She took the keys, but said, “Griff, nothing’s going to happen to you.”
His big shoulders went up and down in a totally nonchalant gesture. “You never know. Better you have the keys. I’ll get them back as soon as I return. See you later.”
As he walked away, her hands clenched tightly around the keys. She looked down at them, a sudden weight settling on her shoulders that felt like enormous responsibility. Maybe even a tiny bit of guilt. The man was trusting her with a car he obviously loved.
“Griff,” she called out.
He turned back, still within ear shot. “You might regret giving me these keys.”
“Why?”
“I drive too fast.”
He laughed, the sound sharp and genuine. But instead of taking back his keys he waved and kept walking.
She headed back to the resort back entrance, feeling more in control. Now that she knew the parameters of her relationship with Griff, she could stop thinking about how damned gorgeous he looked and how much he turned her on.
“Yeah, right,” she murmured.
When she returned to the front desk, Penny was staring at the counter in front of her. Her mug looked displeased. What had thrown Penny off, Cassie couldn’t say. Maybe the fact she couldn’t watch twenty-four hour news channels anymore, people hadn’t paid her for rooms, or that her son hadn’t returned.
“Something wrong?” Cassie put up one hand. “No, don’t answer that. The world is probably screwed. Of course something’s wrong.”
Penny smiled, but it didn’t look genuine. This morning her hair looked as if she had barely dragged a comb through it. She wore too much makeup; her eyelashes were so thick with mascara they looked artificial. Maybe they were. She’d never seen Penny made up or as frazzled as this before.
“Nothing’s wrong dear. Other than the world going to hell, of course,” Penny said.
Cassie leaned on the counter. “There’s a lot to be thankful for. Without electricity things should actually be more quiet. Hardly any car horns, traffic, obnoxious planes flying over. You know. All those pesky modern conveniences won’t stress us out anymore because we won’t have them.”
Penny snorted a short laugh. “You’re right.”
“We still have working flashlights. Griff’s crank radio brought in radio operator that said quite a few satellites and GPS systems aren’t working. But we don’t know how accurate that report is. There’s still some blessings to be counted, though.”
“Yeah but that doesn’t change the way most people really are.” Penny touched her rounded belly as she stepped from behind the counter. “Right here in the core, people just don’t give a damn about their fellow neighbors. They’re just shits.”
Wow. This woman continued to surprise Cassie. Where she’d seemed uniform enough in behavior when they first met, now she went from cheerful to off-kilter in a heartbeat.
Cassie didn’t know how to respond. “Are they?”
Penny glared at her computer, unplugged and without juice for maybe eternity. “Yes.”
“I prefer to think everyone has their good and bad points.” Cassie figured there wasn’t too much she could do to change Penny’s mind, so she steered her in a different direction. “Is there somewhere in particular your son might go? Somewhere we could start looking for him?”
“No. Nothing I’m aware of. When is Griff coming back?” Penny asked as she wandered to the closed front doors.
“He said it might be awhile.”
“Maybe we should look for him. Do you think he’s in trouble?”
“He just went to the sheriff’s department to see what’s going on.”
Penny drew in a breath and released it between her lips. “What if something happens to him?”
How the hell could she answer that? “If there’s anyone who can take care of himself, it’s Griff.”
Penny grunted, her frown still firmly in place. She stared out the locked glass doors. “If anything did happen to him, how are you and I going to survive? Are you trained to handle the new world out there?”
“No.”
Penny nodded emphatically. “Neither am I. Here’s what I think we should do if Griff is killed—”
“No.” The word snapped out of Cassie. “I’m not going to think like that because it won’t happen.”
“You don’t know jack.” Penny’s voice held vinegar and ice in one nasty combination as she threw a disgusted look at Cassie. “We need men to protect us. So we had better keep our eyes peeled if anything happens to Griff.”
Was this woman serious? Cassie was momentarily speechless.
In another part of her brain she acknowledged worry. If anything did happen to Griff what would she do? Yes, he’d already taught her a significant amount she’d need to survive without modern conveniences. But the idea of doing any of it without him scared the crap out of her.
