Secure Desire Read online

  Secure Desire

  CHASE SECURITY BOOK #1

  R.L. DUNN

  Copyright © 2018 R.L. Dunn.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. This book explores adult themes and triggers. Reader discretion is advised.

  Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

  Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Deposit photos are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

  * * *

  Certain stock imagery © Deposit photos

  RL Dunn Publishing Services rev. date: 06/22/2020

  Edited by: Krista Venero/Mountains Wanted Publishing & Indie Author Services

  Cover by: Mountains Wanted Publishing & Indie Author Services

  Created with Vellum

  To my family, who keeps me grounded and reminds me every day what it’s like to be loved.

  To my friends who helped me find inspiration—even at 3:00 a.m.

  To KK, my assistant, without whom, none of this would have been possible.

  And to our first responders, military and civilian, home and abroad without whom none of us would be free.

  PS: To Krista, all my thanks.

  Contents

  Cast List

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Untitled

  Books by RL Dunn

  Cast List

  Ian “Hornet” Chase-President/CEO

  Jason “Puddycat” Sylvester, Ret. Green Beret, chauffeur and bodyguard for Ian Chase

  Esther, Ret. Master of Arms Navy, Ian’s secretary

  * * *

  Kieran “Genius” Chase-Vice President/COO/Head of Alpha Team, MBA

  Monique Lillie, Wife

  Colby “Cowboy” Winter Ret. Delta Force, bodyguard to Monique Chase

  Rear Admiral Declan Chase JD, Ian and Kieran’s Father

  Lillian Chase, Ian and Kieran’s Mother, CCRN

  * * *

  Eagle’s Talon Alpha Team-Founders of Chase Security

  Martin “Farmer” Bailey Executive Officer - USNR Chief Petty Officer, Navy SEAL

  Mike “Raptor” Johnson, Bravo Team Leader - USAF Reserve Major

  Tate “Dictionary” Webster - USNR Senior Chief Petty Officer, Navy SEAL, Operations Manager. DC Division Chase Security

  Julian “Smooth” Dupart - USNR Lt. Commander, Spec Ops Combat Medic, Navy SEAL

  Zachary “Ice” Wentworth - USNR Lt. Commander, Navy SEAL

  Kip “Acrobat” Brennan - USNR Lt. Navy SEAL

  Bruce “Bean” Steele - USNR Petty Officer Navy SEAL

  Kyle “Coop” Cooper - USNR Petty Officer Navy SEAL Medic

  Wesley “Alamo” Crockett - Paramedic USNR Lt Navy SEAL, Spec Ops Combat Medic

  Matteo “Macho Man” Martinez - USNR Petty Officer Navy SEAL

  Rich “Tiny Tim” Parry - USNR Petty Officer, Navy SEAL

  Troy “Greece” Bremen - USNR Lt. Commander Navy SEAL

  Tighe “Tiger” Cummings - USNR Lieutenant, Navy SEAL

  Ford “Fury” Cox - USNR Lt. Navy SEAL

  Lincoln “Bear” Collier - USNR Chief Petty Officer

  * * *

  Chase Legal

  Mr. Brock Carpenter, JD

  * * *

  Chase Ventures

  Mr. Vaughn Hanna, MBA, CPA, FCA

  * * *

  Chase Medical

  Hunter Montgomery, MD, FACS - Retired Captain USN

  Pete “Boston” Walter, RPA-C - Retired Senior Staff Sergeant USAF Pararescueman

  Tucker “Friar” Hanlon, RPA-C - Retired Staff Sergeant USAF Pararescueman

  Jamie “Irish” O’Reilly, RPA-C - Retired Staff Sergeant USAF Pararescueman

  Eric “Savior” Seton, RPA-C - Retired Staff Sergeant USAF Pararescueman

  * * *

  Technical Analysis Division

  Tiki Milton

  Brett Collins

  * * *

  Cassiopeia Ellis Modine

  Billy and Sarah Ellis, Cassie’s deceased parents

  Thomas Ellis, Cassie’s deceased brother

  Luke Paulsen, Cassie Modine’s guardian, FBI Deputy Assistant Director

  Rachel Paulsen, Cassie Modine’s guardian, Luke’s wife

  Christian Paulsen, son of Luke and Rachael, Navy SEAL

  Caleb Paulsen, son of Luke and Rachael, Navy SEAL

  Noah Paulsen, son of Luke and Rachael, Navy SEAL

  Frank Paulsen, son of Luke and Rachael, Navy SEAL

  Sean Paulsen, son of Luke and Rachael, Navy SEAL

  * * *

  FBI Staff

  Greg Wilds, Cassie’s temporary boss, FBI Supervisory Special Agent

  Quinn Marcus, FBI Special Agent

  Vincent Cruz, FBI Special Agent

  Preston Galloway, FBI Special Agent

  Hector Villanueva, FBI Special Agent

  Brice Walton, FBI Special Agent

  Donald Samuels, FBI Director

  Paul Yates, FBI Bureau Chief Art and Cultural Property Crime Division

  Steve Naughton, Cassie’s FBI partner

  Sophie Garland, FBI Analyst, Cassie’s best friend

  Additional Characters

  Bradford Whitman, lobbyist/lawyer

  Adrienne Whitman, wife

  Garett Whitman, son, lawyer, Cassie’s former fiancé

  Cheyenne Whitman, Garett’s wife

  Robert Bynum Sr., Senator VA

  Betty Bynum, wife of Robert Bynum Sr.

