Secure Desire Page 9

  Ian heard the strained tone of voice on the other end of the call. "No, you heard me. Montgomery. I'm also giving Doc's number to Ian. I'll have him call with any issues if I am unavailable. Now, you can have public info and security personnel meet us in the on-call room by the surgical library. I'm commandeering it for the immediate family." Declan hung up with a frown, then took a good look at his son. "I can go if you want—or I can stay. Whatever you need, Son."

  "Stay, please." Ian had been to war, lost men, been shot—never had he wanted his dad's supportive presence more than now. He felt off-balance.

  Declan led them past the conference room. "Director and Mrs. Paulsen, I'm sorry to be meeting you under these circumstances. Let's go into the on-call room. We can speak in private."

  After chasing out a lone intern, Luke put his head between his legs, sitting in an uncomfortable orange plastic chair. With his permission, Declan remained to listen. "Thank you, Ian. Agent Walton told us how you helped Cassie."

  Rachel reached for Ian's hand. "I need to thank you for more than that. She enjoyed her dinner with you on Tuesday. I haven't heard her so excited in a long time. I was speaking with her when your flowers arrived; she sounded happy and hopeful."

  "It was my pleasure."

  Luke steepled his fingers over his face. "Tell us what happened? Wilds isn't saying much."

  "I'm still trying to figure it out. Monique and I were at her table. The man who stabbed her, Sebastian Ames, sat beside her. He had her rattled all night. He was predatory."

  "Why didn't someone stop him?" Luke asked.

  "You need to ask Wilds. I didn't want to put her in a bad place." Guilt ate at him. "I can tell you, from the scene, she fought hard. I got a quick look at Ames. Looks like she put one in the shoulder and one in the head." Ian kept the vivid description of the carnage to himself.

  "Did she say anything?" Luke grasped his wife's hand.

  "She said, 'Cassiopeia is dead.' Do you know what she meant?" he asked.

  Luke shook his head. "Wilds said her com wasn't functioning."

  Ian bit the inside of his lower lip. "I don't know."

  "It wasn't your show. It was under Wilds' direction. This assignment was a bad fit for her. I should have pulled strings whether she liked it or not. She didn't have to be there; they could've used someone else."

  "You know Cassie would never forgive you." Rachel hugged her husband.

  "You aren't responsible for this," Ian said.

  "We consider Cassie, our daughter," Luke's voice trailed off. Ian ached when he saw the fresh tears on Rachel's face.

  Chapter Fourteen

  An imposing frame filled the doorway of the small on-call room. “Excuse me, I’m Dr. Hunter Montgomery. Are you Cassie Modine’s family?”

  Luke stood, legs wobbling under strain. “We’re her family.”

  Hunter eyed Ian and Declan. “I will not sugarcoat this. She’s in grave condition.”

  “Hunt, what’s going on? Luke and Rachel, this is my friend and the best trauma surgeon around—Hunter Montgomery.”

  Hunter picked at his scrub cap and swallowed hard. “Look, I’m a team player. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was told you wanted me to handle her case. I just was asked to leave the room. Joe Maddox is the chief, and he’s a good surgeon, but… Cassie needs a very aggressive multi-team approach.”

  “What can we do?” Rachel asked. “Please, we can’t lose her.”

  Ian and Declan stepped out of the room with Hunter. “The surgical team is rattled, and with that level of trauma, she needs all the help possible. It doesn’t make sense.”

  Hunter’s tight expression said everything else. Declan wasted no time. After a messy, political, and emotional fifteen minutes Cassie didn’t have, Ian watched Hunter Montgomery walk back toward the operating room—in charge.

  Luke walked with Ian to the coffee machine in the staff lounge. Everyone was already gossiping about the argument between Dr. Maddox and Dr. Montgomery. Ian made sure Luke remained out of earshot.

