Without Regret (Devil's Playground #1)

by Nicole Edwards

  Not dumb, remember?

  “You’ve got two options, Cassidy. We either get to your hotel room, get your shit, and get you to safety, or we head to the top floor, where we can at least protect you.”

  “Protect me?” she asked, the incredulity evident in her tone. He couldn’t think she was that gullible, could he? “Protect me from who? You?”

  The second man spoke, his voice sounding eerily the same as the other guy’s. “In a second, someone is going to hit the call button, and the doors’ll open again. The next person to get in the elevator might not have your best interests in mind.”

  Cassidy snorted her disbelief. “Are you—?”

  “Questions later,” the first man scolded while the other one hit the button for the top floor.

  Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening. They were kidnapping her and they… “Wait. How do you know my name?”

  Oh, God. It was true. The bad guys had found her.

  Neither man said anything, glancing at one another before turning to face the elevator doors.

  They were both immaculately dressed in what she could only assume were expensive suits. Despite the fact that they were big and broad, Cassidy noticed something else about them both. They were packing. And she wasn’t referring to the mountains of muscles beneath those suits. She’d seen enough movies to know that those were guns pressing against their jackets, and her mouth suddenly went dry.

  “Where are you taking me?” she finally asked as the elevator continued to rise, passing one floor after another.

  While she waited for an answer, she tried to come up with an escape plan. Throughout her life, she’d never learned what to do in a situation such as this. Even her master’s degree in sociology hadn’t helped her—nor did her administrative job in the health care system—despite the fact that she could practically predict what would happen next. Human behavior and all that.

  Knowing there were some very dangerous men looking for her—all in an effort to get their hands on her brother—Cassidy hadn’t planned ahead for the point when they would finally catch up to her. In fact, she’d hoped to never get to that point.

  Too late now.

  “The least you can do is tell me who you are before you kill me.”

  Both men peered over their shoulders at her, matching smirks lifting the corners of their lips.

  “Name’s Isaiah,” the one on the right said easily. “Isaiah Fontenot. This is my brother, Micah.”

  Well, that was a start. It meant little to her, but at least they’d gotten past the ignoring her part.

  Feeling lucky, she decided to go for broke. “What do you want from me?”

  “From you?”

  The guy on the right—Isaiah—continued to glance back at her, his grin wicked, but for some reason, Cassidy didn’t fear him. Not entirely, anyway. Why, she had no idea.

  “We’re doing a favor for our boss,” Isaiah explained. “And no, before you freak out again, we’re not planning to kill you. You’ll get all your questions answered when we get to the room. You can call him.”

  “Who’s your boss?” she asked, but the doors opened before he had a chance to answer.

  Cassidy found herself being ushered out of the elevator, down a long hallway, then through another set of doors, another hallway, and finally another elevator. Once inside, Micah hit the button for the top floor, which, in that particular elevator, was different from the last one.

  If she hadn’t been nervous before, she was now.

  Less than a minute later, the elevator came to a stop, and she was once again ushered out.

  With shaking hands, she gripped her purse, wishing like hell she’d thought to grab her trusty can of mace before she’d hightailed it out of her condo. Hindsight.

  Isaiah—she could only tell them apart thanks to the different colors of their suits—ran a key card through the electronic reader on the door they came to, and the lock disengaged. While Micah remained behind her, Isaiah led the way into the room.

  For some stupid reason, Cassidy dutifully followed. And now the jury was officially out on the not-dumb claim she’d made earlier.

  “Evening,” a stocky blond man said by way of greeting. “Everything’s cool here. I’ll wait in the hall.”

  With that, the guy was gone.

  “Who was that?”

  “Security.”

  Who the hell were these people?

  Unable to voice her question or to get her feet to carry her forward, Cassidy didn’t budge until Micah urged her forward.

  “We’re not the good guys, Cassidy, but I assure you we’re better than the ones after you.”

  Well, since he put it that way… What the hell was that supposed to mean?

