Their adventure had begun.
Chapter Fifteen
The Eagles Have Landed
From the time they arrived in Paris, the score had been Bauer three, Cassandra zero. So far he had won every single argument, calmly and logically, without gloating, force, or irascible behavior, which took the wind out of her sails every time.
The first had been regarding the use of a car rental. She believed it to be unnecessary as they would be in town with easy access to public transportation. Bauer had argued that with a rental they would be ready to go at a minute’s notice if their chase happened to take them out of the city.
Second, Bauer had won the right to drive, since he had brought his GPS unit already pre-programmed with the directions to the hotel and other attractions in the City of Lights. The attraction piece had puzzled Cassandra—it was almost as if he thought they would have time to stroll around, enjoy the scenery, and visit landmarks. If he did, he was crazy! As much as she would have secretly loved to, in her mind she was the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland’s book—already late for the party and unwilling to waste any more time.
The third, and the icing on the cake, had been the location of the control room. It was her fault, really. She had specifically told him to book her a room within her budget, and he had done so. It also meant a smaller area, not feasible for a control room where the two of them would be working day in and day out, for God knows how long. When Bauer mentioned he’d booked his room with the workspace in mind, she’d conceded defeat, especially after he’d made her laugh by telling her he couldn’t be apart from Jack, his laptop. She had smiled at first, thinking he was joking about naming his laptop; but no, he had been dead serious. She had chuckled again when Bauer proceeded to name her own laptop Jill, and even made formal introductions when she had brought it over to set up shop in the sitting area of his suite.
“Jack, this is Jill. Jill, this is my buddy Jack.” Bauer had a humorous glint in his eyes that she’d somehow found endearing.
He also looked too damn hot for his own good, which didn’t help matters. To make things easier, Bauer had given Cassandra a spare keycard for his room so she could come and go as she pleased. Taking him at his word, she used it for the first time the morning after their arrival. After knocking on his door and hearing him call out, Come in, she had breezed right in only to stop in her tracks at the sight of Bauer, bare-chested, in the middle of putting on his shirt.
From the dampness of his hair, she could only assume that he had just showered. Frazzled by the view, she turned right around and was on her way back out the door when he stopped her with a humorous, “You can turn around, now. I’m decent.”
From that day forward Cassandra had been extra cautious when entering Bauer’s room. She didn’t need any more images of his six-pack flooding her mind every time she closed her eyes.
Since they had arrived at the hotel and set up their temporary control room a few days before, they had been in daily contact with George, Bauer’s NSA buddy. George had sent them copies of the transcripts from the original calls made by Allison to her family and said he was waiting on a couple more. Once they had received the transcripts and recordings of the calls made by Allison from Italy and the one from Paris, they had been able to analyze them.
Bauer had plugged the origin coordinates from where the known calls had been made into the geographical profiling software he had installed on his laptop while they waited for additional input from George. For Cassandra, the wait was nerve-wracking.
****
Trevor was antsy. Cassandra was allowing no time for play and he really wanted to take her out for dinner, visit a local attraction, or just go for a walk around the block—but she wouldn’t budge. They had been stuffed in the hotel for three days waiting for word from George and hoping for a streak of luck. More and more, Trevor believed Allison was a pawn in a very serious, dangerous game. It was mid-afternoon in Paris when George finally came online.
Okay, George, what do you have? Trevor asked him as soon as they established contact via text chat.
We have a hit on the phone taps. A call from Paris was placed to Allison’s father two days ago. I traced the number to a phone booth on Boulevard Saint-Germain. Trevor could feel George’s excitement through the way the words quickly appeared on the screen.
Now we’re getting somewhere. With one more I can get a better hit on my geolocation query. Keep us informed of any new calls.
Definitely, George replied, and terminated the connection.
Trevor caught Cassandra’s questioning gaze. “We have a hit, but still need more data. If we can get one more set of coordinates we can get a fairly accurate geolocation with minimum radial error.”
“Earth to Bauer. You geek, me regular person. In English this time, please,” she requested with a droll look.
Trevor grinned. “We can focus our attention on a smaller radius of Paris. We can set up stakeouts. Physical surveillance.” He chuckled when he saw the glint of excitement fill her eyes. “We just need her to make more calls. The more coordinates, the more accurate and smaller the area to cover will be.”
“Perfect.” She smiled and his heart churned in his chest.
At that moment, he wished her smile was directed at him for a reason other than his mad computer skills. More than ever, Trevor wanted the case solved so he could concentrate on how to get Cassandra to relax with him and share a conversation that didn’t involve data analysis or transcripts. Stuck in such close quarters with her for days on end had proved to be a bigger challenge than he had thought it would be. Way bigger.
Trevor returned his attention to the screen. “We just need to hang tight. It might be a while before we hear from George.”
The wait would kill her. The past few days working so closely together within the four walls of Bauer’s room were starting to take their toll. Cassandra was getting edgy because she was actually discovering things she found appealing about the man himself. First and foremost, his take-charge attitude and humor that matched hers. And, even when they differed on things, his behavior was a complement to hers. It bothered her that they had things in common. Damn. She needed to get out.
