Countermeasure (Countermeasure Series)

by Cecilia Aubrey

  Chop-chop! Hungry here! If you don’t hurry I am going to chomp on your leg.

  Cassandra laughed out loud. She quickly typed a reply: On my way zombie girl.

  ****

  An hour later, Cassandra walked into her house, toed off her shoes, and groaned. Both she and Jessica had pigged out on burgers and fries, topping them off with chocolate milkshakes. She was about to burst. She changed into more comfortable clothes that could accommodate her extended belly and walked barefoot into her little office to catch up on her email and check for any updates from Matt before she headed to bed.

  She sat and powered up the computer. Once logged in, she opened her email program and found ten unread messages. A few were spam emails which were immediately trashed, several were from Nathan Nelson, a former CIA team member and good friend, and the most recent one was from Matt.

  She checked Matt’s first. His status update indicated there were still no changes since they had last talked. She turned her attention to the emails from Nathan, chewed on her lip, and debated whether to open them now or wait until morning.

  Cassandra could still clearly picture the day she met Nathan Nelson. It had been her first day on the job with the CIA. In a rush and desperate to find the CIA Introduction Course classroom, she was lost in a maze of cubicles. Rounding the corner at the end of the row, when she’d thought she’d finally found her way out, she ran into a brick wall—the solid muscular chest of a man.

  On impact, she had bounced off him and he had swiftly caught her arms to prevent her from falling on her ass. Once introductions were made, Nathan showed her where the classroom was. He had saved her from being late and, with his boyish charm, had convinced her to have dinner with him later that evening, all within a matter of minutes.

  Any woman would have fallen for the all-American, six-foot-three, blond man with a cheeky grin and green eyes, but Cassandra, uninterested in any relationship, had maintained a friendly camaraderie, choosing to ignore any signs of attraction on Nathan’s part. Over time, she came to view him as a good friend and loved him like the brother she never had.

  Eventually they ended up working together in the same unit on assignments that centered on the collection and analysis of security- and counterintelligence-related information. It was when they were on a special assignment involving a simple visual surveillance of a target that things had taken a weird turn between them.

  The supposedly simple assignment went to hell in a hand basket when the target they were following spotted Nathan and, in a moment of panic, opened fire on him. Cassandra had watched it all go down from the other side of the street where she was shadowing the team. Dodging behind a parked car, Nathan pulled out his gun and could not seem to cock it to return fire. Cassandra immediately provided cover fire while cutting across the street to the parked car he was hiding behind and, reaching his side, had continued to return fire.

  When she no longer heard shots, she took a deep breath, stood, and moved from behind the car. She quickly approached the target’s hiding place; when he popped his head around the corner, she nailed him with a precise shot to the shoulder.

  Before she could take a step in the direction of the target, Nathan had grabbed her arm, jerked her around, and kissed her hard on the mouth. In the excitement of the moment, Cassandra had returned his kiss, but even before it ended, she had regretted it. Her reaction was driven by the adrenaline rush and thrill of the moment, not out of desire.

  Later, Nathan confessed that he cared for her. Cassandra knew that if she ever entered into a relationship, it would be with someone she could trust, respect, and depend on in a pinch—someone who would appreciate her, love her for who she was, and treat her as an equal. As much as she cared for Nathan, he wasn’t that man. She didn’t love him and had told him as much, hoping he would accept it.

  To complicate matters, she almost killed him later that evening back in the office when he had approached her and confided he had been neglecting cleaning his weapon—the reason the gun had misfired. The simple fact that Nathan had knowingly put their lives in danger almost destroyed their friendship. Although she did not want to see a good friend suspended, her military-influenced upbringing, the sense of honor instilled by her father, and her need to follow protocol spoke louder. She had included his digression in her report, which resulted in his suspension.

