Agent E2: Aidan (Superhero Romance) (The D.I.R.E. Agency) (9 page)

Rachel said, “I’d like that, Robert, but we all know things would have to change.”

Cassandra stared at Rachel. “Yes, they certainly would, starting with these.” She held up her hands.

Robert’s eyes widened. “They have you in shackles?”

Rachel stood hands on hips. “You had me in those same cables a few days ago.”

He rolled his head on the pillow to face her. “Rachel, you were only a means to an end. I wanted Mitchell’s son.”

“Mitchell’s son is my fiancé.”

Her father’s face grew flush. “No. I forbid it.”

Rachel gave a sarcastic laugh. “Forbid it? You have no say in it. I love Tristan more than life itself. I’ll never give him up.”

Cassandra’s mouth dropped open. She
never
would’ve spoken to her father in that manner. Life had taught her things were more…
pleasant
when her father got his way.

His fist clenched where it lay on the white blanket. “You don’t know Mitchell. He’s a backstabbing, self-absorbed tyrant, and Tristan is a product of his father. So is your brother.”

Cassandra didn’t know if it was Rachel’s mettle or her father’s biased opinion of Aidan, but either way, she exploded.

“For your information, Aidan Monroe saved your life.”

Rachel gasped. “What?”

Robert’s gaze shot to her. “The hell you say...”

“It’s true. Ask Kate. You died last night. We couldn’t revive you. Aidan came in and...” She glanced at Rachel. “…brought you back.”

Her father’s nostrils flared wider with each word out of her mouth.

“You wouldn’t be talking to us now if it wasn’t for Aidan. So, despite the vendetta you have with Jim Monroe – who is
dead
, by the way - and Mitchell Jacobs, your precious, new daughter is going to marry Tristan.”

“Cassandra…” Rachel’s voice held a note of warning.

Cass shut her eyes, dejection weighing on her like lead. Had she lost all common decency? Her father had just woken up from a serious, life-threatening gunshot wound. Was she so self-centered that she couldn’t allow him the peace he needed? Could she not give him the answers he wanted like a good daughter?

Lowering her voice, Cassandra stepped back from the bed. “Maybe it’s time you reconsidered whatever feud you have going on with them. I know I’m tired of it and you’ve been living with it for twice as long.”

He shook his head on the pillow. “Never.”

Even under serious pain medication, the man remained stubborn.

“Never?” Cass held up her hands. “Look at us. You’re lying in ICU, I’m wearing a tracking anklet and cables, and Dar is cuffed to a hospital bed. We missed the gun deal last night, and Naylor Interests is running on backup crew. D.I.R.E. has given their agents these, these…” she looked to Rachel for help.

“Powers...”

“…
powers
to do things no normal human being can do. Their technology is far beyond anything we have.” She shook her head. “I love you father, but I think it’s time to throw in the towel.”

His eyes looked like they would burst from their sockets, his eyebrows high in his forehead. “We have one setback and you want me to just throw away all I’ve built over the years?”

Rachel laid her hand on his shoulder.

Cass berated herself mentally. She should be doing that. Instead, harsh words continued to spew from her mouth.

“Oh yes, because selling guns, laundering money and selling trade secrets are honorable professions to carry on.” 

Squinting his eyes, Robert glared at her. “What has gotten into you? I’ve always been able to depend on you.” He looked over at Rachel. “You’ve been around this one and Mitchell. See what happens?”

Snatching away her hand, Rachel said, “Which obviously, has already done her some good.”

Scowling at Rachel, he turned to Cass. “Maybe you need to be taught a lesson, Cassandra.”

She stilled, her father’s dark tone unleashing memories long buried in the bottom of her heart. He’d made that same statement, in that same vindictive tone, the night she’d told him she loved Riordan St. James. She’d blown it off, thinking Riordan would protect her.

The next day he was gone.

Would her father harm her? Rachel?
Aidan
?

The thought terrified her.

Pasting on an apologetic smile, Cass patted herself on the back for flawlessly falling into her old, pleasing routine.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

Rachel whipped around to look at her with raised brows.

“
No
. How can you allow him to use emotional blackmail that way?”

Rachel had no clue. It wasn’t emotional blackmail. It was a legitimate threat.

“Cassandra knows that when I say something, I mean it. You will learn the same.”

Shaking her head in disgust, Rachel grabbed her purse off the chair and headed for the door. Admiration and fear swirled in Cassandra’s stomach. Would she ever have the strength to do the same thing?

“I don’t know what got into me, Father. I guess I’m just tired and frustrated with this whole situation.”

Robert bared a confident smile. “That’s my girl.”

#####

Exiting the fourth floor elevator, Aidan stopped short when he saw Cassandra down the hall. She had pulled one of the waiting room chairs over to the bank of windows overlooking the back parking lot and the field beyond. Sitting with her knees propped up to her chest and her chin on her arms, she stared out at the bare asphalt and miles of desolate land. He wondered if she really saw it at all.

She appeared incredibly lonely, like a child staring out the window on a rainy day. Aidan felt the overwhelming desire to wrap her in his arms and just hold her. To pull her onto his lap and stare out the window with her.

What was wrong with him? Really? He’d thought that when he learned who killed his father, all would be right with the world. That he could have them prosecuted and move on down the road.

Cassandra Naylor had muddied up the waters. Despite what he’d seen and heard last night from Buckner, she still managed to star in his thoughts throughout the day.

He shouldn’t want this. His brain screamed at him to turn around and walk in the other direction. Caring about a woman brought nothing but trouble.

