Chapter 2

After one of the most exhausting weekends of her life and all the fuss with Andi, Cassie was relieved to get back to work.

Yet again Cassie had spent longer at the hospital the day before than she'd planned, simply because Andrea's parents needed a break to head back to their hotel and get some sleep. Cassie stayed by her best friend's bedside all day, doing her best not to bring up uncomfortable conversational pieces like, "By the way, did you know your asshole husband threatened my life too?" Andi was still wallowing in a vat of self pity and a belief that she had brought this ordeal upon herself. If Andi had been anyone else, Cassie probably would have cussed a blue streak and shot her friend with a heavy dose of the truth. But this was Andi, and Cassie was so used to looking after her much more fragile friend that she just couldn't kick her while she was down. Then came the news Andrea would be staying with her parents rather than with Cassie while she recovered.

Cassie herself was feeling so exhausted from this entire experience - had the abuse really started nine months ago? - that Cassie was actually grateful to be able to put some space between herself and her friend right now.

Obviously, it wasn't going to be that easy.

Cassie tried not to show the shock she felt when Pete himself showed up at her floral shop Tuesday afternoon, as easy as you please.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"How is she? Please, I just need to know that she's OK," he begged. He did look like he'd been suffering too, which was some comfort. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was a sickly color - he'd probably been drinking himself sick since Friday night, she surmised. Yet, Cassie also noticed that Pete was wearing clean clothes and had found time to shave sometime while his wife was lying in the hospital.

"She'll live, no thanks to you," Cassie told him. She sent a glance toward her assistant manager, who was aware of the situation involving Andi. Even if Tess didn't recognize Pete, she obviously recognized from Cassie's behavior that he was the man the police were looking for. "Tess, please call the police and tell them Pete Hendricks is here."

"Wait! Cassie," he pleaded. "Just tell me where she is. I need to see my wife. I called the hospital, but she's not there anymore. I know she's not at your place - I've been watching it. So where is she?"

"Bastard," she spat out. "I wouldn't tell you where she was even if you threatened to cut me open with your hunting knife," she taunted, also reminding him of the threat he'd left on her machine.

The change that came over him was pretty dramatic. His face lost all trace of worry for his wife and twisted into an angry slant toward Cassie. "You bitch!" he moved as if he would launch over the counter and grab her. "I know you've had the police looking for me. I saw them at the house. None of this would have happened if you'd kept your nose out of where it didn't belong. Just tell me where she is!" he yelled.

"Hey!" someone shouted from the doorway, and Cassie realized it was Kevin! He'd startled Pete so badly, Pete forgot he was going after her and instead jumped over the counter, pushed past her, and ran into the back office. She realized he had to know there was a back door there when she heard it slam open.

Kevin shouted for her to call the police as he raced past in hot pursuit. Not to be left out, Cassie took off after them, hoping Kevin caught up with the bastard and she could help beat the shit out of him.

She got as far as six blocks before she was too winded to go any further. Breathing hard, hands on her hips, she searched to see that Kevin was breathing just as hard as he walked back toward her, limping slightly and rubbing his left leg as if he'd pulled a muscle or something. When he got close enough, he said, "I lost him. Dammit!" Then he looked at her and demanded, "What the hell do you think you're doing? You were supposed to stay back there where it was safe. What if he'd had a gun?"

She blew out a breath and said, matter-of-factly, "If he'd had a gun, I guess he would have shot you by now."

"Dammit, Cassie, this isn't a joke."

"Am I laughing?"

He closed his eyes, shook his head, and then grabbed her by the arm. "Come on."

She jerked her arm free but kept up pace beside him as he walked back toward her store. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I was in the neighborhood."

"Yeah right. You would have had to drive ten miles out of your way to get in this neighborhood. Try again."

He stopped, glanced around, looking anywhere but at her, and said, "I was keeping an eye on you. I heard shouting, and when I got closer, I caught that guy about to use you for a punching bag."

"You were WHAT?"

He finally looked at her. "Your family is very worried about you."

"I can't believe this," she grumbled as she turned and walked away. "Don't you have a business to run yourself? What? Is Heather paying you to do this?"

"Of course not," he said, obviously offended. "I'm doing it as favor to a very good friend."

"Since when did you and Heather get so close, and does Jake know?" she asked, and regretted it a second later for what it implied about her sister.

"That was low, Cassie." He sent her a hateful look. "The friend I was referring to is you."

