"Alright, so what's our game?" Kassidy questioned, hoping it would be something she could actually win.
"Let's throw for it" Seth smirked, ushering over to a corner in the bar where they could see a group throwing knives.
"Sounds good to me" Kassidy nodded, stepping down from her stool.
"Really? You think you can beat me?" Seth questioned, clearly surprised.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Seth" Kassidy pointed out, as she turned and began walking towards the knife throwers.
A smug smile grew on her face as she heard Seth rushing over to her, proud that she had caught him off guard. Taking a wad of cash out of her back pocket, she dropped it down on a nearby plate and approached the group of surly bikers, who were glaring down at her.
"My friend and I want in" Kassidy announced, as a blond biker looked her up and down.
"This ain't no place for amateurs, sweetheart" The biker scoffed, crossing his arms.
"Maybe you should leave then" Kassidy mocked, quirking an eyebrow, watching the biker's jaw tense.
"Remember that thing I said about your smart mouth getting you in trouble" Seth whispered in her ear, suddenly very close to her.
"Sorry about that, pal. She was dropped on the head as a baby, doesn't know what she's saying half the time" Seth exclaimed, his arm coming to drape over her shoulder, ready to pull her away if things took a turn for the worse.
To both their surprise, the blond bike suddenly burst out laughing, almost manically, clapping his hands together. A pretty black-haired girl beside him joined in the laughter, presumably his girlfriend.
"Don't worry, I know all about feisty women" The biker stated, slapping his girlfriend's ass roughly.
Seth didn't miss Kassidy's grimace of disgust, but she didn't comment on the action. Instead, she stepped forward to grab the large blade from the biker's hand, and twirled it around in her hand a few times, much like Seth was used to his brother doing.
"You've thrown knives before?" Seth realised, with a shake of his head.
"Oh, yeah" Kassidy smirked, instantly throwing the knife towards the target, not even needing to look.
Seth grit his teeth as he saw how good her aim was even when she wasn't concentrating, managing to hit the eye of the carving they were throwing at. She turned to Seth, full of smug confidence, as he felt his mouth go dry.
"Your up," Kassidy told him, ushering towards the target, as Seth reluctantly marched over to rip the knife from the carving.
Cracking his neck a few times from side to side, Seth lined himself up with the target, raising his hand back. Tensely, he threw the knife, letting out a groan when it hit the face on the carving, but wasn't as close to the target as Kassidy's throw.
"Best out of three" Seth announced, making her scoff.
"We never agreed to that" Kassidy retorted, unimpressed.
"What, you scared of losing?" Seth smirked, knowing that she would rise to the challenge.
"You wish" Kassidy muttered, grabbing the knife from the carving.
She rolled the knife through her fingers a few times, before taking a deep breath and sending the knife through the air. She had managed to hit the other eye this time, a little disappointed she didn't get the centre of the target. But she didn't let it show on her face, as she strolled over to the carving, ripping the knife out. Everyone jumped back, as she suddenly threw the knife into the ground by Seth's feet, only missing him by a few inches. Seth's eyes snapped up to hers, looking impressed rather than put off. Crouching down, he quickly picked up the knife, rolling his shoulder back and throwing the knife before he had too much time to think. A broad smile grew on his face when he saw he had hit the centre of the target, his aim perfect.
"Your turn, Princess" Seth teased, walking past her to retrieve the knife and dropping it into her hand, as Kassidy rolled her eyes.
She took the knife, nonetheless, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath and raised her arm backwards. Just as she went to throw the knife, a voice calling out her name had her arm faltering, the knife lunging towards the floor rather than the target. Kassidy whipped around to Seth, assuming he was the one who had spoken.
Follow me.
Kassidy's eyes were drawn to something behind Seth, as she watched a woman disappearing between a curtain on the other side of the room. Kassidy couldn't see their face, only their long black hair that finished just above their waist and scantily-clad outfit, but somehow she knew it was the woman who had spoken. All the sounds in the room seemed to disappear for a moment, as she heard her name being called out again.
"-sidy? Kassidy? Hey, you still with me?" Seth frowned, seeing how she had zoned out, looking at something behind him.
