Secure Desire Read online

  “Then everything got foggy. Not just what I remember, but…” Cassie groaned as she tried to move her right hand. Her fingers looked like little sausages. “Ames was angry. He threw something in my face and grabbed my throat. I remember trying to get free. He said he was there six years ago. My neck—he bit my neck. I felt his tongue against my skin. He said he loved my taste. He was going to assault me and… I remember struggling. I couldn’t breathe. He had a knife.” Cassie’s heart rate increased. “He stabbed me. I was dizzy. I couldn’t get away from him. Over and over, he stabbed me.” She opened her eyes and wiggled the fingers on her gloved hand. “My gun. I fired; I think. I was so tired.”

  Andy grasped her hand. “You fired twice. Your second shot killed him.”

  “I don’t feel a bit of guilt. Murderers feel that way.”

  “You are no murderer, Cassie. You are a law enforcement officer defending yourself. Given a chance, he would have killed you. What else do you remember?” Andy guided her.

  Cassie scrunched up her face as images whizzed through her mind. “He said I would bring a good price.” She rubbed her neck. “He called me a whore and a frigid bitch. He told me I was going to ruin everything. They should have killed me.” Cassie grew frantic.

  “Did he give you an idea of who they were?” Andy asked.

  “No. What was I ruining? What did I do? Why can’t I remember?” Tears fell from her eyes.

  “You need to give yourself time, and even if you don’t remember, we will keep investigating until we get your answers.” Cassie took a tissue Kieran offered and wiped her eyes.

  “I have to ask you a tough question. Ian told us about the baby,” Andy said.

  Cassie’s face went white.

  “Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” Ian said, pained.

  Cassie screamed at Ian, “There’s your proof. YA gryaznaya shlyukha. Ne brak.”

  Kieran looked at his brother. Ian shook his head but stayed quiet.

  Javier pulled an envelope from his pocket with a pen. “Cassie, I need permission to exhume William Thomas. We need a sample of his DNA.”

  “No, no, no. Please. Let him be. Haven’t I hurt him enough? I have his hair. Take it from that,” Cassie begged.

  Kieran placed his hands on the footboard of the bed, his voice soft. “Where is it, Cassie?”

  “It’s hidden in the back of my closet. There’s a compartment under a few floorboards.”

  “Cassie, your home was broken into. Christian told us you had a book. It wasn’t there,” Kieran sounded as pained as Ian.

  She curled into a ball, wrapped her left arm around herself, and rocked. Her eyes scrunched up as more tears rained down her face. “I didn’t want him to die. I swear.” Her lips quivered. “My poor little boy. You have to believe me.” The monitor alarm wailed.

  “Cassie, look at us. No one thinks the baby’s death was your fault. It was a tragedy. YOU did nothing wrong. Please, Cassie, let us try to get your answers,” Andy pleaded.

  Cassie forced herself forward and ripped the form from Javier’s hand. Grabbing at the pen with her left hand, she signed it and threw everything back at them.

  Tucker stood in the doorway. “The interview is over.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Cassie rolled to face the wall. “Please, Ian. I need some space. I can’t have you near me right now. You make me think of things that aren’t possible.”

  “Cassie?”

  “Tuck, my shoulder hurts a lot. Can I get something, please?” She lowered the head of the bed. “Ian, please.”

  Ian didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t want to harm her either. One look at Tucker’s face told him the only choice was to retreat and regroup. “I’m going now, but I won’t be gone long.”

  Lillian helped Tucker ice Cassie’s shoulder and brought Cassie the medication. “Heard you wanted this. Tough morning, huh?

  “How does your other shoulder feel? That’s a big chip you’re carrying,” Lil said.

  Cassie lifted her chin in defiance. Lillian lowered the blinds to block some of the bright sunshine filtering into the room.

  Tucker sat beside Cassie. “I don’t know why you feel you are undeserving of goodness, but you’re not. You didn’t cause this tragedy.”

  “I don’t know what or who to believe,” Cassie whispered.