"Dammit, I know it was low," she agreed, so she kept her mouth shut the rest of their walk. When they got back to the store, the police had arrived and were talking to Tess. They took statements from everyone and then advised Cassie to think about staying with family or friends until Pete was arrested.

"I'll be fine on my own," she insisted, but she wasn't totally stupid. "He said he'd been watching my house, so maybe you could have someone patrol my neighborhood in case he's still hanging around."

The police agreed to do that much, and when they left, Kevin stopped pacing and sent her a look that was full of meaning. She sighed and demanded, "What?"

"He's been watching your house and yet you still want to stay there?"

Cassie rubbed her eyes, feeling suddenly very tired - she hadn't slept much the last couple of nights - and admitted truthfully, "I don't think Pete would ever hurt me. He might try to scare me into thinking he would, but I don't think he has the guts to touch me because he knows I'd hit him back. Andi never did."

"That's taking a hell of a chance," he pointed out. "Fine. I hope you don't mind company then. If you won't leave, I'll just have to spend the night on your doorstep until this guy is arrested."

"Oh please. Just drop the macho act." She picked up a bundle of flowers and began arranging them in a vase. She had a wedding order to fill for this weekend. "I'll call my sister and tell her you saved my life today or some crap like that, and you can go about your business. OK?"

"Heather and Jake didn't ask me to do this; I followed my instincts. Besides, I took some time off, which is what you should have done when all this happened," Kevin informed her. "I'm not going anywhere, darlin'."

She sent him a look that would have cowered most men, then went about arranging her flowers while she ignored him. Well, pretended to ignore him was more apt. Secretly, she noticed every little detail about him, all of the changes the last few years had brought. He looked good. His hair was still short, but longer than it had been when they were together. It was also lighter, probably bleached by the sun while on one of his expeditions. He had a little bit of stubble on his face, but it suited him.

"You know, I can't figure you out," Kevin said after a point. Had he realized she was looking him over? Nah, she decided. He folded his arms and sent her a serious look. Then he said, "You get scared to death and run at the thought of having a serious relationship with me, yet when someone actually threatens to do you physical harm, you just buck up and say 'bring it on'? I don't get it."

She was sort of startled that he'd come right out and mentioned their past relationship, so it took her a few seconds to process the taunt for what it was meant to be. Funnily enough, instead of tensing, she felt herself relaxing. "Nice try, but it won't work," she said. "Besides, I thought you would have gotten over that by now."

"What, us?" When she sent a look instead of saying "duh!" he smiled. "I don't think I ever will, sweetheart, and you know it."

"That's your problem, not mine."

"No, it's both of our problems because you're in the same boat," he accused, then stood up and headed for the door. "I'm heading home to pack a change of clothes. I'll be back later."

"Don't bother," she yelled after him, but the door had already shut. She sighed. As if she didn't have enough problems, now she had to deal with an ex on a macho trip?

What next? she wondered.

When Cassie made it home that evening, she breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see Kevin's car sitting in the driveway in front of her condo, or anywhere on the street. Well, she wasn't surprised, maybe he'd taken her at her word and left her alone, but she was surprised at how disappointed she felt that he wasn't here.

"Yeah, right, Cass," she berated herself as she shut off her engine. "As if you want to get messed up with him again. Remember how much it hurt last time?"

She shook herself out of that funk and determined not to think of Kevin Cooper any more. Besides, she had other things to focus on - namely making sure Pete Hendricks wasn't stalking her to get to his wife. Slinging her purse over her shoulder, Cassie waved at her neighbor, the elderly Mr. Johnson, as she walked to her door. She took careful glances around, down the street, around the corner, at her neighbor's yards, as she put the key in the door and tried not to look like she was hurrying inside out of fear. If Pete was watching her place, which she highly doubted, she didn't want to give him any satisfaction.

She shut the door, tossed her keys on the table by the window and reached to turn on the lamp.

"Hey Cassie. Good day at work?"

She screamed. Not loud enough to have Mr. Johnson running over, but loud enough to get the point across that she was startled.

"Kevin!" she nearly shouted, seeing the man leaning against the wall not even four feet away from where she stood. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Proving a point," he said, with a careless shrug. "If I can get in your house without you noticing, don't you think someone else can too?" Before she could respond - she was still breathing hard, her heart beating a mile a minute from the fright he'd given her - he pushed himself away from the wall. She hardly had time to notice he was holding something in his hands before he came at her. She heard a ripping sound, felt her hands being tugged forward and pushed together, and then saw that he had roped her wrists with some sort of tape, all before she could blink or knew what was even happening.

