Secure Desire Read online

  “You can’t have them, Mom,” Ian chuckled.

  Lillian’s eyebrow rose in response. “Ian Chase, Cassie has questions. After she wakes up from her nap, you will go in there and answer them. Cassie needs to know the rest of last night’s story. She needs to know why she didn’t get her test. And, yes, I know she forgets. You will keep answering her. We’ll add to the reminder book.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You were the first person she asked for, Ian. Pete and Jamie, after you change the dressing, get some rest. I will hang the second unit of blood and stay with Cassie.”

  Ian moved to wrap his arms around his mother, “I’m sorry, Mom, I should have called you sooner.”

  Ian’s phone beeped while he sat at the pool house table. He snuck out onto the patio in stealth mode. “Mia, what have you got?”

  “I’m heading toward Market Street with a tail. Two white males, white Honda Accord. California plate: six, Lincoln, King, Ida, two-four-nine.”

  “Tony, you there?” Ian turned the discussion into a three-way call.

  “Nice plan, Ian,” Tony said. “Mia, head west. We’ll pick them up on Thirty-Third. Turn right on Broadway.”

  “Roger that. I have it from Broadway. I’m about seven minutes out. Ian, I spoke with the cemetery business manager. A well-dressed bald man stopped by yesterday afternoon with medical examiner credentials. The manager explained he needed a court order to exhume the baby. He knows the baby is still interred. I get the feeling this is unrelated to the other attempt. Whoever he is, he’s good. He was a ghost. The cameras picked up nothing. The tapes from the first attempt were recorded over. Is everything okay there?”

  “Mia, we’ll talk when you get to home base. Tony, she’s all yours.”

  Before Tony disconnected, he said, “I’ll get a sketch artist out there, and we’ll take a second look at the security cameras.”

  “Pull traffic and ATM cameras around the cemetery.”

  “In progress,” Tony replied.

  Ian headed up to the main house to meet with the FBI director and Cassie’s bureau chief before Wilds arrived.

  Greg Wilds pulled up to the main house at 9:00 a.m. sharp. Kieran met him at the front door and escorted him to the study where Ian sat waiting.

  “Where is she?” Wilds demanded, turning on his heel when Kieran blocked his retreat. “I’m not playing your games, Chase. Where is Cassie Modine?”

  Kieran shoved him toward a chair. “Sit. You are in no position to demand anything. We need to talk first.”

  Greg Wilds sat while Kieran remained immovable at the door, and Ian moved to the seat opposite Wilds. “We have some questions first.” Ian played a snippet of the recording from the waiting room.

  Wilds’ lip curled in a snarl. “Son of a bitch. You bugged us. You can’t use that recording.”

  “Explain.” Ian played some of the other sordid bits from the com tapes.

  “I don’t owe you any explanation. How I deal with my team is my business.”

  “Using sexual harassment and abuse as a motivator? Tell me about your visit to her place.”

  “What did the ice princess say? She says I touched her?”

  “And if she did?” Kieran demanded.

  “I’d call her a liar. No one will take her word over mine. Besides, who would be interested in that? She’s chewed on like an old bone.”

  Ian clenched his jaw to hold on to his last strand of calm. He knew Cassie’s scars were only visible without clothing. “Do you remember what I told you years ago over the body of a dead Marine? Your arrogance would be your downfall. Director Samuels and Paul Yates will be meeting us in half an hour to speak with you. We have some time to fill. Tell me about the op. How did you put her in that difficult position?”

  “None of us knew she would get in trouble taking a pee. It was supposed to be a typical BS rubber chicken dinner. No muss, no fuss. Who the hell knew Ames was psychotic?”

  “I want to hear about the op itself. Not Ames,” Kieran said.

  “Fine. Three weeks before the dinner, Bynum’s camp received a credible threat. He balked at the suggested extra security. The decision was made to stay close to the senator. The analysts said the best marks to give up their seats were the Bynum kid and his girlfriend. Rumor has it the kid has daddy issues. We created an offer for Phyllis Wilson: a couple’s weekend at some hot spa hotel. As the ticket holder, we even arranged for the $100,000 ticket refund.”