  “Billy Ellis and I went through the Naval Academy together. I went to War College, and Billy chose the School of Business and Public Policy. Cassie’s mom and Billy were high school sweethearts. Sarah was tiny like Cassie, but she was a powerhouse. They had Cassie about ten years after we graduated, a teeny, pink bundle.” Luke held out his hands to demonstrate her size. “We both did our twenty years, and then I headed into the Bureau. Billy took over his dad’s business, broadened the scope, and it took off under his direction. He loved to sculpt too, but Cassie is gifted.”

  Ian poured coffee into four cups as he listened.

  “Our families spent a lot of time together. Rachel and Sarah were best friends, our kids like siblings. We celebrated holidays, birthdays, and vacations together. That all changed on Cassie’s sixteenth birthday.”

  “Cassie told me. Sad situation.”

  Luke sighed. “I got the call from the hospital at two in the morning. Cassie was hypothermic, and her pelvis was fractured. Because she was so small and her bones gave, she managed to free herself and reach the surface. Poor baby was the only survivor. I can only imagine the pain she felt. I guess nothing compared to what she still thinks was a choice.”

  Ian asked, “What choice?”

  Luke backed into the wall for support. “The harness system failed. The family survived the crash. Billy was conscious—he told her to kiss them goodbye and open the door. When the pressure equalized…”

  Ian’s face displayed his agonizing awareness. “The minute she opened the door, the cabin filled with water.”

  Luke nodded. “Cassie thinks she failed them.”

  “It wasn’t a choice.”

  “We all know that. She doesn’t talk about it anymore, but the consistent way she pushes herself to excel, be the best and work the hardest tells me she hasn’t let it go. Sweet baby has no living blood relatives. Billy and I agreed right after we had Christian, if anything happened to either of us, we would be there. Cassie became our ward and came to live with us when she was discharged from rehab. To us, she’s our daughter.”

  “Why is her name Modine?”

  Luke blinked away the sadness in his eyes. “After she defended her dissertation, she took her mother’s maiden name and became Cassie Modine. She changed it from Cassiopeia Maia Ellis. I don’t know much about mythology, but Sarah named her for her fierce beauty. I don’t think she ever considered the goddess’s vanity and foolishness. I think Cassie reached a point where she needed some distance from the Ellis legacy. She moved out to live with Christian in Coronado for a year, giving her time to find herself. Start over. No one knew her there.” He refilled his cup. “She shields herself, especially around men.” Any further questioning was over.

  Nurse Angie Sommers approached them. “Mr. Paulsen? Dr. Montgomery asked me to update you. I am very sorry, Ms. Modine slipped back into cardiac arrest a few minutes ago. Dr. Montgomery has called additional surgeons for assistance. They are doing everything they can. He also wanted me to speak to a Mr. Chase.”

  Ian raised an eyebrow at the nurse’s attitude adjustment. “That’s me.”

  She looked regretful. “Dr. Montgomery wanted you to know, Ms. Modine is blood type O negative. We’ve called the blood service; it is calling known donors because we’ve run out. They’re running low on their supply too. He thought you may be able to help find some more donors.”

  Ian pulled his phone out and made a brief call. “You’ll have donors in your blood bank shortly. I’m O negative too. Show me where to go.”

  “Ian, thank you.” Luke’s eyes dampened again. Quickly wiping his face, he headed to the on-call room to update his wife and Declan.

  Ian answered his phone. “Just wanted you to know, I advised both the hospital and FBI public information offices the public has no right to know about any admission. As far as anyone at the event knows, Cassiopeia Ellis was injured. There is no record of that woman in this institution, and it will remain that way. The h
ospital will make it clear to staff there is no such thing as an anonymous source. Anyone leaking information will be found out and dealt with.

  “I also reminded them, Cassie Modine’s family has the full support of the Chase family on a personal level, and the Chase Group on the professional side. There will be no comment acknowledging anything,” Martin “Farmer” Bailey advised.

  “Thanks, Martin,” Ian sighed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The minute his blood was retrieved, Ian returned to the surgical floor where the OR waiting room was overflowing. He stopped in front of Cassie’s supervisor. “Greg?”

  Greg Wilds looked up at him. “I’m in no mood. What do you want, Chase?”

  “What do I want? I want to know how you keep your job. How the hell did Ames get her alone long enough to hurt her that way? Did you see what that animal did? He tore her to pieces.”

