Letting Go of Us (Anchored Hearts Vol. 3) (25 page)

“
I know. I’m bummed
too.”

“
You don’t have to
go.”

“
Yes, I do.”

She closed her eyes and
took a deep breath. “When do you leave?”

“
Sunday.”

“
You’re not going to tell
him are you?”

“
I, I don’t know. It’s not
like I won’t stay in touch.”

“
Paul…”

“
Everything ok?” James
walked up and took in the situation. He took a possessive stance
close to Cassidy and I took a step back.

“
Did you know he’s leaving
town?” He didn’t say anything as she put the pieces together.
“James Benedict. If you had anything to do with this…”

“
Cassidy, it was my
decision.” She looked between us both, trying to decide what to
believe. “I should go find Cal and Jane.” I turned and walked
away.

“
Paul,” I turned back to
face him, “I meant what I said. You’ll always have a job here if
you want it.”

I nodded, “Thanks, man. I
appreciate it.” I walked away from them knowing full well I had no
intention of ever returning. The only way to move on was by staying
away.

~ CASSIDY ~

Paul walked away and James
smiled at me, concern across his face. “You ok?”

I nodded and took a deep
breath. “Yeah. I really hurt a lot of people. Why don’t you hate
me? I hate me.”

He was a little rougher
than he intended as he gripped my shoulders and began rubbing them
when I winced. “Don’t say that! I don’t hate you. I could never
hate you. Cassidy, you’re my world. Please tell me you believe
me.”

I was shutting down,
drained, so tired and I just wanted to go home. There were still a
few hours left in the night and I prayed I could hold on. He leaned
down to meet my eyes and I just smiled and nodded. “I believe
you.”

I could tell by the look on
his face that he didn’t believe me and I didn’t care. He walked me
back through the ballroom and out to the terrace. Everyone was
gathered down in the garden or on the terrace. Judging by the crowd
it was clearly time for the fireworks to begin. James stood behind
me, his arms circled around my waist. I placed my head back against
his chest and he easily supported me. I knew without a doubt he
loved me and I loved him. Why did life have to be so fucking
complicated? When the first firework boomed overhead, I jumped. He
squeezed me tighter and kissed my temple before we enjoyed the rest
of the display.

Cal and Jane were next to
us and when the fireworks were over she pulled me into a hug.
“Thank you so much. This night has been wonderful.”

“
You’re welcome. It was my
pleasure.”

“
Really, Cass. You did
wonders tonight. Thanks, sis.”

“
Imagine what I could’ve
done had I been given more than three months to plan!” We all
laughed.

James chimed in, “Hey, I
wanted to give you guys something without all the theatrics.” He
pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Jane. “I hope
it’s not taken the wrong way. I just want my family close to
me.”

Jane looked at the envelope
and back to James before Cal said, “Well, open it.”

Even I was clueless as to
what James had gifted them. Jane unfolded a piece of paper and
scanned her eyes over it. Looking up to us, disbelief in her eyes,
“James? Are you serious?”

“
What is it?” Cal and I
asked in unison.

“
It’s land.” Jane’s voice
was barely audible.

“
Land. For what?” Even I
understood, Cal was clueless.

I squeezed James hand and
smiled up at him. He was amazing. “I have all that land out by the
cider mill. I thought it’d be nice if you guys built a house, too.
We’d be neighbors.”

I knew from the look on
Cal’s face he was worried about the cost. Living on his salary had
never been easy. “Wow. That’s, well, wow. Thanks, Benedict.” My
brother and James shook hands and then Jane gave James a big hug
and thanked him again. Cal made eye contact with me just as I
noticed Paul hovering nearby. I motioned toward him and Cal turned
to see him.

“
Paul! Where’ve you been
buddy?” I looked to Paul who asked to talk to Cal and Jane. “Sure,
everything ok?” The three of them walked off and I hoped everyone
would give them some privacy for a few minutes.

“
Why didn’t you tell me
what you had planned for their gift?” He just shrugged his
shoulders. “It’s amazing.”

“
Really, I didn’t want to
make a big deal out of it. It was your idea, anyway. I have more
land than I could ever need. I know how close you are to both of
them. It was the right thing to do.”

Smirking, I said, “It’ll be
like our own little commune.” He laughed as I tried to suppress a
yawn.

“
Cassidy, let me take you
upstairs. You’re exhausted.”

“
I can’t just leave. All
my family is here.” He frowned at me, but I managed to hold on for
another couple hours.

Cal and Jane left and
decided to drive up to the cabin that night. She had to work on
Monday so they only had a couple days alone. She gave me the key to
her room and I assured her I’d get all her belongings home to
her.

James and I were headed up
the elevator and I pushed the button for the floor Jane’s room was
on. He looked at me and I told him I wanted to get my purse from
Jane’s room. I’d gone without my phone all day, and while it was
liberating, I needed it back. We made the quick detour and walked
into the bridal suite.

“
You know, since Cal and
Jane aren’t using the room, we could.” I looked at him and laughed.
The room was very decadent, with a Jacuzzi tub, and a huge king
sized bed.

“
Mr. Benedict. I’m
exhausted. Keep dreaming.” I threw myself back on the bed, still in
my dress and my exhaustion hit me like a two by four. “Shit. I’m
not getting up.”

He smirked and crawled on
the bed next to me. He pulled me into his embrace and soon we were
both asleep, he in his tux and me in my dress.

~<>~<>~<>~

When we woke it was early
morning. I turned to look at him and he was wide awake, staring at
me. I smiled, blushing while I stretched my body out.

“
Stop looking at me.” He
laughed and asked why. “Um, I probably have raccoon eyes and look
horrible.”

“
You’re beautiful.” He
climbed out of the bed and offered me his hand. “You
hungry?”

