The tears and fear emanating from Allison pulled at her heart and an overwhelming need to protect her engulfed Cassandra. Damn. Cassandra placed her hand over the clasped ones in the woman’s lap and whispered softly, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Allison appeared to want to avoid contact at all cost and, pretending not to know English, responded in broken French. Cassandra locked eyes with Trevor. She signaled him to join them and played along. “Sorry, I don’t speak French. But my husband does.”
Distracted, Allison wasn’t aware of Trevor’s approach and didn’t notice him until he was already seated next to her. Nervous now that she was boxed in, the woman jerked her hands from under Cassandra’s and moved to stand.
“Allison, wait!” Cassandra whispered.
Allison’s eyes widened. “How did you…?”
Trevor gently gripped Allison’s arm to stop her from leaving. “Allison, please sit. We just want to talk with you. We’re not here to hurt you.”
Trapped, she slowly sat and asked in a shaky tearful voice, “Who are you?”
“My name is Cassandra. Cassandra James. This is my associate, Trevor Bauer. I was in charge of security for Bristol Pharmaceuticals and the formula EXClinic was managing trials for.”
Allison gasped. “Oh my god! How did you find me? I was so careful!”
Trevor cracked a gentle smile. “Well, with the right tools and contacts, anybody can be found.”
His statement appeared to put more fear into Allison’s eyes.
“Allison, we need to talk to you about the copy you made of the formula. Do you still have it? If you do, I’d really like you to consider turning it over to us,” Cassandra said smoothly, keeping her voice low so she wouldn’t attract the attention of the tourists now milling in front of the statue.
“I can’t.”
“Did you already sell it?” Trevor asked in a gentle whisper.
“God, no! I was never going to sell it.”
“Then why did you take it?” he inquired softly, keeping the line of questioning open.
“I was promised it would benefit the sick if I did. I was a fool. Such a stupid fool.” Allison broke down in tears.
Cassandra’s glance told Trevor he should continue talking; Allison was responding to his gentleness. “Allison, tell us what happened. How did you get into this deal?”
She hesitated, then gave in. “I was contacted by a man who told me all about how this medicine will be the cure for so many diseases. He made me think that by accepting his offer, I would be helping the sick and the helpless. I was blind. I thought I could make a difference. I made the copy and flew to Italy, as instructed, where I met the contact at the designated location. But on my way to the meet I started to question everything. It had been a rushed decision based on a painful personal experience. So I decided to ask more questions. Figure out what was really going on behind the scenes. I was scared. I decided to leave the formula some place safe and went to the meeting empty handed. I’m glad I did.”
Allison grew silent, apparently lost in thought. Trevor urged her, “Go on.”
With a deep breath, she sat back and continued, “During the meeting, my contact was unable to answer any of the questions I asked, including whom he worked for and what their real intent was for the drug. He dismissed them all. Needless to say, I was upset—and mad. I had just thrown my life away and damaged my family’s reputation for nothing. When he demanded I turn over the drive with the files, I refused. Told him I didn’t have it.”
Allison took a breath and a hushed sob burst out. “He didn’t believe me, so he searched me. Then he warned me to bring the formula the next day—same time, same place.”
Tears rolled down Allison’s cheeks. Cassandra squeezed her shoulder and moved to take her hand again. “Did you take it to him?
Allison let out another sob. “No. I couldn’t go through with it. All I could think of was that it was for nothing. I would rather Bristol have the formula back. I had truly thought I was going to help innocent people. I went into hiding until I could get enough money to come to Paris.”
“Why Paris? Why didn’t you just go home?” Trevor probed.
“I was ashamed,” she whispered. “I didn’t know if Bristol or EXClinic had reported me to the police. If they had, I knew I’d go to jail. I came to Paris to rethink everything I had done, make decisions about the future. I’d always wanted to visit Paris’s beautiful cathedrals— Nôtre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Sacré Coeur. I thought I’d find an answer here. Paris would give me the chance to fall off the radar until I could figure out what to do.”
Allison suddenly gasped and tried to get up again. “You guys shouldn’t be around me. If you could find me, so will he. It’s not safe for you.” Allison looked lost as she pushed her way past Cassandra and moved quickly to the little wooden door tucked in the wall.
They ran after her and Cassandra caught her by the elbow. “Allison! Wait. We can help you.”
“No! You can’t!” Allison cried, jerking her arm out of Cassandra’s hand.
“We can take the formula off your hands, escort you back to the States. Prove to Bristol that you were coerced, tricked into doing what you did. You never gave up the formula. You have information, a name and description of the contact. They’d still have the advantage,” Cassandra whispered in a rush.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what’s right anymore,” Allison said in a panicked voice.
“Allison,” Trevor spoke softly. “Please, think about it. We can help, make things right for you. You can trust us. Do you have your cell on you?”
“I do, why?” Allison was hesitant.
“Let me have it and I’ll program my number into your phone. All you have to do is press speed dial and you’ll be connected to us.”
She handed it over with a trembling hand and Trevor efficiently entered the number in her contacts list, associating it with the first available speed dial.
