Page 50 of Boss

Tarek’s gaze swung to Kassidy’s cubicle. He pushed past Tanya. He marched over and found she wasn’t there.

“Shit!” he shouted.

“She left a few minutes ago,” Tanya called out to him. “You better get out of here as well. I-20 is at a standstill. It might be best to take the back roads.”

Tarek went to his office. He snatched up the phone and dialed.

“Security?” A man answered.

“This is Tarek Marshall—”

“Oh hi, Mr. Marshall, this is Cliff—”

“I need Kassidy... ah, Angela Brown stopped. She is not to leave this building,” Tarek said.

“Ms. Brown just left,” Clifford began. “I think she’s out of the parking garage by now.”

Tarek slammed the phone down. He grimaced. He glanced to his computer screen. He knew the restaurant in the picture. Everything in him said she was headed there. Tarek plucked up his coat and keys, and was out the door. There were back roads he could take that would surely cut her off, and get him there before her.

18.

“Unbelievable!” Kassidy groaned. She hit the steering wheel and honked her horn. The expressway was a nightmare. Traffic was at a standstill. The wipers on her Toyota worked frantically to wash away the large flurries falling from the sky. If she hadn’t been so spooked by Tarek, she might have remembered to take the back roads.

Her cell phone rang and she glanced to her dashboard. The number connecting was Daniel’s. Kassidy breathed a sigh of relief, and punched it up to take the call.

“Hey? Did you get out? Where are you?”

“Stuck in traffic,” she said. “Are you there?”

“Yeah, but they are closing. So we can try for your house instead?”

“No! No, Daniel. You were right as always. Tarek Marshall is on to us.”

“What happened?” Daniel asked.

“Nothing, I got out of there before he cornered me. We need to meet now. Traffic is crazy and this snow... I don’t understand how it could be snowing like this?”

“Are you sure you can get here?” Daniel asked.

She glanced over and saw several cars traveling in the emergency exit lane. It was illegal to do so, but she cut her wheel over and followed.

“Kassidy?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Don’t worry. I have what you need, just wait for me in the parking lot. I know some side roads to take,” she said.

“I'm sorry about the fight we had Kassidy. You were right. This is worth the risk sweetheart. We couldn’t fight a company and a man as powerful as Tarek Marshall without you. You know that right?” Daniel asked.

“Yes, I know,” she mumbled. Daniel was wrong. She hadn’t regained her focus. Her vendetta only resumed because of how much she hated and loved Tarek. Something she probably would need years of therapy to explain.

“Those bloodsucking bastards will get what is coming to them. I promise,” Daniel continued speaking. She was barely listening. “The Russians? They are doing this with the Russians? We are going to crush them!”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, maybe sooner. I don’t think the back roads are as bad as this, at least not yet.”

“I’m waiting for you in the parking lot.”

She ended the call. The traffic she braked through only moved in the emergency lane, but not fast. She kept pumping her brakes and squinting through the snow. The exit ahead led to Garland Road. She could take that one directly to Maple Street, and then cut through a housing subdivision. Kassidy turned on the radio in search of a weather report. Only commercials for title loans blared through. Maybe the snow wouldn’t last as long as predicted. Either way the storm was a perfect cover. The city typically became immobilized during the rainy season or winter. She needed a place to hide. If she didn’t know anything about Tarek she knew how ruthless he could be. She’d just raised the stakes in the game. And he would be out for her blood.

19.

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