  She knew that Nathan had been hurt by her rejection and for being reported; however, he understood that she couldn’t have done any different. It was who she was. Later, he had told her it had been a wakeup call and had saved his career. Eventually they came to terms and set the episode behind them. Their friendship had been strengthened by the incident; since then, he had never failed her or compromised it.

  When she had left the CIA a year ago, she stayed in contact through email exchanges with a few close friends, including Nathan. It had just been recently that he’d been in contact more frequently and Cassandra worried he might still harbor romantic feelings for her after all that time.

  She snapped out of her recollection and wondered about the reason for so many emails. It had been at least two days since their last correspondence, so the five consecutive emails were a bit of a surprise.

  Cassandra opened the first of the five emails. She skimmed it and found it contained an update on how everyone had been. Okay, not too bad, she thought.

  Next, she opened the one sent a few hours later, Hey Cass! Heads up. Will be in your neck of the woods in the next week or so for a quick visit.

  Frowning, she opened the following email: Meant to ask, want to get together for dinner while I’m out there?

  She narrowed her eyes at the monitor and wondered about Nathan’s sudden visit to the Bay Area. This had better be a business trip and not an excuse to see me, she thought, opening the last one. The note let her know that he would be arriving next week and included his itinerary. Well hell. She didn’t want to commit to anything and responded simply, When you get in and settled, call me.

  Cassandra yawned, looked at the clock on the computer, and realized she had to get up in two hours. The late-night dinner with Jessica and emails had taken longer than she expected. She logged off the computer and headed to bed. Lying in the dark she thought about Nathan. That’s it. If we end up having dinner, Jessica is coming. Who knows? Maybe they’ll hit it off.

  ****

  Cassandra sat in her office and stared at her computer as she considered the events of the last couple of weeks. The responsibilities of being lead on the Bristol job coupled with the fact that Nathan hadn’t left town yet from his “quick visit” made her wary. Jessica’s hints that he was trying to wear Cassandra down added to the sense of foreboding that something was about to go south.

  She pulled up the latest reports on the Bristol project and scanned through them for the hundredth time. On the surface, everything looked like the trial results were going like clockwork. Something’s off, she thought again. If only I can pinpoint what it is.

  She picked up the phone and called Matt. “Hey, have you noticed anything weird in any of your scans? Any suspicious files? New processes?”

  “Come on, Cass! What? Do you think I’m green behind the ears? I’ve been running constant checks and if there is even the slightest hint of strange activity I’ll know right away. I’m even monitoring TCP and UDP ports.”

  “Okay, okay! I hear you. You have it covered. Just call me if anything—and I mean anything—pops,” Cassandra reiterated before disconnecting.

  She knew the formula was too sweet a deal to pass up and that someone could be out there lurking, waiting for the right moment to jump in and take what they wanted. I must be paranoid, she thought as she rubbed her scar. It ached again and, in turn, caused her to second-guess herself. Am I overthinking this? Reading more into it than I should be?

  The phone rang, jarring her from her musings. One glance at the display and she knew exactly who it was.

  “Hello, Nate.”

  “Hello, gorgeous! Ho
w about dinner tonight? And don’t say you’re too busy. I checked with Jessica and she said you were going home for the evening.”

  Cassandra tapped her fingers on the desk in frustration. There was no way to beg off the dinner. She had put Nathan off for the past three days, suggesting he take Jessica out instead. She had hoped that they would connect and he would be out of her hair. This time around, though, he was determined to wear her down. Am I overthinking this too? Bob seems to like him. Maybe I should give him one more chance. Maybe things could be different between us after all this time.

  “Okay, okay, fine. Where and when?”

  “How about seven o’clock at my hotel? The restaurant is supposed to be very good,” Nathan responded with a touch of triumph in his voice.

  “Fine, see you then.” Cassandra hung up, pushed away from her desk, walked down the hall to Jessica’s office, and stuck her head in the door.

  Jessica noticed her right away. “What’s the qué pasa chica?”

