Fueled by Lust: Severus (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Celeste Prater

  Click…click…click…click. Cassie jerked her head toward the light. That sound. What was that sound? Then she saw it. A dark form moved behind the light. Cassie’s eyes followed the shape as it worked its way around the tripod, that infernal clicking sound moving with it. What was revealed sent her mind into a tailspin. However, it was the gun pointing in her direction that got her immediate attention.

  “Hello, Cassie. It’s about time you woke up.”

  I know her. Cassie blinked a few times. Why would Monica Sewell be holding a gun on me? Who the hell was the dead guy?

  Monica moved closer, her pouty, red lips forming into a smile with each step. The gun never wavered. “So nice of you to remember me, Cassie. I see the recognition in your eyes. I am hard to forget. Aren’t I? Here, let me remove this so we can have a little conversation.”

  Cassie flinched when the tape was ripped from her lips. She was pretty sure some skin had traveled along with it. Thankfully, the cloth was pulled quickly out of her mouth and she decided to focus on breathing before panic set in again.

  Monica bent at the waist, her lips pouting in false sympathy as she scrutinized Cassie’s features. “My, my. Look at your face. I certainly messed you up. Didn’t I? Your pretty eyes are still a little swollen and now your lip is bleeding. Well. It really doesn’t matter one way or the other. Does it?”

  Cassie decided the woman must be deranged. This whole setup was bizarre. Monica was dressed in a smart red pantsuit and sported a beautiful scarf around her neck. Other than the evil gun grasped in her jeweled fingers, she looked like she was ready to head to the club for a game of bridge. It was too surreal. “You’re the one that sprayed me? The phone calls and my tires? That was you, wasn’t it? Why would you do that? This makes no sense. Are you working with Drexler?”

  Monica’s beautifully, arched brows rose. “Drexler? Who’s Drexler?”

  Before Cassie could respond, Monica shrugged and said, “Who cares. It doesn’t matter. Quit trying to distract me.” Her lips slipped back into a satisfied smile. “No. The only thing that matters is that you get as dead as that asshole sitting next to you.”

  Cassie tried to keep calm even though she felt her heart thundering in her chest. She knew she was illegally parked on the corner of “What the fuck” and “I’m so screwed.” How in the hell was she going to get out of this?

  Chapter 27

  “Why are you doing this, Monica? I’ve done nothing to you.” Cassie was sure of her earlier assessment of the woman’s mental faculties as she watched Monica’s face morph into an angry, seething mask of hatred. She cried out when Monica’s fingers clamped on either side of her jaws, her blood-red fingernails digging into her flesh.

  “Did nothing to me? How can you even say that? You did everything to me, Cassie. You were trying to take the one thing away from me that I want most in this world. First, it was my husband in the way, and now it’s you. But that won’t be a problem after tonight.” Monica released her claws and patted Cassie on the face before stepping back. “No. After tonight it will look to the whole world like an affair gone bad and I’ll be free to focus on the only man I will ever love.”

  Cassie sucked in a long breath as comprehension slammed into her brain. “Severus. You want Severus.”

  Monica’s eyes narrowed with obvious hatred. “Never say his name again. Ever!”

  Cassie didn’t know if she was more surprised by the stinging slap that snapped her head to the side or the sound of the door crashing in at the top of the stairs. Either way, she was not prepared to see Marcus, of all people, scrambling down the steps while shouting her name. Stunned, she couldn’t even yell out a warning as she watched Monica’s hand lift and fire the gun in his direction. She screamed when Marcus slammed sideways into the wall and then slid awkwardly down the last three steps. Blood poured from his shoulder as he moaned in agony.

  Cassie watched in horror as Monica walked across the basement floor, her heels clicking as she took her time making her way to Marcus. She just knew that any minute she would hear another shot and watch helplessly as he died. Instead, she breathed a sigh of relief when the crazy woman motioned with the gun for him to move away from the steps and walk over to where Cassie was tied.

  Marcus struggled up to his feet, favoring his injured shoulder before collapsing behind Cassie’s chair. She struggled to look back at him as he leaned against the wall. His skin was pale and he’d lost a lot of blood, but at least he was alive.

