"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying not to panic. Kyle's tone of how he acused me of being part of The Legion told me he definitely didn't have good news.
"Brook, I can't tell you right now but I'll fill you in on everything once we get to The Office." Kyle said, completely ignoring me. The tension in the car shifted immediately as Brook sat up a little straighter, and the driver locked my door. I felt guilty and trapped in a corner, even though I hadn't done anything bad.
The drive to The Office was long, and once we got there, Brook escorted me to a very secured room as if I was a stranger. A guard patted me down and checked if I had any gear on except for the comms. After a few minutes, Kyle walked in, looking anywhere but at me. I wasn't scared of being accused of whatever he was talking about because I was innocent, but hurt beyond measure that his trust to me was so little.
He slammed a few files onto the steel table in the center of the room, and a guard stood by the door with arms crossed. It reminded me of how suspects get interrogated in a room where policemen could see what was going on through a screen.
"Are those the files you obtained?" Brook asked, and Kyle nodded. Mikey entered the room just then, and wrapped an arm around his grieving sister.
"Let me tell you one thing, Cass," Kyle said, finally looking at me, but with an unfriendly stare. "Your mom is part of The Legion."
I sighed, hating to admit the fact. But what I couldn't understand was, how?
"Well, technically, she was part of The Shadow Legion." I looked at him with a questioning glance. "She left The Legion when she was 23, but her memory was wiped. So your mom doesn't have a clue that The Legion exists. But you already knew that, didn't you?"
I glared at Kyle. "No! I didn't, because I don't know anything! And I'm not part of The Legion, just because my mom was part of it. The Legion wants something from me, remember?"
"How do we know it wasn't a trap?" Mikey added.
"Why would I lead you to the headquarters and make you get the information that would give me away?"
"You didn't think we were this good, so you thought we wouldn't be able to get the information before we had to flee." Brook jumped in to the full-out accusation war.
"You were the one who said not to underestimate your opponenents."
"Well, someone tipped The Legion off, there's no way they could have acted that quickly."
I shrugged. "There are thirty people in on this case, it could have been anyone. Besides, maybe they snuck in a miniature voice recording mechanic somewhere."
Mikey looked offended. "I'm 100% sure that that isn't the case. And everyone here is trustworthy."
I turned to Kyle. "This obviously isn't adding up. What is it that makes you think I'm part of The Legion?"
Kyle studied me for a few seconds. "Roselle is your aunt, your mom's little sister. Roselle is infertile, and your mom left The Legion, so naturally, you're the next heir to The Legion." I looked at Kyle for a few seconds.
I willed myself to think clearly. "Why...why isn't Auden the next heir? He's the oldest."
"The organization gets take down by the women in the family."
"But..." I started. I felt light headed, and I had to sit down so I wouldn't fall down.
"Cass?" Kyle said, sounding worried even though he was thinking I was the enemy.
Somehow, even if my mom had been part of The Legion, I always thought I was outside of the business, it was just that they wanted something from me. But now that I was the heir...well...I was very much inside.
"But...why would they kidnap me? They could just...slowly influence me or something."
I could feel the accusation in Kyle's voice slowly start to fade away. "That's what makes it complicated. Most leaders of The Legion are grown with The Legion, taught to think and act like them, but obviously that isn't the case with you. But The Legion isn't after you just because you're the heir. They also want information from you. Giselle, your mom, stole a massive amount of files before she left, one of them including a list of people in many of their enemy groups. She was apparently a rebel and was against everything The Legion believed, probably destroyed all the information she stole, but then she wiped her memory, so apparently no one knows what exactly happened to the files. But the only reason why your mom was allowed to leave was because Roselle wanted to be the leader, and also her family cared for her too much to just kill her off."
"So, what's the information they thought I might have?"
"They think you might remember some things of your past, and when they kidnapped you their plan was to keep you for a long time, and slowly ease you into The Legion. Kill two birds with one stone."
"But then why are they working with the Rhodes?"
"The Rhodes are just a pawn in their game. They both want similar things, so they're working together temporarily."
I sat still for a few minutes, just letting the information soak into my shocked brain. I didn't notice Brook and Mikey leave during our conversation, but Kyle sat next to me, and we were alone in the room.
