Page 92 of Boss

She looked at Tarek to the floor and then up to Daniel. There was something wrong. Deeply wrong.

“It’s in my purse. I’ll go get it. In the house.”

“You’re fucking lying.” He took a step toward her. “You dropped the purse in the parking lot. There was nothing in it.”

“Daniel what are you doing?”

“I need that USB drive. You gave it to me once and I didn’t know what it was. But I know now. And it’s worth more than any of this. You have to tell me where it is.”

Kassidy started to step back. She nearly tripped over Cash’s dead body.

“Why do you need it? It’s just some account numbers. We got more than that Daniel. Like you said, we call the police and it all ends.”

He shook his head no. “Plans changed.”

Kassidy didn’t bother to wait for an explanation. She turned and ran. And she knew in her heart that Daniel was in pursuit. She raced around the back of the stalls to the other side of the barn and then straight for the door.

“Kassidy! Kassidy! Kassidy!”

She pushed out of the barn doors and ran into the snow. The moment her feet in Tarek’s shoes sunk into the white lumps of cold she was stalled. So she kicked them off. She ran in the snow with her cut feet and it was agony.

“Kassidy! You have to give it to me! Do you hear me! You have to give it to me!” he shouted after her.

She didn’t know why Daniel wanted the USB drive so desperately. She didn’t know why he had a murderous look in his eyes to get it. She’d known and trusted him for several years. They weren’t completely moral but Daniel was far more centered on his principles than her. What was happening?

“Kassidy!” she heard him yell after her through the wind and snow. She considered running to the car. But she didn’t have the keys and she would be trapped. So when she reached the house she went inside. The electricity was out. However, she knew the house well enough to run straight to the back rooms.

“Kassidy! Where are you damn it? We don’t have time or this!”

She couldn’t go into the kitchen. She needed a weapon. A knife or something. She turned down the hall and closed the doors to every room she passed. It would slow him down. She then ran into another room off to the left. It was a spare bedroom. Kassidy looked around for a weapon. The only thing in the room was a closet, a bathroom and a bed.

“Kassidy!” she heard Daniel kick open one room door and then the next. Maybe she should have gone upstairs. She might have found something to fight back with in Tarek’s bedroom.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I need the fucking thing!”

With no other choice Kassidy dropped to her knees and scooted under the bed. She was relieved that she fit. No more than a second had passed before Daniel arrived. Kassidy put her hand over her mouth to keep him from hearing her whimpering.

“Kassidy. I know you’re in here. You left a trail of blood sweetheart.”

She closed her eyes.

“I know you’re scared. But you can trust me. I want the same thing you do. To take down the Marshalls.” She didn’t answer. Daniel stood before the bed as if speaking to it. She stared at his shoes.

“They only want the account numbers. The ones we thought didn’t mean anything. That’s all. We give them the USB drive and it’s over. Kassidy? Kassidy!”

She tensed.

Daniel dropped to his knees and looked under the bed. He gave her a wicked grin. “There you are kitten!”

“Noo!”

Daniel tried to drag her out by her arm but she scooted from his reach. She came out from the other side. Daniel was equally quick. He grabbed her leg. She was turned left and right in the struggle to escape as he dragged her across the floor. His hold was too strong. He dragged her further away from the bed.

Kassidy’s only defense were kicks. She kicked several times with both feet and he dropped her ankle. She struggled to get up to her knees but Daniel flipped her over to her back. He delivered a slap that left her dazed and muted her hearing. He was yelling at her. And then his hands were on her throat. They were so tight. Like a vice. She scratched and clawed with her nails at his hands. Nothing worked. She gagged.

He squeezed. Not to kill, but to terrify and cause pain. She bucked beneath him and swung her hands to claw at his face. He squeezed tighter.

“Where is it! Where the fuck is it! They are going to destroy me if you don’t tell me where the fucking thing is! I don’t want to hurt you,” he wept. “I swear I don’t. Please. Tell me!” he let go of her throat and she coughed and gasped for air. “Tell me!”

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