  Lillian sat on the corner of the bed. “You know, when I was younger, I was a lot like you. I could do anything. I didn’t need help. My job was to take care of the whole world, to be a good girl, a good wife, and a good mother. I worried what everyone around me thought. I had responsibilities, and no mistakes were allowed.

  “When Declan and I were first married, we were stationed in Hawaii. He was deployed, and I was a Navy nurse—and a Navy Captain. With no family in Hawaii, I put Ian in base childcare.

  “That blew apart the expectations. My career was supposed to be being a devoted Naval officer’s wife. I was supposed to volunteer and attend functions in his stead. And I did, but I also worked. There were whispers behind my back. Most were about me being a bad wife and mother who ignored her duty. Hell, some of the real busybodies said it to my face. I told no one, including Declan. I would go home and cry every night after I put Ian to bed. I never shared my worries. He had a job to do, and I didn’t want to distract him.

  “It came to a head when I was pregnant with Kieran. Declan was gone so much, people speculated Kieran wasn’t his.” She gave a breathy laugh. “I was in the hospital in endless labor, and they wanted to do a Cesarean section. The baby wasn’t in distress, so I refused. The Navy flew Declan in to do something for his hysterical wife. Imagine this scene—a very dusty man in uniform walks into my room, no—marches in. Fathers were still sitting in waiting rooms then.” When Lillian smiled, Cassie saw parts of Ian in her face.

  “The minute I saw Declan, I fell apart. All the secrets roared out in a tidal wave. He climbed into the bed with me, and the nurses freaked out. Germs, you know, but neither of us cared. He held me while I sobbed. You know those snotty tears? When I had cried myself out, we talked. He told me how much he loved me. He reminded me I wasn’t alone; we were partners. My fears were his—and his were mine. That’s what marriage is all about. The truth was I needed to share my burdens. ‘Trust our love,’ he told me. Let him love and protect me.”

  Cassie remembered Ian’s words.

  “Mind you, all through this, I was having contractions. I guess the tears helped. Kieran made his grand appearance in the middle of my emotional craziness. When we came home, a huge realization struck me. There I was with two incredible, healthy boys and a man who loved me—even with all my real and perceived faults. I didn’t have to be perfect. He helped me sort out falsehoods, rumors, and see truths. What a fool I was being. All that time wasted. All that unnecessary suffering in a world shaped by what happened in the past and not living. Take it from me, Cassie. You are allowed to love yourself and be loved. You are worthy.” Lillian tucked her in.

  “Try to rest, darlin’.” Tucker leaned down, kissed the top of her head, and settled in the corner. “I’m right here if you need me.”

  “I was a distraction at the dinner. Did I make her miss Ames’ signals?” Ian told Martin what she said. “She yelled at me that she was a dirty whore. Not marriage material.”

  “Give her time, Ian. I know you have feelings for her, but you’re new to her. Slow down,” Martin said.

  “You’re right. The waters are getting muddier. She mentioned in her statement Ames said she would bring a good price. Are we looking at trafficking?”

  Martin’s eyes widened. “I know someone wants to stop her. Who knew our location? I saw the driver of the Hummer. He was wearing a balaclava. It was no accident—that truck was headed right for us.”

  “We have sightings of the truck from here through Maryland.”

  “Excuse me.” Lillian entered and removed a syringe from her pocket. “I need your belly.” When Martin frowned, she laughed. “All you warriors and a little shot u
psets you.”

  Martin sucked in his breath as she injected the med. “Thanks, Lil.”

  “Martin Bailey, you did something extraordinary last night. I thank you on behalf of my son, who sometimes forgets his manners.” She stared at her oldest son. “Ian, Martin needs to rest. Not too much longer.”

  “Yes, ma’am. And, Mom, do you want to join the company when you retire?”

  Lillian laughed, leaving them alone. Ian turned back to Martin. “We will look at who was aware of the MRI. Sophie was drugged with sodium amytal, and our guys were dosed with ether pumped in through the car AC. I assume Cassie’s location is compromised.”

  “Do you think the guy playing the ME in San Diego is our man?”

  “I do. I’m taking Christian with me to get the baby tonight. Tony should have a sketch by then. Kieran is here with the rest of the team. I want you to rest.”