  Cassandra stepped fully into her office. “The ‘qué pasa’ is that you gave Nate the 411 on me going home and now I am stuck going out to dinner with him.”

  Cassandra frowned when a wide grin spread across Jessica’s mouth as she looked back at her computer screen avoiding Cassandra’s eyes. “Cassie, he obviously has a huge crush on you. He’s your friend. Toss him a bone. Have dinner, have fun. Who knows? Maybe you were meant for each other.”

  Cassandra plopped down in the chair next to the desk and rested her chin on her steepled fingers. “Don’t you think if there was something it would have showed up by now? You said it yourself: when it happens, I’ll fall hard. Well, I didn’t fall for him before and I haven’t fallen now.”

  Jessica looked up again and shook her head. “Just go out and enjoy yourself, will you? Everything’s going smoothly on the Bristol watch. We’ve covered all bases and you have a good friend in town. Relax for once, Cassie.”

  ****

  When Cassandra arrived at the restaurant later that evening, Jessica’s words still rang in her ears. As the waiter led her to the table, she nervously smoothed the black leather skirt she’d matched with a form-fitting top. Nathan’s face lit up when he saw her and a gleam filled his eyes. Standing as she drew closer, he waved the waiter off and pulled the chair out for her before taking his own seat.

  A cold frothy Guinness was already set on the table waiting for her. Smiling, she took a long sip. “Thanks, I needed that!”

  Nathan flashed a grin. “Your wish is my command.”

  Cassandra set her glass down and noticed Nathan signaling the waiter. To her surprise, a green house salad with blue cheese dressing on the side was set promptly in front of her. Cassandra, after a moment’s hesitation, shrugged it off, deciding to go with the flow, and took a bite.

  With a smug grin, Nathan dug in to his own salad and initiated conversation with a homey, “How was your day? Anything interesting happening?”

  Over the next hour, Cassandra and Nathan enjoyed a quiet evening of good food and conversation. They reminisced about their CIA days and how their mutual friends were doing. After a bit of dessert, both she and Nathan relaxed over a cup of coffee in comfortable silence.

  “Cass. Come up to my room for a nightcap,” Nathan proposed, breaking the silence.

  Cassandra watched the gleam return to his eyes and hesitated. Jessica’s words—meant for each other and relax for once, Cassie—swirled in her head. Finally, she came to a decision. “Sure. I can stay a bit longer.”

  Nathan grinned as he pushed back his chair and help her with hers. With a hand resting possessively on her lower back, he led her through the restaurant to the elevator. As they waited, his thumb rubbed back and forth in a caress across her back. The message in his touch concerned her, a sign that he was looking for more than a nightcap.

  When the elevator doors opened, Cassandra walked to the back of the car and leaned against the rail to avoid any further contact while she gathered her thoughts. Nathan followed her in, pushed the button for his floor, and stepped back to stand next to her.

  During the short ride, Cassandra glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Why didn’t her heart race when she looked at him or when he touched her? Isn’t that how it was supposed to work? When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Cassandra followed Nathan to his room. Inside, she moved to the balcony window and looked out at the view.

  In the background, she heard Nathan pour two drinks and walk toward her. With a deep breath she turned and accepted the glass, holding it with both hands like an anchor. She slowly took a sip. The combination of coke and whiskey burned a warm trail down her throat. Over the rim of the glass she studied Nathan. His blond hair was slightly longer than she had seen before, touching the collar of his shirt, and his soft green eyes quietly observed her in return. Cassandra glanced around the room, eyeing the king-sized bed before sitting in the chair farthest from it.

  Cassandra broke the silence. “So, when do you head back?”

  Nathan tracked her movements from where he now leaned against the balcony window like a predator silently studying his prey. His breath caught slightly as her skirt crept up, giving him a quick glance of the silky skin of her thighs when she sat.

  “Depends.” He took a swig from his glass, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and swirled the drink in his hand.

  “On what?” Cassandra took another sip from her drink.