"…Alright, you win. Let's just get out of here and move the money" Kassidy insisted, in a hushed voice.
"Wait, what?" Seth inquired, even more confused.
"Let's just go, okay?" Kassidy went on, grabbing his arm to drag him away from the group.
"The hell happened back there?" Seth questioned, letting her pull him away.
"I don't like this place. So let's just hurry up and make this damn deal" Kassidy explained.
"And we're moving the money where exactly? We're on enemy lines, there's nowhere safe" Seth stated.
Kassidy came to a halt at this comment, realising that Seth was right. She knew that she and her family would be in trouble if the Gecko brothers lost their money. Where was safe? Turning back to him, Kassidy reached out to pull open his suit jacket, revealing the thin white shirt he was wearing underneath.
"You know, if you wanted me naked, all you had to do was ask" Seth grinned, leaning closer to her.
"Think with your head and not your dick for once, Seth" Kassidy exclaimed, ushering down to his shirt.
"…Oh" Seth nodded, realising what she was suggesting.
"Any chance you could hurry up a bit?" Kassidy questioned, looking out of the window of the RV, checking that no one had followed them.
"I'm just checking Richie hasn't taken any for himself" Seth muttered, looking through the numerous bonds he had hiding in the duffel bag.
"You really don't trust your brother, huh?" Kassidy stated, her eyes still firmly on the window.
"Used to…you got any duct tape in this beast-" Seth began, cutting himself off as Kassidy reached above her head, rummaging in an overhead compartment, and throwing the object he desired in one quick movement.
"So…like you said I win. Time for you to deliver on your end, sweetheart" Seth pointed out, watching as her jaw tensed.
"It's not really that interesting" Kassidy mumbled, as Seth quirked an eyebrow.
"C'mon, a deal's a deal. What are you hiding?" Seth insisted.
"…I went to find my parent's. My real parents" Kassidy admitted, her shoulders slumped.
"I'm guessing daddy dearest isn't aware of this" Seth suggested, as she turned to him.
"And he's not going to…right?" Kassidy replied, her lips drawn in a firm line.
"Not from me" Seth shrugged, beginning to tape the bonds together.
"Jacob would never tell me what they had done to get me taken away. He said I was better off not knowing…I didn't exactly agree" Kassidy scoffed, leaning against the counter.
"How'd you find them?" Seth inquired.
"Newspaper. Or newspapers, plural. It was all over the news…Mother tried to burn her baby alive. People love a good horror story…" Kassidy trailed off, with a sad expression.
"She tried to kill you?" Seth gaped, halting in his movements, as she nodded.
"Got herself admitted to a psychiatric hospital after that. Completely out of her mind" Kassidy mumbled.
"What about your dad?" Seth asked.
"I tracked him down. He seemed real happy to see me…at first. Let me come live with him and everything. I thought I was gonna' finally have a dad who really cared about me. But he was far from perfect. A drug dealer who liked his own merchandise a little too much" Kassidy went on, as Seth's eyes softened.
"It didn't end well?" Seth guessed.
"I had been helping him out for a couple of months. Moving the drugs around, selling them, I just…I wanted him to like me. Someone sold us out, probably a dissatisfied customer or another dealer, but the cops showed up. He was gonna' sell me out. Showed his true colours" Kassidy explained.
"What'd you do?" Seth queried, leaning down to sit on the table.
"I knocked him out, took the money, and let him take the fall" Kassidy admitted, her eyes snapping over to him.
"When you say he showed his true colours, what-" Seth began, but she stopped him.
"And then I went to find my mum. Now that was a lot harder. She wasn't allowed many visitors and I knew they'd never let me see her if I said I was her kid. But after a little bribery, I got to meet her…" Kassidy trailed off, scrunching her eyes shut.
"I don't know how, but she knew it was me. I barely said two words to her before she went batshit. Tried to attack me...the staff subdued her before she got very far...but she seemed pretty upset with not being allowed to finish the job" Kassidy scoffed, her voice thick with emotion.
"Jesus Christ, Kassidy. Your folks make my dad look like Gandhi" Seth exclaimed, as Kassidy snorted.