  “Can you bring me a laptop at least?”

  “You need to rest.”

  Martin forced himself higher in the bed. “I’ll rest if you bring me a laptop.”

  “I’ll sneak it past Lil. Can I get you anything else before I go?”

  “Yeah, how about a beer?” Martin teased.

  “I’ll bring you some lemonade.”

  Cassie awoke in agony after a brief nap. Her entire arm and shoulder were swollen and red, and her fingers were cold.

  “Darlin’, I’m going to give you something stronger for the pain. We’ll take care of this.” Tucker filled another syringe.

  After a STAT page, Hunter stood with Tucker in the treatment room, looking at the newest X-ray of her shoulder. Ian came in behind them. “I need an MRI.” Hunter pointed to a particular image. “I can’t see.”

  “We have a plan. Can she travel in the Navigator?” Ian asked.

  “Yeah, if we ride with her,” Hunter said.

  “Good. I’ll have a portable MRI brought to the building. We will run a convoy and ambulance out of here. Thirty minutes later, we will run the other three Navigators through the tunnel. They’ll expect us to head east. Instead, we’ll head to Tyson’s Corner.”

  * * *

  gh

  * * *

  “There we go.” Tucker lifted Cassie into the Lincoln.

  Ian slid in beside her. “Sweetheart, I know you’re not too happy with me, but are you okay if I come with you to do this?”

  Kieran took the wheel, and Hunter rode shotgun. “We ready to roll?”

  Cassie reached for Ian’s hand and nodded, teary-eyed. “Good to go.” Ian tapped Kieran’s headrest.

  Halfway into the twenty-minute ride, Tucker injected Cassie with a sedative and something for nausea. She fell asleep with Ian’s arm wrapped around her.

  The decoy ambulance pulled into the Chase Group’s garage. Lincoln and Matteo were removing the stretcher when the first shots rang out.

  “Shots fired,” Lincoln called out into his com. Matteo returned fire. Lincoln jammed the stretcher back into the ambulance and peeled out, followed by the two SUVs.

  Julian and Rich circled around to the shooter’s last known location. Canvassing the area, Julian spotted a small metal box wrapped with duct tape. A piece of wire was visible protruding from the closed lid.

  “Bomb! Go, go, go.” He yanked Rich's shoulder.

  The sound was deafening. The blast wave threw them forward, careening into the concrete floors. A portion of the garage, as well as the floor above, was reduced to rubble.

  The Navigator’s Bluetooth chimed. “Tate, go,” Kieran answered.

  Tate was coughing. “Can Cassie hear me?”

  “You okay, man? I told you all those cigarettes were gonna kill you.” Kieran checked the mirror. “She’s out.”

  “We have an issue. We came under fire. The convoy got out as planned, but there was a large explosion. It looks like it took a piece of the garage, main lobby, and the cafeteria. I’ll get you a casualty count ASAP. I think we may be lucky. I followed your orders and sent everyone home early, but there’s always pedestrian traffic. And, Boss, Martin was listening to the transmission. He’s en route.”

  “Tate, get yourself and everyone else checked out. I’ll postpone my trip and get there as soon as I can,” Ian said.

  Hunter turned in his seat. “You need to go?”

  Ian looked down at Cassie. “No.” He picked up his cell to call his dad.

  The radiology office was empty except for a vetted radiology technician and sonographer. Tucker administered Propofol, ensuring Cassie slept through the testing.

  In the waiting area, Ian and Kieran stayed in contact with Declan and Tate. Thankfully, no civilians were severely hurt, just scrapes and scratches. The Eagle’s Talon personnel suffered smoke inhalation, ringing in their ears, a few burst eardrums, and some lacerations.

  Hunter joined Kieran and Ian in the waiting room. “Glad we came. It’s a deep, dangerous blood clot. If I went in blind, I don’t want to think about what could happen.”

  “Can we head back? I don’t want to be here too long.” Ian scanned the room again.

  “We need to do it here. I need guidance during the procedure and a post-procedure. We are short some hands, so I need your help.” Kieran and Ian followed Hunter to the treatment area.

