Last Dance (COBRA Securities Book 14)

by Velvet Vaughn

  “Russell,” Stan Cornwell, the head lighting technician, called from the catwalk. “The light didn’t fall on its own. Someone cut the rigging. No sign of the person spotted running away, either.”

  Dread washed over her. Someone was purposefully trying to end her life. Why? Who had she offended so deeply that they wanted to get rid of her? She couldn’t think of one person who hated her that much.

  Pushing to her feet, she took a step and froze. How was she supposed to go about her daily activities when there was no way of knowing where the next threat might come from?

  Chapter 6

  As soon as Mason heard the rigging had been cut, he headed for the metal ladder attached to the back wall to take a look for himself. Someone had purposefully wanted that massive light to fall on Cassidy’s head. Now the near hit and miss from a couple of weeks ago took on new meaning. Maybe it hadn’t been a distracted driver, but another attempt on her life.

  After examining the equipment, he agreed with Stan’s assessment. The lines had been tampered with. The thick cables were snipped clean through. Heavy duty bolt cutters were even lying on the ground, most likely the implement used to cut the wires. The only description he could give of the person fleeing the scene was black hoodie, dark jeans. He didn’t know if it was a man or woman, though it’d take someone with some strength to cut through the cable.

  Russell had instructed someone to notify the police after Stan’s announcement. “Maybe they can get fingerprints off the grip of the bolt cutters,” he told the lighting director.

  Stan nodded. “I’ll make sure the cops check it out.”

  As he climbed back down the ladder, he wondered if Cassidy had told anyone what happened two weeks ago. He glanced around at the people milling about. They were all suspects, except for the guy with the wicked looking knee brace, hobbling around on crutches, and the people he’d seen around the stage before the accident.

  “Mason?” Sawyer and Harlow caught up with him. “What’s going on? We heard the crash and then saw the damage.”

  He gave the quick rundown of seeing the light falling and plucking Cassidy out of harm’s way. “It wasn’t an accident. Someone cut the rigging.”

  “Damn,” Sawyer muttered, pulling Harlow closer to his side. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea for you to compete, babe.”

  “I’m pretty certain Cassidy Swain was the target.”

  Sawyer eyed him questionably.

  “Really? What makes you think that?” Harlow asked.

  “The light was directly above the spot where she was standing for her solo performance.”

  “Maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Sawyer rationalized.

  Mason shook his head. “Maybe, but I doubt it. There’s more. The Monday after your wedding, I was dropping off my tux at the dry cleaner. As I was leaving the shop, a woman was walking towards me, talking on her phone. A car jumped the curb and would’ve mowed her down if I hadn’t jerked her out of the way.”

  Harlow gasped. “Are you telling me it was Cassidy Swain?”

  Mason nodded. “She didn’t even hear it approach. At the time, I chalked it up to a distracted driver. She didn’t want to call the police and we went our separate ways.”

  “Did you know who she was when you saved her?” Harlow asked.

  He shook his head. “Didn’t have a clue. We didn’t exchange names.”

  “That must’ve been a shock when you saw her here,” Sawyer deduced.

  He had no idea. “That first morning when I left to get something from the SUV, I couldn’t find the studio where Harlow was practicing. I opened the door to one and there was Cassidy.” He fought a smile. “She accused me of being a stalker.”

  Harlow and Sawyer both laughed.

  “It is strange that you ran into her two times, and the meetings were so far away.” Harlow’s eyes lit with a frightening twinkle. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the next words out of her mouth. “Hey, you’ve saved her life twice now. In some cultures, that means you’re soulmates.”

  Yep, he didn’t like them. “What are you talking about?”

  “Babe, you’re making that up,” Sawyer accused.

  Harlow tried to fight a smile and lost. “Fine. I made it up, but come on, you have to admit there is some kind of fate involved here. I mean, what are the odds? Bloomington and Los Angeles are how far apart?” She spread her arms wide. “Two thousand miles? And of the three hundred twenty-something million people who live in the United States and you just happen to cross paths twice?” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mason. That’s fate.”

