Glitter and Gunfire/Bulletproof (Shadow Agents 4)

She frowned at him. “Where’s the choice?” Her voice was a bit stronger. Good.

“You can go where he sends you...or you can come with me. I can take you out of the city. I can keep you safe with me.”

“Both options have me leaving,” Cassidy whispered.

&n

bsp; Yes, they did.

But who she left with—

“Going with Cale would be a mistake. He didn’t keep you safe before,” Mercer’s growling voice cut through the room as he stormed inside. He glared at Cale. “She was taken, stabbed, on your watch.”

Cassidy sucked in a sharp breath. Cale knew, understood with every fiber of his being, that if Mercer took Cassidy away from him right then, he would never see her again. Mercer would make her vanish.

I can’t let that happen.

Cassidy’s gaze slid over Cale. To Mercer. “Did you find Genevieve?”

Cale saw Mercer shake his head. Then he glanced at an avid Tina. “Wait outside, Doctor.”

Tina hurried to obey. She was probably already afraid that she’d crossed a line with Mercer.

Folks needed to stop jumping when the big, bad wolf growled.

Cale wasn’t in the mood to jump.

Mercer waited for the door to shut behind Tina. Then he said, “We found the man you shot.”

Cassidy sat up a bit straighter. When she winced, Cale’s fingers caressed her arm. He hated for her to hurt.

“H-he can tell you where Genevieve’s...body—” she stumbled over that part “—is. You can make him—”

Mercer shook his head. “Doubtful. Dead men don’t tell a whole lot.”

Cale swore.

“I killed him?”

“Only if you shot him twice, once in the stomach and once in the heart.”

Cassidy tried to stand. Cale made sure he gave her the support she needed.

“No. I just shot him once.”

“Then it looks like his partner wanted to make sure that he didn’t talk. He was left, dead, in the van. Techs are dusting for prints, checking for any evidence that was left behind.”

Her breath heaved out. “He knows I’m your daughter. That was why they took me. It had nothing to do with the Executioner, and everything to do with you.”

Mercer actually backed up a step at the heat in her words. “Cassidy, you need to calm—”

“Calm down? Really? You think that’s what I need to do?” She shook her head. Finally, finally, more color came into her face, even if it was in an angry burst across her high cheekbones. “I didn’t ask for this life. You’re the one who sought it out, not me. I’m just the one who had to pick up the pieces after you.”

Silence.

Mercer inhaled slowly. “I have a plane waiting—”

“You always do. Like sweeping me away is going to fix things. This guy knows who I am. He knows the secret that we’ve both tried so hard to cover. If we don’t find him, how do we know that others won’t discover who I am, too? I’ve tried your way, Mercer. I’ve tried it for years.” She sounded weary. “I don’t want to disappear for you anymore.”