“Penny, I refuse to live my life like that. I’m a strong woman, and I can do this on my own if I have to.”
Penny shook her head and pushed her fingers through her tangled hair. “Maybe you can, but you can’t tell me that you could battle a full grown man without help. I don’t care how strong a woman you are.”
“I’m not talking about physical strength. I mean mental. Women survived the wild west without men on many occasions. I think we could do it again if we had to.”
Penny smoothed her hands down her jeaned hips, drawing her long-sleeved blue sweater over her rounded body. “All my life, up until running this hotel, I’ve had to make it in the world by doing what I had to do. So that makes me a strong woman. But I’m not stupid. If a man wants to do it for me, let him.” Penny headed for the front. “I just need some fresh air. I’m not staying in here all the time.”
Penny pushed open one side of the double doors.
Cassie’s heart leapt as she lifted a hand in protest. “Penny, don’t.”
Penny went out the door and down the steps without a backward glance. Cassie hurried to the doors and what she saw a second later froze her heart. Two men were talking to Penny, and they didn’t look savory. Looks, of course, didn’t always mean what a person thought they did. Yet these guys gave Cassie the creeps. One wore fatigues she imagined the guy bought at a military surplus. They looked new and current. He had a shaved head, big tattoos on both forearms, and a huge rifle. An automatic rifle from the looks of it. Could the military be coming into town to help? The National Guard? It seemed too quick for that type of assistance to be here, out in the boonies. Besides, the uniform appeared cobbled together like pieces of a puzzle forced to fit.
The other man wore a black vest over a blue flannel long-sleeved shirt and jeans. His long black hair and mustache under a cowboy hat made him appear like a cowboy from an old west movie. He glanced her way, and the smile that spread across his face sent a cold wave over her.
Cassie’s heart beat faster as she watched the two men. Penny’s back was turned to her, so it made it difficult to tell what Penny thought of the conversation. Her hands were planted on her hips, and then she gestured and shrugged. Then the bigger guy with the shaved head took Penny’s arm and started to lead her away, while the mustache man came up the steps. A shiver danced over Cassie, but she made a split second decision she hoped she wouldn’t regret. She couldn’t lock the door and leave Penny out there alone with these guys. She grabbed the baseball bat Griff had left next to the front door and opened the door before the man could get there. She came down the steps—no way would she be isolated in the resort with that guy. Better to fight him, if she had to, in the open where people might come to her aid. A darting glanced up and down the street told her no one walked the streets other than the goons.
Penny said to the shaved-head guy, “Maybe later.”
A thought crashed into Cassie’s mind. Maybe these men meant them no harm. Possibly they only wanted to help.
Mustache man smiled. “Hey, pretty lady.”
Cassie tightened her right hand around the baseball bat
in annoyance. She didn’t see a weapon on mustache man, but she wouldn’t take chances. “What do you guys want?”
Mustache man gestured toward Penny and his companion. “Penny here tells us you guys have plenty of food and water for quite a while. She was planning on sharing with us.”
Cassie decided to run on instinct. “We don’t have enough for anyone else.”
“That so?” Shaved-head dude asked as he walked back toward Cassie. “That’s not very nice.”
Cassie’s anxiety rammed upward a notch. “We don’t mean any disrespect. We just don’t know you.”
“Pretty lady, you don’t need to be afraid of us,” Mustache man said, his eyes blue glaciers. “We just wanna be friendly like.”
Jesus, these guys sounded like something out of the old west all right. If they hadn’t creeped her out, she’d almost be amused.
“It’s okay,” Penny said. “I know these guys.”
“I see.” Cassie never would have thought these guys fit the profile for friends of a woman like Penny. But what did she honestly know about the woman?
“They’re locals.” Penny smiled, but there was ice in her eyes as well. “They live outside of town.”
Mustache man moved into Cassie’s personal space, and she took a step back until she’d retreated almost to the front door. Mustache man followed, and he reached out to touch her hair.