  “Hi, sweetheart, you’re doing so well.” Ian sat beside her

  She gave him a woozy smile. “What’s wrong? That cute little dimple is twitching.”

  Ian kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Just worried about my girl.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “You, sweetheart. You’re my beautiful girl.” He held her cheeks between his palms. Their lips met. Unable to resist, he took a soft nibble of her full bottom lip. Pulling back, she looked at him in a haze. So sweet, Ian thought.

  “Honey, we need to fix a tiny problem,” Hunter explained to her. Ian slid behind her for support, and Kieran took her left hand. Tucker cleaned and draped her shoulder after injecting some lidocaine to numb it. With the help of a sonogram, Hunter inserted a long needle into the overfilled area. Blood backed up into the syringe. With a slow, firm pull, he was able to suction the clot. In spite of the medication, Cassie cried out in pain.

  “Cassie, break my hand,” Kieran said. “You can do better than that.” She squeezed a bit harder. Kieran continued the distraction technique until Hunter finished.

  The ride back to the estate was uneventful. Cassie slept through most of it. Rather than using the wheelchair, Ian scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs.

  “Ian, did you take over a private clinic? Is this one of those places where people get fancy plastic surgery?”

  “No, sweetheart. Kieran, Monique, and I live in the main house. This is our pool house.” Luxurious furniture dotted the patio, and the cut borders were decorated with lush, colorful flowers.

  “Wait, you have a hospital at your house?” Cassie crunched her brows.

  Ian deposited her into a comfortable reclining chair inside her room. “I built it for you.”

  “You built this for me?” Her eyes widened. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Tell me you still want that chance.” When Ian kissed her forehead, Tucker passed him a look. “Sweetheart, Tuck and Pete want to put all your bells and whistles back on. I will be back soon.”

  Ian was on an emotional rollercoaster with Cassie, and now he faced the worried faces of her family. “The procedure went well. Christian, we will go to San Diego tomorrow to retrieve the baby’s DNA at 1800. Kieran and I need to get to the building and make an appearance for the media. In the meantime, Mike will equip each of you with a weapon and an encrypted sat phone. I want you to give him anything electronic you have. If you need a tablet or laptop, we will get you one on our secured network.

  “There’s a leak somewhere. Whoever is behind this wants something bad—and they think Cassie has it. As far as Cassie goes, business as usual. No one is to mention the situation at the building. I’ve already limited her TV to music or mo
vie channels.”

  Ian and Kieran arrived at the building to find an exhausted Martin; his eyes darkened with bruises. He wobbled on his crutches. “You shouldn’t be here,” Kieran said.

  “Tell me another time. I got some samples before the locals, ATF and FBI locked down the scene. It was a remote blast. I have pictures of what looks like scraps of a cell phone. I’m hoping we can ID something unique. I also managed a few swabs. According to our lab, it was RDX. They policed their brass, but Link found a bullet lodged in the ambulance radiator block—7.62 by 39 millimeter rounds.”

  “Russian,” Ian said. “Thanks, Martin. Get Julian to take you back to the house. I want you tucked in bed when I get back.”

  Julian approached, looking glassy-eyed and battered.

  “Take Martin to the estate,” Ian said, realizing Julian couldn’t hear him. Ian signed to him, telling him he was grounded too.

  Cassie was restless, and her shoulder throbbed, but her sixth sense was returning. She was horrified about the night before. “Chris, I remember what happened, but it felt like a nightmare. I stabbed Eric.” Next, she demanded to know how Martin was hurt. “What does everyone think?”

  "No one thinks anything, Cass. We care for you. Give yourself time to heal. Your brain will unscramble,” Christian said.

  Frank walked over to her. “Ian is in love with you and wants to help you heal. We all do.” He held her in a soft hug. “Ian told us if you never wanted to see him again, he would make sure you got the best care and let you be. His feelings aren’t from pity. It’s you. All you. You need to believe that.”

  Cassie hugged him back. Her smile was small but real.

  “Stephanie will be here again tomorrow. She always helps, right?” Christian asked. “If she doesn’t, we’ll find someone else.”