From the intent look on Bauer’s face, she could only assume George was back online, or Bauer had found a new thingamajig he thought intriguing. Realizing she was getting a little too worked up, Cassandra settled on the bed with a deep calming breath. Her hands were tied. She knew, at this time, she was at their mercy and dependent on their resources.
Jetlag still plagued her. Cassandra’s eyelids slowly drooped and she scooted lower in his bed with a big yawn. Bauer was focused on his screen chuckling at something. She trusted he’d call her if they had anything new. She closed her eyes and the sound of his fingers running across the keys lulled her to sleep.
****
The minute he saw George back online, Trevor jumped on text chat with him. There was only one reason he would be back so early.
What happened? Anything good?
I just got today’s report for the search on their numbers. We just had another hit. The new call was to her sister. I’ll have transcripts of the intercept soon. George’s words were promising.
Thank you. Send me the new coords, will you?
Roger, sir, George typed back, making Trevor chuckle—he could hear George’s words echo in his head. Email on your way. You got my encryption key there, correct?
Yeah. I’ll keep you posted on the geolocation results.
So…what’s Paris like? George suddenly changed the direction of the conversation.
With a quick glance at Cassandra, Trevor typed back, Don’t get me started. Bossy to the max. Pretty uptight also.
Must be rough. In romantic Paris with a cute, bossy, uptight girl.
Again, Trevor could hear the humor of George’s words in his mind. He shook his head and replied, It’s rough. Believe me.
Hey! We just got another hit, George typed. Another payphone in Paris.
&nb
sp; Are they geographically close to each other?
Funny you should ask. The phones are within blocks of each other. Pulling up the area now and will send you the new coords ASAP.
Okay, George. Thanks again for your help.
No prob, T, George replied before Trevor closed the connection.
With the new coordinates in his hands, Trevor could get a better probability of which area Allison might frequent. Soon, he saw George’s email hit his inbox. It not only had the coordinates he needed, but also the latest transcripts. He input the numbers into the geolocation program and moved on to reading the transcripts.
****
She had that itchy sensation of being observed. It was one she knew well—her survival skills warning her of a predator in the vicinity, something every CIA operative learned right away. Slowly, she opened her eyes just enough to allow her to locate its source.
Her eyes snapped open, she sat up in bed like a spring, pushed the hair from her face, and took in her surroundings. What the hell? The suitcase by the door was her clue she had fallen asleep in Bauer’s room.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Bauer greeted her from his chair beside the bed, holding a cup exuding a thick tea blend aroma.
Her stomach growled at the thought of breakfast. “Sorry I didn’t wait for you before I got my cup of tea. You wouldn’t like me without my morning cup…believe me.” His tone was humorous, but his eyes reflected something else. There was a certain glimmer playing in them, but she was too hungry to puzzle over it.
“You should have kicked me out of your room.” Her tone was flat, her words a simple statement of a fact. Then a thought struck her. Damn, if she was sleeping on the bed then… “Where’d you sleep?”
A boyish grin curved Bauer’s lips and his eyes darkened to the color of stormy seas as he took a long sip of his tea before he shrugged. “Well it definitely wasn’t the tub or this damned uncomfortable chair. Besides, the bed was big enough for the two of us.”
Somehow, the devilish look in his eyes coupled with the grin on his face and his Irish-laden words made the touch of his lips to his cup look sensual to her. It was clear nothing had happened between them overnight; they were both fully dressed. Bauer, however, now that she looked more closely, was wearing different clothes than she remembered from the night before. She frowned. Had he disrobed to sleep beside her? The eyeful she had of his bare chest on their first day in Paris flashed through her mind and heat crept into her cheeks.
She dismissed his comment as she pushed the plush blanket from her legs and slid them off the side of the bed to get up. Rubbing her face, she glanced back at him. “I don’t know about you, but I am starved.”
“Yes…me too.” Dear lord, how could a simple “yes” sound so naughty?
Shaking her head at her fancy, she stood, walked to where she’d left her shoes neatly lined by the door, and retrieved her purse from the little entry table. She grabbed the doorknob and looked over her shoulder at him. “I’m heading to that little café around the corner in fifteen minutes. If you’re not in the lobby, I’m leaving without you.”
Without another word, Cassandra walked out and closed the door a little too forcefully. She leaned back against it to settle her nerves. She heard Bauer’s chuckle, its warm timbre sending a shiver along her back. She walked into her room, stripped, and went to take a quick shower—a cold one.
****
Damn. The woman was not only beautiful but also strong-minded, Trevor chuckled to himself at her quick retreat.
He’d been lost in activity throughout the night, checking the data George had sent him, running the locating queries several times with slightly different variables to narrow results. It was when he’d stood to stretch and grab a bottle of water that he realized Cassandra had fallen asleep on his bed.
Cassandra had looked so relaxed and vulnerable that he hadn’t had the heart to wake her. When he’d finished with the emails, he’d taken the extra blanket from the closet and covered her with it before slowly slipping into bed and under the covers beside her. He’d prayed he wouldn’t flip her to the floor on her ass by pulling the covers out from under her in his sleep. He’d always been a heavy sleeper, but, luckily for her, it didn’t look like he’d be getting any sleep that night.