She flinched away. “Don’t.”
Mustache man’s cool eyes flickered with malice, and she questioned her decision to come out here. But she couldn’t leave Penny out here alone.
“You really are a cold princess, aren’t you?” Mustache man towered over her. He was skinny, his cheekbones in sharp relief, nose slightly bent at the tip and teeth crooked.
“Yeah. I am. So don’t touch.”
Penny laughed, but it sounded wobbly. “Now Jacky, don’t get ideas about her. She belongs to someone else.”
“We’re expecting friends back any minute,” Cassie said.
“What’s your name?” Jacky asked.
“Cassie Kovac.”
“Kovac?” The man with close-cropped hair asked. “What kinda name is that?”
Cassie was puzzled. “What do you care?”
Skin head walked up the steps until he joined his friend in standing far too close. “‘Cause it sounds foreign.”
She drew in a deep breath, flabbergasted. Seriously? “It’s not.”
“You’re American?” Army boy asked.
Curses ran through her head. “You can’t get any more American. Most of my ancestors have been in the United States since 1634.” She didn’t plan to mention her Native American heritage. These bigots would go off on the very idea. “How long have yours been here?”
A broad smile came over skinhead’s face, and he laughed. If he hadn’t been an asshole, his handsome face would have worked for a military recruiting poster.
“Wow. Well pardon me all to hell,” Skinhead said. He made a gesture with the hand that didn’t hold the big weapon. “Aren’t you special? Or at least you think you are.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve had enough bullshit for one day,” she said and turned back to the double doors.
Skin-head and Jacky darted in front of her, and she realized her mistake. She’d let her annoyance dictate what she did. Wrong move.
Skin-head dude smirked at her. “Your men folk didn’t teach you right, did they? They must have been pussy whipped.”
Anger surged inside her in a fresh, hot wave. She swallowed hard to keep from braining him with the baseball bat. She simply stared at him and didn’t say a word. Obviously he looked for a reason to do something drastic.
“Oh, come on now.” Penny’s voice sounded nervous now in a way it hadn’t before. “She’s from out of town. From the big city. She doesn’t know how it works out here.”
“Well maybe we should teach her.” Jacky’s grin revealed a mouth full of crooked teeth. “Bitches sometimes need a lesson or two before they submit.”
A wave of memory crashed into Cassie, as she heard her ex-husband’s voice whispering in the past.
Christ, Cassie. You just don’t know when you’re beat, do you? You stupid cunt. I’m going to teach you a lesson once and for all.
More pissed than she’d been in a long time, she flushed with heat and her heartbeat raced. A trembling made small earthquakes through her body.
Before she could give the two creeps a tongue lashing or escape, Skinhead grabbed her hair and jerked her forward into his big body. She yelped, unable to hold back the sound as pain spiked through her scalp. The baseball bat flew from her fingers and made a racket as it rolled down the steps. Jacky laughed like a hyena as he raced after the baseball bat. She squirmed in the man’s grip enough that she turned her back to the double doors.
“Let me go!” She kicked at him, but he held tight.
“Hey, easy there!” Penny shouted up at them.
“Fuck off, Penny,” Skinhead said. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your trap shut.”
Cassie moved closer to the guy, intent on throwing him off guard. It worked to well. The man toppled off balance, Cassie still shackled to him.
They fell.
Penny cried out as they plunged down the stairs, rolling over and over.
Pain lashed Cassie’s body as she met the concrete steps over and over, the big man crushing her every time he came out on top. Twelve steps later they came to a rest on the sidewalk, Skin head sprawled on top of her. She couldn’t move under his heavy weight. A sharp pain punctured her side, and she almost cried out. She pushed against him, her breath strangling in her throat. She couldn’t get a word past her mashed diaphragm.
“Bitch!” Skinhead snarled as leaned into her face. “Maybe we should take you back to our camp. You can work that pretty mouth over my dick instead of talking shit.”
