Countermeasure (Countermeasure Series)

by Cecilia Aubrey

  Cassandra watched him intently. She listened quietly, studied him closely, and watched his gestures, all without one single interruption during the story-of-his-life confession. He could tell she was trying to puzzle through it.

  “The codename of the formula was the reason I hacked into the servers.”

  Her eyes narrowed and she finally spoke. “How can a formula’s codename have anything to do with your parents’ disappearance?”

  He took a deep breath and let it out. “It doesn’t. When I heard the name at that time, I believed it did. The Morrígan was the name of my parents’ yacht. It’s from an Irish legend. I was intrigued that the formula had been given the same name. I was looking for a connection between the disappearance of the formula and my parents’.”

  “And?”

  “Nothing. My father was the head developer for the biometric software created to measure the new drug’s efficacy. I don’t know how the name was chosen, but it could have been a simple coincidence. Either way, I’m glad it did or I’d never have met you.”

  Trevor finished his tale and exhaled a deep breath. The rest of the story was hers to write. He had given her his all. He had bared his soul. He waited for her to move closer, touch his face, say something to reassure him he had been right about her feelings, but the actions and words he sought never came.

  Squaring her shoulders, Cassandra scrubbed her face with her hands. She felt disjointed, lost, and slightly out of control. “I need to think.”

  She brushed past him before he could say anything else and walked into the restroom. Shutting the door, she stared in the mirror and remembered doing the same not too long ago when she had questioned her sanity in asking for Trevor’s help. She didn’t regret it; if she had to do it all over again, she would still take the same path.

  Kenyon’s lifeless body flashed in the mirror and Cassandra had to acknowledge what Jessica had been trying to tell her all along—life was too short. She needed to leave the shade of the rock under which she had been living and walk in the sun.

  With a shaky hand, she turned on the shower. When steam filled the room, she dropped Trevor’s shirt to the rug and stepped under the water’s spray.

  ****

  Trevor’s heart broke in a million pieces as he watched Cassandra walk away from him. Each step she took was as if she was putting a mile between them. Staring at the closed bathroom door, he prayed that she would open it again and run back into his arms. He hung his head when the door didn’t open and tried to grasp what had just happened.

  He had thought that baring his soul to her would give her what she needed, the last piece of him. Instead, it had created a chasm between them—one that he was not sure he could cross.

  Trevor shoved his hands into his pant pockets and slowly walked to the window. He stared out at the view of Monte Carlo’s streets bordered by the sea, all pinpointed in light, with the brightly illuminated casino in the background. The view was one of romance and beauty, but he was immune to its allure. It was the dark skies above the beautiful view that matched the darkness growing inside him.

  Trevor frowned at the idea of what his existence would be from that point on. He could return to his ordered and quiet life, his somewhat stimulating desk job, and the house he shared with George, but Cassandra had permeated every single aspect of him. He knew nothing was ever going to feel the same. Images of her—impatiently standing by his desk, her angry stare as she grabbed his arm in the meeting room, the fire burning in her eyes at his comeback to her touch, leaning against the car with sunglass-shaded eyes, and later challenging his masculinity in his living room—scrolled rapidly in his head. Those memories would never fade. Ghosts of a failed dream that would forever haunt him.

  His thoughts wandered toward his search for his parents. He had a goal and he planned to tackle it with all his might. Maybe Ireland was the cure for all his ills. Time was all that was left to him to lay the dream of a life with Cassandra to rest. He hoped moving back to his homeland to continue the investigation would keep him occupied. He truly prayed it would. It was all he had to hang on to.

  ****

  Brushing her hands over her face, Cassandra let the water wash away the images of Allison, Kenyon, and her mother. Soaping her hair, she faced the fact that she couldn’t change her father. As she reached for the wash rag, she resolved that she would not be going back to work for him. It was time for her to move on. Trevor had also gone through loss—a harder loss to digest, due to the circumstances surrounding it, and yet he was somehow moving on with his life—one he wanted to build with her. Turning her back to the shower’s spray, she rinsed her hair and knew that she would take a chance on Trevor. When her hand brushed against the scar at her hip, it was like a floodgate had burst open.

  Tears began to mix with the water and she slumped to the tile floor of the shower. Circling her arms around her legs, she pulled them tight against her chest and dropped her forehead against her knees. Overwhelmed by it all—her injury, her father’s scrutiny, her encounter with Nathan, her failure to protect the formula, the murders of Allison and Kenyon, and the tragic story of Trevor’s parents—sobs racked her body.

  Everything made sense to her now. Trevor’s infiltration on the server had not been to steal or cause damage. He had told her the truth from day one. His curiosity about the name and the possibility of a clue to his parents had driven him to do it. He had never had any interest in the formula itself. That was the reason there hadn’t been any connections between him and the pharmaceutical world when she had checked on him. Her instincts at the time had told her he was hiding something, she just never imagined it was something completely apart from what they were after.

