CHAPTER 13

“F-that!” Justice yelled and grabbed the letter from her hand and read it to himself again.

“Cassi, you can’t even think about meeting him. There will probably be other rebels there to kidnap you again,” Cami said quietly.

“F-that!” Justice yelled as loud again.

Kallen, Eli, and Dyl stood and grabbed Justice as he walked by. “We feel the same way, but we need to think strategy, buddy,” Kallen said quietly.

“This guy has an ego that won’t quit. I say we play on that and buy us some time to get, at least, Kallen to his castle. We may be able to drag it out farther, but that will take real planning on our part,” Eli said.

Justice almost jumped Eli before he finished, but Dyl and Kallen had a hold on him. Cassidy asked them if they could have a moment alone, and she pulled Justice into the bathroom and shut the door.

“K, listen, we need to try and work through this. If we can use me to beat him, I will. My parents and his Council are counting on us to stop CJ; we need to look at the big picture.”

“I will not let you meet that piece of shit, he is the lowest form of life I know, and you are the most important thing to me. If he touches you, I will cut his hand off,” Justice steamed.

“We need to calm down, let’s run it through before we reject the idea. Kallen, Dyl, and Eli would never put me in danger, so let’s talk,” she said and ran her hand across his cheek.

Justice took a deep breath and nodded. Cassidy turned to leave the bathroom, and he pulled her back and kissed her. “I won’t lose you, when you were hurt, it almost killed me. I won’t go through that again,” he whispered in her ear.

They went to their conference room and sat down again.

“Let’s think it through and see what we can do,” Cassidy said.

Cami and Celli put their heads together. Then Cami said, “The manager of that restaurant he wants to meet at is gay, and he was trying to hit on Kallen when we went there for dinner.”

Kallen was shaking his head, “Cassidy, I love you, but I will not turn gay,” he said and turned bright red.

“Duh,” Cami said, “I was thinking we could use him to give Celli and I jobs for the night. Cassidy is there so we can be backup, or spill soup on him if he tries anything.”

“Good thinking, Cami,” Eli said and turned to Kallen. “Just call and tell him a friend and her boyfriend are meeting at his restaurant that night and the boyfriend is violent blah, blah, blah...”

“Then Dyl and I can be sitting at the bar, watching in that big mirror. Cassidy, you go in and string him along. You know we will bandage you up like you haven’t healed yet and give him the song and dance about hurting, when you feel better, you will call him to arrange a date and see if you are compatible. Be an airhead, his ego will buy that you aren’t as smart as he is. We could at least make it to California, open the door, and if you had to come back, you could. Keep him chasing you as long as possible. Maybe bring Chase into it later.” Eli said, “The first dinner I think he will believe he can get you to come with him. He won’t bring many back-up; if he has to stay in the area longer, we may have a problem.”

“We can all be there; CJ has no clue what we look like yet. In fact, why don’t you throw Kallen into the mix, tell him you’re confused with Justice and Kallen, and then he’ll have to figure out who Kallen is. By the time we’re done, he will be twisting in the wind.” Dyl laughed, “Hell, with Cami’s sadistic mind, we will have him begging you to leave him alone.”

Cami stuck out her tongue at Dyl but chuckled anyway. Justice had just sat there listening, not making a comment until he was sure they were done.

“I’ll go along with this as long as Q is never left alone, and you know if I see Skot, he’s dead, no questions asked. I want her guarded every moment of the day in case someone tries to get her. I’ll be with her most of the time, but you get my drift,” Justice said with his teeth clenched.

“Q?” the guys asked.

“Q for Queen and K for King, duh,” Cami said to the guys, rolling her eyes as if she’d known what it meant from the beginning.

“Oh, well that’s easy to remember,” Kallen said looking confused.

“Let’s get some sleep and then decide on the specifics tomorrow,” Cassidy said and rose from the table, “8 am breakfast, I’ll call Chase.”

As they filtered out, Cassidy went to the table in the other room to use the phone. She wasn’t sure how to tell Chase about CJ. She finally decided that the straight truth was the best; he can blow up, and then they could talk it through.

Cassidy called and Chase answered the phone briskly and said, “5 more minutes and you would have had company. What was in the letter?” She should have known Tory was going to tell him.