  Marcus looked at her and smiled weakly. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I thought I could help you.”

  Cassie stared at him and felt tears stinging behind her eyes. “What are you doing here, Marcus?”

  He glanced up at Monica then back to Cassie. “I came over to see you. You promised to call me, and when you didn’t I figured I would come by and we could talk.”

  Cassie cringed as he paused to take a few deep breaths, the agony evident on his grimacing face. She felt horrible for ignoring him and causing him to end up in this situation.

  “I saw…this woman dragging you out of the house and shoving you into a van. She took off before I could stop her, so I followed her here…Oh, shit this hurts! I had to break a…a window to get into the house. I heard her talking and found where she had you. I didn’t help at all. I’m sorry.”

  “No. No. Don’t be sorry, Marcus. That was so brave of you. I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.”

  Marcus grimaced and slumped to the floor and moaned in pain before falling silent. Cassie’s heart skipped several beats before she saw that his chest was moving. He was still breathing. She screamed at Monica. “Stop doing this! This is insane!”

  “Just shut the hell up! Now I have to think. I was only prepared to stage two people. Now I have to do three. Just shut up while I think.” She chewed on her bottom lip for a few moments and then smiled brightly. “Maybe I’ll just dump him in the woods and let him bleed out. They won’t be able to link him to me. I can keep to my two-people stage. Yes. That sounds good.”

  Cassie couldn’t stop herself from asking. “Stage? What are you staging?”

  Monica rolled her cold, gray eyes to the ceiling and flipped her sleek, black hair over her shoulder. “You. You idiot. I’ve already planted all the evidence that Richard was stalking and harassing you.” Monica paused then released an eerie, high-pitched laugh that left chills running up Cassie’s spine.

  “Oh, that’s right. You two haven’t met.”

  Cassie watched in disbelief as Monica approached her dead husband and placed her free hand on his shoulder. She appeared oblivious to the pool of blood under her palm.

  “Richard, this is Cassie. Cassie, this is Richard.” She flashed a beautiful smile and acted as if she expected Richard to say, “Nice to meet you,” and Cassie to politely nod back.

  The insanity of the situation was all the more evident when Monica realized she’d dirtied her hand. She stared at her palm for a few blinks, frowned, and casually wiped the fluid on the man’s unmoving knee. Cassie wanted to wretch.

  Waving the pink-tinged hand in the air, Monica strolled back to her prior position. “Anyway, I made the phone calls from outside his office with his own phone. I had him buy the pepper spray for me last week so he’s on camera purchasing it. You didn’t even know about the flowers I had delivered on Richard’s behalf to your house every morning. They were left on your doorstep and picked up by me. There’s plenty of paper trail to show how besotted he was with you. You ignore him and look where it got you. Nowhere but sprayed, slashed, and dead in our basement. He shoots you and then himself. How much more simple can it get? I play the grieving widow for a few months and Severus will have been over you long before then, so I’ll just step back into his life and we’ll comfort each other. He’ll be mine. Which he should have been long before now.”

  “You forgot the most important thing, Monica. I don’t love you and I never will.”

  Cassie whipped her head to the right to see Severus standing at the foot
of the stairs. He was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. He had come for her. Glancing frantically back at Monica, Cassie prayed she wouldn’t shoot him. Wait…she loves him. He should be all right. Her emotions bounced between relief and regret at his presence.

  Severus walked further into the room. He never took his eyes away from Monica’s stunned face. His voice was low and commanding. “Put the gun down, Monica. Let her go. It’s over.”

  Monica’s beautiful face turned into a mask of desperation. “Severus. Please. You don’t understand. I did this for us. I love you. I know you love me. It was only because of my husband that you wouldn’t take me. I know this now.” Monica’s crazed eyes glanced over to her dead husband then back to Severus. “See? He isn’t a problem anymore. I can be yours now.”

  Cassie cringed when Severus moved a little further into the room, but Monica never raised the gun. Monica whimpered when Severus glanced over at Cassie then back to her.