  Robert Bynum Jr., son

  Monte Wickham, Robert Bynum Sr.’s fixer

  Phyllis Wilson, girlfriend of Robert Bynum Jr.

  Sebastian Ames, press ai
de to Senator Bynum, lawyer

  Alexander Marshall, Superior Court judge

  Claudia Marshall, Alexander’s wife

  Burt Marshall, son of Claudia and Alexander

  Kevin Tyler, friend

  Ray Hedgecock, construction manager

  Mark Devereaux, COO, Ellis Art Finds

  Franny Penn, restaurant hostess at La Luna/hairdresser

  Susie Tanner, kidnap victim

  Terry Fields, Ian’s friend and CIA analyst

  Stephanie Rogers, Cassie’s therapist

  Ellen and Sam, Chase estate managers

  Nikki Hanlon, Ret USAF Captain, helicopter pilot, Tuck’s wife

  Arkady Sabatov, Russian businessman/Bratva

  Vicktor Sabitov, Arkady’s brother

  Irina Sabitov, Victor’s wife

  Vera Liukin Radiologist, Irina’s sister

  Borz Dudeyev, thug

  Anton Maronov, thug

  Lom Umarov, thug

  David Sucov, Arkady’s assistant

  Joseph Dowling, Army Navy Club security

  Ted, front desk Army Navy Club

  * * *

  Metropolitan Police

  Detective Andy Blake

  Detective Javier Juiz

  * * *

  Hospital Staff

  Kyle Jones, ER physician

  Angie Sommers, OR nurse

  Joe Maddox, Chief of Surgery

  Jack Parker, ICU Intensivist

  Julio Castronieves, anesthesiologist

  Pamela Barnes, surgical RN, Hunter’s live-in

  Dave Newman, orderly

  Jerry Stevens, ICU patient

  Barbara, Nurse Manager

  Kelly Cassie’s, ICU nurse

  Dr. Woodruff, obstetrician

  Chapter One

  “To hell with the bastard. He doesn’t own your right to come here. Look at the sights you’re missing.” Sophie pointed to two handsome men working on laptops. “They’re serious eye candy.”

  “You’re right, Soph. Maybe it is time.”

  Sophie turned serious. “Cass, you have to say something. You can’t let Wilds get away with this.”

  “Look, I stopped him before he got too far. If I report it, it’s ‘he said, she said.’ And, Soph, believe me, I’m not the first female agent Wilds has done this to.”

  Sophie scowled. “You can live with that?”

  “This time, I have no choice. I am not the one to fight this battle. Wednesday night is the event, and when the job is complete, I’ll be free of him. I can come back to our division. Besides, the reality is, even without my personal history, if I say anything, I’m a pariah.”

  The athletically thin, raven-haired woman with golden-hazel eyes tapped her fiery red fingernails against the tabletop. “Cassie, please. If this were happening to me, you’d be rattling sabers, screaming sexual harassment.”

  “Wilds has a lot of power. You know the FBI is part of the good ole boys club. I had to jump through extra hoops to get where I am. It’s a temporary assignment.” Her voice was low. “No one will help without it backfiring on them. I can’t ask anyone to risk his or her career.” She placed the catalog of Nouveau Art in front of them, effectively changing the topic. “What do you say, after Memorial Day, a weekend in New York?”

  Suddenly, Cassie’s skin prickled. A repellant smell swarmed her senses: an oriental cologne with amber notes mixed with sweat and clove cigarettes. An overpowering feeling of nausea washed over her, and goosebumps erupted down her arms. The visceral reaction was so strong, she wrapped her fingers around her cup to ward off the icy feeling enveloping her.

  She scanned the area. No one appeared threatening or familiar. The aroma dissipated into a cloud of steam from a fresh latté. She concentrated hard to maintain her flagging self-control. Breathe in. One, two, three. Out.

  Cassie focused on her watch. “I’m sorry. Gotta go.” She ran out the door.

  The hot black coffee scalded his tongue. He ran his thin fingers through his messy white-blond hair while his other hand reached for another sugar packet. His heart sped up after spotting Cassie in the corner with her friend. A display of the newest bestsellers provided him with a way to get closer.

