by D S Kane
Ann now understood just how deliberate Cassie’s violence could be. She gulped. This woman was a thief and a mass murderer. Her face scrunched in focus. “So, you and Lee kill people. Swiftshadow kills people. And, and, uh, you steal their money, too,” she added in a whisper, almost as an afterthought.
Lee had been sitting silent until now. He said, “I know this makes us sound awful, but these are murderers who wouldn’t think twice at slitting your throat. Swiftshadow kills terrorists, who murder innocent people. If no one stops them, they could wipe out entire cities. Which is what they were planning when Cassie and her mercenaries stopped them. We saved millions of lives. We have no pity for these murderers, no remorse about wholesale slaughter of them.”
Cassie’s eyes bored into Ann’s. “I wanted you to meet Avram, William, and Adam tonight. They are the best at what they do. Should anything ever happen to Lee and me, Ann, they promised me they’ll protect you and act as your guardians.”
Cassie waited while Ann pondered their story. Then she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “Here’s a list of phone numbers and email addresses for each.” She handed Ann the page.
Ann scratched her head as if trying to ignore this crucial bit of intel. Then she nodded her head. “Cassie, why did you want me? How do I fit into any of this?”
Cassie sucked a lungful of air. “You and me, Ann, we’re so alike; I wanted you to be with me.”
As she looked at Cassie, Ann thought she was nothing like her.
“But there’s something more. Please, this is very hard for me.” Cassie’s voice shook. “When the agency sent me to the Middle East, the terrorists I was stealing from set me up. As I told you before, they sent a man to kill me, but before he did that, he raped me and I killed him in self-defense. I didn’t know I was pregnant when I met you.”
Her voice became a mixture of sobs and high-pitched words. “So, I must have been more receptive to the idea of a daughter, and Ann, if I ever had my own child, I would want her to be someone just like you. You’ve been left alone to fend for yourself in the worst of circumstances, and you succeeded. I admire that.”
Cassie tried to smile but it just crinkled her face. “I had an abortion after I left the tunnels. The doctor told me I’d probably never get pregnant again. Scarring inside me. I’ve stopped having regular periods, just once in a while. Without you, I probably won’t ever have a chance for a family. I so much want that.”
Gizmo purred in Ann’s lap as she began petting the kitten again. Ann thought, an instant family. I’m part of an instant family and my parents are mass murderers who steal and kill for a living. She shook her head, not knowing what to say. It was like she’d been blown into another dimension.
It was too much to comprehend at one time, but she guessed that the love Cassie felt for her was real. She still wasn’t sure about Lee, but could see they loved each other. She still hadn’t decided whether she trusted Cassie.
She needed to let all she’d heard sit for a while until she could figure it out.
She was sure no one at the prissy school they sent her to had a family anything like this.
That night, Cassie and Lee twined their bodies together for the first time since she’d left him in California and went with the mercs to kill the Houmaz brothers in the Middle East.
She touched him very carefully, worrying that his body might still be fragile, and the tension built slowly for them both. He knew every trigger point on her body, and used every one of them. He gently massaged her breasts with his fingers, then used his lips, and then bent to her thighs, kissing them gently as she gripped the pillow in an effort to center herself and stay in control. But as their passion grew, command over her body slipped away.
Lee stopped. “It’s been so long since the last time we enjoyed each other.” He touched her lips with his fingers. Softly suckled one of her nipples.
She drew his lips harder onto her breast. “Please, please, more. Please?”
Lee grinned. “Remember the Marriott in Washington last year? You met me at the door to your room, holding a gun in your hand.” He scraped his teeth over one of her nipples, and then with slow deliberation drew it deep within his mouth. “You still taste good.”
Lee took his time, controlled and focused his pent-up passion, being careful to ensure that he touched her exactly where he knew it would work her hardest. His face brushed her crotch, tongue flicking into her, causing her back to arch in a sudden climax, then began sucking her clitoris as if it was a third nipple while his fingers pulled gently, kneading her tiny breasts.