He handed her back the phone. “Press number four and you’ll reach us.”
Allison shoved the phone in her pocket. Without another word, she rushed past them and disappeared into the late afternoon crowd of tourists filling the chapel.
Chapter Seventeen
K-i-s-s-i-n-g
On the way back to the hotel, Trevor had resumed fuming, albeit quietly, about Cassandra’s disappearing act. She had given no thought to how worried he would be, as if the conversation they’d had a few days back about being friends bore no meaning for her.
The silence between them had grown to an unbearable level. As they walked out of the elevator toward their rooms, Trevor, unable to contain his thoughts any longer, voiced them. “You don’t care one bit about me.”
Based on her quick reply, Trevor saw Cassandra knew exactly to what he was referring. “I told you already, I didn’t have time to contact or come back for you. We would have lost her. Days of surveillance down the drain! It was a miracle I ran into her in the first place.”
Trevor was quickly losing patience at her refusal to accept that following Allison without back-up had been a mistake. “All I expected was the courtesy of you telling me you were off trailing Allison so I could back you up.”
“You need to stop being obsessive about this. I did what I thought was right. I found her and came back for you. I wasn’t going to leave you there all night.” She looked at him with angry narrowed eyes. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t need this. I had to put up with the same possessive attitude from Nate. Neither of you own me.”
“Cassandra,” he said calmly. “This is not just about you not letting me know right away what was happening. You have to understand that this is about you going off on your own. You could have texted me. I’m your partner in this. I would have followed to give you back-up and, in the end, we would have saved time.”
Without a word, she turned her back to him and headed for her door. Before she could reach it, Trevor grabbed her arm and pinned her to the wall. Cassandra strug
gled and Trevor groaned inside at the feel of her body pressed tight against his. “Damn it, Cassandra. Hold still for a second.”
Her heart drummed rapidly against his chest and he saw her pulse beating at the base of her throat. He didn’t like using his size against her, but he needed her to understand. “This is not about obsession, and I sure as hell am not like your friend, who, by the way, sounds like an ass. This is about friends caring about friends. You said you wanted us to be friends. You wanted us to be a team, and yet you took off and never checked back with me. The next thing I knew, almost an hour had gone by and I had no clue where you were. We know there is something bigger happening behind the scenes, that Allison didn’t act alone. What if you had been hurt?”
“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself,” Cassandra breathed hard in agitation, and bucked against him, still trying to push his body away.
Trevor banked the urge to press harder against her. He continued to pin her arms above her head and put some space between them. “I know you can take care of yourself, but friends are going to worry about your well-being, whether you want it or not—whether you like it or not.”
Trevor grew distracted by the feel of Cassandra’s sweet breath against his skin and leaned slightly forward. “All I’m asking is that you let me know next time so I can be there for you. With you.”
By the time he finished his statement, his lips were mere inches from hers. His mind went into overdrive and the need to taste the texture of her lips overrode his common sense. When her lips parted to protest, he silenced her by capturing her mouth with his.
The kiss made him numb to his surroundings. His sole focus became the softness of her full lips and the mingling of their tastes. Slowly, he released her hands and cupped her face with his, deepening the kiss. A jolt of electricity hit him when she responded, kissing him back just as urgently. Her freed hands gripped his forearms tightly and the kiss grew hot and deep—tongues exploring, teeth nipping.
In a flash, Cassandra pushed him from her. Both froze and stared into each other’s eyes. Before he could comment, she slipped into her room and softly closed the door between them. Trevor stared at the door and ran his fingers through his hair. His arms felt empty without her. The taste of her on his lips was sweeter than he had ever dreamed. It only made him want her more and filled him with a desire to taste her over and over again. He couldn’t let the heat of the moment die so easily.
****
Cassandra locked her door and leaned back against it. Her mind was in shambles. Her cheeks grew hot and a fire burned deep in her belly. Holy shit!
The sensation of his lips touching hers, his tongue invading her mouth, had caused her brain to seize and she had become lost in him—tossed in a sea of sensation and desire, she hadn’t wanted to let go. When he had deepened the kiss, she had wanted to crawl inside him and absorb everything that was Trevor. For the first time in her life she wanted more…wanted it all.
Cassandra’s fingers touched her lips and her thoughts continued to spin out of control. His kiss was like the warmth of the sun on a spring morning, like the tide washing over her feet on the beach. Oh God! Like the taste of dark chocolate melting on her tongue. Suddenly, she wanted to laugh and twirl like a carefree child.
Cassandra’s heart raced a mile a minute when she realized that his kiss made her want to savor the moment instead of run as she had in the past. It was that last thought that truly scared her and made her feel vulnerable. She grew slightly lightheaded at the thought that he could hold the power to break her—as her father had been broken by her mother’s passing. She was determined not to let him.
A knock sounded on the door. “Cassandra!”
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Damn.
“We’re not finished. Open the door. We need to talk.”