"You're not part of The Shadow Legion then?" He asked softly.
I suddenly understood why he had thought I was part of The Legion, and the feeling of needing to persuade him I had nothing to do with it surfaced. "No! I promise you...you can ask me anything...I swear I'm not."
"Okay." He breathed sounding defeated, "I believe you."
"Kyle, I'm not sure..." A voice came from the speakers in the room, and I realized people were listening in on us.
"It's okay. I trust her." He responded, and they didn't reply.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Kyle said, and I stood up numbly, following him out of the hateful room.
* * * * *
My legs travelled as my mind was practically unconscious, barely being able to think of anything. Suddenly I was sitting in Kyle's livivng room, with a can of root beer in my hands. Kyle plopped down next to me, holding a bottle of coke.
"I would have offered you real beer...but I know how you can't tolerate that."
I shook my head at him, not being able to feel the humor I would have usually felt when he joked like that.
"Look, I'm sorry I suddenly accused you like that. You have to understand, I've been taught not to trust anyone my entire life, and when there was a chance I couldn't trust you, I panicked....because I...I trust you more than I should."
I looked at him through my lashes. "What do you mean, more than you should?"
Kyle groaned softly, "don't make me elaborate."
I edged closer to him. "But I don't understand."
"It means I like you," he paused, "and I couldn't stand the idea of having to turn against you."
My heart rate sped up, and I could feel myself wanting to edge closer, to build up the tension. "And what do you mean when you say you like me?"
Kyle obviously took the hint of my flirting tone. "It means I'm dying to close this distance between us."
"Then why don't you?"
Suddenly Kyle's lips were against mine. Our lips moved against each other like they were going to war, fighting for dominance. I hadn't realized exactly how much I wanted to kiss him, but now that I was, I couldn't get enough. I had expected Kyle's movements to be calm, his heart rate normal, like how they usually were, but I could feel his erratic heart beats against my chest. His hands went up to my head and got tangled into my hair, and I brought my hands up to his chest, to explore his toned muscles.
Then Kyle stopped kissing me randomly, and I gasped quietly at the sudden loss of heat and touch.
"I can't do this...this isn't appropriate." He said, rushed.
"Are you kidding me? If you say it's because you're my bodyguard, I will smack you."
"It's like I'm taking advantage of you, kissing you when you're most vulnerable."
I raised a brow at him. "Are you saying I'm vulnerable? Because once again, I will smack you."
Kyle smirked at me. "I guess you're right."
Kyle's lips found mine again, but this time with much less force. His kiss was tender, as he placed his hand by my waist, scooting us closer. His lips moved to my neck, and I shivered, loving the sensation.
"You know this relationship is so cliche, right?" Kyle asked in between kisses, "the bodyguard and the billionaire?"
"I don't care," I breathed, because in all honesty, I didn't. I knew there were bigger problems, I knew this relationship might not be my best decision, but at that moment, the only thing I cared about were the soft kisses he was placing on my skin, and how long I had been waiting for this. He placed a hand gently by my jaw, his hand cupping my cheek. Our lips moved in sync, lingering after every movement, a delicate dance routine.
As I kissed him, I became aware of the fact that this was technically my first kiss. Yes, there had been that thing with Zayden, but he hadn't actually kissed me on the lips. My heart pounded even harder when I thought that for some reason. I wasn't an expert on these kinds of things, but I knew this was an amazing kiss, as far as first kisses go.
Then a bang came from the door followed by a shriek, and I looked up to see Brook looking at us with wide eyes, Mikey right next to her.
"Uh...hey guys...glad to see there's no more conflict..." Brook said, then narrowed her eyes. "Or is this one of those weird things where guys get turned on when they find out a girl is supposed to be an enemy...?"
Kyle gently scooted away, so that we weren't squished side by side. Even though I loved having him close, I appreciated him giving me space when there were other people in the room.
"No, Brook, Cass isn't part of The Shadow Legion." Though Brook's question was joking, Kyle's reply was completely serious.
He turned to me, smiling gently.
Yassss they finally kissed! I was super excited and I'm the author! I have been waiting for these stubborn kids to kiss for a loooong time tbh. Anyway, thank you for reading, let me know what you think about this thing with Cass's family's connection to the shadow legion! Thank you for reading, ily all xxx