her eyes widened. “Then it has to be someone I know. Why else would they not want me hurt?” My thoughts drifted to Sean, but I didn’t want to needlessly upset her. We sat in silence. I had two days to prepare her. “How is all of this going to happen?” she asked.

“The day after tomorrow, you’re going to come over to my place. We don’t know if anyone will be watching but we have to assume they will be. Micah’s going to get to you first so he can drug
you.”

“What?” she shrieked, pulling out of my arms to face me.

I shook my head. “He’s not going to actually drug you. That’s what this other person wants though, so you won’t know what’s going on. What I need you to do is pretend. Keep your eyes closed and your body slack, no matter what happens or what you hear. Micah’s going to protect you and I’ll be close behind. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I didn’t think you could do it. It was better than the alternative.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Which was?”

“To not tell you at all. But I didn’t want you to think I’d been killed.” I winked, hoping to ease the tension. “Besides, Micah wouldn’t stand a chance against you.”

She smirked. “He wouldn’t, especially if I thought he killed you.” Running a hand through her chocolate colored hair, she sat back down. “What about Madison? This whole time, I thought Micah was a douche. Did he fall for her, or was it an act?”

“No, baby, he fell for her . . . hard. He’s been torn up over this whole thing. He honestly didn’t know she was your sister. That whole fight at the general store was a complete surprise to him, and me.”

“Will I be able to tell her the truth when this is all over?”

Tilting her chin up with my fingers, I kissed her. “Yes. He’s probably going to beat you to it though. He’s determined to get her back.”

“Good. She deserves someone who’ll treat her right. If he doesn’t, I’ll punch him again.”

We both burst out laughing. “I’ll beat his ass too. Now come on, let’s go inside. I want to show you how to use a gun.”

“Do you think I’ll have to use one?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know. It’s better to be prepared than not.”

T
he time had come. A wire was strapped to my bra and I had a gun at my waist. I could feel my pulse spiraling out of control, the adrenaline leaving me on full alert. Tonight, I was going to find out who betrayed my family and friends. For so long, I thought I was ready to know, but now that the time was here, I was scared.

Grabbing my purse, I walked out of the door and locked it behind me. My phone rang before I could get in my car. It was Sean. “Hey,” I answered breathlessly. Sweat dripped down my face and I wiped it away.

“Do you and Logan want to have dinner with me and Janie tonight? We’re cooking spaghetti at her place.”

I was so happy he’d found someone he cared about. Ever since her accident, he’d been with her nonstop. “I wish we could, but we already have plans.”

“Seriously? I won’t be a dick to him, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m honestly trying here. He just pisses me off when he doesn’t take racing seriously.” That was because he was trying to save the world.

“He does take it seriously. There’s just other things going on in his life right now. You have to trust me.”

“All right, I get it. We’ll be here at Janie’s if you decide to change your mind.”

“Thanks, Sean. Logan and I will come around soon.” We hung up and I headed over to Logan’s cabin. It was strange to think someone could be watching our every move. I never had the feeling of being watched, but now I did; it was creepy.

Instead of knocking on the door, I walked right inside. Logan was in the kitchen, pouring me a glass of wine. “You’re going to need this.”