Without Regret (Devil's Playground #1) (4 page)

8

Cassidy knew that she should’ve taken advantage of the silence when Isaiah all but instructed her to eat, but she was too nervous.

She blamed it on her curiosity.

Despite the strange fact that she trusted these men—although she knew nothing about them—she was still curious as to who they were, what they did. Why they would help her.

“What’s on your mind?” Micah inquired as the two men dug into their food while Cassidy continued to play with her fork.

She shook her head, suddenly not wanting to voice her questions.

“Might as well spit it out,” Isaiah grumbled.

Cassidy met his unyielding gaze. “Why are you helping me?”

“It’s my job,” he answered easily, never taking his eyes off her.

“I thought you worked at a club.”

Isaiah smiled, and that small gesture sent a shiver of awareness through Cassidy. That minute gesture changed his appearance in ways she hadn’t expected. He went from handsome to striking in an instant.

“We do. But that’s not all we’re capable of,” he explained.

“Meaning you work for the mob?”

“Something like that,” Micah added, not bothering to look up at her when he spoke.

“Is that who Max Adorite is? The mob?”

Isaiah set his fork down and picked up his coffee. “Max Adorite is a businessman. He’s merely looking out for his interests.”

Cassidy knew it was more than that. She’d gathered as much from their phone conversation last night. “How is helping me good for business?”

“It’s not,” Micah grumbled, and Cassidy got the sense that he wasn’t all that fond of helping her.

Luckily, he wasn’t the one in charge. At least from what she could tell.

“His wife asked him to,” Isaiah told her.

She already knew that much.

Isaiah nodded toward her food and then said, “Eat. We’ve got things to do.”

Cassidy did as he requested, barely tasting the eggs and bacon. Had it not been for the fact her stomach was grumbling from not eating in over twenty-four hours, she would’ve opted to forego food altogether. Then again, she wasn’t sure when she’d get the chance to eat again. Not to mention, it had been her idea.

But in her defense, she’d merely been stalling, trying to get a better handle on who these two men were. Leading them to her condo, directly into her life, had been something she’d dreaded since the minute Isaiah had mentioned it.

Clearly she wasn’t the one calling the shots, either.

“You talk to Max this morning?” Micah asked Isaiah.

Cassidy forced food into her mouth while she absently listened to them.

“Yeah. He asked about the man who sought me out at the club last night,” Isaiah told him.

Micah’s gaze lifted to meet Isaiah’s directly, and Cassidy watched the interaction. There was a silent conversation that took place after that.

“Who?” she asked when Isaiah clearly didn’t plan to go into detail.

“Don’t know,” he replied with a shrug, his gaze traveling over to her. “He never found me.”

She didn’t like the sound of that, but she kept that to herself. Once again turning her attention to her food, Cassidy fought the uneasiness that churned in her gut. For some reason, going to her condo didn’t seem like the best plan, but considering Jordan still wasn’t answering her calls, she didn’t figure she had much of a choice.

It was that or run. And no matter how nervous she was, the last thing Cassidy wanted to do was run.

For some reason, she got the distinct impression she’d never be able to stop if she did.

And that was the last thing she wanted.

At least until she was completely out of options.

9

After an uneventful breakfast where Cassidy remained remarkably quiet and Micah continued to eye her in a way that both intrigued Isaiah and brought out his possessive side, the three of them left the restaurant and headed straight for Cassidy’s condo.

It didn’t take long for them to get there, but from that point onward, the morning took a crazy shift and not in their favor.

“Let me have your key,” Isaiah demanded when they arrived at her door on the eighth floor of the upscale building.

Truth was, Isaiah was a little surprised to see that Cassidy lived relatively close to the strip in a high-rise building that had a rather impressive view. Not that he’d known what to expect, because again, he knew very little about the woman.

“When was the last time you were here?” Micah asked, his voice low as he kept Cassidy close to him while Isaiah unlocked the door.

“Tuesday,” she answered, her attention on the door. “I came home to find it trashed and didn’t bother sticking around.”

Smart girl.

Not knowing what to expect, Isaiah retrieved his gun from his shoulder holster and moved slowly inside, Cassidy and Micah following close behind.

They hadn’t made it past the small foyer when the shit hit the fan.