"So, how was your day, honey?" he asked calmly, as if he were doing nothing more than greeting her at the door.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" she yelled at him, trying to pull her arms free and kick him, but he moved too fast.

"Still haven't figured it out yet? OK." With a tug of her bound wrists, he pulled her flush against him, and then backed her up against the wall. Cassie tried jerking her hands away but couldn't free them from his grasp. The way he'd positioned his body against hers, she couldn't move her legs or twist away from him. She was trapped. He was starting to scare her...

"Kevin," she pleaded.

The look in his eyes was confusing. His eyes kept drifting to her mouth as if he wanted to kiss her, but when he met her eyes, he was cold - like a total stranger. She swallowed, and pushed herself closer to the wall.

"Get it yet, Cassie?" he asked harshly and then pushed himself away from her. "Do you realize just how vulnerable you are? If Pete really wanted to break in here and do you harm, it would be pretty easy. Hell, I'm surprised you haven't been robbed yet, as easy as it was. Why the hell don't you have an alarm?"

Sighing, she closed her eyes and relaxed her body. She should have known Kevin would never hurt her. He was only trying to be a jackass by making her too afraid to stay here alone.

"I'm not exactly rolling in money," she told him needlessly. "I can barely afford payments on this place, let alone an alarm."

"Let's focus on how easy it was to tie your hands before you realized what was happening," he continued, as if she hadn't spoken. "You act all tough, but when it comes right down to it, you've never had any self defense training, have you?"

She'd always meant to, but she'd never had the time. Cassie sealed her lips and glared at him, knowing anything she said now would just be used against her.

"Nothing to say?" he demanded.

"Yeah," she disagreed. "Get out."

Never in a million years would she have expected him to do as she said. She expected him to argue, to try something else to prove how "vulnerable" she was. Instead, he sent her a steady look, tugged his keys out of his jean pocket, and left through the back without saying a word!

She was so taken by surprise, it took her several seconds to realize her hands were still bound by duct tape and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get free. Blowing her long hair out of her eyes, Cassie considered ways to free herself. Finally, she decided to try and grab a knife from the kitchen and cut herself free. After several minutes of grappling with the only knife she could easily get to and dropping it on the floor repeatedly, she let out a string of cuss words and stomped her foot like a temperamental child. Now what could she do?

"Having fun?" Kevin said, and she realized he had returned and was propped against the doorjamb, watching her.

"You jerk! Get me outta this," she demanded. He considered her for a few seconds, making a face as he pretended to consider it. Finally, she caved, and rolling her eyes, added, "Please."

"Hmmm. I don't know. It's not often I get the upper hand when dealing with Cassandra Ross," he said, as he approached her slowly. "I think I like having you tied up and forced to listen. Then again, I don't think I've ever heard you say 'please' before. What's a guy to do?"

"Ha Ha. Very funny. Will you please cut me loose now?"

"I would, but-"

"But what?" she demanded.

"I'm not finished making my point, sweetheart. Sorry."

"What - aahhh! What the hell are you doing?" she squealed when instead of cutting her hands free, he bent his knees and slung her over his shoulder, fireman-style. Her world suddenly went upside down, and all she could see as he began moving was a terrific up-close view of his butt and her hair flapping all around her. "Kevin!"

He stopped long enough to say, pointedly, "Cassie, do you really want to make a scene in front of your neighbors by screamin' and hollerin'? If so, I'm game, but I can promise you if you keep your mouth shut, no one will see you slung over my shoulders like a sack of potatoes and your reputation as a good neighbor will remain intact. Do you trust me?"

Dammit. He knew her well enough to know she didn't like to bring attention to herself. He also knew damn well she trusted him. But what the heck was he doing? She asked him that very question for the second time in as many minutes, even as she thumped the back of his legs with her bound hands.

He chuckled as he began walking. "Isn't it obvious, sweetheart? I'm kidnapping you."

Four years ago...

It had been three days since Kevin had attended Jake's barbecue - alone - and five days since he'd heard from the woman he'd thought he was dating.

He'd left Cassie messages. She hadn't returned them. He'd gone by her shop. She'd always been "out to lunch." She never answered his knocks on her door at home.