  Ian’s expression remained unchanged. The same amount for the Maddox transfer.

  “We substituted Cassie into one empty spot,” Wilds said.

  “Did you buy her ticket or just tell the charity to give it to you?” Ian asked.

  “What the hell does that matter?”

  “It’s a hole that could blow her cover,” Ian said.

  “Chase, you know that didn’t matter. The target would be the only one who cared. Why would he look?”

  “Are you always that careless?” Ian retorted.

  “My people didn’t need a babysitter. Cassie knew her job.”

  “And the seating arrangements?” Kieran asked.

  “Not my fault she lost her focus because her ex was at the table. She was the idiot who turned her com off. It’s on her.”

  Kieran huffed. “You knew Whitman was her ex? How come she didn’t get the updated list? None of the Whitmans were on the guest list at all.”

  “Half the guests there knew about the ex. Not my fault she couldn’t hack it. As far as the list and the table change, I guess it was an omission on my part she didn’t get the memo. I have to say it was fun to watch.”

  “You set her up to throw her off her game—to make her look bad. I knew you could be vindictive, but I never thought you would risk one of your own operators. You knew she was in the bathroom. You knew you were down two, and you knew the com didn’t carry in there. You knew she was silent for too long, yet you left her out there without backup.”

  “Oh, please, Chase, you can’t have it both ways. Either she can do the job, or she can’t. Here’s the situation: the ice princess had a job to do, period. Whitman is lovestruck, and his wife blows a gasket. Hell, even pregnant, that woman was hot. That would be some catfight. Nothing mattered to her; Modine shut him down. Hell, you almost fucked her on the dance floor. Real smooth, Chase, but she shut you down quick enough too. The Ames kid was all over her—all night. We saw his touchy-feely act. I wasn’t going to call an op because she was uncomfortable. The kid was tenacious. I thought he cooled off when Whitman Sr. put him in his place. I didn’t know Ames would field dress her.”

  Ian lunged for his throat. Wilds stepped out of his grasp. “And after he did, you tried to cover your ass. You wished her dead. How could you do that?” Ian’s eyes turned black with rage.

  “She should have offered to screw him—then I bet he would have let her be. It might even thaw her out a bit. That girl needs a huge hard one.”

  Ian circled around him and opened the door. “Kieran, I need you to deal with this. Wilds, you say one more word—and I will make sure you never live to see another day.” He slammed the door. Wilds kept laughing.

  Kieran moved in front of Wilds. “If you have one piece of decency left, I need you to think very hard. You are aware of the subsequent attempts on Cassie’s life in the hospital?”

  “What? You think I did that?”

  “Did you?”

  “No, you’re out of your mind! If Mother Nature took its course—and she died, that was one thing. Now enough. I want to see her. Where do you have her stashed?”

  “I need to know who you involved in your search for her.”

  “Did you lose her?”

  “Answer the question. There was another attempt made on Cassie's life.”

  “Damn, Chase. I teased her maybe too much, but I wouldn’t. God. I called in Critical Incident Intelligence and an operational team. We put men on the estate, your office, the Paulsens, and Sophie. Your people kept us busy, but we figu
red she was one of two places—here or the building in DC. So, which one, Chase?”

  “When did you pull them?” Kieran asked. That added at least thirty more people to check out.

  “We pulled them the week after your brother abducted her from the hospital. Us working stiffs don’t have unlimited budgets.”

  Who were the people tailing the family after the FBI pulled back? Kieran wondered.

  FBI Director Donald Samuels and Paul Yates were sitting with Luke Paulsen, watching a live feed from the den. “Damn. Sorry, Chase. I knew things were bad. He will have his hearing. I was thinking a transfer and demotion, but with this, coupled with the subsequent reports from the rest of the team, I’ll recommend termination. Everyone else is looking at suspensions, retraining, and transfers, but they’ll keep their jobs.”

  Ian shut off the audio. “I’ll give you a copy.”

  Luke scowled. “The bigger problem is whether it was an accidental or purposeful leak?”