  Monica reached out and waved her hand in the air toward Cassie, as if the mere action could erase her from the room. “Don’t concern yourself with her. She’s nothing to you. Look at the man next to her. That’s her boyfriend. See? She wasn’t faithful to you. I forgave you for all those other girls you slept with and I can forgive you for her. I saw how you treated the others. They were just a warm body to satisfy you while you waited for me to be free. This one has just confused you, darling. You need me, baby, not her. I can fix this. Just let me fix this.”

  Cassie watched helplessly as Monica swung the gun in her direction. She wanted to scream when she heard Severus’s calm words.

  “I hate you, Monica. What makes you think that I would ever be your lover? You are a washed-up socialite that can’t even snag a decent husband. You have to settle for the lower rung of eligible bachelors just so you can pretend you still belong with the elite. Don’t you know that you are laughed at constantly? Your looks are fading and so is your worth. I could never love you.”

  Cassie knew he was trying to draw Monica’s anger toward himself and to her horror it was working. A strike to Monica’s vanity appeared to override any love she could ever profess. Monica’s eyes went wide then immediately narrowed as she clenched her jaw.

  “What did you just say to me? You know nothing of my worth! I’m beautiful and you know it!”

  Cassie screamed when Monica swung the gun on Severus and fired. She screamed again when the bullet slammed into the wall instead of his chest because there was no body for it to enter. Severus had completely disappeared from the room. He had just vanished before her eyes. She stared stupidly at the scorched gouge on the wall then back at Monica, unable to comprehend what had happened. Monica appeared to be in the same state of disbelief.

  Cassie vaguely registered Cato appearing behind Monica and wrapping his beefy arm around her neck. He easily held her gun arm to the side as she fired repeatedly into the floor. How did he get in the room? Cassie’s ears rang as she numbly watched him squeezing Monica’s neck until her eyes rolled in her head and she slumped in his arms. The gun fell from her lax hand as he lowered her to the ground. She was still breathing. He hadn’t killed her, just knocked her out. He kicked the gun off to the side and pulled his phone out. He glanced over at her and gave her a quick smile and winked.

  “Hey there, sweets.”

  She could hear him talking to a 9-1-1 operator when she felt something tugging at her wrists. Turning her head, she blinked and furrowed her brows as she gazed into Severus’s gorgeous hazel eyes. “Wha…how…where did you go, Severus?”

  Severus smiled at her while he untied her wrists. When her hands were freed, he cupped her jaw and rubbed gently across her swollen lips before leaning in to place a soft kiss on her cheek. “I’m right here, baby. I didn’t go anywhere.” He released her legs then bent down and scooped her off the chair. She glanced down to see Cato talking to a conscious Marcus. Cato had ripped a length of Marcus’s shirt and was holding it over the bullet wound at his shoulder.

  “You’re going to be all right, buddy. I called an ambulance for you. Just sit tight.”

  Severus was placing her on an upstairs couch before she found her voice again. “Severus. I’m losing my mind. I saw you disappear.” She closed her eyes when he sat next to her and pulled her into his arms.

  “Baby. You’ve been traumatized. Let’s talk about this later. Okay? Just relax and sit here with me while we wait for the police to show up. That’s good, sweetie. Put your head on my shoulder. Just rest.”

  Cassie didn’t remember going to sleep. She woke up from a dream of Severus calling for her in the dark, only to realize he was saying her name while he gently shook her shoulder.

  “Cassie. Sweetness. Wake up. The police are here. They need to ask us some questions.”

  While Cassie spoke to the police, the paramedics carried Marcus out of the basement on a stretcher. His arm was bandaged and his color looked better. Cassie asked the police officer if she could talk to Marcus and he nodded his approval. She stopped the paramedics and approached Marcus. Severus stood next to her.

  “Marcus? I want to thank you for doing what you did. That was very brave. I’m so sorry you got hurt.”

  Before Marcus could respond, Severus extended his palm to shake with Marcus. Marcus hesitated for a few blinks, but finally reached forward and took Severus’s hand.

