Chapter 29

Mason woke to a sharp, throbbing pain in his head. He was a little relieved to discover it was still attached to his neck, but for the love of all things holy, it hurt like hell. Before he opened his eyes, he took stock of his body. He was lying on his back with his hands bound in front of him with what felt like zip ties. His feet were bound, too, and he was crammed in a car that was way too small for his large frame, so he was twisted like a pretzel. His knees were touching his chest. A foul-smelling blanket covered him and the air was thick.

Except for the excruciating pain in his head, he seemed to be okay. He was in a moving vehicle, as indicated by the way his body lurched when the tires hit a pothole. He had no way to brace himself and he was flung against the back of the seat.

Then he heard the moaning. His eyes snapped open. It was a feminine sound and all his protective instincts fired. With the blanket covering him, he couldn’t tell if it was still light outside, so he had no idea how long he’d been out. The next bump sent him airborne and he twisted to land on his side. He repositioned himself and noticed the slight frame encased in shimmering gold on the floorboard. Cassidy! His heart hammered in his head. Was she hurt? He reached his bound hands towards her.

“Cass?” He whispered.

Her head snapped up. He saw the duct tape covering her mouth. She couldn’t talk, but she was alive, and that was all that mattered. He would keep her safe, if it was his last mission on earth.

The car came to a grinding halt, and he pitched forward, falling on top of her. He did his best to keep from crushing her, but he heard her tortured groan. He carried quite a bit of bulk.

“Cass, honey, are you okay?” He eased back to the seat.

Her head tipped slowly.

“I’ll keep you safe. I promise you that. I’ll give my life for you.”

She jerked her head from side to side, obviously not happy with his comment, but he didn’t care. He would give up his life for her. He’d never felt that way with Abby. He thought himself in love once, but those feelings were nothing compared to what he felt for Cassidy Swain.

Reaching out with his bound hands, he caught the edge of the tape and gently peeled it from her face. She licked her lips and mouthed, “Thank you.”

The door jerked open and the ties were snipped from Cassidy’s feet and then his. He tried to kick out, but Colin had anticipated his move and stepped aside. He ripped the blanket away and barked, “Get out.”

Mason scooted forward, making sure to keep his body between Cassidy and her demented former partner. His head was pounding, but he ignored the pain to help her out as best he could with bound hands. Once they were outside, Cassidy swayed. He noted the darkening bruise on her temple and the one on her cheek and he vowed to make the bastard pay.

Colin jabbed Mason with his gun. “Get moving.”

Mason glanced down at Colin’s unbound knee. He was moving along just fine now. That explained how he climbed the rafters to cut the cables holding the lighting in place—there had never been an injury. Clever. Twisted.

Mason helped Cassidy navigate the uneven terrain that led to cliffs overlooking the ocean. The waves surged and crashed in the background, sounding both soothing and ominous.

“I’m guessing your knee was never injured.”

“Good detective work,” Colin snarked. “I do, however, have a dangerous condition in my spine. That’s what forced me to retire. It’s all Cassidy’s fault.”

“How is it her fault?”

Colin dug the gun into his back. “It just is. Now, move.”

They made their way to the edge of the cliff. When there was nowhere else to go, they turned to face Colin. He wore a smug grin, the gun pointed directly at Cassidy. Mason needed to draw his focus so he aimed at him, and he needed to keep him talking. “You killed Marcus.”

Colin nodded slowly. “I did.”

“Why?”

“I thought Cassidy would be blamed, but oh no, the golden girl gets away with murder.”

“She didn’t murder Marcus,” Mason pointed out. “You did.”

Colin’s face reddened. “She should have been investigated!” he yelled. “But no, she just walks away. I had it all planned out, texting Marcus from her phone. But did the stupid police consider her a suspect? No!”

“Did you always hate me so much, Colin?” Cassidy asked in a small voice.

Colin heaved a sigh. “Not at first. I loved you when we were partners. We had a great thing going. Yes, I was pissed that you got picked for SUYCD and I didn’t, but I tried to be the bigger person and for a second, I might have even been happy for you. But then you won. That should’ve been me. And they offered you a spot on DWTC, not me. Don’t you see—you stole my career!”

He was clearly unhinged. “The falling light, the snake, the letter filled with powder, the car bomb, those were you, too.”

“Yep. And the notes.”

“How did you know I’d be in Indiana to try to run me over?” Cassidy’s voice waivered and again, Mason vowed to make Colin pay.

He laughed and slapped a hand to his thigh. “I didn’t. That one wasn’t me. Probably someone else who wants you dead.”

“What about the shooting?” Mason asked. “Did you plan that, too?”

“Sure did. I hired a homeless vet—a former sniper—to do the deed.”

“He was shooting at you, too. You could’ve been killed.”

“His orders were to not hit anyone. Just to scare. Genius, right? I had him check in the hotel as Barry Nelson. And hey, I gave him a comfy place to sleep for the night. ‘Course, I had to kill him the next day and dump his body in a park. I couldn’t trust him to keep his trap shut. He’d shoot his mother for a bottle of hooch.”

Cassidy gasped. Mason’s jaw clenched. He’d killed before, too many times in the name of country. It was never easy, and each death haunted him to this day. Colin made it sound like a walk in the park. “In this grand plan of yours, you killed Barry Nelson and framed him to make the police think the culprit was dead?”

Colin snickered. “Worked, too. And it was a total ad lib! I had no idea who the man was until that ugly bitch from next door mentioned him. I knew he’d be the perfect fall guy, so I got to him first. The bastard was too easy to lure. I told him I was Cassidy’s best friend and that she told me she wanted to date him, that it’d been a mistake to spurn his advances. Asshat ate it up with a spoon. Told me all about his hatred for Marcus and Russell Ingram. Then I drugged him and locked him away until I needed him.”

“You’re sick,” Cassidy whispered, her tone laced with disgust. “You act as if killing a person is no big deal. I don’t know you at all, Colin. The boy I grew up with would never hurt anyone.”

“That boy is long gone,” he yelled. “You killed him. I had to watch you take over my career. Those deaths are on your hands. Enough talking! It’s time for you both to die.” He lifted the gun.

#

Mason waited for the perfect moment to spring into action. He wanted Colin to acknowledge all his wrongdoings before he took him down. Colin had made a crucial mistake not confiscating their cell phones. Mason had managed to hit a button and tape his confession.

The man was sick. Twisted. He blamed Cassidy for all that was wrong in his life. He just hoped Cassidy didn’t take his words to heart. She’d worked hard to achieve success. Colin was delusional, blaming her for his shortcomings.

They were standing on the edge of a cliff with the ocean churning mightily below. Colin was maybe fifteen feet away. The man was done talking. He lifted his gun.

“I love you, Mason.”

He glanced at Cassidy and smiled. “Hold that thought, babe.”

With a quick jerk, he broke the zip ties and dove at Colin. Colin yelped in surprise and pulled the trigger. A loud boom sounded, followed by a searing pain that shot through his left arm. He ignored it to tackle a wide-eyed Colin to the hard ground. He took satisfaction in the tortured groan. “Now you’re going to pay,” he whispered evilly.

“Mason!”

Mason jerked his head around and watched in horror as Cassidy stumbled, her feet losing purchase until she tumbled off the edge of the cliff.