  “No fate,” he insisted. “Just good timing, and please, Harlow, drop it.” He didn’t want her to attempt any kind of matchmaking. Cassidy was so far out of his league, it wasn’t even remotely funny. He felt like a lumbering ox next to her sleek beauty. Not to mention the fact that he vowed never to get seriously involved with a woman again. Flings, fine. Casual dating, sure. Hot, all-night, sheet-burning sex, of course. But no more long-term relationships. Abby had cured him of that notion. Though he didn’t know her well, Cassidy didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would indulge in a short-term affair.

  Harlow made a sound that could’ve meant anything from “Sure” to “Cue the Wedding March”. Dum dum da-dum.

  “Seriously, there’s no fate involved,” Mason argued, a bit desperately to his own ears. Harlow gave him a knowing look, which he chose to ignore.

  Sawyer saved him by asking, “What was she doing in Bloomington, anyway?”

  “Honestly, I’ve no idea. The first time, I just assumed she was a local. After the second incident, I didn’t have a chance to ask. The production crew came in and I went to check out the rigging.”

  Harlow glanced at her watch. “I need to go change. I’m scheduled to meet Marcus in twenty minutes.”

  As they made their way across the floor, Mason scanned the auditorium for any sign of Cassidy, but she was nowhere to be seen. Cops were still taking notes and cameras snapped up all angles of the fallen light while crews stood by waiting to clean up the mess. There was a dent in the floor and he swallowed hard. That dent could’ve been Cassidy’s delicate skull.

  Why would someone intentionally cut the lines? The good news about searching for the perp was that this was a closed set. You had to have clearance to get inside. The bad news was there were dozens of people who had that access—possibly hundreds.

  He wanted to take a look at any security camera footage, but it wasn’t his case. He’d just been at the right place at the right time. And sadly, he’d learned that there were no security cameras that covered the catwalk anyway.

  Harlow was explaining the scheduling of the first show as they navigated the concrete lot lined with ten trailers positioned end to end and back to back. Inside the trailers, the accommodations were luxurious and welcoming. The studio spared no expense. Mason glanced at an open door as they passed and then did a double-take. Cassidy was standing still as a board, her mouth dropped open in horror.

  He detoured away from Sawyer and Harlow to jog over. “Cassidy? What’s wrong?”

  She didn’t look at him, but he could see the whites of her fear-filled eyes. “S-s-s-snake,” she whispered.

  Mason eased up the metal steps to hear the tell-tale sound of a rattler. Shit. Not just any snake, but one with a poisonous bite. He bit back a curse and eased outside.

  “Don’t leave me,” she begged.

  “I’m not,” he assured her. “Don’t move. He’ll strike if he feels threatened. If you don’t make any sudden movements, he won’t either. I’ll be right back.”

  “What’s wrong,” Harlow asked as soon as his feet hit the concrete. Sawyer and Harlow had followed him to the door.

  “There’s a rattlesnake in Cassidy’s trailer.”

  “Oh my God.” Harlow’s hands covered her mouth.

  “I’ve got an idea.” Sawyer disappeared and returned with one of the foamboard posters featuring Cassidy’s
picture that was used to advertise the show. She was doing some kind of leap where her head actually touched her bent back leg, her eyes closed, a huge smile on her face. He wondered if he could sneak it out of here and then dismissed the notion. Maybe you are a stalker, Rossi.

  “I’ll slide it in front of her to block the snake while you grab her.”

  Mason nodded. “Perfect.” He was thankful for his quick-thinking teammate since his brain was having trouble focusing. His mind was consumed with worry for Cassidy. She looked so frightened it squeezed the breath from his lungs.

  They moved back to her door. She was standing in the same position, but small tremors wracked her body. Mason spoke softly, explaining the next steps. “Cassidy, we’re going to slide something in front of the snake to block it from you.”

