Chapter 40

40

Cass

I should've taken a nausea pill before leaving the casino, but Cole came in and distracted me.

Now, I've thrown up twice in the club's bathroom and will need an entire pack of breath mints if I don't want to run off a potential target.

Someone knocks on my stall door for the third time when I'm bent over the toilet, and I've had enough. "Fuck off!" I shout at them as I stand up. Grabbing more toilet tissue, I dab at the smeared eye makeup on my cheeks and wipe my mouth.

The door explodes inward towards me so suddenly that I drop. Spinning around, I hold out both palms to keep it from hitting me. It thankfully swings all the way open and misses me, but I'm going to kill the bitch who…

"Keep your hands up and don't move or I'll fill you with holes," a big burly bald man says as he fills the stall door .

Uh-oh.

"Is this the men's room? My bad. No need to get violent about it," I joke while my mind runs a mile a minute trying to figure out how to distract the meatball long enough to pull my Ruger from my thigh holster.

He speaks in a guttural foreign language, then a hand shoots under the stall and grabs my handbag off the floor.

"They really should have purse hooks on the back of these doors. The floor in here is disgusting," I tell them.

"Shut up," Meatball says. He says something else in what I'm guessing is Russian to the other person in the bathroom with us and he responds in the same language.

"You're going to call Daddy and tell him to come down here or we're going to kill you," he tells me in English.

Ah, this is a trap for my father. As if they're actually going to let me go once Daddy shows up. No, they're going to kill us both. I need to delay and distract until Cole gets here and figures out what's going on.

Scoffing, I tell him, "I don't think so."

This time when he speaks in Russian, I can almost guess the translation. Probably something like, "I told you she would be difficult." Because a second later, I hear the sound of guns cocking over my head. Great. There are more of them, one on either side of me. Two men who are apparently standing on toilet seats to point their weapons down at me. I can see them from the corner of my eyes, but I don't take my gaze off the Meathead who is clearly in charge.

The bathroom door opens, and I hear a masculine voice say, "Cass?" My name echos around us right before Meathead turns toward the door and opens fire. In the blink of an eye, he's pointing his gun right back at me.

Oh god.

I didn't catch the voice enough to distinguish who it was that came looking for me. Was it Cole? Or was it Brian or Sam ?

These guys, and especially Inessa, love Cole. They think he's going to fill his grandfather's shoes so I doubt they would shoot Cole.

Again, Meatball tells the other men something I don't understand and there's one less gun pointing over the stall door as the guy goes to deal with the man on the floor. More conversation that I'm not a part of and then a phone on speaker begins to ring.

"Everything okay, sweetheart?" my father's voice asks, making me squeeze my eyes shut.

"No, sweetheart, everything is not okay," Meatball drawls loud enough for him to hear him wherever the phone is. "We're sending you a photo of your daughter's dead guard. She's next unless you get your ass down to Rasputin right now. Come alone. No more guards."

"Don't do it, Daddy!" I yell. "They're going to kill me anyway!"

"No, they're not," my father replies. I wait for him to say more, to give me some sort of words of wisdom or reassurances but there's nothing but silence.

"Let's go," Meatball says. He dives into the stall, grabbing the front of my sleeveless dress to tug me forward. My heels throw me off balance as I'm jerked toward him. I reach down to my leg for my gun, but he's faster. Reaching under my skirt, he grabs the gun and holster and rips the whole thing off. He hands it over to one of the other guys so he can grasp my arm to pull me along, out the door where I see poor Sam now lying near it in a puddle of blood, his sightless eyes staring up at the ceiling.

My breaths turn shallow, coming too fast as we take a left toward a door at the end of a hallway, instead of right back to the club full of people.

I'm fucked. So fucked.

I try to figure out how to get myself out of this before Daddy shows up and we're all dead. Well, everyone but Cole. It's not like they'll let him swoop in and save me though. They hate me.

While I could try and kick all three of the men's asses, I'm certain one will shoot me before I take them all down, so all my training is worthless .

I suddenly remember how Vanessa got six kidnappers to back off her. She blurted out her real name, telling them Yuri Petrov was her father so they wouldn't touch her. And it worked, it bought her enough time for my dad to get there and save her.

Daddy or Cole will figure out a way to kill every one of these sons of bitches. I just need to give them time to come up with a plan.

So, as soon as the door to the club slams shut behind the four of us, sealing us in a dark warehouse that reminds me too much of our torture dungeon basement, I tell the men my truth.

Cole

My phone is buzzing in my pocket as I try and figure out what the fuck else I can to do to make Inessa believe I'm on her side.

Pulling the device out of my pocket, I look at the screen. "It's Dante. What should I tell him?" I ask Inessa. "That if he comes down here, I'll make sure Cass walks free?"

