Page 67 of Cassie
Come home to me
Cassie
Phone pressed tightly to her ear, craving to hear more of the voice of the man she loved, she kept her eyes on Garrett and Faith. They hadn’t moved, hadn’t shifted a muscle since latching on to the other, and she waited for one of them to fall apart. She heard their murmurs, mouths pressed close to each other’s ears, and knew whatever was said were words meant for them alone.
“I couldn’t let anything happen to her.” Heat settled between her shoulder blades in the shape of a hand, and she knew the big man next to her was steadying her, instinctively knowing she needed it. “You love her so much, Hoss.”
“God. Are you okay, Cassie?” The concern for her bled through his tone and she felt her lips curl up into a small smile. “Baby, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am. Everything’s…everyone’s okay.” Clearing her throat, she told him what had happened, needing to get it out of her head because if she tried to keep it to herself it would fester and poison her. “Garrett saved us. They were supposed to release her for me, but that one man,” she shivered, remembering his dead gaze, “Bedlam, he threw everything for a loop. We’re so lucky Garrett came when he did.” Cassie lowered her voice. “Hoss, he had to do terrible things, but Faith’s safe. I’m safe. He had to. Oh, he had to…you don’t know.”
“Oh, baby. Whatever he had to do, I’m okay with it, and he’ll be okay, too. His dad, the whole club, we’ll make sure. Faith—” His voice broke and he stopped talking, quiet except for the noisy rushes of air as he fought for control.
Cassie shook her head vehemently, denying his fears. She forced confidence into her voice as she told him, “She’s okay. Nothing happened, Hoss. Nothing bad. She’s got a bloody nose and a fat lip, and I think she dislocated her thumb.” The hand disappeared from her back and the big man stepped around her. “Hey,” she called, then heard Hoss in her ear.
“Gunny’s checking on her injuries. He heard what you said. We all did. It’s okay, Cassie. I promise you it’s okay.”
Faith pulled back from Garrett and nodded, holding her hand out to Gunny with a wince. Garrett’s hands didn’t leave her waist as he deftly turned her and then tugged her body backwards, settling her back to his front so he could watch what Gunny did over her shoulder. At a word from Gunny, Garrett lifted a hand to Faith’s jaw, and turned her head to press into his neck. Gunny gave her thumb a jerk and Faith cried out, Garrett’s voice soothing her gently.
“See, he’s taking care of her.” Hoss’ words were soft. “They’ll bring you back to me, baby. Come home, come to me.”
Cassie nodded. “Yes. Okay, yes. My bike—”
“The boys will take care of that. They’ll bring Garrett’s bike back, too. Faith’s car is there. Gunny’ll drive you and the kids. Let the boys take care of everything else.” He paused, and his voice was rough when he continued. “Scared the fuck out of me, watching you walk into that place, baby. Come home to me.”
Silence continued on the line for a moment while Cassie wrestled to get her emotions under control. “I can’t wait to see you.” She resolved to not bring up how they’d parted, but it seemed Hoss had different instincts.
“You’re in my heart and soul, Cassie. Don’t matter what is said or what happens. Don’t matter how far away from you I am, in my heart I’m with you. I’m always with you, baby. Hold me there, keep me in your heart, and give me a chance to make it up to you. I wanna make my home with you, wherever you are. I want you. I wanna build my life in your heart, so you know you’re never alone. Never an afterthought. And I’ll never,”—his voice hardened, growing firm with steely resolve—“not ever take your choices away again. You’ve had enough of that for a lifetime, so I’ll do my best to learn how to be what you need. To learn you. Cassie, honey, I love you. Come home to me.”
Eyes closed, she swallowed hard as she lifted a hand to cover her mouth, trying to keep her sobs silent, not wanting to let him know how his words had affected her. She tried twice before she trusted her voice with just his name, hoping it would carry everything she wanted to say. “Hoss.”
“Baby, turn around. Myron, take it down, yeah?” A humming sound grew in volume, not something she’d even noticed before, but now it was impossible to ignore. She turned to see a tiny black drone hovering just off the porch. “I see you, Cassie. Don’t hide that shit from me. You give it to me and I’ll figure out how I deal with it when you do. You hear me?” She nodded, staring at the device that looked more like a child’s toy than what she knew it was. “Now, tell me you love me again. I wanna see that pretty face as you do.”