He thought about contacting Jake to ask what was going on with Cassie, but she'd made him promise he wouldn't alert anyone about their relationship - another clue, he suspected, that she was trying to end things before they really began. He wouldn't pretend to be happy about it. He'd thought she was special, and he'd felt things around her he'd never felt before. On the other hand, she obviously didn't feel the same about him, so what was the point?

That's why he was caught off guard when he answered a knock on his apartment door one night to find her leaning casually against the doorjamb. "Hey, hot stuff."

"Cassie," he said with some surprise. Then he remembered how she'd been avoiding him and felt a wave of anger rise within him. "Gee. I had almost forgotten what you looked like."

She smiled and punched him in the shoulder as she invited herself in and pushed past him. "You don't do sarcasm well, Kevin. Stick to comedy."

He smelt alcohol on her breath and knew instantly she'd been drinking. He looked for her car, hoping she hadn't driven over here, and was relieved to see the tail lights of a cab rounding the corner. He closed the door and watched her try to tug her jacket off her shoulders. When she finally looked at him, she flopped back on his couch as if she were right at home and smiled. "Wow, you look good. Real good. You been working out?"

"I always work out," he said, but she knew that. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair and asked, "What are you doing here, Cassie?"

"You know," she looked around, made a dismissive gesture with her hand, "I got your messages and all. Sorry this is the first chance I've had to get back to you. I've been... busy."

"Yeah, I guessed," he said, and took a seat across from her.

"Why are you sitting all the way over there, cowboy?" She patted the sofa beside her and said, "I don't bite. Well, unless you want me to."

He couldn't believe this woman. Hot and cold. What kind of man did she think he was to put up with it? He made himself settle down before simply reacting and asking her to leave. She was here. That had to mean something, right? Least he could do was try and meet her halfway.

He leaned forward and sent her what he hoped was a straight-forward look. "Listen, Cassie, I think we need to talk about our relationship - if we have one, that is - before this goes any further."

"Whoa, Kevin, fella," she giggled. "I think someone needs to lighten up. Of course we have a relationship." He breathed a sigh of relief, then cringed when she added, "We're friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, friends." She smiled as she leaned forward and traced a finger along his knee suggestively. "Well, friends with benefits - the best kind to have." When he stopped her hand from traveling further and pushed it away, she leaned back and giggled, then said, "Hell, you're probably one of the best friends I've ever had. I still can't believe I told you about what Becky Simmons did to me! I can count on one hand the number of people I've told that to. You didn't even laugh at me for being so damned stupid."

He tried to remember who the hell Becky Simmons was. Oh wait a second. He grimaced, recalling the story she'd told him. Becky had been her roommate, one of her best friends from high school, or so Cassie had thought until she'd come home one day and found the locks had been changed on their shared apartment. Apparently, sweet old Becky had let her then boyfriend move in with them, and he hadn't wanted Cassie around as a third wheel. Becky had sided with the boyfriend, and Cassie had been out on her ass.

Kevin sat back and admitted, "I'm glad you consider us close friends at this point, but I was hoping we were a little more than that."

"Well, I sure as hell haven't slept with any of my friends before!" she said, then burst out laughing. When she calmed down, she must have realized he wasn't laughing too. Then she got nervous, started shifting around. In a babble, she continued, "I haven't really slept with that many guys. Four - no, five now." She held up four fingers. "Yep. Five is all. Bet you probably thought I've slept around more than that."

"Cassie, I don't care how many guys you've slept with, as long as you haven't slept with them while we've been together," he told her in all fairness. "I care about you. I care about you as more than a friend. I'd like to know if you feel the same way about me."

It was the moment of truth, and Cassie, no matter how drunk she might be, recognized that. It showed in her eyes, which suddenly reminded him of a deer's caught in the headlights. She fidgeted, looked everywhere but at him, then smiled and stood up to start pacing. "Why are we talking about this stuff anyway? Let's just have fun, the way we usually do. Hey, is there a game on tonight?' she asked, glancing hopefully toward his television.

He stood up and cornered her physically as well as emotionally. He was willing to be patient with her as long as she gave him a reason to be. "Cassie, why did you come here tonight?"

"I just, you know," she finally looked at him. "I missed talking to you."

"That's a good thing," Kevin smiled, feeling encouraged, finally.

"Look," she said, turning away and rubbing her arms with her hands, as if she were cold. "I told you I was only interested in a casual relationship when we met. I'm not good at girlfriend-boyfriend stuff. I make a lousy girlfriend, even I know that. So can't we just be friends who sleep together when we get the itch? Isn't that easier, anyway?"