Her lips pinch together as if she's opposed to that idea.

"None of the girls want to take over for Dante," I lie. "They're not a threat to you once I'm in charge."

Before I can convince Inessa to let Cass go, someone across the club starts waving their arms over their head.

"What now?" Inessa huffs before she starts in their direction. Me, August, Mike, and Brian, all follow her. Looking over her shoulder, she says, "No. We can't trust them. They have to die."

"August and Mike work for me, not Dante," I lie. "Brian will get on board with us too for enough money."

"Are you absolutely certain?" she asks.

"Yes."

When we reach the waving man who is waiting near the restrooms, the two speak in Russian of course, so I have no clue what the fuck they're talking about.

Oh, fuck. What if they've already killed Cass?

No. They wouldn't kill her until Dante shows up because he might demand to see her alive first. At least I hope that's their plan.

Whatever the man tells Inessa doesn't look good for them since she rubs her eyes and forehead as if in annoyance while he speaks.

"Come on," she says to me when she points toward a door at the end of the hallway. "There's been a hitch in our plan. The guards all stay out here."

"No," I say, pushing my luck. "One comes with me. Dante will want me dead first once he figures out I've betrayed him."

"Fine," she huffs.

"August." I tip my head for him to follow. "Mike, you and Brian keep an eye out for us. Let us know if you see any of Dante's people."

"Yes, sir," Mike agrees.

I follow Inessa, who is trailing the man who works for her with August right behind me. I hear the quiet rustle of fabric of August removing his gun from his shoulder holster while I do the same. Man, I'm glad the stupid bitch didn't make us walk in front of her.

I flip off the safety without looking at it while keeping the weapon just behind my right leg.

Through the door at the end of the hallway we go, and there she is.

I'm filled with relief and panic when I see Cass sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest, black mascara smeared over her cheeks.

"You're lying," Inessa says to her.

"I'm not lying! I'm pregnant and it's Cole's baby," Cass says stopping my heart. "Doesn't…doesn't blood mean something to you fucking Russians?"

Wow. The woman really can lie with the best of them. For half a second, even I believe she's telling the truth. The lie thankfully has Inessa and her guys hesitating long enough for me to lift my gun and pull the trigger. I hit the biggest one closest to Cass first.

August doesn't need me to tell him what to do. He quickly takes out the other two men before they can even lift their weapons. They're on the ground and dead before they know what's happened.

And finally, I send a bullet through Inessa's head as she spins around to look at me in disbelief. Killing her is as easy as breathing thanks to my prior experience.

Or maybe I would have been able to end her easily even if she was my first if it meant protecting Cass.

Either way, the bitch was stupid to trust me so easily.

Lowering my gun to the side, I rush over to Cass while telling August, "Get Mike and Brian in here and let's find a way out the back."

When I kneel in front of Cass, I ask her, "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine," she repeats with a heavy sigh, then swallows roughly as if she's going to throw up. "I thought they were going to kill me."

"Me too."

"You need to call Daddy and stop him," she says. "One of them has my phone."

"Okay," I agree. "Hold this," I tell her, handing her my gun so she can watch my back while I make the phone call. "Our guards will be back in a second, so don't shoot them."

"I won't," she replies.

"Cole, where the fuck is Cass?" Dante answers.

"She's with me. She's fine. Inessa and three Russians are dead. We're in a warehouse storage area inside the club."

"We're almost there," he says. "Stay right where you are in case an ambush is waiting outside."

"Okay," I agree before he hangs up on me. Our three guards come through the door and Cass lifts the gun in case anyone follows them .

Over my shoulder, I quickly tell them, "Dante wants us to stay put. He's coming with backup."

"Good. That's good," Cass says, lowering her weapon as the guards move in to position so we're covered on all sides while they keep an eye on the door.

Her light green eyes are still a little too wide, her face too pale. She's probably in shock.

"Fuck, I'm glad you're okay," I tell her as I cup her cheek and press a soft kiss to her lips, not caring if the guards see it. "That could've gone so much worse." I lower my voice to add, "Bullshitting them about being knocked up by me so they would hesitate was fucking brilliant."

"It wasn't bullshit, Cole," she replies softly.

"Oh, you got me good, Cassie. One of your best lies. My heart literally stopped beating in my chest. I mean, could you imagine the look on Dante's face if he heard I got you pregnant?"

Removing my palm from her face, Cass places it on her belly and whispers, "This is your baby. And I'm going to keep it."

"What?" I hear her speaking words but none of them are making any sense. Maybe she hit her head…

"Why do you think I wanted to date men and have an arranged marriage so fast? I'll keep it up until I can pick someone to blame it on if none of them want to get married right away."