She stared at the drone, noises around her falling away, the men walking in and out of the house not mattering, even the murmuring of Faith and Garrett shifting to the background until all she heard was her own heart, beating fast in her chest, the echoing susurration of blood flowing through her body. Meditation had taught her many methods to focus her thoughts, and she used every one of them to ensure she gave Hoss what he needed from her in this moment. She forced aside the fear, isolating the terror that remained by being surrounded by so many men who looked exactly like their captors and locking it away. It might come back out to tweak her nerves later, but she wanted Hoss to see her strong and clear-headed, ready for whatever life could throw at her. At them.
“Isaiah Rogers, Hoss, I love you.” Quiet but confident, she told him the truth. “I’ll always love you.”
“Then come home to me, baby. I’m here waiting.” He paused, and she heard him fight his own terror into submission, showing her the depth of inner strength he’d developed through the years, probably had been born with, brought out now when she needed to know she wasn’t alone in this. Would never be alone. “I’ll always be here.”
***
Garrett
Standing in the hallway outside Faynez’ room, Garrett allowed himself to slump back against the wall in exhaustion. Clothed in a borrowed shirt from Hoss that was surprisingly snug around the shoulders, he hung his head, then laced his fingers behind his neck, covering his face with the angles created by his bent elbows. Trying to hide from the doubts that were coming at him from every side.
Things could have gone so bad.
He remembered his father’s wisdom, still marveling at how those words had carried him through to the end. His sole focus had been on getting to Faynez, saving her, not letting her suffer what his mother had gone through.
Oh, yeah, he knew his parents hadn’t ever intended him to learn how he’d been conceived, what had caused the pregnancy, but he could do the math. He’d been twelve the first time the dates lined up in his head, courtesy of a conversation with his older cousin Jonny. The club threw a bash on the same day every year, the day his mother and aunt had been rescued from their kidnapper. His older brother Chase always made himself scarce from the party, because it also marked the day his mother died. So much pain and celebration tied up in one day, he didn’t have the words to explain how conflicted it all made him feel. But then, nine months later, there would be a much smaller party for his birthday.Don’t have to be a rocket scientist. Not as much to celebrate there.
The dreams his mom still had gave it away, too. Garrett couldn’t count the number of times he’d woken to her shouting, calling for rescue, for help, crying out for someone to stop hurting her, to not hurt her friends. For days afterward, his father’s face would carry a dark burden of knowledge and pain, different from Garrett’s because he blamed himself somehow, and Garrett had never figured that part out.I couldn’t let Faynez deal with that for the rest of her life. Even the bits she’d shared with him on the porch of that hell house, and in the back seat of the car in between moments she’d dozed while Gunny drove them home, she had been remembering the feelings of terror so strongly he could see her heartbeat pounding in her throat. He’d soothed her, calmed her each time, whispering promises to always be there, and he’d breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she’d taken those as truth, leaning into him. Faynez might not love him, not yet, but she trusted him, and he held onto that with both hands, hoping he could be enough. So Garrett had pushed through, forcing his own memories of the day down and taking on her fears one at a time, dismantling them and talking her through it all until she could look at him through her tears and promise him she’d be okay.
Cassie was one tough lady. Garrett had heard around the clubhouse how flighty she could be, men wondering if she were a good match for Hoss. If she was Hoss’ pick, they’d back him a hundred percent, of course, but it didn’t stop the tongues from wagging about what they saw as her incompatibility. What Garrett had seen today, though? Tough and strong, and more than suitable for the man. Right now, she was sacked out on the couch, wanting people around her when she woke, not cowering in a corner.
The look on Cassie’s face when she’d seen him would forever haunt Garrett. She’d saved his life, whether she believed him or not, because that man, the Mexican, had gotten the drop on him somehow. Garrett had been just a hair too slow, the door rebounding quickly and slamming into him, throwing off his aim. If she hadn’t tased him when she did, the man would have shot and killed Garrett.
He’d told his dad that, told Hoss, too. A look passed between them that he couldn’t interpret, but his dad’s expression hadn’t changed like he’d expected. Instead of disgust or disappointment, what he’d seen was pain mixed with equal parts pride, and that had stunned him. He knew his dad loved him, but was proud of him?Me?