  All conversation in the packed room ceased.

  Wilds stood to face him. “You sanctimonious bastard. I am well aware of what happened to MY agent. Who the hell are you to tell me how to work my personnel? Oh yeah, Mr. Big Navy SEAL. You don’t know shit. This is beyond your security clearance.”

  Ian’s eyes turned steely gray. My clearance is higher than yours. “From simple, brief observations, there were significant operational errors made. I know, unless there is a reason for radio silence, frequent location checks are necessary for fluid situations. I know enough, in any operation, to get eyes on my personnel when their com fails. I know Cassie was stabbed nearly to death because of your ineptitude…or was it your ego? Where the hell was her backup?” Ian stared at the men in tuxedos. “You all did her a disservice. She was a lamb led to slaughter. You saw that bathroom; it was a bloodbath.”

  Wilds laughed. “Now I see where you’re coming from. She got hurt before you could get into her pants. You shouldn’t waste your time. She’s an ice princess.”

  Ian swung at him. “You son of a bitch.”

  Wilds dodged the full weight of the punch, but Ian’s fist connected with his lower jaw. Two agents grappled with them to pull them apart.

  A stocky man with curly honey-colored hair and whiskey-colored eyes knocked on the door. “Am I interrupting something?” A gold badge shone on his hip. “I’m Detective Andy Blake, Metropolitan Police. I’m looking for Luke and Rachel Paulsen.”

  Ian let go of the hold he maintained on Wilds. “I’m Ian Chase. I can take you to them. I was seated at Cassie’s table.” He extended his hand to the detective.

  The veteran cop shifted his eyes between Greg and Ian. “I’m Supervisory Special Agent Greg Wilds, Cassie’s boss.”

  Andy Blake mustered a tight-lipped smile. “Good. Don’t go anywhere. You’re next on my list to speak to.”

  Hunter sighed and gestured to the seats. “She’s alive.”

  Luke told him it was okay to speak in front of Ian, Declan, and the detective. “When Cassie arrived in the emergency department, she had no heartbeat. Doctors opened the left side of her chest to massage her heart. After receiving four units of blood, she was brought to the operating room, where she went into cardiac arrest two more times on the table. To get to her extensive injuries, we needed to open the right side of her chest too. To give her brain and heart the best chance, I was forced to clamp off her aorta for some time.”

  Hunter’s eyes filled with sympathy for the couple holding on to his every word. “Stab wounds tore apart her right lung. She had tears to her diaphragm, liver, small and, large intestine. I was able to repair the structural damage.” Hunter met Ian’s heavy eyes. “The orthopedic surgery fellow did a necessary repair on her right shoulder joint, but it will need more extensive work when she can tolerate it. It appears her assailant did large muscle and tendon damage.

  "Dr. Maddox stemmed the bleeding from her left femoral artery and her quadriceps muscle before my arrival. Whoever tied the first tourniquet saved her life.”

  Hunter leaned against the wall. “Like I said, we stopped the bleeding, but she’s still in big trouble. We needed to replace her blood volume four times. Her organs were deprived of oxygen for longer than I would like. Infection with any one of these wounds is a huge, risky possibility. With all of them, it’s a certainty. I hope since the emergency room induced hypothermia before she was sent to the operating room, it bought her brain precious extra minutes. We will maintain the cold through tomorrow evening. I’m gonna keep her heavily sedated as well to give her body as much of a chance as possible.

  “The immediate concern is potential brain swelling, as well as her kidneys failing. I expect to start dialysis as soon as possible. I hope to get a CT scan of her head before we get her to the ICU. Neurology will perform a detailed evaluation in the unit. I’ve also called a friend who is a hand surgeon and am hoping she can do the finger repairs at her bedside.”

  Rachel said, “Will she—”

  “Survive?” Hunter filled in the blank.

  Ian thought, somewhere, there had to be a book on how to give horrible news to families. He’d done it too many times as a Naval officer.