  Nathan continued to intently watch Cassandra through hooded eyes. Her soft auburn hair fell in waves around the curve of her face and down below her shoulders. The whiskey brown of her eyes and dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose had pulled at his heart since the first time she had collided with him in the maze of cubicles all those years ago.

  Nothing had changed for him. He had fallen for her then. His heart tightened in his chest. He could still remember when he had confessed his love for her and she had turned him down. He knew he might never win her heart, but, even after all these years, he was not willing to give up trying.

  The day he knew he had lost brownie points with her was a memory stamped on his brain. He had kicked himself in his lazy ass every day for slacking on keeping his gun clean. He could remember the pounding in his ears at the thought that she might have been shot because of his idiocy. He had always believed it was his duty to look out for her, protect her, keep her from danger.

  He was fairly certain she would have been his by now if it hadn’t been for that stupid incident. Instead, she had told him there would never be anything between them. He had backed off to give her space so that she could see they belonged together. But he had given her enough time and now he was ready to conquer her as he had planned. He knew she would soon see the light. He was confident it was just a matter of putting some time and effort into courting her, showing her he was the right man to make her happy.

  When the opportunity to come to California and the Bay Area, Cassandra’s home, presented itself, he made sure that he convinced his boss to send him. It had been easy to tack on some vacation days as a contingency plan, and now there he was, finally alone with her.

  Nathan set his glass on the side table and stepped toward her. Cassandra eyed him and sat back when he leaned down and placed his hands on the armrests, leaving just inches between their lips. “It depends on you.”

  “Nate, we…” Cassandra started to protest, but Nathan captured her lips in a kiss before she could finish.

  At first, Cassandra hesitated, keeping her mouth sealed, but he persisted, taking a teasing approach until finally she sighed and allowed his tongue to breach her lips. Nathan quickly accepted the surrender. He thrust his tongue deep and groaned at finally getting the chance to, once again, taste the mouth that had haunted him all these years. Slowly easing back, he reached for her hand and urged her to her feet as he took a step back.

  Following his lead, Cassandra stood. His hands moved to her waist, pulling her against him and capturing her again in a deep, wet kiss.
As he continued his assault on her mouth, he moved them slowly toward the bed. In a slow dance, he turned her so that her back was facing it.

  Out of breath, Cassandra broke the kiss. “Nate, I don’t think we should do this.”

  “Don’t think, Cass,” he ordered, quickly leaning his head down and kissing her firmly and surely, cutting off any further protests. After some more coaxing, Cassandra kissed him back. Nathan slid his hands from her waist to the middle of her back, kneading it as he pulled her even closer. For a while all they did was kiss, exploring each other’s mouths with tongues that danced and brushed along each other. Nathan moved his fingers to the back of her leather skirt; his heart raced as he worked the button and zipper, and then slowly pushed the skirt off her hips. He skimmed his hands to her bottom, savoring the feel and shape of it. Excited, his fingers gripped the globes of her ass and pulled her hips even tighter against the hardness of his erection.

  When his hands reached for the edge of her top, pulling it up over her head, Cassandra lifted her arms to help him. Before her top hit the rug, she reached for the button of his pants as he began unbuttoning his shirt. Together, they removed the last of his clothing. Swiftly, he pushed her back onto the bed and quickly joined her. Resting his head on his hand and locking eyes with her, he trailed one of his fingers across the lace at the top of her bra and along the silky skin of her breast.

  His bright green eyes turned the color of a dark forest as he slowly leaned down to taste the skin his fingers had just touched. Cassandra’s heart jumped in anticipation when his tongue licked a path along the line of lace and his fingers peeled the cup of her bra away from her breast.

  The heat of his tongue and the coolness of the air caused her nipple to pebble and, with another groan, Nathan flicked it with his tongue before circling and pulling it into his mouth. A soft moan escaped Cassandra, her spine arched slightly away from the bed and her hands gripped the covers on either side of her at his touch.