Isaiah heard the sound of someone rummaging around instantly, but before he could send Cassidy and Micah back out, the gunman sauntered out of one of the rooms, his gun trained on Isaiah.

“You might wanna lower the weapon,” Isaiah said calmly, the barrel of his own .45 aimed right between the guy’s eyes.

“This ain’t your fight,” the masked intruder declared.

“No?” Isaiah countered, giving the room a quick once-over before returning his gaze to the man’s gun. “A little late for that, huh?”

“Hand over the girl and we’ll be on our way.”

We?
Shit.

There were more of them?

Without another second’s thought, Isaiah double-checked his aim and pulled the slide back, sending one into the chamber. Unlike the idiot holding him at gunpoint, Isaiah didn’t plan to stand there and have a polite conversation. Which was why he pulled the trigger, then turned and shoved Cassidy and Micah toward the door.

“Go!” he commanded when Micah pulled the door open. Isaiah pushed Cassidy into the hall behind his brother. “Run and don’t fucking stop!”

“You shot him!” Cassidy said, as though he weren’t already aware of that fact.

He opted not to say anything, knowing she wouldn’t understand.

A second later, a gunshot rang out from behind them, and the only thing Isaiah could hope was that the second guy was a bad shot. Cassidy screamed, but he nudged her forward, taking her directly to the stairwell.

“Lose the shoes,” he commanded as he shoved the door inward, causing it to slam against the concrete wall.

“But—”

Isaiah didn’t give her a chance to argue. He pulled her up short, yanking the damn heels from her feet and tossing them behind him.

“Now fucking run.”

Micah grabbed her hand and pulled her with him down the stairs. Isaiah followed them.

They hadn’t made it far when the door above them opened, but thankfully, the stairwell wrapped around a concrete wall, which left them covered. Didn’t mean they’d escape, since Cassidy wasn’t moving fast enough for his peace of mind, but it was all they had, so he’d take it.

He heard the man gaining on them by the time they hit the third floor. They weren’t nearly low enough to get away before the asshole caught up, so he decided on a detour.

“Micah!” Isaiah called.

When his brother glanced over his shoulder, Isaiah nodded toward the door.

Micah’s nod said his brother understood what he wanted to do. Grabbing the metal handle, Micah pulled the door open and instructed Cassidy to go into the hallway.

There they both grabbed her arms and ran toward the opposite end.

Since the condo split out into three hallways, Isaiah knew there was another stairwell for safety. He only hoped the asshole gunning for them didn’t realize where they’d gone until it no longer mattered.

It only took another few minutes for them to make it back down to the ground floor. Isaiah took Cassidy’s shaking hand in his and pretended a casualness he didn’t feel as they stepped out into the Vegas sunshine through the emergency exit.

“I don’t have shoes on,” Cassidy informed them when they stepped onto the pavement.

“The car’s over there,” Isaiah told her quickly. “You’ll survive.”

Isaiah pretended not to hear her when she grunted at his remark. There was a guy shooting at them, and she was worried about her feet. He would never understand women. Nor was he going to try.

“Where’re we going?” she questioned when Micah was pulling his Dodge Challenger out of the parking lot.

“Back to the hotel. More specifically, our club.” That way they didn’t have to worry about anything. Isaiah knew for a fact that no one was stupid enough to fuck with Max Adorite, especially on his own turf. “You’ll be safe there.”

“What’s the name of this club, anyway?”

“Devil’s Playground,” Micah inserted. “Heard of it?”

Of course she’d heard of it. Anyone from Vegas knew of Devil’s Playground, but Isaiah didn’t say as much.

Cassidy snorted, a disbelieving sound that drew Isaiah’s attention.

“Problem?”

“No, it just seems aptly named, that’s all,” she said snidely.

If she only knew.

Micah took the back roads to the center of the strip and then pulled into the private parking garage, where only a few were allowed to park their vehicles. It was an extra security measure Max had insisted on. Regardless of how well the club did, how many people lined up for miles to get in, Devil’s Playground was still owned by an organized crime syndicate, and that alone meant extra security measures were needed. Then again, most of Vegas was owned by the mob and always had been. Since Max had recently acquired the hotel and casino, it went without saying that he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

And now Isaiah only hoped the man had a plan, because they’d just added homicide to the list of reasons the bad guys were after Cassidy.