After her third climax, she guided him into her. He entered slowly, slipping, pushing and pumping rhythmically until they both climaxed again. But Lee wasn’t finished. He stayed erect and continued to thrust, slower now, rebuilding sensations at her core until she couldn’t bear it any longer. Cassie began whimpering as he pumped himself into her, gasping, and she felt him flood her with himself.
She took his face and silently looked into his eyes. “Can I coax you into one more?”
He gasped. “Don’t know. It’s been so long, but we can try.”
She pinched his nipples and he gradually became erect once more, moaning softly as she pushed on top of him. She mouthed something like a growl. She tried to rise from him a bit, starting them toward another climax, but he held her arms and demanded she be still. Lee said, “I’ve missed being inside you.” She could feel that he wanted to say more, but he began to rock under her. Her body ignited, and she felt herself slip again into the moment.
The sex was better than when their lives had been threatened. They lay in the bed, relaxed but spent, breathless and still coupled together. The duvet lay at the edge of the bed, their bodies bare to the air. Their tandem gulps eased as they edged toward sleep.
Ann lay on her back in her makeshift bed in the tunnels north of Grand Central Station, her eyes bulging wide in pain. The man on top had stuffed a Franklin into her hand and forcibly mounted her. He penetrated before she was moist and ready. She’d wanted to use saliva to wet her crotch, but the man gripped her hands until he was deep within. Awash with the pain of being violated and ripped into, she covered a scream of pain with the back of her hand. He worked her hard, as she thrashed under him. The man reached under her dirty sweater and squeezed one of her breasts.
Her eyes popped open, her breathing ragged. She sat up, once again in her bed in the house where she lived with Cassie and Lee, gasping from her nightmare. Ann felt unsure and alone. She left her room, walking down the dark, long hallway to the master bedroom where Cassie and Lee slept.
She knocked on the door but didn’t wait. Opening the door, she saw Cassie’s naked body atop Lee’s in the bed. Neither Cassie nor Lee seemed to notice she’d entered their bedroom. Neither made an attempt to cover themselves. Both were panting from recent sex, raw enough for even Ann to notice the odor. She realized what they’d done and turned to leave immediately.
Cassie saw Ann’s shadow, dim in the gray light. She pulled the cover over Lee and herself. “What’s wrong, Ann?”
Ann blurted out, “I’m, uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to barge in. I had a bad nightmare. A real bad one. I feel scared and lonely. I don’t think I can sleep.” Still shaking, she approached the bed on Cassie’s side.
Cassie reached her hand and touched Ann’s. She motioned to the edge of the bed.
Ann sat. “My mom used to let me sleep in the bed with her when I had nightmares. I know that I was a lot younger then, but please let me stay. I promise I won’t ask it again, but can I tonight? Please?”
Cassie said, “Of course.” She began to pull the cover tighter over Ann and herself, and Lee wrapped himself deep within it. Gizmo pounced onto the bed and settled on the blanket between Lee and them.
Ann snuggled against Cassie and continued hugging her hard.
Chapter Seven
October 2, 6:58 p.m.
New York University, Washington Square, New York City
Cassie ent
ered the auditorium-style classroom, thinking about the events of the three days since that night.
The night after Ann entered their bedroom, Lee had waited for Ann to go upstairs to her bedroom to do homework. Then he cornered Cassie in the kitchen. He stood at the sink, rinsing dishes and putting them into the dishwasher while he spoke. “That girl isn’t normal. She’s fifteen and wants to sleep with us in our bed right after we’ve fucked.”
Cassie dragged a wet sponge across the countertop. “She probably didn’t know we’d just had sex.”
Facing away, he raised his voice. “That’s bullshit. I know you can smell everything, so you might not know that even I could smell what we’d been doing. If she can smell at all, she knew.”
Cassie stopped and faced him. “Lee, you’re ranting. She’ll need to get adjusted to her new life. Give her a chance. Help me guide her.”