  “We need to interview our people and Sophie,” Ian said.

  Yates frowned. “There’ve been some developments on our end. Between our people and Bailey on your end, we’ve been fortunate with the press. At least until last night.”

  Samuels handed Ian and Luke a file. “Seems Cassie’s story is a tabloid dream, and Ian—I’m sure you’ve heard ‘Beltway Billionaire’ a few times. An exposé is supposed to run on Wednesday in the Washington District News. This is going to get ugly. A lot of unwanted attention. Think about it: sex, money, politics, and murder. The story suggests a sordid love triangle since Metro confirmed Ames was one of her attackers six years ago. Our legal folks think we can get some preventative traction using the rape shield laws.”

  Ian shook his head. “I’ll notify my legal team. Let it run. If you stop it, you confirm the sexual assault. Perhaps some politician will be found cheating with her best friend’s husband and throw us off the front page.”

  Samuels bit his lip. “I understand. With Ames dead, we won’t be able to get answers from him about why he attacked her. Did she give him any idea she recognized him?”

  “To the contrary, she apologized for not remembering him. We think he intended to assault her. He only stabbed her when she fought,” Ian said.

  “What does she say?” Samuels asked.

  “She’s still in a precarious condition. I haven’t asked her yet,” Ian admitted.

  “We may never know. It’s obvious, with the latest attempts, there are more interests involved,” Yates said.

  “Detective Andy Blake will be by in an hour. I can see what he says. My team has spent a lot of time searching for anything Cassie and Ames had in common.”

  Ian sat in his home office sorting through the pages of Cassie’s police file. The close-up photographs and physical examination report sickened him. The attack was more brutal than he imagined. Maybe it’s good she doesn’t remember much. His phone interrupted his thoughts. “Chase.”

  “It’s Mia. We have two in custody. Hired help. Money was dropped in a trash can with directions to dig up and destroy the baby. Original contact was made with a note under a motel door. I’ve got tech pulling video from the area, but I’m not holding out for much.”

  “Did they rob the grave?”

  “Yeah, we found the casket in the trunk.”

  “Sweet Jesus. Did they realize they had the wrong baby?”

  “They were planning on going back tonight.”

  “How were they supposed to provide proof?”

  “The baby’s ankle bracelet.”

  Ian gritted his teeth. “Convince them it would be in their best interest to cooperate. Get them a tag and let them make the drop.”

  “I’ll keep you posted.”

  After Cassie awoke from another nightmare, Lillian helped her change from her perspiration-soaked gown. “A little baby powder and sunlight will make you feel better. How about a delicious shake?”

  Cassie tried to drink it. “I’m scared, Lil.”

  “Doll, you are as safe as can be here with top-notch security. Hunter Montgomery and your boys are the best. Don’t tell the big galoots I said so.”

  Cassie forced a smile as she sipped. “I’m not scared of that. I’m scared of me. My brain is playing tricks. I’m all over the place. Nothing makes sense. I can’t tell what memories or nightmares are. Look what I did to Eric.”

  Lillian raised her brow. “Is that all?”

  Cassie frowned. “Look around. All this care. All this attention from everyone. I don’t deserve this.”

  Lillian opened a yogurt. “From everyone? Or just one someone?”

  Cassie stared out the window. “Everyone is so good to me. I can’t believe my whole family is here, but, yes, ma’am, I don’t understand what Ian sees in me.”

  “Stop being so hard on yourself, Cassie. You sustained severe physical trauma. More than one. You were in a coma. You almost died on more than one occasion. Your brain needs some time to recover.”

  Cassie said, “I don’t understand.”

  Lillian sat on a stool beside her. “Your heart stopped four times. You were unconscious for more than a month. You fought off life-threatening infections, and they were with you the whole way. These men care about you. They’re attached to you, and Ian thinks the world of you. Why wouldn’t you deserve their care?”

  Cassie sighed. “Ian is such a good man. Too good. How could he want someone like me?”