"Well, that's one way of putting it" Kassidy shook her head, fondly.
"…You didn't deserve any of that shit, Kas. You know that, right?" Seth questioned, his eyes softening.
"We can't choose who our family are" Kassidy shrugged, as Seth nodded.
"Goddamn right about that" Seth muttered, pulling off his jacket.
Kassidy tried to keep her eyes forward, as she watched Seth strip of his clothes, but the mischievous part of her mind won. She let her eyes roam over his body, now clad in only a thin tank top that stretched over his muscles. Kassidy's eyes widened as she watched the muscles in his arm's flex as he strapped the bonds to his abdomen, and felt her mouth go dry. Was she seriously checking out her kidnapper?
"What's with the tattoo?" Kassidy inquired, her eyes roaming over the long black lines that trailed up his right arm.
Seth's eyes then snapped up to hers, not having realised she had been watching him strip. His lips twitched into a small smirk, not missing the way she was looking at him. Still got it, he thought to himself.
"You remember how I said my dad died in a fire? Well, Richie was the one who pulled me out" Seth explained, as he finished wrapping the bonds around his body.
"Sounds like you owe him a lot" Kassidy pointed out.
"Hence the tattoo…flames in Richie's honour" Seth shrugged, as Kassidy's forehead wrinkled, slowly approaching him.
Seth was surprised as she reached out to touch his tanned arm, her fingers trailing over the tattoo, feeling the roughness underneath them. Her eyes softened as she looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.
"That's not the only reason you got it though, right?" Kassidy guessed, watching Seth let out a long sigh.
"…I got some burns on my arm. Didn't fancy having to tell some chick the story every time I got laid" Seth answered.
"You told me" Kassidy stated, dropping her hand when she realised she was still touching him.
"Not about to get laid though, am I?" Seth replied, leaning a little closer.
The air became thick with tension for a moment, as Kassidy's eyes flickered up to his, a challenge behind them. A moment later, there was a yell from outside, making them both spring apart instantly. Kassidy quickly rushed over to the window, to see that in the few minutes they had been distracted, a group of bikers appeared, but none of them seemed interested in the RV thankfully.
"C'mon, let's go" Seth announced, pulling his white shirt and suit jacket back on.
"Where?" Kassidy frowned.
"We're gonna hide this duffel in one of the cars in the lot. Throw anyone watching off the trail" Seth informed her, as a smirk grew on Kassidy's face.
"Smart. I'm impressed" Kassidy nodded, as Seth gave her a dorky smile in return.
Kassidy surveyed the car that Seth was shoving the duffel bag into with a frown, noticing the thick layer of dust that covered the vehicle. Her frown deepened when she noticed a newspaper in the front seat, opening the door to pick up the object. She felt her heart drop when she saw it was from 1963, her eyes being drawn to a splatter of blood on the front page.
"Something's definitely not right with this place" Kassidy mumbled, dropping the newspaper back onto the seat, as Seth shut the doors to the car.
"What do you mean?" Seth questioned, as Kassidy ushered to the car.
"This car looks like it's been here for half a century, doesn't that seem odd to you?" Kassidy pointed out, watching Seth shrug.
"Not really" Seth replied, as Kassidy had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes.
"Epa, epa, epa!" A voice called out to them, as both Kassidy and Seth whipped around.
"You again? I didn't break your nose back there, did I?" Seth inquired, seeing it was Chet, the asshole from outside the bar.
"Yeah, pendejo, you did" Chet muttered, dabbing at his nose with a rag.
"That's terrible, 'cause if you don't get out of my way, I'm gonna break the rest of your face, too" Seth informed him, as Kassidy's lips twitched into a smirk.
"Sorry. Is something funny?" Seth scoffed, when Chet burst out laughing.
"That look on your face!" Chet exclaimed, amusement in his voice.
"This face?" Seth asked, taking a step forward, as Chet let out a long whistle.
"No…that one" Chet grinned, as a group of men began to surround them, weapons in their hands.
"Shit" Seth mumbled, taking a step back, holding his arm out in front of Kassidy.