Trevor recalled the many interesting moments they’d shared since he and Cassandra had arrived in Paris. The intense look in her eyes when he’d caught her checking him out when she thought he wasn’t looking; desire and need had flashed in them for a micron of a second before she had locked it all down under that thick hatch of hers. The times their hands had brushed and she’d pulled hers quickly back as if she’d been stung.
Those memories were a fist to his gut. He was strung out for the rest of the night, his imagination in overdrive. He’d wondered countless times what it would be like to touch her bare skin. He had wondered that almost from the first minute their eyes had met. Her skin begged to be touched and tasted.
During the course of his private torture, he had rolled over and had found himself facing her. He had traced her features and the curves under the blanket with his eyes, his fingers itching to reach out for her. The light breath escaping her lips, the rise and fall of her chest, her sleepy scent—a mix of lily and just her—made for a very uncomfortable night for him.
Restless, Trevor had gotten up at daybreak and gone for a brisk walk to clear his head in the cool morning air. He had returned to the room with enough time to fix a cup of tea and watch her sleep for a few more minutes before she opened her whiskey-brown eyes to find him contemplating her.
It startled him to admit Cassandra made him dream of happiness. She made him long for the kind of relationship his parents had shared. Since taking on the quest to solve their disappearance, he had decided not to enter a serious relationship. He didn’t want to impose that burden on someone he cared about. But Cassandra made him question that decision.
He wondered what would happen if they became intimate. He was certain it would be more than a physical thing. She made him feel way too much. She made him wish for someone with whom to share the burden and who wouldn’t resent the attention given to his personal project—maybe even take an interest in it and help him.
The thought of voicing his wishes to her thrilled and scared him. What if he had misread the desire in her eyes? What if she ran after being confronted with his feelings for her? Trevor was never one to let negative thoughts bring him down. He might dwell on them sometimes—lord knows his parents’ disappearance had done a number on him—but he always bounced back. True to his nature, he stopped dwelling on those what-ifs and left it up to the luck of the Irish.
Trevor surfaced from his musings and realized he only had a few minutes to meet her downstairs or she’d ditch him. He quickly shut down the computers, locked the external drives in the room’s safe, and headed out to enjoy breakfast with the most beautiful and stubborn woman he’d ever met.
****
Cassandra’s cell rang as she exited her room. She pulled it from her pocket and checked the display. Nathan. He was driving her crazy with his constant ringing and she had been avoiding answering the calls.
Cassandra cursed under her breath. She knew she couldn’t avoid the talk any longer. “Nathan.”
“Cass! Finally! I have been trying to get hold of you. Didn’t you get my messages?”
“Yes, but to be honest, after our last argument, I really didn’t feel like speaking with you.”
“Well, I still can’t believe that you went back to see him after I warned you about him.”
“If you’re going to start again, I’m hanging up.”
“No! Don’t do that. Sorry….Don’t go to Paris. Come see me.” Nathan’s voice held the smallest hint of an apology.
“I can’t Nate. I’m already in Paris.”
“Shit! Cass. You didn’t even check in with me. You should have told me. Hell, I would found a way to go with you!” His patronizing tone got to Cassandra. She had ju
st about had it.
“That’s just it, Nate. I don’t have to check in with you. You need to stop acting like I am your property or something. You are my friend…a good friend, but that’s all. I think I might have given you the wrong impression the night we had sex.”
“Cass…”
“No, Nate. Let me finish this time,” Cassandra insisted before he could interrupt further. “We’ve known each other a long time. I’d like us to stay friends, but only friends. You deserve something better…more than I can give you.”
“You’re wrong Cass. We shared that night, a moment. It was perfect.”
“No, Nathan. It wasn’t perfect. You had a moment, but we didn’t. You didn’t even realize it. I tried. Believe me. We are not together. We are not an item. We never were, Nate. We never will be. I love you as a brother, Nate. Don’t make this harder than it is.”
“It’s Bauer, isn’t it?” he said in low menacing voice. When she tried to deny it, he added, “I saw the way you looked at him.”
“Leave Bauer out of this. This is not about him or anybody else. It’s about how I feel about you.”
“We’ll talk when you get back. I love you, Cass. We belong together. I’ll make you see.”
“No. This ends now, Nathan.”
“This isn’t over, Cass,” she heard him growl as she disconnected the call. Heading down the stairs to meet Bauer, she was relieved to have cleared the air with Nathan. A heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
****
Cassandra was pleasantly surprised when Bauer helped her to her seat before taking his across from her. He didn’t seem the gentlemanly type, yet all his actions so far demonstrated respect and attention. Over the past few days, they had evoked an unspoken truce and talked about everything under the sun, carefully avoiding personal details, but from time to time exposing glimpses into their pasts. They talked about what it was like to work for the largest government organizations in the country; Bauer’s wish of a life of adventure and field work—the reason why he wanted to follow her to Paris—and the dangers of such field work as they talked about her dark experience of being shot. Their discussion had given them both plenty of things to chew on and had left her, and possibly him, with a sense that life was too damn short to be wasted on doubts.
Countermeasure (Countermeasure Series) Page 17
