Page 91 of Boss

“Kassandra Turner. That's your name right? Come out. I just want to talk.”

She could hear him as he walked along the stalls. It sounded to her as if he stopped to peek into each one as he passed by them.

“Aha, aren’t you a clever little vixen.” He sounded as if he stood outside of her stall. Kassidy gripped the shovel. She sucked in a breath. Maybe she could tell him that Tarek had changed his mind. That he wasn’t going to hurt her. Or maybe she should tell him that his boss was in the house, hurt and in need of medical attention. She opened her mouth to speak but her instinct again held her silent.

“You hiding in there sweet thing?” He taunted. “I been watching you for weeks. Pretty one ain’t, ya? I got your friend. He’s out in the car. He said he wanted to explain everything. He told me you have the USB drive. Give it to me and this will all end. Sorry for shooting at you. Didn’t know who you were with the way you were dressed. Thought you were Tarek at first. Saw who you were when the hat flew off your head and you ran into the barn.”

Kassidy frowned in the shadow of darkness where she hid. So he wasn’t shooting at her, but Tarek? Why? And the USB drive was what he wanted.

“Come out and let’s talk it over. My boss has got a proposal for you.”

She held onto the shovel.

“Look, this ain’t personal, sweetheart. The Marshalls don’t take kindly to little meddlers like you. I promise if you come out of hiding and I take you to talk to a few people, we’ll be done with this matter real quick like.”

She didn't answer. She closed her eyes and waited. The heavy hum of the generator filled in the silence she left.

“Fine! Then we do this the hard way,” he said and kicked the stall door open. Kassidy had switched from her hiding space to the corner on the left side of the stall. If he had looked her way, he would have seen her instead of the back of the shovel swinging for his head. However, his height and hers made her aim off. She hit him in the lower part of his head and neck. He stumbled forward, landing in the loose hay and the hard packed floor. Kassidy charged after him. He rolled out of her next strike.She missed bringing the shovel down on his head within a few inches.

She saw the gun. It had been knocked free of his hand when he fell. She scrambled to reach it before he did but he clipped her with his feet. She fell hard onto the ground, winded but still strong enough to stay conscious, she crawled on all fours. But he grabbed her by the leg and dragged her toward him. Kassidy rolled over and kicked her feet. She wanted to kick him in the nuts but her legs were too short. Instead, she kicked hard as she could into his kneecap. She wasn’t sure of the force she delivered in the floppy boots but Cash howled in pain and dropped her. She grabbed a wood block next to her, lifted it over her head to bring it down hard on the back of his, but stopped herself. She would kill him if she did. Deciding against that move, she flipped over and tried to get off the ground.She found her legs cramped, and weak. To her horror he was already staggering to stand. If Kassidy couldn’t hit him with the block and kill him, she certainly couldn’t pull the trigger of a gun. But in the fight for her life she wanted to be in possession of it, not him. Kassidy looked around for the weapon. Where did it go? Where did it go? She turned and Cash seized her by the throat. She gagged.

“You should have run when you had the chance, bitch!” The grip to her throat became unbearably tight. “Now, you are going to tell me where the USB drive is. Do you hear me? Daniel said you had it. Where the fuck is it?”

“I... I...my...,” she gasped.

“Let her go!”

Cash’s head turned and then he whirled around with her pinned against him like a shield, while squeezing her throat. She kicked her feet and squirmed.

“Let her go now!” Tarek said. He held a shotgun and it was aimed at them both. One side of Tarek’s face was covered in blood. But he looked deadly calm.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, boss,” Cash said. “Got a job to finish. Fucking storm has me off schedule.”

“What job? You work for me!” Tarek yelled. “And if you don’t let her go...”

“You’ll what? Kill me, boss, you sure about that?” Cash chuckled.

The standoff between the men distracted her attacker for only a second. And that was all she needed. The moment his hand loosened on her neck she hit him hard in the gut with her elbow. Though she doubted she hurt him, she knew it caught him off guard. He let her go. Kassidy dropped to the floor, and Tarek fired. He blew a hole into Cash’s chest and sent him three feet backward crashing into the stable wall. Kassidy crawled away from the dead man terrified out of her mind. Tarek dropped his rifle and started toward her but was clobbered in the back of the head with a plank of wood. He fell over unconscious. To Kassidy’s horror and relief, it was Daniel.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Daniel?” she asked. She looked at Tarek and went for him. He was hurt. But Daniel caught her before she reached him. He hugged her.

“Oh my God! Daniel!” she wept.

“Shhhh,” he said and stroked her back.

“Wait, Tarek, he’s hurt. I got to help him.”

Daniel once again prevented her from helping Tarek. He took her face in his hands. “Listen to me. We’ll leave. We’ll bring the police. Tell them what Tarek Marshall did to you.”

“But he...”

“First, you have to give me the USB drive. Where is it Kassidy?”

Confused she stepped back from him. “We need to call the police now.”

“I need the USB drive, where is it?”

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