Before anyone had time to react, Seth had suddenly pulled out his pistol, sending bullets into the legs of two of the nearest men. Just as he aimed to shoot the third one, a tall man pulled the gun from Seth's hand using a long metal chain. However, Seth once again got the upper hand, gripping the chain in his hand and pulling the other man to the ground with a sharp tug. Seth then whipped around and threw the chain towards Chet, as it wrapped around his legs, and dragged him to the ground. However, this left Seth with no weapon other than his hands, but he certainly wasn't defenceless. Meanwhile, two men were approaching Kassidy, splitting her up from Seth, as she pulled out the pocket knife she still had.8
"Nice toothpick" One of the men jeered, as Kassidy quirked an eyebrow.
Without a second's thought, she sent the knife hurtling through the air, as it slammed into the man's chest, making him stumble back. The man's eyes widened, as blood began to pour from the wound, his knee's giving out. The other man's eyes snapped up to Kassidy, obviously pissed, as he lunged at her. Backing up a few steps, just as the man was about to reach her, Kassidy used a nearby car door to knock him off his feet. She then quickly grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, dragging him to the foot of the car and slammed the door onto his head.
"I think that's mine" Kassidy exclaimed, walking over to the first man, and pulling the knife from his chest, as blood spurted from the wound.
Kassidy looked over the car park to find Seth continuing to fight off the rest of the group. He had one hell of a right hook, as Kassidy watched him knock one man unconscious with just one punch. He managed to duck just in time as another biker tried to hit him with a large plank of wood, earning a hard punch to the stomach instead.
"Seth, watch out!" Kassidy cried, as she watched a man creep up behind Seth.
However, it was too late, as the man slammed a bottle down on Seth's head, pushing him to his knee's. Seth tried to push himself back up, but another man was quickly on him, hitting him in the face with a metal pole. Kassidy could see the blood that was now dripping from his mouth and felt anger surge through her veins. She watched as three men picked him up, with Chet approaching him with a large plank of wood, his intentions obvious.
"This is what we do to pinche interlopers!" Chet exclaimed, raising his hand in the air.
A loud shot rang out over the car park, as Chet let out a howl, feeling pain burn through his hand. He dropped the wood to see a bullet hole going through his palm and whipped around to face Kassidy, his lips turned up in a scowl.
"You shot my fucking hand!" Chet yelled, seeing her a few metres away, now holding a discarded pistol from one of the bikers.
"I was aiming for your head" Kassidy spat out, as Chet's jaw tensed.
"Kisa be dammed, I'll kill you myself" Chet threatened, making Kassidy frown, not understanding what he meant.
"You leave her alone!" Seth growled, struggling against the men gripping his arm's, managing to hit one in the face.
He didn't get any further than that, as another biker rushed forward, sending a hard punch to Seth's gut, as he was thrown to the ground. The men then began to kick him in the stomach, as Kassidy felt anger boil up in her chest once again
"Patético" Chet muttered, continuing to advance on Kassidy.
Kassidy raised her gun again, ready to shoot the man, but someone else beat her to it. Kassidy's eyes widened as a bullet ripped through Chet's leg, as he stumbled to the ground. She looked behind him to see a man in an expensive suit strolling towards them, a confident swagger in his steps.
"You! But…no. No! He broke my nose…they…look at my fucking hand!" Chet argued, turning around and clearly recognising the man.
"Let him go and leave" The man announced, with a wave of his hand.
Reluctantly the men holding Seth backed away, letting him flop to the ground, panting as he tried to catch him breath. Kassidy rushed forward to reach him, but before she did, she sent a hard kick to Chet's face, as he let out a sharp howl of pain, clutching his already broken nose.
"You're a long way from Kansas City, Mr Gecko" The man pointed out, watching Kassidy crouch beside Seth's side.
She helped pull him into a sitting position, throwing his arm over her shoulder, her eyes full of concern, which surprised both the men. Kassidy grimaced as she saw the blood rolling down Seth's face, and could tell come morning he would have numerous bruises to go along with it.
"Hey, you okay?" Kassidy questioned, as Seth slowly nodded, his lips twitching into a small smile.