  Lillian stood. “That is a question to ask Ian. I can tell you the heart wants what it wants. Here’s a question for you to think about, think with the logical brain hiding in there. No conditions—just a straight yes or no.” Lillian ran her hand through Cassie’s hair. “Would you like Ian in your life?”

  “Yes.” Tears filled her eyes.

  The ambulance carrying Martin pulled up at the pool house at the same time Declan arrived with Sophie, both vehicles under heavy escort. Tucker walked alongside Martin’s stretcher. “Home sweet home, for a few days.”

  Martin looked up at her window. “I’m fine. Just tell me Cassie is all right.”

  Tucker smiled. “She’s safe. We need to worry about you. Heads don’t mix well with the A-frame of a Navigator. You were out for four hours. You have a gash on your forehead that took some plastic surgery so you wouldn’t look like Frankenstein. Another chunk was taken out of your forearm, and both your thighs are purple. We need to put you on an anticoagulant and watch for clots.”

  Declan assisted Sophie out of the car. “Mr. Chase, I didn’t know. Is Martin okay?”

  “Nothing a little sleep won’t cure, Sophie. Come inside.” Declan grasped her elbow for support. Once inside, he settled her on the living room couch.

  Ian joined her. “Hey, Soph. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m so sorry, Ian. I never saw it coming. All of a sudden, there was a hand around my neck, then a needle stick. What did they give me?”

  “Sodium amytal.”

  “What if I told them she was here?” Sophie asked.

  “Don’t worry, Sophie. Right now, I want you to rest, either here or up at the main house. We’ll all get together and talk about things at a family dinner.”

  Cassie became very distraught when she saw the ambulance unload Martin. She wanted to know everything.

  Sean explained he’d been in a car accident but avoided explaining why the accident occurred. “Think of it as another patient for company. As soon as he can have visitors, you can visit him.”

  Cassie jumped at the sound of the door.

  “Hey, sweetheart.” Ian kissed her on top of her head, and Cassie reached for his hand. “Detectives Andy Blake and Javier Ruiz are here to speak with you. Are you up for talking?”

  Andy and Javier shook her brothers’ hands as they left the room, and Kieran followed the detectives into the room. “Cassie, this is my brother Kieran.”

  Kieran smiled. “Hi, Cassie. I don’t want to upset you. Would it be okay if I stayed to listen?”

  “I guess.”


  “You’re safe, sweetheart. No one will hurt you.”

  “Hi, Cassie. I’m Andy. Do you remember me?” Javier stood against the wall.

  “Hi, Andy and Javi.”

  “We are investigating your attack at the Four Seasons. Cassie, there are no wrong answers. Don’t worry about anything you say. Can you tell us what you remember?”

  Cassie looked at each of the men in the room. When panicked eyes met Ian’s, he gave her an approving nod. “I’m not sure. Some things don’t make sense to me.”

  “It’s okay, Cassie. Just tell us what you can,” Andy encouraged.

  “I was assigned to a protection detail for Senator Robert Bynum. His aide, Sebastian Ames, was seated next to me.” She tried to move her right hand, still bound to her body to protect her shoulder. “There was something about him. I couldn’t place it. My gut said something was off, but I had a job to do. I put the feeling away. Everything was off.”

  “How so?” Andy asked.

  Cassie sighed. “The Whitmans and Ian and Monique were unexpected. My supervisor was unprofessional. And Ames—all night long, he kept touching me. I warned him off, but he didn’t seem to understand no. I was becoming unfocused, angry and anxious. I made the decision to report my boss immediately after the dinner. And, Ian…god, Ian. For five minutes, I was a princess. I wanted to grab your hand and run. But I had a job to do.”

  Cassie stared off into space. “After dessert, Ames pinched my thigh. I think he did it to provoke me. I decided to go to the restroom to regroup, wanting to put a plan together to get rid of Ames and not blow my cover with Bynum. That was my tactical mistake; I knew better. We were down two agents. Before I got there, though, I started to feel sick and threw up. I told myself it would only be a little longer. When I opened the stall, Ames was standing there and asked me if I remembered him. At the beginning of the night, he said we met at Houseman’s Pub years ago.