Cassidy just read the letter and when she was done, she was waiting for the blow up, but she was listening to dead air. “Chase?” she said and then looked at the phone. She could hear him, but he was in the castle yelling for Justice.

Cassidy got up and went to the hallway where all the guys were still standing. Justice had Chase by the arm and he was talking in his ear, calming him apparently. Chase saw her, walked up, lifted her off her feet and was hugging her. “I can’t go through that again, Sissy. I will be involved, ok? He will try to get me to convince you to marry him. It’s time he saw me, and I will ask for Skot’s head on a platter.”

Cassidy opened her mouth ready to tell him Skot had done nothing. She had thought she had kept it from him.

“Don’t even try it, Sissy, I heard already, and if I wanted to embarrass you, I would have told you. I missed too much of your life, ask Justice. I took him out to show him what I would do if he hurts you. We watched a bull castrated, and I showed him the tool I would use. I’m your big brother. I will always protect you,” he said in her hair.

“Ok,” she said in his ear. “And gross, but I love you anyway.”

Cassidy returned to her suite. She knew the guys needed time to be guys and then the door opened behind her, and Cami and Celli were there.

“NOT ALONE,” Cami yelled. “DOOR’S LEFT OPEN.” She shut the door behind her. “Was that stern enough?” she asked and rolled her eyes.

“You know I can be by myself,” Cassidy said, “look muscles,” and she pointed to her arms.

“Well, you need protecting from the dust bunnies,” Celli said and acted as if she was kicking something. They laughed, sat down on the couches and turned on a chick flick. The guys would be strategizing for hours, whereas Cami picked out a dress to meet CJ in and sat down, mission done. The dress she picked was a little sleazy, but they agreed she could throw it away without missing it.

By the time Justice had returned to their room, the girls had all fallen asleep on the couches, he woke Cassidy and carried her into the bedroom. They just held each other for the rest of the night. Cassidy was exhausted and Justice knew it. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, it was morning. Cassidy had already gotten up and was in the shower.

He went to the living room, and the girls were gone. Justice went back to the bedroom and sat on the bed, thinking of all they needed to accomplish before tomorrow night. He looked up and saw a dress hanging there that was sexy. Was she wearing that today? he thought and she answered, “You wish, nope, tomorrow night.”

Justice stood up and yelled, “F*** THAT,” and he went to take the dress away. He would burn it, there was no way she was walking out of here less than covered. He had been about to leave the room when the bathroom door slammed open.

“Don’t you dare,” she said in a menacing voice. “That’s my dress. I will toss it when I’m done, but we have to entice him somehow.”

“Giving you on a silver platter is not part of the plan. That dress screams ‘I AM SINGLE AND AVAILABLE’ and you are off the market,” he said just as menacingly, but she wasn’t going to back off.

“Trust me, he will not touch me, but if I look like a school teacher, he will not try for me at all,” she said reasonably.

Justice didn’t look happy about the decision, turned, and put the dress back on her closet door. Cassidy felt bad. He looked so dejected, and surely, he wasn’t insecure about her. She grinned, grabbed the dress, and went into her closet.

Justice had his back to her when she came out. He was getting ready to take a shower when she cleared her throat.

“Does it really say ‘I Am Available’ or is it actually saying ‘Property of K’?” she said and walked across the room wearing the sultry dress. She had put on high heels she didn’t intend to wear for CJ. “The heels, now they are saying ‘Property of K’. I will never wear these except in this room,” she giggled and sat down next to him. “You have to trust me. I want to kill him, not date him, and I will play the game as long as I need to in order to get what we want.”

“It’s knowing what he will probably be thinking when he sees this dress, that makes me so mad I can’t see straight. I want this over so no one else gets hurt. Your friends have become my family, and your brother is like mine too. I don’t want to fail them or lose any of them,” Justice confided in her.

Cassidy wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear, “That’s the good part about family. They have only good expectations, and they will stand by you no matter what.” She left him to think about it while he was getting ready.

Cassidy was eating her blueberry muffin when Justice came into the conference room and got a cup of coffee. She stood up and asked “K, did you get the problem worked out?” Trying to let him know she was hoping he would be able to work out for himself the bond they all shared.

