Cassidy Jones and the Luminous (Cassidy Jones Adventures Book 4) by Elise Stokes Read Free Book Online Page A

this before. But this is the real him.”
    Jared’s bewildered eyes snapped to me. I wished I’d just kept my mouth shut.
    “Where are the police?” Emery asked me. He pulled out a switchblade.
    The look on Jared’s face made it impossible to answer, let alone concentrate enough to hear anything outside the apartment.
    “What are you going to do with that?” he demanded of Emery.
    Emery flipped the blade out. “I said to not speak,” he reminded Jared.
    “Like hell!” Jared lurched off the sofa.
    I stepped in front of Emery. Jared plowed into me, bouncing backward as if hitting a cement wall. My hands shot out, grasping him by the biceps so he wouldn’t tumble to the floor. He gaped at me, speechless.
    “I won’t hurt her,” Emery assured calmly, although I did detect irritation in his voice. He produced a bottle of cleaning solution from the backpack. “We need to get the bullet out of her and lodged where it would logically be.” He took a small package of white cloth handkerchiefs from the backpack. “Cassidy’s life will be in grave danger if evidence doesn’t measure up or is left behind. Jared, you are to do exactly what I tell you.” He flipped a chair around for me. “Cassidy.”
    I sat down. Emery picked up the knife and ordered Jared: “Watch these three.” He gestured toward each man with the blade. “Speak up if any of them start to come to.”
    Emery hooked the collar of my V-neck shirt with a finger and eased it over the bullet wound. The metal butt protruded from my shoulder like a cork in a wine bottle, thick blood burbling around it.
    “Hold your shirt back,” Emery said.
    I collected the fabric, watching Jared. Confusion, fear, and panic mingled on his face.
    “Don’t watch,” I forced out around the lump in my throat. I didn’t want him to know what a freak I was. He had seen enough already.
    Emery wedged the tip of the knife under the bullet. Jared’s eyes grew even wider with horror, but he didn’t intervene. My cheeks burned with humiliation. Why hadn’t he listened to me?
    “She can’t feel this,” Emery assured and repeated his order. “Turn around and keep an eye on your assailants.”
    As Jared complied, I wondered if Emery had told him to do this to save me from additional embarrassment. No , I decided, as the bullet popped free. He’s just being efficient.
    “Jared, listen carefully—” Emery said as he slid on latex gloves. “You and I were alone in the apartment, in your room.” He doused a handkerchief with the cleaning solution. “You answered the door and were attacked. Seconds later, I came out, in the mask, swinging the hockey stick.” He meticulously cleaned the bullet. “ I took these men out. Me. Put your hand out, Cassidy.” He dropped the bullet into my palm and walked toward the gunman. Now I knew why he’d asked me to wear gloves. “As I was freeing you from the duct tape, I called my dad.” He stepped over the thug and faced Jared’s bedroom, evaluating. “He is out front now, waiting for me to text him to come in. We were in shock, not thinking straight, and were afraid to leave the apartment. Not an implausible reaction for the average teenager. Cassidy, come here.”
    While I did what he asked, Emery continued talking. “When the police arrive with my dad, I’ll do the talking. You nod and confirm everything I say. Do not offer any information. Cassidy, that picture—” He pointed to a print at the entrance to the hallway, of a Victorian girl holding a kitten. “Throw the bullet through it, full force. A nine millimeter bullet would travel approximately 650 miles per hour when fired, so don’t hold back.”
    “In front of Jared?” I whispered.
    Emery threw up his hands in exasperation, and motioned to all the reasons around us why I shouldn’t still care about what Jared witnessed.
    “Time is of the essence,” he reminded, stepping back to give me space. “Jared, do not move from that spot.”
    Pulling my arm back, I