"Thank you for, you know, saving my ass back there" Seth announced, after the man had managed to get the pair to reluctantly join him back in the bar, giving them both glasses of whiskey.
"Not a word about it. Besides, it would seem your girl had you covered, Mr Gecko" The man pointed out, ushering to Kassidy, who cursed herself for the small blush that spread over her cheeks.
"Uh, we're not…that's not…" The pair both stuttered, speaking over each other, much to the man's amusement.
"You seem to have me at a disadvantage here. I mean, you know my name, but I don't know who I'm thanking" Seth explained, changing the subject quickly.
"Call me Narciso" The man told them, as Seth nodded.
"I have only two questions for you, Mr. Gecko…First, how, after avoiding hundreds of policemen to get here, did you find yourself surrounded by those pendejos in the parking lot?" Narciso questioned.
"Uh, well...You know, my Uncle Eddie always used to say you're never in a fight with only one asshole" Seth stated, as Narciso's forehead wrinkled.
"Why is that?" Narciso inquired.
"Even assholes have friends" Seth replied, making Kassidy snort.
"To Uncle Eddie" Narciso announced, raising his glass.
"Good, old Uncle Eddie" Seth mumbled, clinking both his and Kassidy's glasses together as they drank.
"The second question, and perhaps the more pertinent one...why would a man with such good sense agree to pay $10 million to a piece of shit like Carlos?" Narciso asked, the contempt clear in his voice.
"Wow, don't be afraid to tell us what you really think" Kassidy said sarcastically, as Seth's eyes darted around the room, wondering if he had walked into an ambush.
"Relax, Mr. Gecko. I make it my business to know things" Narciso informed him.
"Well, then, you know my deal is with him" Seth insisted, not liking where the conversation was headed.
"What are you getting out of it?" Narciso queried, piquing Kassidy's curiosity.
"First-class ticket for me and my brother...To El Rey" Seth answered, in a hushed voice.
"El..." Narciso trailed off, falling into a fit of laughter.
"Jesus Christ. Everybody's in on the joke tonight?" Seth complained, his patience wearing thin.
"He's still using that line…El Rey. It's a myth, amigo. So much for your good sense" Narciso shook his head, taking a swig of his drink.
"Are you saying it's not real?" Seth asked, his eyes wide.
"I'm saying it's not for you" Narciso replied, as Kassidy crossed her arms.
"Well, what the fuck does that mean?" Kassidy exclaimed, as Narciso turned to her.
"Do I know you from somewhere?" Narciso inquired, tilting his head to the side.
"Is that some kind of shitty pickup line?" Kassidy scoffed, as Narciso continued to stare at her.
"…I will leave you both to dwell on what I have told you. Please, finish your drinks" Narciso told them, pushing himself to his feet and walking away.
"He definitely puts the narcissist in Narciso, huh?" Kassidy joked as soon as he was out of hearing distance.
Seth's lips twitched into a smile despite himself, as he turned to her, a fondness in his eyes. In the dim lighting of the bar, Seth's wounds were even more obvious, grazes and cuts all over his face, and Kassidy knew it would be the same on the rest of his body.
"Why didn't you run away?" Seth questioned, a moment later.
"Huh?" Kassidy frowned.
"You could have run. When those guys were beating on me. You could have run. But you didn't. Why?" Seth clarified as Kassidy mulled it over.
"You've still got the keys" She shrugged, taking a swig of her drink.
"Uh-huh, and that's the only reason?" Seth inquired, quirking an eyebrow.
"I couldn't just leave a poor damsel in distress like you, could I?" Kassidy teased, as Seth shook his head fondly.
"…Thank you. I mean it, Kas. I owe you" Seth told her; his tone genuine, as a smile slowly spread over her lips.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! There were a few clues to the future of this story, I wonder if any of you caught them? Seth and Kassidy are going to continue to grow closer over the following chapters, but this could spell trouble for everyone around them. Please leave a review:)
zuleika126: Aw, it's great that you're liking the story so far! I've been trying to stay as close to show's characterisation as possible, I'm glad it's coming across well! Thank you for reviewing:)
Guest: Thank you! I hope you liked this chapter, hopefully it will continue to live up to your expectations:)