“Yeah, Q, once I stopped over thinking the situation. Our talk helped,” he said and smiled at her.

Kallen stood up and said, “Let’s go through it again.”

They had written the entire sequence of events that should take place tomorrow night on a dry erase board. “Kallen, is the OCD showing up again?” Cassidy said and sat down.

“Be careful, Q, I may be a second late, and then where would you be?” he teased.

“Yeah, do I really have to pretend to like you?” she said sweetly.

“Whenever you are ready to leave him,” Kallen pointed to Justice. “I can show you what a real man is.”

Justice lifted his head and glared at Kallen and said, “Listen here, boy wonder; I will always be Batman to your Robin. The real super hero always gets the girl.”

They teased each other for a while to be loosened up; they had all been stressed and needed a little break. They had completed all the training they needed until they went to California. Cassidy had checked those plans already this morning because they were leaving the day after she was having dinner with CJ. They had decided to move while he was trying to figure how to capture Cassidy’s eye with two other guys involved.

“Ok, we will go to the restaurant early to get the seats we want. Cami and Celli have uniforms, but they will only wait on Cass and CJ. The manager is strict on the fact you will not interfere with regular customers. By the way, Cami you have to find him a date in two weeks for some awards thing for restaurants, because I won’t attend. Cassidy this is a pin you need to wear on your dress. Chase and Justice will be in the back storage room, and if you need help, the word will be tornado. I will be at the bar until halfway through dinner; I’ll interrupt you and CJ. You’ll introduce us and ask if I would like to join you. I will decline but will eat with Tina across from you. Therefore, you will not leave the table unless Tina goes with you. When you leave the restaurant, Tina and I will be in the limo so don’t open the door too wide, or he’ll see us.” Kallen was pointing at the different times on the board for them to arrive, leave, or move positions.

They had other Stronghold members planted on the streets, watching so if anything happened, there were many people to help. Kallen made them go through the motions, down to what chair they were sitting in. He was doing an excellent job, and Justice told him on several occasions.

They had lunch in the conference room and moved on to their travel plans to go to California the next morning. The Guardians packed their bikes already for the morning. Cassidy had gotten disposable phones for them to use so no one could track them. They were talking about strategies they would do on the road to keep them safe. The rest of the day, they were wandering in and out of the conference room getting things together.

Cassidy went to the courtyard and asked her members to be diligent with security while she was gone and had made sure there were no major problems.

Justice and the guys had gone to the dungeons again to talk to the prisoners to see if they knew where CJ would stay if he was in town. Of course they didn’t know, but the Wizard had said if CJ was leaving his Stronghold, they might be making plans to move again because he was paranoid about leaving his Stronghold. Therefore, they could be packing up right now and moving. He told them the last time they had moved in a day.

Whoever the leader was. He had money and had built castles all over the mountains so they could move if they needed to. They still couldn’t tell them who the leader was, Justice was describing people he thought were possibilities from when he was a captive, but the prisoners didn’t know.

Cassidy had sat with Bernie in the kitchen for a while, having him tell her what to expect in California. She wanted to know what to do before they got there so she wouldn’t piss anyone off. Bernie and she drank hot chocolate like they used to when talking before bedtime. When they finished, he kissed her on the forehead and went to his room.

She was sitting at the table when Justice came to find her. She was thinking of everything that had changed in the last few months and what she still had to do. Cassidy no longer felt her age, instead she felt years older. She had more responsibility than any 18 year old she knew, and she had gotten a husband, castle, and money in two months. Wow, her goals were reached before she even did anything.

Justice saw her, grabbed a cup from the counter and joined her. He didn’t say anything while they drank their cocoa. When he finished his cup, he pushed it to the middle of the table.

“What’s bugging you?” he asked.

“I’m just thinking about the past few months and wondering how tomorrow will go. Oh yeah, I also want to make sure you know I did get my license to drive the bike and will share with you, but I will not ride on the back all the time,” she said and pushed her cup next to his.

“Really? Let’s flip for it the morning we leave. Whoever wins gets to drive the bike in the morning and the loser gets to drive in the hot sun,” he said.

“Ok,” she said and smiled at him. She had one of those coins that were double headed, and she was planning to use it.