  “It’s very touch and go. I wish I could give you better news. I know this is overwhelming.” Hunter handed them his card. “This is my personal cell phone. Call me anytime—day or night.”

  When Luke paced, Rachel stood to wrap her arms around her distraught husband. “Can we see her?”

  “I’ll let you see her when we get her settled in the ICU. Afterward, please go home and get some rest. We’ll know better in a few days. I promise to call you if her condition changes.”

  “What made him do this?” Hunter asked Ian later. “She fought hard. She’s covered with defensive wounds everywhere. He hacked at her.”

  "I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Sexual assault?” Ian didn’t want the answer.

  “No sign of rape, but she was abused. There are handprints on her throat, breast, and inner thigh. I reported my findings to Detective Blake. The animal also bit her.”

  Ian restrained his own rage. “I found a white powder in her water glass.”

  “We ran a tox screen, but she bled so much I’m not sure if anything remained in her system. After I’m sure she’s settled, I’m gonna catch some sleep. I’m not leaving the hospital. Jack Parker is one of the surgical intensivists in the ICU and will stay on top of her as well.”

  Hunter blew out a deep breath. “Ian, this woman is special to you. I don’t know if she will see sunset today. You and the family need to be prepared.”

  Ian nodded. “How much was complicated by the other surgeon?”

  “It didn’t help. We can talk about it later.”

  “Smooth and Bear are here if you need anything. Farmer is wrangling the press. I’m locking it down. I don’t give a damn about the FBI. And, Hunt, thanks.”

  Hunter patted Ian’s shoulder and headed back inside the surgical area. “Don’t thank me yet.”

  Senator Robert Bynum sat alone in his study, still wearing his tuxedo, with the smell of a Cuban cigar floating in the air and amber liquid on ice in a crystal tumbler. He felt the vibration in his pocket. “What the hell happened?”

  “That moron stabbed her is what happened.”

  Bynum drank heavily from the glass. “She was supposed to be left alone. People will start asking questions. What did he tell her?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m working on it.”

  “Cassiopeia Ellis cannot wake up. If anything gets out, we are all done.” Bynum downed his drink.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Martin assured Ian accommodations were made for the Paulsen family’s privacy and comfort. “I expect the hospital to make a ‘no comment’ press release in time for the noon news. Hospital security is controlling access to the intensive care unit, but there are other patients and a considerable amount of staff going in and out. Plus, Luke and Rachel notified Mark Devereaux, who informed all the staff at Ellis Art Finds. Do you want me to limit visitors?”

  “No, don’t… God…they don’
t expect her to live. Let them see her.”

  “I’m sorry, Ian. One other thing… she has a nurse in the room all the time.”

  “Thanks, Martin. Go get some sleep. I appreciate this.”

  Martin tightened at hearing his given name, signaling this was personal. He nodded. “If you need me…”

  Ian waved Martin out, then, standing in front of his office windows, he watched Washington go about its daily routine. Rain poured from the skies, and the humid May air was thick. Cassie’s ghostly appearance haunted him. Over and over, he heard her words: “I wanted my chance. Cassiopeia is dead.”

  He needed to know what she meant. The viciousness of the attack made it personal for Ames. Ian made an admission to himself: the minute he saw her six years ago, he wanted to pursue her. He hoped he wasn’t too late. As far as he was concerned, Cassie was going to have her chance.

  Ian’s soft-spoken secretary brought him a mug of black coffee and a yogurt. “You need to eat something. Detective Blake just arrived. What would you like me to do?”

  “Thanks, Esther. Send him in.”

  Andy performed a 360-degree spin in Ian’s office. “Nice digs, Mr. Chase.”

  “Thank you. Can I get you anything?”

  Andy scraped his ruddy face with his hand. “I’d love a cup of coffee.”

  Ian used the intercom to call Esther.

  “Tell me about last night.”

  “I arrived by limousine at the Four Seasons with my sister-in-law at six.” Ian continued the timeline through the moment the doors to the trauma room closed.

  “You’re making my job easy. Now tell me what you didn’t tell me.” Ian maintained a neutral look. “Mr. Chase, what is your relationship with Cassie Modine?”