Chapter 284 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“You both should be e careful,” Benne said before the call was disconnected.

As he returned the phone into his pocket he looked around the living room. He needed to first check in on Candace and her son, and then he would go to the security room to make sure all the cameras and locks were in place.

“They’re in the den,” Evelyn said as she and Bryan joined Benne, and she led them to where her husband was playing mortal Kombat with Jamal.

“Hey, Dad!” Bryan and Benne greeted as they walked into the room, and their father only spared them a glance before returning his attention to the game only to see that Jamal had won the game in the little while he was distracted.

“You little cheat,” he said accusingly, and Jamal laughed happily.

He turned to his sons, “I saw the interview. Both girls are pretty. I’m proud of you,” he said making Bryan chuckle as he sat down beside Jamal who was now staring at him curiously.

“Are you proud of them because the girls are pretty or because of how they handled the situation?” Evelyn asked her husband.

“Both reasons.”

“How have you been, dad?” Bryan asked as he took the pad from Jamal, while Benne remained where he was.

“Fine,” their father said flatly as he returned his attention to the screen and reset the game. Both brothers knew that the fastest way to make him cheerful was to bring Jade to him.

“You’re the actor,” Jamal said when he finally figured out who Bryan was.

“Yes, I am. And you’re the kid,” Bryan said, wriggling his brows playfully while he concentrated on the game which had just started.

“Hey, kid! Where is your mom?” Benne asked Jamal just as Candace walked into the room.

“I’m here. Sorry. I was just about to take him,” she said apologetically, and Bryan paused the game to look at her.

Bryan’s brows shot up in surprise when he recognized her, “It’s you again?” he asked as he looked her over, and then glanced at Jamal curiously.

“You know her?” Benne and Evelyn asked simultaneously.

“Yes. What about you? What’s she doing here?” Bryan asked curiously.

“Jade brought her here,” Benne explained, and Bryan smiled in amazement.

“Jade? I guess Matt is involved in this?” he asked Candace recalling how Matt had asked for Jade’s contact number the other time.

“Yes,” Candace said with a nod, feeling slightly nervous that he might tell his family about her being a stripper.

“Wow! I’ve never been a believer in fate, but everything that has happened lately has taught me otherwise. Don’t worry, whatever it is, you’re safe here,” Bryan assured her with a grin, and ruffled Jamal’s hair fondly as the kid rose to meet his mom. Bryan had a feeling that the kid was going to be his best friend’s stepson.

“This would have been perfect if Jade was here…” Evelyn said with a wistful sigh, “You can both catch up with your father while I make sure everything is set for our guests,” Evelyn said as she left the room.

“I’ll be back,” Benne said as he glanced at his wristwatch.. It was time for Adolf to go pick up the guests, and he needed to stop by the security room.

“Hey! Don’t rough handle the lady,” Cassidy scolded his men as they walked into his room with Brandy and pushed her to the floor.

Brandy met the gaze of the man who was seated on a chair with a cigar in one hand. The man who was in his late thirties was dressed in a pristine white suit and he looked clean and handsome as she had always remembered him. Unlike the other lords, no one would easily guess his line of business judging by the way he dressed and carried himself.

“What do you want?” Brandy asked, feeling relieved and more confident now that she knew who she was facing. She was glad to know that of all the cruel lords of the cartel, it was Cassidy who had gotten her and not the others. Although he could be heartless, she knew that he had a thing for her. He was the first man Jero had sold her to after all. The one who had deflowered her.

“That is no way to greet your first love, is it?” He asked with a fond smile as he stood up from where he was seated and went to squat in front of her.

“Forcing yourself on someone doesn’t exactly make you their first love, does it? What do you want?” She asked dryly and he smiled.

Seeing how they were on a yacht, she could only pray that Matt would be able to do something before they sailed. She did not doubt that the other lords were gathered wherever he was taking her to and that he had probably come to get information from her to save her from whatever the other lords planned to do to get what they wanted from her.