Fear sliced deep into Cassie. She had to do something now before this got any worse. Anything to get this asswipe off her. His weight was too heavy, and she could barely breathe.
A voice broke in, deep and deadly authoritative. “Get the fuck off of her.”
Blackout: Chapter Ten
With Skinhead’s big body blocking Cassie’s vision, she couldn’t see past him at first. But she’d recognize Griff’s no-nonsense voice anywhere. Relief crashed like a wave over her.
Skinhead levered off of her and stood, and she scooted away. She didn’t try to stand, her body still protesting every move she made.
Griff came into her view as he came closer. He held his weapon out in front of him, his stance self-assured and ready to fire if need be. Cassie’s gaze narrowed to his face, to the coldness in his eyes, and the tight line of his lips.
Griff’s expression was tight with pure anger. “Back away from her.”
“Whoa, now,” Skinhead said. “We didn’t mean no harm.”
“You better get some etiquette lessons, asshole.” Griff’s expression didn’t change, and his voice stayed icy. “It fucking looked like you meant harm when you touched her.”
“This little lady your woman?” Jacky asked.
Griff didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“Well, ain’t that fine?” Jacky smiled, ice still in his eyes. He held up his hands and took the steps down past Griff and nearer to his bulky friend. “We’ll just be going then.”
Jacky’s companion reached slowly for the rifle that had fallen to the ground when he’d rolled down the steps.
“Leave it.” Griff’s voice cut like a knife.
“It don’t belong to you,” Skinhead said.
“Too bad.” Griff’s stance didn’t move an inch, his weapon trained on the men.
“I don’t know,” Jacky said. “I think you oughtta teach your bitch some manners at least. She wasn’t the least hospitable.”
Cassie almost told the guy where he could shove his manners.
Skinhead’s ugly smile appeared. “Maybe I should take her from you. She’s a beauty.”
>
Cassie’s heart shot into her throat in a mix of fear and disgust. “No.”
The word was barely a whisper. A croaking sound. Griff didn’t even flinch.
Skinhead laughed. “Christ. Are you a dumb fuck? I got friends in this town. Maybe we should just come back later and kill you and take her then.”
Griff’s smile held no amusement. “You can try.”
The absolute certainty in Griff’s words made a shiver go through her. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Jacky chuckled. “Cripes, Peterson. He has a look about him. Sure you weren’t in a militia or something, bub? A gang maybe?”
Griff’s gaze and his aim didn’t venture from the man called Peterson. “Yep.”
“You were in a gang?” Jacky asked.
“Survivalist camp. Neo-Nazi,” Griff said with perfect conviction.
At this news, a strange feeling of unreality came over Cassie. Griff couldn’t be serious.
“Well, why the hell didn’t you say so, brother?” Peterson said with a smile.
Griff didn’t lower his weapon. “I’m not here for old home week, and you put your hands on my woman. I suggest you leave.”
Jacky grinned as if Griff had offered him candy. “Well, we could help you, bub. We got weapons outside of town. Plenty of them. We were doing a recon in town just like you were apparently. You want to join up with us? We have plenty of food and water and shit at our camp. We knew this day would come. We’re going to take back the country from bitches like this.”
A new wave of anger attacked Cassie, but she knew saying anything would make things worse.
Griff kept his weapon on Peterson, and his gaze flicked from Peterson to Jacky. “No thanks. We’re staying put for now. But we may take you up on the invite later.”
Cassie’s heartbeat still hadn’t slowed, and she took in a shuddering breath.
Jacky and Peterson hesitated. They moved away slowly, their backs to Griff momentarily as he kept them in sight. All the time Penny stood at the bottom of the steps, her expression far more composed than Cassie would have expected.
When the men were far enough down the street, Griff lowered his weapon and stuffed it into a shoulder holster under his coat. Cassie felt out of breath and as if all her insides were on the outside. She struggled to her feet, bruised and aching.
Holding Out For A Hero: SEALs, Soldiers, Spies, Cops, FBI Agents and Rangers Page 130