  Severus put his arm around Cassie. “Marcus, I can’t thank you enough for what you tried to do for Cassie. You distracted Monica enough to allow me and Cato to get in the basement. Cassie’s right. You were very brave. So, now I can’t break your legs.”

  Marcus barked out a laugh and then grimaced. “Well. I’m glad for that.” His eyes turned serious as he looked to Cassie and then back at Severus. “I get it dude. She’s your girl. I’m backing off. Besides, it’s not healthy to hang around her, obviously.”

  Cassie started laughing and bent down to kiss Marcus on the forehead. “Thanks, again. I’ll come by later to check on you. Okay?”

  Marcus smiled back. “Looking forward to it.”

  Severus placed his hand on Marcus’s arm. “I’m taking care of your bill. Don’t even argue.”

  Marcus nodded again. “Won’t get any complaint from me on that. Thanks, man.”

  Cassie froze when she spotted the next gurney coming up from the basement. She grabbed Severus’s hand as they rolled Mr. Sewell by. Thankfully, his body and face were covered in a sheet, but she would never forget looking into his lifeless eyes. She shuddered. “That poor man.”

  Severus pulled her back over to the police officer when she heard Monica’s screeching voice drifting up the stairs. “Let me go. I didn’t do anything wrong. Do you know who I am? My husband and I were attacked. They killed him. Can’t you see that?” Her ranting stopped as soon as she spotted Severus. “Severus. Tell them what happened. That man I shot, he killed Richard. Tell them, please.”

  Cassie became incensed at her audacity to act innocent and blame Marcus for killing her husband. She turned and pulled Severus’s face down to hers and kissed the shit out of him. It achieved her desired goal. Monica lost what remaining reason she may have had.

  “You fucking bitch! He’s mine. Get away from him! I’ll kill you. Do you hear me? I’ll kill you. He’ll never love you.” Her shouts rang in the night air and were eventually muffled by the slamming of a police car door.

  Cassie turned to the officer and raised a brow. “Did you get that?”

  The officer smiled and started writing in his notebook. “Every word. I’ve got enough, Miss Wells, Mr. Faal. We’ll call you if we need anything else. Thanks for your cooperation.”

  Tired and aching all over, Cassie climbed into Severus’s car and laid her head back against the headrest. She reached up and touched her swollen cheek. “Well, that’s going to leave a mark. I think I face-planted in my hallway. Remind me to install carpet next time you get a stalker, Severus.”

  Cato’s deep laughter boomed from the back seat. “Ah, sweetness. You
have to be the greatest female ever.”

  Severus’s laughter joined with Cato’s. “Yes, I guess that one was on me.”

  Cassie smiled and winced as pain shot across her lip and cheek. “You know what? If I can’t laugh about the craziness of this night, then go ahead and drive me to the loony bin, because that’s the cliff I’m about to fall over.”

  Cato chuckled, leaned forward, and patted her on the shoulder. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. We made Victor shit his pants and left him tied up in his living room.”

  Cassie swiveled around on the seat and stared at Cato. “You did what? What the hell happened?”

  Cato was useless for a response. He was sprawled out on the seat with his big bicep flopped over his eyes while his chest vibrated with silent laughter.

  Severus pulled over to the side of the road. He bent his head to the steering wheel and Cassie thought for a moment that he was crying. His shoulders were heaving up and down and he was shaking his head back and forth.

  “Severus, are you okay?” She patted him on the back until he straightened and leaned back against the seat. He wasn’t crying. He’d been laughing so hard he had tears coming out of his eyes. It reminded her of the day Victor had the invisible bug incident.

  Severus wiped his face and looked over at her. He stared at her for a few blinks then reached out and grabbed her hand. His voice came out low and a bit gravelly. “Baby. I thought I was going to lose my mind when we couldn’t find you. We were running all over town. When you weren’t at your home or the apartment, we ended up at Victor’s house. We sort of…well, we did literally scare the shit out of him. He finally admitted his role in what’s happening at your office, but was adamant he had no idea where you were. I thought we were fucked until Cato remembered the pen.”