He shook his head. “She isn’t normal. She’ll never be normal!”
Cassie touched his arm to try and calm him, but he pulled away. She couldn’t decide what to do with Ann. She figured each of them was confused right now. “Maybe I should get a therapist for her.”
Lee just glared back. “The problem is us, sweetie, all of us. We’re the fucking Addams Family. Not good examples for any child.”
His comment had cycled through her mind for the days since then. She was confused and worried, obsessing about whether they could develop into a normal family. She began to feel depressed, and nothing she could imagine or conjure helped. She needed a break and couldn’t force one.
But, the next morning, Cassie had received an invitation via email to attend an NYU Entrepreneur’s Club meeting where several startup companies would present their plans to angel investors. She knew without any thought that Adam had arranged this for her.
At the very least, it would draw her away from obsessing about her teenager.
Cassie read the agenda. Over two hours, five startups would present, and two were high-tech products. She understood their businesses. Of the other three, two of them fascinated her, one with a possible cure for cancer and another with a “fix” for spinal cord injuries. Cassie told Ann and Lee that she’d be in New York overnight at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. She cornered Lee alone and warned him to be on his best behavior with Ann.
Tonight, she’d found a student’s desk at the back of one of the lobby auditoriums of NYU’s Stern Graduate School of Business on Waverly and sat there. Instead of thinking about Ann, she thought about what had happened today.
In late morning, she’d packed an overnight case and took Amtrak north. On arrival, before she took the subway to NYU, she’d called Judy Hernandez.
“Hello?” said a distant voice with a thick Brooklyn accent.
“Judy? This is Denise Hardcastle,” said Cassie, using the alias she’d assumed when she fled Washington and lived in New York.
“Denise? What happened to you? It’s been so long since we last talked. You just sort of disappeared, know what I mean?” Cassie heard Judy’s chewing gum pop.
“Meet me for dinner tonight and I’ll tell you everything. And I promise you’ll find the story interesting. I’m paying. How about it?”
“Uh, okay. Where you want to meet?”
“How about the French restaurant—One if by Land, Two if by Sea—on Barrow Street near West 4th? We went there once last year.”
“Okay, can do. Seven p.m.?”
“No, much earlier. I have to be in a classroom at seven. The restaurant opens at five-thirty. How about then?”
“Okay, but for such an early dinner this better be good. I assume you’ll want to stay overnight.”
“Don’t know. Probably not. See you then.” She didn’t tell Judy she’d be at the Waldorf. She and Judy had been lovers before she hooked up with Lee, and she didn’t want the opportunity for a recurrence.
“You lied about your name?” Judy placed a sliver of foie gras terrine frisée, with a dash of its cherry compote onto the brioche toast, dipped it into the port reduction sauce and dropped it onto her tongue. “Oh, God, this tastes like heaven. Where’d you get the money for this?”
Cassie sipped from the wineglass she held in her hand. The bottle of 1985 Châteaux Margaux Pavionne Blanc cost well over a thousand dollars. “Yes. It’s very good. The money came from the bank accounts of terrorists in the Middle East. And yes, I lied. About everything. All lies. My name is Cassandra Sashakovich. I used to work for a US intelligence service, but a mole working at my employer blew my cover and some people tried to kill me. But, I survived and hired an army of mercenaries that located and slaughtered all of them.”
Judy’s jaw dropped open and Cassie could see and smell the foie gras on Judy’s tongue. “You’re lying again.”
Cassie continued. “No, Judy. This is the truth. We were good friends, lovers, and I trust you to know.” She took her time, calming the tiny voice in her head screaming it’s never safe to trust anyone. “So now my mercs are set up as a preferred vendor—a management consulting firm called Swiftshadow Consulting Group—to the federal government in Washington. I was responsible for so many lost lives.” She put her fork down and her eyes drifted downward toward her plate as if the glaze on the foie could reflect her feelings. She glanced up at Judy. “I need to make myself feel worthy. That’s why I created Swiftshadow.”