In order to blame the pregnancy on some other man, she would have to…

"No. No! You are not going to sleep with a bunch of random men!" I tell her.

"It's not a big deal. I have to find a fall guy."

"Jesus, Cassie. No, you don't." She's been dating men to pin a baby, my baby on them. "This is...you are savage as shit," I say with a chuckle.

"I know. And I need to do it soon, before I start showing any more than I already am. I also need to see Dr. Gates too to make sure everything is okay. "

"Cassie, are you serious right now? You're really pregnant?"

"Yes. But I won't tell anyone it's yours. And if you don't keep it down, the guards will hear us."

"Are you crazy? You're…I'm this baby's father. We can't pin this on someone else!"

"Well, we can't tell Daddy. I tried to convince you to give up and go back to New York, but you wouldn't listen because you just have to beat me…"

That's why she kept pushing me away, telling me to go to New York? She was trying to protect me? God, she's ridiculous. And I love her so damn much.

"Screw the competition. I haven't gone back to New York yet because I don't want to leave you!" I explain to her.

"Me?"

"You drive me fucking crazy, woman. I've been jealous as shit and angry that you kept pushing me away to date those assholes, like I could never be good enough for you. But I'm not going to let you give up on us. I know you'll give in, eventually."

"So cocky..." she huffs with a roll of her eyes.

"So true." Grabbing the sides of her face, I cover her lips with mine again.

"Don't," Cass says, turning her head away. "I just threw up. I have night sickness instead of morning. This baby is all backwards…"

She's been throwing up at night because she's pregnant with my baby. No wonder she's been acting so nuts. "The pregnancy hormones are what made you bat shit crazy? Or more crazy than normal," I tease her, and she scoffs. "Admit it, Cassie. You want me too."

"I admit nothing."

"Why go through all the trouble to protect me if you don't care, huh?" I ask her. "Why host a fake fraternity reunion just to try and find my father and kill the woman I fucked a few times to stop her from blackmailing me?" When she doesn't respond, I tell her, "I love you and you love me too. We're damn good together, and I don't just mean in bed. I meant it when I said that we can run this fucking city together. Or not if you want to do it alone while I raise our kid."

"It was just sex, Cole."

"It's more than that. It was always more than that!" Shaking my head, I tell her, "God, Cassie. I'm sorry you've been dealing with this alone. No more, though."

"You mean it? You want to run things together? You want to be a father to our…" I kiss her so hard she has no choice but to let the doubt go, not caring if she was sick. No, I definitely care. I'm the reason she's been throwing up.

Cass eventually caves and kisses me back.

And, like usual when the two of us are together, Cass can't resist climbing on top of me for long, doing it right where I'm still kneeling. Her arms tightly wrap around my neck, nearly choking me. Her legs are wound around my waist, ankles crossed to hold them in place as I drop my phone to hold her to me.

There's nothing in the world but the two of us…well, the three of us.

I thought Cass had so many doubts about us, about me, that she couldn't possibly love me as much as I love her.

But finding out she would have married some stranger to protect me from her father's wrath? God, that's so fucked up. She would've sacrificed her happiness, spent her life with someone she didn't want or love, all for me.

"You're fucking crazy, you know that?" I whisper against her lips.

"I know. But so are you. And I love you too," she says. "If anything happens to you…"

"Shut up," I tell her when I kiss her harder. Her dress is riding up so far, I can easily give her ass a slap too.

Behind us, the door opens and closes, but I trust our guards to keep us safe. Instead of gunfire, though, someone says, "Oh, dear god!"

Cass and I both freeze. I don't have to turn around to know it was my mother's voice .

"That's…"

"Yep," Cass answers. "At least Vanessa covered Daddy's eyes," she whispers before scrambling off me. We both get to our feet and Cass tugs down her dress before we turn to our parents.

"What the fuck is going on?" Dante asks as he grasps my mom's wrist to lower it from his eyes.

"The Russians turned on you before I could rope a fool," Cass says simply. "They were going to kill me, then you, so Cole could take over the city. Cole and August killed Inessa and these men before they could shoot me, but, um, Sam wasn't so lucky. They killed him in the bathroom when he came to check on me."

Dante stares at us, then eyes the dead men and woman on the ground around us. Shit. I forgot they were there, and Cass and I were about to fuck right in the middle of them.

"So, Cole saved your life?" Dante asks.

"I would never let anyone hurt her," I tell him confidently.

Pointing his finger at me threateningly, he says, "Then maybe, just maybe I'll let you keep breathing for a little longer."

"Dante!" My mom huffs and grabs his arm to lower his pointed finger as if he could kill me with it. "They're both adults, consenting adults by the looks of it."