  Mmm, Cassiopeia Ellis. Look at you all put together. You look a lot better than the last time I saw you, my girl who got away. I think you are worth a repeat performance. He felt the tingles of arousal. I wonder if you will come willingly this time—or if you will require some assistance.

  Another thought crossed his drug-addled mind: Maybe I can make a little cash on the deal too? Cassiopeia Ellis, I missed you.

  Inside a cheerful family den, Ian Chase sat relaxed on the buttery yellow, red, and colonial blue-striped overstuffed couch across from FBI Deputy Assistant Director Luke Paulsen. He removed a file from his briefcase.

  “Everyone all right?” Luke asked, taking a sip from a glass of ice water.

  “A few scrapes and a sprained knee. Nothing steri-strips, and some ice packs can’t cure.” Ian flashed a carefree smile, being less than candid about his team’s injuries.

  Luke scanned the file’s contents. “How’s Kieran enjoying married life? It’s been almost a year now?” he inquired about Ian’s younger brother with a laugh. “Bet Lil and Declan can’t wait for a grandchild.”

  “You know it. Now they are in a Find Ian a Wife phase. Mom’s better at executing a covert mission than JSOC. I have to tell you; enemy insurgents are easier to handle than her. Thank God, Esther screens my appointments well. If one more woman stops by the office with a charitable cause to discuss or is in the neighborhood with cookies...”

  Luke shook his head, amused. “I should hook her up with Rachel. None of the boys have a regular girl. Each promised to give her one week’s notice so she can get a dress in time for the wedding.”

  Both men laughed. Their discussion was interrupted by the loud barks of the Paulsens’ Labrador.

  Cassie drove up to the six-bedroom, four-story, white Federalist home in Georgetown in her metallic blue hybrid. The clapboard house with terraced porches overlooking the landscaped backyard brought her a sense of peace. After the haunting deaths of her parents and younger brother twelve years earlier, Luke and Rachel Paulsen became her guardians. The sixteen-year-old Cassie was treated as their daughter and a sister to the Paulsens’ five sons.

  During a quick walk up the cobblestone front path, Cassie noted her Uncle Luke’s black FBI-issued Chevrolet Tahoe in the driveway. She also noticed two black sedans parked five hundred feet down the block with two occupants in each vehicle.

  Cassie needed to talk through the bookstore incident before dinner and before her Aunt Rachel came home from her job as a social worker in a DC elementary school. But first, she needed to discuss the suspicious vehicles. That thought short-circuited when she saw a sharp, expensive Ducati Diavel motorcycle parked at the top of the driveway.

  A big black Lab greeted her in the foyer with leaps, barks, and squeals. “Knight, down.”

  In his excitement, the lumbering, hundred-pound dog knocked Cassie off-balance. “Damn.” She landed hard on her bottom, the bottle of wine in her hand, almost hitting the floor.

  “Cassie? Are you okay?” Luke called out.

  She yelled back over the barking, “I’m fine, Uncle Luke. Just my pride, but I saved the wine.” As she got up, Knight lifted her holster off her waist with his big jaws. “Knight, I’m going to kill you. Stop. It’s a good thing you’re cute. Knight, freeze!”

  Cassie ran headlong into the den behind the naughty dog just in time to see Knight drop her slobbered-on weapon into the lap of the man sitting across from her uncle. Cassie pulled to a halt, almost dropping the wine again. “Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry.” She was flustered by the man’s presence.

  He seemed unfazed by the spit-soaked holster. “I’m guessing this belongs to you?” The man managed to catch the wine and hand her the weapon at the same time. His electric blue eyes widened.

  Cassie couldn’t find her v
oice. The clean-shaven man—sitting there in jeans and a fitted navy-blue sweater stretched across a muscular chest, exposing a smattering of black hair with sleeves rolled to his elbows—looked magazine-cover handsome.

  “Thank you.” Cassie wiped the holster against her silky parachute pants and hooked it back on her hip, unable to take her eyes from his.

  Luke Paulsen moved around the couch to pull her into a bear hug. “Pumpkin! You’re early. I thought you were hanging with Sophie. Not that I am unhappy you’re here.” He pressed her back with outstretched arms. “Are you eating? You look too thin.”

  Cassie winced from embarrassment. “Yes, sir. I’m eating. I didn’t mean to interrupt your meeting.”

  Ian observed Luke’s worried gaze. Now standing, the six-foot-three-inch Adonis watched Cassie with a spark in his eye. The memory from six years ago flooded back to him. Auburn waves were pulled into a demure low bun, dressed in a vintage Halston ombré silk dress and sleek navy Valentino peep-toe heels. Her vibrant, jungle green eyes glowed as brightly as her smile.