“Wow.” Judy slowly chewed the mouthful, her eyes distant as she tried to digest Cassie’s story. “This is another story. Unbelievable.” She smiled. “So, you lied to me before. Why should I believe you’re telling me the truth now?”
“I can prove it. All you have to do is come back with me to Washington. You’ll meet the entire group. I want you to be Swiftshadow’s office manager. So, this is a job offer. Are you interested?”
Judy stopped chewing. “Huh? You want me to drop everything and just move my ass over two hundred miles?”
Cassie smiled. “Yes.” She handed her cell phone to Judy. “Go to swiftshadowconsultinggroup.com. You can see the company’s website. You can see the group, our photos, and read our biographies.”
Judy took the cell and keyed the website name on its keyboard. “Holy shit, woman. This looks real.” She looked up, right into Cassie’s eyes. “Denise, uh, I mean, Cassandra, you’re serious. Well, okay, so, tell me about the job. I mean, tell me how much is the salary? What will I do?”
When their brief dinner ended, Cassie walked the few blocks to the NYU campus in Greenwich Village. She had never been inside NYU, despite all the time she’d spent in New York City. She wandered through the campus at Washington Square, in awe at its enormous library building across the street from the student union building with its modest cafeteria. In the Square she stopped and watched street singers and chess players, and admired its massive arch at the base of Fifth Avenue.
As the sky darkened into night, she headed over to the Stern School and entered the auditorium in the Graduate Business section. There was technology everywhere in the Stern School. The lobby looked brand new, well-maintained. They must have rich alumni, she thought.
She walked into the amphitheater named in the invitation that Adam had been instrumental in obtaining for her. At the back of the room she found her nametag, among many others. She seated herself near the rear exit. She found about fifty people chatting in the room. There was an even mix of men and women, most in their late thirties and early forties, she guessed. All dressed in business attire.
She remained sitting until the crowd of students and attendees was large enough that she was sure she would not draw attention to herself. She rose and approached one of the people sitting at a table in the front of the room. “Can you please help me? I’m looking for Professor Hoffshell.”
“I’m Hoffshell,” said the woman. She was probably fifty years old, with short gray hair hanging in strings. The woman’s face enclosed a quiet patience that might come in handy when teaching.
“I received an email invitation to attend. My name is Cassandra Sashakovich and my spon
sor is Adam Mahee. He’s adjunct faculty, isn’t he?”
Hoffshell leaned over and read the nametag. “Oh, yes, now I remember. Adam said you had the money to become an angel investor and were eager to find a few attractive early stage companies. He said even if you lost all of your risk capital, it wouldn’t affect your life style. That is, he qualified you as an accredited investor. Is that so?”
Cassie nodded but said nothing. When Hoffshell nodded back, Cassie asked, “What do I do now?”
The professor stood so they were eye-to-eye. “Tonight, you sit, you watch the CEOs present their companies, and if you have questions, then you can ask them at the end of each presentation. It looks like it’ll be a great night. These startups are the best so far this year. If you find one you’re interested in, just get the contact info for their management from one of the tables in the back of the amphitheater.” Hoffshell pointed near the exit.
Cassie nodded.
“It’s up to you to follow up and get a term sheet, a private placement memorandum, and anything else you need to make a decision. Make sure you have an attorney examine the start-up’s paperwork before you sign anything.”
She handed Cassie a set of stapled pages that contained a course description plus a bibliography listing about twenty books and nearly eighty articles. “With my permission, the course can be audited. Of course I’ll grant you permission, since you’re sponsored by Adam. The next one starts in January. The articles and books on the pages can all be found in the Business School’s library, and you can buy them in the bookstore.”
Cassie thanked Hoffshell and reclaimed her seat in the back of the auditorium. She sat, took notes, and remained focused on each startup company’s cofounders. Cassie noticed that every company had a slightly different style, and each one’s PowerPoint presentation was brief yet concise.