"Definitely consensual," Cass reassures them.

"And it won't be the last time, hopefully," I can't help but remark.

"You can bet your ass that we'll discuss this shit later, after we get this mess cleaned up," Dante says.

Cass and I look at each other, and I know she knows exactly what I'm thinking. We're already in deep, so I may as well finish digging my grave.

"No," Cass whispers and adamantly shakes her head no, but I blurt out, "Dante, we have a resolution to who should be your successor."

"Oh, yeah?" her father asks. "I can now guaran-fucking-tee that it won't be you!"

"Seriously, you won't even have to choose between me or Cass. "

"Oh, really. And why is that?"

"Because we're a package deal now," Cass interjects, as if that will stop me.

"Package deal?" Dante asks.

"We'll both take over for you," she tells him confidently.

"And our son or daughter that's on the way will be a Salvato and have the Russian ties you wanted," I add.

"Son or...you are fucking dead!" Dante charges toward me, but Cass intercepts him. Taking his wrist, she places his hand on the same bump I just felt.

"Meet your granddaughter or grandson. And Vanessa's."

"Holy shit. Holy. Shit," my mom whispers while staring at me. "I'm going to beat your ass, but first I need to hug you and Cass." She comes over and wraps me in a hug and then shoves a stunned Dante aside to hug Cass. "When...how...no, scratch that, just how far along are you?" she asks her while cradling her bump with both palms.

"Almost twelve weeks now," Cass says, which has me feeling equally surprised.

"Sophie's wedding?" I ask her and she shakes her head. That was the first night we didn't use a condom. So then when…

Oh shit. There was only one other time before the wedding. The same night I embarrassed myself. Guess I didn't pull out fast enough. "The first night?" I ask and she nods. "Jesus. That was so long ago! I thought it was just the other day…"

"Cole, please shut up about the conception until Dante is no longer around," my mom advises me.

"Right, sorry."

"Cass, sweetheart, I can't believe you've kept this a secret all this time," Dante grumbles.

"I didn't find out for sure until you got Sophie all of those pregnancy tests," Cass admits. "I thought you would torture me until I told you who the father was, then kill Cole after you forced me to get a DNA test, so I wanted to figure out what to do…"

"I'm sorry," Dante says, pulling her to him for a long hug.

"I'm sorry we were irresponsible. I hope you will forgive me and him, Daddy."

"There's nothing to forgive, other than keeping secrets from me. I don't like it," he tells her. "I won't have it. You two both better tell me everything from now on." Dante winces as he pulls back then adds, "Tell me all pertinent information, I mean."

"I will."

"We will," I assure him.

"Thank you for not taking it out on Cole," Cass says. "It wasn't his fault. We're both responsible. Irresponsible. You know what I mean. I wasn't innocent in this, or innocent at the time. You know what? I think I'll shut up now."

"Don't worry, the two guards she was with first are long gone," I proudly inform him. Cass glares at me like she's going to literally drown me in the pool one day soon.

"You had sex with two of my guards?" Dante shouts.

"It was a while ago, and I regret it. They're dead now. Cole killed them."

"They hurt her," I explain when my mom also looks ready to drown me. "Besides, even if they hadn't, they were both pussies for not wanting to be honest with Dante about being with Cass."

"And you weren't afraid of that?" Dante comes up and asks me.

"Cassie thought you would kill me. That's why she was trying to find a ‘fall guy' to put the pregnancy on."

"Oh, Cassie," my mom says in sympathy. I know she also appreciates the fact that Cass was stupidly trying to protect me.

I finish telling Dante, "I thought your love for my mom would at least keep me breathing. Well, until Cassie told me she was pregnant, and it was mine. Then I maybe panicked just a little bit."

"I told you that if you ever touched any of my daughters that I would make you wish you were dead."

"Yeah, I remember."

"So, it's a good thing that for some fucked up reason, I've started to think of you as my son. "

"Ew, Daddy. That's very fucked up given the circumstances," Cass remarks.

"That's not...I meant that I not only love Vanessa, but I love Cole as well. I was even a little…jealous when you found your father. But he seems like a good guy, and I'm happy you have him in your life after all these years. So, Cole, despite how angry I may be right now, no part of me would ever want you hurt or killed. Not just for Vanessa's sake." Turning to my mother he says, "I guess your arrogant little bastard has wormed his way under my skin as well."

"Good. I mean, thank you," I reply. "I feel the same way."

"Do you two need a moment alone?" Cass teases us.

"Oh, I'm still going to find ways to punish your ass," Dante warns me.

"I would be disappointed if you didn't," I tell him honestly. "Now that I have a baby on the way, I can't imagine anyone ever laying a finger on them."