“
Yes.”

“
Get dressed and meet me
in my room in thirty minutes. I’ll order breakfast for
us.”

“
Mmm, sounds perfect. I’m
going to take a quick shower and I’ll be up.”

He kissed my cheek and
said, “Hurry.”

He winked at me before he
walked out the door. I gathered up my bags and pulled out my
clothes from the day before. I hadn’t packed extras because I
hadn’t anticipated being gone all night. The hotel toiletries would
have to do. I checked and there was even a toothbrush and
toothpaste. I was about to remove my dress when there was a knock
on the door. He was relentless. What could he possibly want? One
thing was my best guess.

I flung the door open and
exaggerated my tone, “Yes, Mr. Benedict.”

Fear ripped me in half as I
tried to shut the door, but it was too late. I started screaming
and ran for the hotel phone. He pushed me back, the receiver in my
hand, and he ripped the phone from the wall. I had to get away from
him. I knew what he’d done to Melissa and knew in my gut he
wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to me. He pulled a gun and put it
to his lips and I hushed.

“
One more scream and he’s
dead, after I make him watch me kill you.”

“
Dan, please don’t do
this. He’s expecting me back in his room. He’ll know something’s
wrong.”

He looked around and knew
he had some time. “Guessing since the shower is running, clothes
are laid out and you’re dry. I have plenty of time.” He stared at
me and I started to get sick to my stomach as his eyes scanned my
body. “Get up!” Slowly, I stood up and he motioned me closer. “Get
a pad of paper and write him a note. Tell him you aren’t feeling
well or something. I have plans for you before I involve
him.”

My emotions were getting to
me as my throat clenched and my voice cracked. “Dan, you won’t get
away with this. Let me go and we’ll show mercy. My brother’s a cop,
he can get you a lighter sentence.”

He smacked me as he spit
out, “Do you think I’m some kind of fucking idiot? Now do what I
said, NOW!”

I tasted the blood on my
tongue as I grabbed the pen and notepad off the side table. As I
wrote the note, I remembered the safety word that Smith had put in
place. All the security guards and James knew what it was. I just
prayed it worked.

Dan grabbed the note and
scanned it. “What the fuck is this?”

“
I, he, we were supposed
to go grocery shopping. If I give him a list it’ll keep him busy,
give him something to do.”

He looked at me and at the
note with the small grocery list and shrugged his shoulders. “He’s
in for one hell of a surprise. Grab your shit. Let’s
go.”

I grabbed my small clutch,
knowing my phone was in there, but not knowing if it had a charge
left. Smith had also installed a tracking app on my phone.
Please God, someone help me.
We walked out of the hotel room and he motioned me toward the
stairs. It was very early and the halls were quiet, maid service
not at work yet.

“
You do ANYTHING to make
anyone suspicious and they’re dead.” He put the gun in the front
pocket of the hoodie he wore and walked behind me. We made our way
down the dozen flights of stairs and were headed to the parking
garage was my guess when he sneered, “You’ll get in your car and
drive.”

I pulled my keys out of my
purse as we made our way down the last flight of stairs and walked
into the hall that lead to the garage.

“
Cassidy! You’re up
early.” NO! “You headed out?”

Dan lingered back in the
stairwell as I held the door open. “Hey, Melissa. I was just
heading home.” I had no idea what Dan had in store for me, but I
didn’t want Melissa hurt anymore.

C
hapter
16
~
H
ostage

~ CASSIDY ~

“
Hey, what’s wrong?” It
was then that I felt the tear slide down my cheek.

“
Are my eyes watering?
Stupid allergies. I forgot my allergy pills at home
and…”

I heard her gasp as Dan
yanked me back against him. “Run and you’re dead,
Melissa.”

“
Go ahead you piece of
shit. After what you’ve done to me, I’d rather be dead.” She was
challenging him and I didn’t know whether to sing her praises or
scold her.

“
You’re a stupid bitch.
You’ll make a good hostage. Let’s go.”

She willingly walked with
us as we walked down the corridor and continued to bait him.
“You’ll never get out of here with both of us, Dan.”

“
Shut your whore
mouth.”

We entered the garage and
headed toward my mustang. He put the gun on Melissa and they
climbed in, him in the backseat and her the passenger. I got behind
the wheel and slowly pulled out of the garage after buckling up. I
used my clicker to open the gate and pulled out onto the road. He
instructed me where to go and I followed his instructions. Soon we
were in a bad part of town and we pulled up behind an older model
car.

“
Get out.”

He started walking toward
the car and Melissa refused to go with him. He pointed the gun in
her face and began cursing at her.

“
Please stop. Let her go,
Dan. I’ll do whatever it is you want. Just let her go.”

Melissa seemed surprised by
my words and then repeated the same thing, adding, “Dan, she can’t
give you what you want. I can. Anything you crave, need, desire,
you know I can give it to you.”

I felt like I stepped into
a movie. She had some kind of connection with him that I didn’t
understand and didn’t want to. I saw a change wash over him as he
digested her words.

Suddenly he shouted, “No!”
He turned to me and pointed at my car, “Pop the trunk.” I
vehemently shook my head as he stuck the gun to her forehead, “POP
THE TRUNK or I’ll kill her.”

“
Cassidy, it’s ok. Pop the
trunk.”

The tears were flooding
down my face as my shaking hands released the trunk on my key fob.
She climbed in willingly and just before he closed it, he smashed
the butt of the gun against her temple as she fell to the floor of
the trunk. I screamed before he turned the gun on me.

“
Shut the fuck up and get
in the other car.”

He grabbed my purse and
threw it in the backseat of the other car and told me to drive to
my place. I was on autopilot, my adrenaline pumping. I prayed to
God that James would realize something was wrong and save me.
They’d probably find Melissa first.