  “H-h-h-hurry.”

  “Don’t move until I tell you.”

  “O-okay.”

  “On three.” Mason nodded to Sawyer, who took up position. “One, two, three.”

  Sawyer slid the panel in front of Cassidy while Mason jerked her off her feet and out the door. She screamed and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight like a boa constrictor. As soon as they cleared the trailer and hit fresh air, the screams abruptly stopped. He glanced down at her face to discover she had promptly passed out.

  Chapter 7

  “What the hell’s going on here?” Russell Ingram rushed over to where Cassidy lay limp in Mason’s arms. The executive producer looked ready for battle.

  “There’s a rattlesnake in Cassidy’s trailer.”

  Russell jerked to a stop. “A rattlesnake? Are you kidding me?”

  “No, sir.”

  He swallowed heavily. “Did it bite her?”

  “No, just scared her unconscious.”

  “Sonofa—she’s terrified of snakes.” Russell ran a hand down his face. “She had a bad experience as a child.”

  Cassidy stirred in his arms and her eyes blinked open. “What happened?”

  “You passed out there for a second.”

  She struggled in his arms but he held tight. “What? No, I didn’t.”

  He smiled down at her. “Yeah, you did.”

  “Cassidy, are you okay?” Russell asked.

  “I’m fine. In fact, you can put me down now, Mason.”

  Strangely, he had no urge to let her go. She felt good in his arms. Right. Perfect, actually.

  “Wait a minute,” Russell said, stopping him before he could set her on her feet. “You know the drill, Cassidy. It doesn’t matter if you’re okay now, you lost consciousness, so you have to be checked out at the hospital.”

  “No, Russell,” she argued. “I’m fine. That’s not necessary.”

  “It’s not up for discussion,” he lobbed back at her. “It’s in the contract.”

  “The on-call paramedics are on their way,” Belinda, Russell’s assistant, announced. On cue, two uniformed medics with a gurney appeared. Mason carefully placed her on the white cotton sheets and adjusted her legs while the medics placed a blood pressure cuff around her arm and strapped her in.

  “This isn’t necessary,” she reiterated. “I was just scared. I wasn’t hurt.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Russell argued. “Liability issues and all that.”

  Mason didn’t want her to have to ride to the hospital alone. He was just about to offer when a man came rushing over—and he used the term “rushing” loosely since the guy wore a serious brace over his leg and hobbled unsteadily on crutches. It was the same man he’d seen earlier in the auditorium. He plodded his way to the stretcher and propped the crutches under his arms so he could grab Cassidy’s hand.

  “Cass, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Colin. Really.”

  Colin? As in Colin Rafferty? Her former partner. Mason narrowed his eyes, studying the man. He’d seen pictures of him when he’d conducted a basic background search on Cassidy. The man bun was gone and his brown hair was tipped in blond now, but it was the same guy.

  “I heard something about a snake?”

  She shuddered. “A rattler.”

  Colin jerked back. “A rattlesnake?” He glanced around at the crowd of people who’d gathered at the commotion. “How in the hell did a rattlesnake get in her trailer?”

  That’s what Mason intended to find out.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get going,” one of the medics said.

  “I’m going with you,” Colin insisted.

  Cassidy reached out a hand to Mason but stopped and dropped it. “Are you coming?”

  “We only have room for one extra,” the medic announced.

  “You go ahead,” Russell said, clamping a hand on Mason’s shoulder. “I need to talk to Mr. Rossi.”

  The paramedics rolled her to the waiting ambulance, snapped the wheels down and then lifted her inside. It took some maneuvering for Colin to climb in, with help from one of the paramedics, but finally they were ready to go. The other medic closed the doors and then jogged around to jump into the driver’s seat and motor out of the studio lot.

  Russell turned to Belinda. “The police are still inside conducting interviews. Get them out here to capture the snake. I want it gone.”