  Before she could put sound to the words bouncing on her tongue, she was pushed inside the room, and the door was closed and locked behind them. Instinct kicked in, and Cassidy searched the room for a weapon, anything that she could use to fend these men off, because no matter what they told her, she believed, without a doubt, that they were not the good guys. After all, they both had a dark, mysterious edge that made her keenly aware of them. If she had to guess, they were the type of men people didn’t fuck with.

  The only question left was … how bad were they?

  3

  Isaiah knew the moment they stepped inside his penthouse that things were about to go to hell if he didn’t think of something fast. Mainly due to the fact Cassidy Owens was seeking a weapon, her distrust in them apparent. But also because he could sense something in his brother that wasn’t quite copacetic. He appeared irritated.

  “We’re not gonna hurt you,” Micah grumbled, walking away from Cassidy when she didn’t seem interested in going any farther into the room.

  Isaiah watched as her gaze strayed to the door.

  “Frank’s outside,” he told her. “You won’t make it far, so just relax.”

  Not that he expected her to do as he said, but it was worth a shot.

  He had to give his boss credit, Max sure knew how to pick them. From the instant Isaiah had laid eyes on the redhead, he’d been battling a case of insta-lust. Some serious shit, at that. What it was about her, he wasn’t entirely sure, either, but if he had to guess, this deep-rooted desire wasn’t going to go away, even if the girl did.

  Woman.

  Not girl.

  From what he knew of Cassidy Owens, she was a healthy, smart twenty-nine-year-old woman who lived and worked close by, had all of her life. Aside from her brother—who apparently had a gambling problem—she had a set of parents who’d moved to Florida a few years back. She worked at one of the local hospitals in a human services job that she’d held since she’d graduated from college eight years earlier.

  Smart, reliable. Beautiful.

  Oh, and she was running from some really nasty guys.

  Then again, his attraction to her wasn’t unheard of. It wasn’t as though he didn’t meet attractive women on a nightly basis. Running a Vegas nightclub with his brother pretty well guaranteed him sex. Especially when women found out who they really were. The fact that they managed a nightclub like Devil’s Playground tended to impress a lot of people.

  Isaiah got the sense that Cassidy wouldn’t be all that impressed.

  Which probably explained why he was rather anxious to show the sexy little woman currently trying to find a way out of the penthouse just what he was capable of, how easily he could make her body burn for him.

  Not that he intended to offer as much. At least not yet.

  “So what now?” Cassidy asked, still standing in the foyer clutching her purse to her chest.

  “First, we move this little party farther inside. Then, we’ll call Max.”

  “Who’s Max?”

  “Max Adorite. Our boss.”

  Her eyes widened, and Isaiah figured that meant she’d heard of him. Considering Max’s name was often tossed around, it wasn’t unheard of. The Adorites had established quite the name for themselves in the
gaming and hotel industry over the last few years.

  Without waiting for her to follow, Isaiah decided to venture toward his office, wanting to get this show on the road. As he made his way through the dining room, where Micah was currently waiting, then farther down the hall, he heard his brother’s footsteps behind him.

  Less than a minute later, Isaiah was sitting at his desk, his cell phone in hand.

  He looked up, his eyebrows lifting in a silent question when Micah entered the room behind him. Alone.

  “She’s coming,” Micah reassured him, obviously reading Isaiah’s mind. “Go ahead and call Max. I’ve got things to do.”

  When Cassidy joined them a moment later, Micah directed her toward one of the chairs opposite Isaiah’s desk. After she reluctantly took a seat, Micah followed suit, lowering himself into the chair beside her while Isaiah kept an eye on her.

  Isaiah placed his phone on the desk, the speaker engaged, the annoying ring filling the silence.

  “Where is she?” Max inquired without a hello.

  “Here with me,” Isaiah informed him. “We’re at the penthouse.”

  “Good,” Max grumbled. “She’s safe then?”