Cassidy clicked his tongue in disapproval, “Don’t tell me you don’t know what I want. Where is your sister and Jero’s little boy?” He asked calmly.

“They left the country. Vacationing.”

“They did? Any of you got her phone?” Cassidy asked, his eyes moving to the men who were standing by the door, and one of them who was with Brandy’s handbag fished out the phone from her handbag and stepped forward as he handed it to Cassidy, but he didn’t take the phone.

“Perfect. Now go through her text messages and her contact list for her sister’s number, I’m sure her sister will come back from wherever she traveled to the moment she realizes that her sister is going to die because of her,” Cassidy said with a wide smile which was directed at Brandy.

The man who was holding the phone looked at her, “Unlock it,” he ordered Brandy who kept a straight face like she wasn’t the one he was referring to.

Cassidy took the phone from the guy and held it out to Brandy, “Please unlock it. We don’t want to hurt you. Personally I don’t want to hurt you. I’d rather give you pleasure. But you have to cooperate with me,” he said in a soft tone as he reached out to touch her hair, “You have gotten even prettier,” he said with a note of lust in his tone.

“Why do you want my sister? You should at least tell me that before I unlock the phone. She did nothing wrong. We left after Jero was arrested, and we have stayed out of your way the whole time. Why are you still after us?” Brandy asked with a straight face trying to stall while hoping that Matt was doing all he could to get her help and get her out of there really quickly.

Cassidy looked at her for a moment and then he clicked his tongue, “We want Jero. To get him, we need your sister and the little boy. Now open it,” he ordered.

“But Jero is still in jail. If you want him, go and get him there,” Brandy said, pretending not to know that Jero had escaped.

Cassidy narrowed his sharp blue eyes and looked into her eyes as if he was trying to determine if she was really not aware that Jero had escaped from prison or was just trying to fool him.

“Don’t make me force you, Andy. As you must know by now, I like it rough. Unlock the phone,” he threatened as the yacht lurched slightly, letting Brandy know that they had sailed, and her time had started counting.

Brandy swallowed as she extended her forefinger to the phone and unlocked it with her fingerprint.

“Good girl,” Cassidy said as he handed the phone to one of his men. “Find whatever you can get from it, and give her sister a call. I’m sure her sister will be more than willing to save her life.”

Brandy kept staring at him since it was obvious that he thought she was foolish. She couldn’t understand how the idiot would think that she would be stupid enough to save her sister’s contact number with her name and then bring her phone along with her to such a place, unless of course because he truly believed that she didn’t know anything.

“While we wait for the call, why don’t we catch up? I paid double for your services after all,” Cassidy said with a grin as he stood up and went to sit on his bed.

“You know I still don’t like you, right?” Brandy asked with a scowl, and he chuckled good-naturedly.

“That is even more reason why I want you. I was surprised and disappointed to hear that you chose this line of business though. You used to be so shy about being naked,” Cassidy said eyeing her with curiosity.

“When you are forced to undress long enough, you get the hang of it. At least I’m doing it out of my free will now,” Brandy said with a smirk, and Cassidy’s eyes hardened.

“You could have easily agreed to be my woman and saved yourself this stress. I would have protected you and your sister from things like this,” Cassidy said, and Brandy rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, thanks. I’m not interested in being your whore.”

“Even if it means having a good life and saving your sister’s life?” Cassidy asked, and watched in fascination as something flickered in Brandy’s eyes.

“Boss, the phone is clean, and her sister’s line is not going through,” The man announced as he handed the phone to Cassidy who took it from him and waved him off.

“Excuse us. I want to be alone with her,” Cassidy said dismissively, and all the men left leaving him alone with her.

“Get off the floor. You can have the chair,” Cassidy said, not liking the picture of her on the floor.

“Why are you doing this?” Brandy asked as she stood up and went to sit on the chair.

“Doing what?” He asked innocently.

“Why are you here?”

---