Page 46 of Cries of Cassie

Thud. "No," a whimpered cry stops Maddox from finishing his statement. "No, no, no."

Horror slams into me, driving me away from the desk so fucking fast I almost fall to the ground right beside my crying girl in the hallway.

The other three barrel out of the office behind me. When they catch sight of Cassie scrambling away from us, everyone starts swearing and talking over each other.

What did she hear? Why is she so fucking scared of us?

"Baby, take a deep breath," I coo, needing her to be okay before anything else. If she hyperventilates herself into unconsciousness, I'll lose my shit, and it's clear she needs me to be calm.

It isn't until the breath whooshes out of her that I realize we've backed her into a corner. Tears stream down her cheeks, ripping my heart to shreds with every track across her freckles.

I have no clue what she's scared of, but she needs us. Kneeling beside her, I recognize that she's too far gone in her panic to see me, so I do the next best thing and hold her knee.

Every atom in my body rebels and turns on me when she screams. Hell, I even appreciate the kick to my thigh because if she's this fucking scared of me, I deserve so much worse.

"Okay. Okay, Cassie, I hear you," I murmur, standing with my hands up to show her I won't touch her again.

Without glancing at Maddox, Ripley, or Parker, I know what they're feeling. Absolute heartbreak. It feels like we're losing her one whimper at a time.

With my partners at my side as we stare down at the woman we love cowering away from us, I figure out what it means when people say their heart lives outside of their body. Mine is irrevocably wrapped around the woman who suddenly fears me.

I don't know what to do or what I must fix.

How did we get here?

Cassie forces our hand in the next moment by diving between Maddox and Parker's legs with a strangled cry. I'm sure she knew logically that neither of them would have let her escape, but damn does she put on a fight when Mads plucks her from the ground with a rumbly growl.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screams, flailing as she's hoisted over his shoulder. With as much force as she can muster, her little fists bang against his lower back and spine.

Ripley makes a pained sound in his throat as we rush after Maddox. "Kitty, stop hitting him," he begs.

"You'll hurt yourself, Cassidy. Stop and let us explain," Parker chimes in, climbing the steps behind me.

"FUCK YOU!" she cries and tries to grab hold of the doorframe to our bedroom. "No. No, please, stop."

"Cassie! What the hell do you think we're going to do to you?" Maddox sounds completely gutted. I'm surprised that he releases her, allowing her to flop onto our bed.

Scrambling back to the headboard, her chest rises and falls with far too much stress than should be allowed now that she has us. When we figure this out, I vow she'll never feel this way again.

Parker, Ripley, Maddox and I surrounded the bed, staring on with equal amounts of fear and concern. I refuse to take my eyes off her for fear that if I do, she'll disappear.

Cassie gulps, rising to her knees as if she will flee at the first opportunity. "Please don't hurt me." Then, to my horror, she looks at me and her goddamn bottom lip wobbles. "If you care about me at all, you’ll let me go before Victor gets here. Seriously. Just let me go, and we can forget me being here ever happened."

"I'm sorry," Parker grits out through clenched teeth and turns to look at us men. "What the fuck is she talking about?"

Ripley steps toward the bed, eyes red as if he's straining to hold his emotions in. His worst fear has come true. "You're afraid of us. How could you think we would hurt you?"

Glancing at him for a moment, I see her soften just a smidgen, but when her eyes come back to me, the walls come back up. What the fuck did she say before? That I was a drug dealer?

"You were eavesdropping again, weren't you?" Maddox says, voice devoid of the gruffness I feel in my throat. How is he so calm? "Answer me, sweet girl. You were eavesdropping and heard some scary shit."

"Y-yes," Cassie stutters, cheeks turning pink. Why the fuck does she keep looking at me like I killed her family dog?

Maddox nods and sits at the edge of the bed. "You see, Cassie, eavesdropping is never a good idea because every time you'll miss some really important pieces of information."

To my surprise, she lifts her chin and glares at our fearless leader. "I heard everything I needed to. Koa sells drugs for Victor. The man you said would kill me! You want to lock me in a room and gag me so nobody knows I'm being held against my will."

"So you're not mad at me then, right?" Parker asks, sounding like a hopeful kid who got in trouble through association.