“Seriously, do you have an idea on how you will handle CJ?” he asked.

“I won’t know until I meet him, but I think I’ll be the air head and see if he sees through it, or if he’s confident in tricking me. He doesn’t care if I’m smart or dumb. I also am going to ask to speak to my parents soon. If he wants to make me happy, he will let me and we may be able to think of a code of sorts to get them a message. I have to admit I sucked at dating when I was in high school. Now I have to pretend I’m interested in three guys, that’s Cami, not me,” she said.

“One time Cami had four guys on the line, and she was playing them like a violin. They were sending flowers and cards all the time. Two of them actually ran into each other when one was to pick her up and the other dropped her off, and she convinced them the other guy was a pathetic stalker and they both bought it,” Cassidy said shaking her head, “I had a hard time finding one guy, let alone 4.”

“That's a good thing because I can’t walk around punching people you’ve kissed, now I know I won’t be arrested for assault when I go to Denver,” he teased.

“I’m just overwhelmed at the moment. I’m tired and want to take a long bath, listen to my radio, and vegging out.”

“Your wish is my command.” Justice pulled her to her feet, pulled her up the stairs and into the suite, and ran a hot bath for her as she was finding her robe. She took a long bath and then went to the bedroom to lie down before turning on the TV Justice had hung on her wall, and relaxed. Justice followed her after he was done with his shower, and they fell asleep with the 10 o’clock news. Justice on the floor with the huge pillows he bought earlier in the week, Cassidy with her spider monkey.

The next day flew by after they had woken up late and been slow to get out of bed. Once they did, they were packing and running from the suite to the office. Dealing with last minute changes to the itinerary and problems in the Stronghold that needed to be dealt with before they left.

By the time they slowed down, it was time to get ready for their night. Justice left with Chase and the girls early, and made her promise not to take any chances with her safety.

Cassidy showered and dressed in the smutty outfit, but she could only remember what Justice had said about the dress and smiled. She carefully did her makeup, took off her jewelry, and realized her jewels were visible. What was she going to do? She knew that if CJ saw them, she would never be able to pull off the rouse.

Cassidy panicked and ran to find the Guardians. She only had 30 minutes before she had to leave. Tina and Kallen were in the living area when she ran down the stairs and yelled for Charlie, Bea, Bernie, and Liam.

They all ran into the foyer, and Cassidy was holding up her arms yelling, “Tattoo’s, Tattoo’s what are we going to do?”

Kallen hit his forehead with his hand and shook his head. “Shit, Shit,” he was saying repeatedly.

Everyone was talking at once, and Cassidy couldn’t tell if anyone knew what to do or if everyone was stumped. All she could think of is Justice and Chase in the storeroom and Eli and Dyl in the bar waiting, and they weren’t going to show. They needed to cancel and get the hell out of town. Bea and Liam were trying to find long gloves she could use but no one had any.

Serenity came out of the spa room as they had all begun to panic. She was trying to understand what was going on when she gave up and whistled loud.

“One at a time,” she yelled over them.

“Tattoos can’t be seen,” Cassidy said and held out her arms.

Nitti looked at Cassidy and saw the look in her eyes. She had no clue what was going on, but she knew she could help.

“Simple, Sis, take a deep breath. A simple spell will be the only thing we need. Why do you think I’m so beautiful, chickadee? It’s a hiding spell. When placed, others can’t see what you want to hide.” Serenity closed her eyes and the others looked as Cassidy’s jewels vanished on one hand, and on the other, it was partially gone. Just like when she had first received them.

“Good?” Nitti asked the others.

Kallen had a relieved look on his face and said, “Perfect, looks like the day in the apartment before you became so cool.”

They all took a step back and calmed down, all except Serenity. “Spill it, Q,” she said to Cassidy.

Kallen took over and explained everything that happened the last two days to her. Serenity went from calm to agitate as the plan was laid out for her.

“No,” she said to Cassidy. “I’m your mother’s best friend and that little weasel CJ, your mom was scared of, the way he looked at you when you were young. She always thought he was going to hurt you. She and your father hated him, they had planned to tell Chase what they felt when they were captured. I always thought that’s why it happened when it did. They were going to kick him to the curb, and he didn’t want to go. So no, I forbid you to go and meet him.”