She forced her feelings down deep, turned around, rested her forehead against the door and said loud enough for him to hear, “There’s nothing left to say, Bauer. Do us both a favor. Stick to your data. It’s what you do best. If you can’t keep up, you can stay behind. We found her, didn’t we? Leave the rest alone.”
****
Back in his room, Trevor sat on the bed and tried to work through his turbulent emotions. The worry that had gnawed at him when she hadn’t returned from what should had been a short walk. The anxiety while he had searched for her in the maze of people. The relief when he had seen her waving her arms from the other side of the street. The anger over the fact she had followed Allison without even bothering to alert him—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! The woman drives me bonkers.
What disturbed him more was the intensity of the kiss and the feelings it invoked. To distract himself from dwelling on what had just taken place, Trevor decided to follow up with George and sent him a quick email asking if he was available to talk on chat. George quickly replied he would log in and, since he was at home, they could have a video conference.
“What’s up? Why the frown?” George asked as soon as the video feed was established.
“We got a lead. Cassandra found our girl.”
“That’s good news!”
“It gets better. She still has the formula in her possession. We tried to convince her to hand it over to us. I think she is on the verge of breaking. She’s confused, scared, and alone. Hopefully she understood we can help and will call us.”
“So what’s with the face?”
Trevor needed to vent his frustrations and he exploded, “It’s Cassandra. The lass is driving me nuts. Her plan to stake out the café was brilliant. Her hunch paid off big time. She took off for a walk and ran into Allison, but instead of letting me know she was in pursuit, Cassandra disappeared after her. She was gone for close to an hour!” Trevor’s inflection was a clear display of how deeply it had affected him.
“Oh, T.,” George half chuckled.
Trevor could see George was holding back his laughter. “What? Is it too much to ask to be included in what the hell is going on? What if something had happened? I wouldn’t even have known where to look for her.”
“Dude! Did you hear what you just said? Tell me. Are you more upset that she kept you in the dark, or with the idea that something could have happened to her? Personally, I believe she was thinking on her feet. She knew it was your one chance to find the woman. Besides, she came back for you, right? She could’ve ditched you and dealt with Allison on her own, but she didn’t.”
Is he right? Was I overreacting because I was worried about her safety and didn’t consider that she made a solid decision? Trevor accepted that he needed to rethink everything from a different perspective.
He changed the subject. “Keep the taps on the family and let me know if you hear anything. Cassandra said Allison came out of a small restaurant when she spotted her. It would help if we could pinpoint where she might be staying.”
“Will do.” Before the call disconnected, Trevor overheard him singing what sounded like an old nursery rhyme under his breath: “Trevor and Cassandra sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g….”
Trevor shook his head, shut down the program, and flopped onto the bed. Covering his eyes with his forearm, he tried to wind down, but the case filled his mind. He was fast becoming concerned regarding what Allison had shared with them. The entity behind the theft was not one they should mess with.
What if someone had seen Cassandra trailing her? Had they been followed or watched while they made their way to the cathedral? The simple project was quickly turning sour. Trevor exhaled deeply and tried to relax, but his thoughts kept finding their way back to Cassandra and their kiss. Its heat still seared him. Soon his eyelids grew heavy and the silly nursery rhyme played in his head: “…First comes love, then comes marriage.…”
****
Trevor woke to the ring of his cell phone. He realized it was pitch black out as he quickly pushed himself up and scrambled off the bed to grab it from the nightstand.
“Hello?” he answered in a groggy voice.
“M
r. Bauer?”
“Allison!” Trevor instantly recognized her voice. “Yes, this is Trevor.” Silence filled the distance and he could hear Allison’s heavy breathing on the other end. “Allison? Are you there?”
“Yes. Yes. I’m here. Can we meet?” Allison sounded emboldened, possibly by the hope they had awoken in her.
“When Allison? Just say where and when.”
“Now, Mr. Bauer! I need to see you both, now. You said you could help me. I’ve made my decision.”
“Where do you want us to meet you?”
“Here. My place.” Allison gave Trevor the address and disconnected.
Trevor rushed across the hall to Cassandra’s door and banged on it.
“Cassandra! Cassandra! Open up!”
“What the hell is wrong with you? It was just a kiss!” Cassandra bit out as she opened the door, sporting a scowl and a fighting attitude.
Trevor wanted to shake her. “We’ll talk about that later. We need to get moving. Allison just called.”
Chapter Eighteen
Unexpected Visitor
Allison set the phone down, her thoughts whirling in her head. She had gotten herself into a hell of a mess and was having a hard time finding her way out of it. She had received the scare of her life when she had been confronted by the two people she now believed were her salvation—the only ones who could help her out of the snare she was caught in.
After talking to Mr. Bauer and Ms. James, she had finally found the way. For the past week, she had been visiting the many Parisian churches hoping for enlightenment. It had arrived in the form of these two strangers. That day, before heading to the Cathedral, she had stopped at the headquarters of the humanitarian group she had been in contact with and signed the final paperwork sealing her acceptance of the position she would be taking in Vietnam.
Countermeasure (Countermeasure Series) Page 19