  Isaiah smiled but didn’t look at Cassidy. She was definitely safe. From danger, anyway. As for how safe she was from him … well, that was a different story.

  Isaiah leaned forward, his forearms resting on his desk as he shed the smile and cast a glance at Cassidy.

  While Max rambled, Isaiah did his best to pay attention, but his thoughts had drifted in a different direction, one that involved the sweet Cassidy Owens naked. Perhaps draped across his desk while Isaiah fed her his cock.

  Mmm. Hell yes.

  Micah spoke up, drawing Isaiah to the present.

  He had no idea what they were talking about but figured he should probably pay attention. Whatever his boss had to say was meant more for Cassidy than for him. Saving women from imminent death wasn’t Isaiah’s forte—and before today, he hadn’t thought it to be something he’d be attempting anytime in his future. He had no idea what they were supposed to do with her at this point (though he had a few suggestions), and in just a couple of hours, when Devil’s Playground opened its doors for the night, his entire focus would be on the club and not on the girl.

  “Cassidy, my name’s Max Adorite. My wife and I are here to help you.”

  Cassidy’s wide green eyes centered on Isaiah’s face as though she was seeking his input. Regarding what, Isaiah didn’t know. It’d been a long time since he’d circled a woman rather than getting right to the point. Unlike this situation with Cassidy, when it came to the other women he chose to spend his time with, his intentions were usually sexual in nature. Those he met at the club usually knew the score before he ever got them naked, but Isaiah knew that wouldn’t work well with Cassidy.

  However, he certainly wondered what would.

  Shaking off the thought, Isaiah knew he needed to keep this on a more professional level. While Max continued to talk to Cassidy, Isaiah got up and nodded for his twin to join him in the hall.

  “What do we do with her now?” Micah inquired as soon as they were out of earshot of the phone.

  Isaiah’s eyes traveled past Micah and back into the room where Cassidy was. “No idea.”

  “She looks exhausted,” Micah said. “Maybe she can sleep while we go to work.”

  “Not sure she’ll trust us enough to sleep here.”

  “Then get her her own suite. I’m sure she’d be open to that.”

  Isaiah shook his head. “She’s safer with us.”

  For now.

  Isaiah leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb, watching Cassidy. The first thing he noticed was that her eyes had softened somewhat, the lines bracketing her mouth not quite so harsh, and her shoulders were a little less tense. Obviously her conversation with Max had put her at ease. And that was a good thing.

  “What does Max want us to do?” Micah inquired from behind him.

  “For now, keep her out of sight while we track down her brother.”

  As Isaiah watched Cassidy’s gaze search the room, he figured that was easier said than done. At the same time, he wondered whether or not she would come to trust them, hoping until that time came she would do as instructed. It wasn’t in her best interest to ignore Max. As it was, she was in deep shit, and it would only get worse if she didn’t allow someone to help her.

  “Cassidy,” Max said sternly, his gruff tone echoing in the office, “I want you to talk to my wife, Courtney. She’s gonna ask you some questions. Be as honest as you can be, understood?”

  “Yes, I understand,” Cassidy agreed reluctantly, still talking to Max.

  A second later, Courtney Adorite’s voice sounded on the other end of the line. Isaiah continued to listen from the doorway while Max’s wife questioned Cassidy about her brother’s whereabouts. Cassidy wasn’t a fountain of information, but she was cooperative.

  While he listened, he tried to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do with the woman. Micah was right, she looked as though she were going to fall over at any moment. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but there were dark circles beneath her eyes. Probably from lack of sleep. According to what Max had told him initially, Cassidy Owens was on the run and had been for a couple of days since someone had trashed her condo in an effort to locate her brother, Jordan.

  And while Cassidy explained her situation to Max’s wife, Isaiah had to wonder just what the hell he had gotten himself into.

  But more importantly, how he was to get them all out of this.

  Alive.

  4

  Cassidy was exhausted, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to sleep again.