  His assistant nodded and rushed off to do his bidding. Russell tilted his head at Mason and marched forward. Apparently, he’d been summoned. He told Sawyer and Harlow he’d be back and followed the executive producer into a trailer that was even more luxurious than the one assigned to Harlow. Russell tossed his iPad to a table and indicated for Mason to take a seat. He slid into the leather banquette and Russell wasted no time with preliminaries. “I’ve done research on your company. They’re one of the top security firms in the country.”

  The top, Mason wanted to correct him, but he held back, nodding instead.

  “I want to hire you to protect Cassidy.”

  It was what Mason wanted, too. Someone was after her. She wouldn’t be safe until they caught the perp.

  Russell reached into a drawer and withdrew papers, thrusting them at Mason. “I haven’t told anyone about these.”

  Mason flipped through the pages and read the first one: Get rid of Cassidy Swain or you’ll be sorry. The second was along the same lines: Cassidy Swain must go. The last one was more direct: I warned you about Cassidy Swain but you ignored me. Face the consequences. The notes were computer-generated in black ink on plain white paper, practically impossible to trace.

  Mason glanced up. “When did you get these?”

  “The first one arrived in the mail a few days ago, followed by the second one. No return address.” He pointed to the last note. “This was left for me today.”

  “Here, at the studio?”

  Russell nodded grimly. “I found it under the door of my trailer.”

  Not surprising since it was someone with access to the set who cut the rigging. “Is that all that’s happened? No other incidents involving Cassidy?”

  Russell shook his head. “Just the light this morning. And the snake.” He ran a hand over his head. “Those were close calls. We owe you a debt.”

  Mason waved that off. They didn’t owe him anything. “She had another near miss two weeks ago.”

  Russell’s head jerked up. “What are you talking about?”

  “It was about fifteen days ago in Bloomington, Indiana. I’d just dropped off dry-cleaning and when I was leaving the store, Cassidy was walking towards me, though I didn’t know who she was at the time. Behind her, a car jumped the curb. I grabbed her and got her to safety.”

  “You mean someone intentionally tried to run her over?”

  “I believe so, after the latest incidents. At the time, I thought it was just a distracted driver.”

  “This is worse than I thought.” Russell dropped down onto the bench seat. “I chalked the notes up to petty jealousy. There are some cast members who resent her because she’s successful and the dancer we picked to be the face of the show. I just assumed it was harmless, one of her rivals.�
��

  “It could be,” Mason stated. “You said she had a scare with a snake when she was young. Who knows about her fear?”

  “Everyone who watches the show. We ran a segment a couple of years ago where the celebs and pros talked about their biggest fears. The whole world knows she was terrorized by the older brother of one of her friends when she was young. He dropped a snake in her sleeping bag.”

  Mason’s jaw clenched in indignation for the young girl she’d been. He hoped the boy who tormented her was properly disciplined.

  Russell pinned Mason with an intense stare. “I know you’re here for Harlow, but when I hire your company, I’d like you to be the one watching out for Cassidy. I trust you and you’ve already protected her two—no three times now. Do you think that would be possible?”

  He’d have to run it by Sawyer first, and then his bosses, but he wanted to be the one to protect her, too. He trusted each and every one of his coworkers—with his life. Any single one of them would be able to guard Cassidy. Selfishly, he didn’t want anyone else to watch out for her. He certainly didn’t believe in Harlow’s ridiculous soulmates claim, but he did feel a strong pull towards her.

  “Yes,” he responded to Russell’s question. “It’s possible.”

  “I have to warn you, she’s pretty headstrong, so she might object.”

  Mason thought back to her accusing him of being a stalker. Definitely headstrong. “I can handle her. I’ll have one of my bosses call you to finalize the contract.”

  #

  If Cassidy had to listen to Colin badger her much longer, she was going to fake another fainting spell. He was seriously getting on her very last nerve. They’d been partners for so long, they knew each other better than anyone else, but as the years grinded by, he grated on her. She would always love him like a brother, but it’d been a relief when she’d been offered the position on Dancing With the Celebrities.