Cassidy looked, saw she was serious, and knew if she wanted too, Nitti could stop her because she was a Wizard, and a powerful one. They all stared at each other, trying to figure out what to say, when Cassidy grinned.

“Why don’t you accompany me? That way, we’ll be chaperoned like we are supposed to be while deciding if I would date him as a prospective mate. Bernie, you told me in one of the lessons that was how it generally happened when the kids were 14, like we were supposed to be,” Cassidy said excitedly. “Then Nitti can help me. I suck at dating, you know that Kallen. I don’t want to screw up this the first meeting.”

“Can I turn him into a toad?” Serenity asked. “Oh well, fine I’ll behave,” she said when Cassidy frowned at her.

“We need to leave, let’s discuss it in the car,” Kallen said and pushed both of them out the door.

They got to the restaurant with only minutes to spare. Cassidy and Serenity exited the back and Kallen and Tina stayed inside until the driver had driven around for a while. Cassidy had no clue what he looked like and was relying on Serenity to find him for them.

When they entered the restaurant, Cassidy knew that CJ had brought some back up, she saw at least four people she didn’t know that was a member of some Guild. The hostess asked them if they were meeting someone or needed a table for two.

Cassidy smiled at her and told her she was meeting CJ, and they needed a table for three and not two. The hostess smiled and said they had enough room and showed them to the back corner booth where a handsome guy was sitting, looking at them approach with a frown on his face. He stood and greeted Cassidy. Victor and he could be twins they looked so much alike. The only difference she could see was age. Victor was younger.

“Princess, I am King CJ and this is?” he asked about Serenity.

“This is Nitti, my mother’s friend and our chaperone tonight. You should know we need a chaperone to be with us until it has been decided we are dating. Serenity offered to come because she knows my parents and has met the other two prospective mates, she has been helping me,” Cassidy said in a high voice that sounded completely spacey.

“Two?” he asked.

“Of course, CJ, you should know how it is. Cassidy was raised out of our world with her Guardian and childhood friends, so of course, they became close. She dated Kallen before they moved back here; Kallen is attending college to be a Veterinarian, and we have discovered he is also a Guild member, coincidence, huh? Then Justice showed up, she met him and found out her parents had apparently picked him. I told Cassidy there has been a rule never to mate with another Guild but Kallen and Cassidy had become close, so I have been trying to help her,” Nitti said and smiled.

CJ motioned for them to sit and Nitti placed herself in the middle. “CJ, if I remember correctly, Cassidy’s parents had chosen not to have you as her mate?” Nitti said innocently.

“That was before they had the opportunity to really know me. We have grown close these last years. It’s a shame they were unable to make the journey here, but they didn’t feel well enough. I hope you can come and see them, Cassidy. They are missing you. As for the other two men who are vying for your hand, well, I’m sure I will win your heart in the end,” he said smoothly and snapped his fingers.

Celli appeared at the table and when she looked at Cassidy, she crossed her eyes. “Drinks?” she asked and CJ ordered for all of them. Cassidy had been on a date with a guy like this and had ended up throwing her dinner in his lap when he ordered stuff she hated.

CJ was talking to Nitti about how the courtship should work because he was from out of town. He would appreciate it if Cassidy were free for the next few weeks so he wouldn’t have to travel back and forth from town to town. Cassidy assumed this was for the purpose of trying to kidnap her.

Serenity had smiled and said she hoped he understood that Cassidy had already made plans, and he was going to have to fit in. They talked back and forth with each other, negotiating in front of Cassidy; she was beginning to get a little pissed when Cami brought their drinks.

Serenity took that moment to lean to her and whisper in her ear, “He thinks you are a child and will do whatever is told of you. Play the air head and I will take care of the rest.”

Cassidy smiled at CJ and asked him about her parents. “Can they call me soon?” she asked with her high voice.

“Of course, I will have them call when I return, it’ll be awhile of course, I have a meeting to attend to, but when I see them, I will give them your number. Now, Cassidy, we need to talk a little about the Guild's laws,” he said to her as if she were a little slow.