Yet, he found himself standing beside her, staring out the window, too. She didn’t acknowledge him at all, just remained still and quiet, while air from the ceiling vent played with the blonde hair at her crown.

What would she do if he did pull her up from the chair and sit her in his lap?

He had no ill will against her other than the fact that she elicited this mind-blowing lust inside of him. When he thought about it, she’d done nothing that he wouldn’t have done for his own family.

Could he fault her loyalty?

“Have you ever discovered that something you believed in your entire life was just…” Sadness softened her voice.

“Bullshit?” He looked back at her.

Her beautiful, blue eyes were blank, expressionless. She nodded.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my parents lied about Rachel’s parentage and that my mom tried to set her up to marry for money. I never would’ve expected that from either of them.”

She brushed the bangs out of her eyes. “My father woke up today.”

Aidan stilled. That bit of news changed everything. If the doctors said he would survive, there was nothing to keep them in Creekmore any longer. A decision had to be made on what to do with Cassandra and Dar.

“Rachel and I were in there at the time.” She turned and gave him a half-hearted smile. “She’s tough. I like her.”

That
bit of news pleased him immensely. He couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, she’s the best.”

Cassandra frowned at the windows. “She spoke to him like no one I’ve ever seen before. She didn’t tiptoe around him, and even laughed when he forbid her to marry Tristan.”

“Forbid her?” Aidan gave a short laugh. “Like he has a say in that. Jacobs is in it for the long haul and beyond.”

She pulled in her lips over her teeth and squinted her eyes.

“I saw my father through Rachel’s eyes – the maliciousness, the self-pity, the highhandedness. For the first time in my life, he wasn’t the I-can-conquer-the-world-and-no-one-can-stop-me father I grew up believing in. And, it hit me that I’ve wasted my entire life following
his
dreams of power, money and revenge.”

Looking down, she shook her head. “Now, I’m headed to jail or wherever D.I.R.E. is going to send me, having wasted every blasted second.” A tear fell on her arm.

Panic stole the breath from Aidan’s lungs. He hated seeing her this way, hated Robert Naylor for putting her through it.

Aidan wouldn’t allow Cassandra to go to jail. No way. Mitchell would have to go through him first.

“I always wanted to open an animal shelter.” She glanced up at him and gave a short laugh. “The daughter of Robert Naylor. Can you believe that? It’s corny, I know, but it’s my dream.”

He shook his head. “That’s not corny at all. I love animals, too.”

She gave him a soft smile. God, he wanted to kiss her. “Once, I even mentioned it to my father. It had taken me

weeks to build up the courage to say it. When I did, he laughed me out of the room.”

Tears blurred her eyes. “Now, I’m just flat pissed off - at myself, for living in a constant state of fear. At him, for laying the burden of his broken heart on Dar and I, and at my mother, for not sticking around to prevent it all.”

She looked up at him, her eyes and nose a bright pink. “And, I’m mad at you for not telling me to shut up and stop feeling sorry for myself.” She got to her feet.

Aidan grasped her fingers when she moved to pass. She stopped in front of him but wouldn’t look his way.

“Come here, baby.”

A sob escaped.

He tugged her to him.

She buried her face in his chest. Aidan held her tight as she cried with utter abandon.

Anger gnawed a hole in his chest where she soaked his shirt. He wanted to hit something. Robert Naylor would be a good start. The man had buried this beautiful, kind-hearted woman behind a mask of retribution and false bravado. Not that Cass wasn’t a strong person. She’d never been allowed to lower her defenses. Ever.

“It’s okay to disagree with your father.”

Turning to lay her cheek on his chest, she gave a short laugh. “You don’t know my father.”

He stiffened. “Has he
hurt
you?” He set her away to look into her eyes.

“No. At least not physically, anyway.” She looked down at the floor. “But, he always finds a way to make us pay if we go against him.”

Missing her warmth, Aidan pulled her back against his chest. “You don’t ever have to be afraid of him again. I’ll protect you.”

Sighing, she stared up at him. “Oh, Aidan. Don’t be naïve. He’d find a way to get back at us. He always does.”

That pissed him off. “You don’t think I could protect you?”

“If anyone could protect me, it would be you, Aidan. The question is why? If we have any kind of relationship at all, we’re enemies.”

“Last night sure as hell didn’t feel like we were enemies.”

She stepped away. “We both know last night didn’t mean anything. Our emotions were just running high.”

Didn’t mean anything? So, their messing around didn’t keep her up last night? When he’d slept, he had vivid dreams of Cassandra Naylor on top of him in bed.

When he didn’t sleep, he had vivid dreams of Cassandra Naylor on top of him in bed.

Face it, Monroe. She’s just not interested in you that way.

“There you are.”

Rachel and Tristan came around the corner. The three of them were supposed to get out of the hospital for a while and grab some dinner.

His sister had taken another blow that afternoon when Tristan told her about Jim’s true profession. Her kind heart seemed to harden with each lie revealed.

“We’ve been looking for you.” Rachel glanced at Cassandra and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Lifting her chin, she shook her head. “Nothing that I didn’t bring on myself.” Without another word, she started down the hall.

Aidan watched her go – for about five seconds.

“Cass…”

Stopping, she turned to stare at him. Her red-rimmed eyes killed him.

Catching up with her, he grabbed her hand. “Come on, you’re going with us.”

Her brows lowered. “What?”

“Monroe, she’s under house arrest,” Tristan said.

His eyes never left her face. “I know that, Jacobs.”

“It’s your ass if something goes wrong.”

Cass shook her head. “Why, Aidan?”

He didn’t dare ask
himself
why. He just knew he had to give her some kind of hope.