10

Cassidy wasn’t sure exactly who Isaiah was talking to, but she had a good idea when he said, “Here with me. We’re back at the club. But we’ve got a problem. One guy dead in her condo, another still looking for her.”

A dead guy. She’d watched it happen. Watched as Isaiah had calmly shot and killed another man right in front of her.

She could only assume Max’s response to that.

Placing the phone on speaker, Isaiah leaned back in his chair. Cassidy could sense his tension, despite the fact that he appeared nonchalant—as though he were unaffected by the fact that he’d killed someone.

She doubted anyone could be unaffected.

They’d retreated to a small, expensively decorated office in the club. While Micah had paced the floor and Isaiah had gone right for his cell phone, Cassidy had taken the opportunity to admire the room.

The walls were covered in dark wood with the exception of one wall of windows that overlooked the north end of the strip. A large, mahogany desk took up the center of the room, along with a credenza that held several decanters of liquor and some empty glasses. Other than a couple of chairs, a well-secured safe in one wall, and another door that appeared to lead to a private bathroom, there wasn’t much else to look at.

“Did someone call it in?” Max asked from the phone Isaiah had placed on his desk.

“No idea. We hauled ass out of there. My guess is no since the silencer muted the sound.”

“Send a cleanup crew. Have Jake oversee it.” Max continued with his instructions on what Isaiah needed to do to handle the problem. When that was out of the way, Isaiah disconnected the call.

“What now?” Cassidy asked.

Isaiah shrugged.

Great. He had no idea what they were supposed to do now, and he’d just killed a man.

Granted, she knew that if Isaiah hadn’t pulled the trigger, he’d probably be the dead one and she’d be in the hands of God knew who.

That didn’t make her feel any better.

“I’ll call Jake and get things taken care of,” Micah informed them.

Cassidy turned her attention to Isaiah’s twin, noticing the severe expression on his face. He didn’t bother to look at her, and she no longer wondered whether or not he was fond of her. She was certain he wasn’t.

Not that she could necessarily blame him. She’d inadvertently brought danger to their doorstep.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Isaiah replied. “And Micah, keep your eyes open.”

Micah nodded to Isaiah and then left.

“So what now?” Cassidy asked when they were alone.

Isaiah’s intense gaze lifted to meet hers, and she realized she was shaking. The adrenaline had run its course, and she couldn’t stop the overwhelming chill that took up residence in her bones.

“Come here,” Isaiah said firmly.

Cassidy’s feet had a mind of their own, moving toward him at the instruction.

When she was within reach, Isaiah’s arms lifted, and the next thing she knew, she was in his lap, his strong arms wrapped around her.

“I’m gonna keep you safe,” he whispered, his breath fanning her hair as she buried her face against his chest.

She prayed that was true, though she would never tell him as much. She wasn’t fond of having someone take care of her. She’d been doing a fairly decent job all these years. It kind of sucked that she had to lean on someone else at this point.

Regardless, she couldn’t stop trembling, even as she allowed Isaiah’s warmth and strength to surround her.

Several minutes passed as they remained like that, with her in his lap, his arms banded around her, his chin resting on top of her head. Finally feeling somewhat more at ease, Cassidy lifted her head and looked at him.

For whatever reason—she blamed her out-of-control nerves—her gaze strayed to his mouth, and she had the sudden urge to kiss him.

“Cassidy.”

The way he said her name, the deep, dark rumble of his voice, sent a frisson of heat through her, effectively warming her from the inside out.

Without thinking, Cassidy leaned in and pressed her lips to his, not caring if he pushed her away.

He didn’t.

No, Isaiah didn’t push her away; instead, he seemed to pull her closer. Cassidy wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers sliding through the silky strands of his dark hair as he took control of the kiss, his tongue sliding into her mouth when she opened to him.

Her body quivered in response, but this had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with desire, need.

Giving in to the kiss, Cassidy practically tried to climb his body, although he was holding her firmly in his lap. She wanted to get closer, to feel every part of him against every part of her. His big palm spread across her back, holding her so that her breasts were crushed to the solid plane of his chest.

“Be careful, little girl,” Isaiah breathed, a clear warning in his tone.

For the first time in her life, Cassidy didn’t want to be careful. She wanted to throw caution to the wind, to forget all the shit taking place around her. She wanted to get lost in this man.

So, that was exactly what she decided to do.