Cassidy shook her head and looked confused, “I’m sorry CJ; I don’t actually know the protocol. I have been studying, but I haven’t made it very far, you know the books we have to read are so old. I sneeze every time I open it. Nitti and Bernie are keeping me informed, and of course, Kallen is helping. When we were growing up, he always helped me with my homework,” Cassidy said twirling her hair with her fingers.

CJ smiled indulgently, “Of course, I’m sorry; I did explain in my letter that I have completed my training and am just waiting for a mate. I understand you want to bring some of your friends to be members of The Council. But I’m sure you will understand if I make the final choice, after all, they will be working for me,” he said smoothly. “I bet you will love some of the mates of my friends too. They love shopping and planning the parties we have.”

Cassidy’s eyes lit up with anger, but he took it as interest, “Oh, I love shopping,” she said thinking of shopping for weapons not clothes.

Celli came and took their order, and once again CJ ordered, but he had done his research and had chosen one of her favorite meals. Cassidy gushed as she let him take charge of the conversation. He was telling them how much he had accomplished and was being obnoxious. Nitti was holding her hand under the table and was gripping it hard when she felt Cassidy ready to be a smart ass.

The meal arrived and Cassidy thought at least she’d be able to have a good dinner before they left tomorrow. She concentrated on eating her food, while CJ spouted about himself. Cassidy saw Cami out of the corner of her eye getting impatient.

“So, what do you think? We can gather up your stuff and be at the Stronghold tomorrow afternoon,” CJ said.

“Oh, CJ, I’m sorry, I was recently hurt and still haven’t got the clearance to travel. I also think maybe we should take this one-step at a time. Of course, you’re very attractive, and I would be crazy not to date you, but I’m far from making up my mind. I want to be sure I make the right choice,” Cassidy whined a little.

CJ looked a little irritated but covered it well. Cassidy saw Kallen come in with Tina out of the corner of her eye. She braced herself for him to come to the table.

“Cassidy, what’s up? I had no idea you were going to be out; Tina and I were looking for you to sign some papers,” she heard Kallen say.

CJ stood up, looked at Kallen, and smiled grimly, “Hello, I am King CJ, and you are?”

“Kallen, I’m Cassidy’s best friend and a member of the Rangers and Solaris Guilds. Cassidy, may we speak in private for a minute?” Kallen asked, but before Cassidy could reply, CJ spoke up.

“I’m sorry, we were right in the middle of dinner, so if you will excuse us,” CJ said and sat down as a dismissal.

Kallen winked at Cassidy and Serenity and went to a table close to them.

Cassidy was ready to have the meal over with. She felt there was nothing to gain by prolonging the dinner, but she waited until Serenity and CJ were done eating. She endured his pompous attitude as long as she could before asking him a few questions.

“So, CJ, you and my brother were real close friends when you were young, huh? I remember you guys playing football on the Stronghold grounds, but it’s hazy other than that. When did you ask father to make you my match?” she said.

“Well, I guess when you were like 4 or 5, you had Chase and I wrapped around your finger. We played with you when you were outside, all the time. My parents were strict and I loved your parents and just wanted to be a part of your family,” he confided.

“Oh, it just seems weird that I can’t remember us even getting along, I remember you teasing me, mostly,” she smiled.

“Kids' play, I wish your brother could see you now. He would be proud of you,” CJ said.

Cassidy smiled and was trying to decide if she should tell him about Chase, when a loud noise from the back of the restaurant startled her. Cami and Celli came from the kitchen area and signaled Cassidy to hurry and leave.

“Well, CJ, I’m feeling a little weak, so if you don’t mind, I will return to my castle. I think we should take the dating slowly. I mean, we have a year really to decide. So here’s my number, call me,” Cassidy said and stood up.

CJ protested a little, but Cassidy and Serenity quickly left and saw Cami and Celli talking to the manager and waving their arms but smiling. Kallen and Tina had been unable to get to the car first and Cassidy was surprised when the door jerked open and Dyl and Eli jumped in with them.

Dyl grinned and said, “Skot was sneaking into the kitchen to do something to the dessert when Cami caught him and tossed him around the kitchen for a moment, until Justice chased him out of the back door.”

Cassidy sat worried about what was happening with Justice when she saw the rest of her Council get into another car and follow them. Justice was the only one unaccounted for.