  After practically telling her life’s story to the man on the phone, and then retelling it and more to the woman, blindly trusting this Courtney Adorite to get her out of this mess, she’d kept her eye on Isaiah, right up to the point he’d come back to the desk and ended the call, placing his cell phone back into his pocket.

  Despite the danger that seemed to be her life at the moment, Cassidy found herself strangely drawn to the man who’d come to her rescue.

  What was it they called that? When the hostage had positive feelings toward her captor?

  Stockholm syndrome.

  Yes, that was it. Maybe she had that.

  After all, Cassidy knew nothing about him, other than he’d said he wouldn’t kill her, but at the same time, how did she know he was telling the truth? Maybe they weren’t the men after her, but they didn’t look like white knights ready to whisk her away to safety, either. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be tortured if the guys who were after her brother got their hands on her. According to Courtney, they were after her brother because he’d gone bad on a loan.

  Cassidy had already known that much. Her brother… Well, Jordan had problems, problems no one could fix until he was ready to help himself.

  And look where his problems had landed her.

  As much as Cassidy wanted to acknowledge that this was her reality, she had a hard time believing it all. This was mobster-type stuff. And yes, having grown up in Vegas, she knew all about the mob. After all, they were credited with laying the groundwork that had become Sin City.

  “You okay? Need anything?” Isaiah’s deep voice broke into her thoughts, pulling her to the present.

  “A nap,” she retorted snidely.

  “That can be arranged,” he told her.

  Cassidy’s eyes lifted to meet Isaiah’s shimmering mocha-brown gaze. “I hope that’s not a double entendre.”

  Isaiah laughed, and the sound hit a nerve deep in her core. He was sexy as hell, although she knew that should’ve been the last thing on her mind at the moment.

  “This is my private residence, so you can stay here. The club’ll open in about an hour, so I have to go to work, but you’ll be safe here.”

  “Will I?” Cassidy wasn’t sure she’d be safe anywhere ever again. Not until they found Jordan
, and she only prayed that Courtney managed to find him first. Then, perhaps he wouldn’t die. After all, although Courtney had promised they’d keep her safe, the overly confident woman had never guaranteed Jordan’s safety.

  “Come on,” Isaiah said softly, reaching for her hand and helping her from her chair.

  With her hand in his, Cassidy suddenly felt way too underdressed. The tank top and shorts she’d thought were a good idea that morning left her chilled in the air-conditioned room. However, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be warm again, either. Not until they found Jordan and she knew he was safe.

  That was what it all came down to at this point. Her brother. His safety.

  God, she was tired.

  “I’m heading out,” Micah said from the doorway, his gaze traveling over them both briefly.

  Cassidy studied him for a moment. Although there was no doubt he was Isaiah’s twin, the more she looked at him, the less like his brother he appeared. His dark hair was a little longer, his brown eyes a little less intense. He was the fun-loving one, she figured.

  “I’ll talk to you later at the club,” Micah told Isaiah before slipping down the hall and out of sight.

  Cassidy glanced up at Isaiah once again.

  “Come on. I’ll show you around. Then I’ve got to get downstairs.”

  Once Isaiah left her in his penthouse a good half hour later, Cassidy could hardly keep her eyes open. He’d given her a T-shirt and shorts to change into in the event she wanted to take a shower, and she was debating what to do next.

  It didn’t appear as though he was keeping her there against her will. In fact, she was almost certain she could waltz right out of that room and then right out of the hotel if she wanted to.

  But she didn’t want to.

  Glancing over at the huge king-sized bed with the plain black comforter and large fluffy pillows, she felt her eyelids grow heavier. Maybe she could sleep for a little while, and then, when morning came, she’d be able to think more clearly.

  First a shower.

  After disrobing and delicately placing her discarded clothes in a pile on the counter, Cassidy scanned the room. The décor was modern, and the feel was overtly masculine. On one of the sinks sat a can of shaving cream, a razor, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. All neatly arranged.