  All her red-flag concerns had been answered in one single swoop. All of the barriers she had created and nurtured during the few weeks they had been travelling together, and throughout her life, had crumbled at her feet. Trevor was all she ever wanted and never thought she would find. The caring, respectful man who admired her intelligence, who never took her moral or physical strength for granted, who loved her for who she was, who saw her for who she was on the inside, and who trusted her opinions and judgment as much as his own.

  She was his, just like she knew he was hers. No point in running from it. If she avoided commitment for fear of the emptiness at possibly losing him, she would miss out on a lifetime of fulfillment while she did have him.

  The chill of the water broke her out of her introspection. Cassandra turned the water off, stepped out, and dried herself. She wrapped the towel around her and, with one last look in the mirror, went in search of Trevor. She found him standing by the window looking out at the darkness, seemingly lost in thought. She moved to stand in his line of vision and cupped his cheek to draw his attention. He covered her hand with his, closed his eyes, and released a deep breath. She moved closer, placed her other hand over his heart, and felt the hard, fast beat of it under her fingers—a beat that matched her own.

  “Please say something.” Trevor, afraid to open his eyes, was uncertain what her touch meant. Did it mean he had finally broken through her shell? Or did she pity him for his madness?

  “You’re right.”

  Trevor’s eyes snapped open and collided with hers.

  “Wow. No words, huh?” She smiled softly. “Don’t get used to hearing ‘you’re right’ all the time. It might not happen in the future as often as you’d expect.”

  Trevor’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of a future. “What are you telling me, Cassie girl?”

  She laughed out loud. “Are all Irishmen this dim? You were right. I was scared, but not anymore. I love you, Trevor. Believe it or not, I’ve loved you since the first shite you said in front of me.”

  Trevor pulled her into his arms. A soft chuckle rumbled deep in his chest before he took her mouth with his.

  Cassandra pulled back. Out of breath, she rested her forehead on Trevor’s chest, gasping. His kiss had scattered her thoughts and her pulse raced out of
control. She needed him again, this time not out of a desire fueled by danger but out of desire born of love.

  Slowly, Cassandra raised her head and met Trevor’s questioning gaze. She took his hand and drew him toward the bedroom with her. Trevor’s breath hissed when she let the towel drop to the floor and reached for the zipper of his pants. Sliding it down, she slipped her hands inside along his hips and pushed his pants off. When Trevor stepped out of them, Cassandra took his hand again and pulled him to the bed.

  Trevor’s eyes gleamed as she moved to the middle, tugging him with her until both were lying on their sides facing each other. She studied him, memorizing his features. Cassandra caught the question still lurking in his eyes. With a shaky breath, she placed her hand on his hip, then slid it down along his thigh and back up again. She didn’t stop there. She continued to glide it up and along his waist.

  She loved the feel of the muscles that bunched under the pass of her hand. When it met his elbow, she adjusted her path and continued her feathery touch along his bicep and shoulder until finally cupping the side of his neck. Brushing her thumb along his jawline, her eyes followed the movement, enjoying the feel of the whiskers that had grown since his morning shave. She skimmed her hand up along his neck until it reached his cheek then brushed her thumb along his bottom lip—a lip she was aching to pull into her mouth.

  While trapped under the bed she had closed off everything except what was happening in Kenyon’s room so she could be prepared for the worst—to defend herself. To let her emotions run free would’ve been the death of her. Now that her emotions were running amuck, she was drowning in her love for him.

  When Trevor tipped her chin so her eyes could meet his, her heart clamored in her chest and the desire burning beneath his hooded lids had her catching her breath. Drawn by the look, she slipped her arm under Trevor’s, splayed her hand along his spine, and pressed her body against the full length of his.

  When his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her even tighter against him, she released a sigh, one full of need. His face was so close that she gave in to temptation and licked his lips, outlining them and playing with the corner of his mouth. A soft moan rose in his throat and passed his lips, a sensual invitation to push her tongue between them, which she gladly accepted.

  Trevor’s heart stopped for a moment and he held his breath while Cassandra’s hand and fingers trailed along his skin, every inch of him burning under her touch. He moved his arm from her waist and glided his hand to the curve of her lower back, running the pads of his fingers along the two little dimples before gripping her ass tight and taking control of the kiss. He couldn’t get enough of her taste. Their kiss grew more intense and her body undulated against him, trapping his rigid erection between them.

  With each press of her pelvis, his shaft twitched. Trevor groaned and sucked on her full lips while he smoothed his hand along her thigh until he reached the bend of her knee. He pulled her leg over his hip and thrust hard and deep.

  Cassandra fell back against the pillow, a soft moan vibrating deep in her chest as she rocked against him. Reaching for the back of her head, he wrapped her long silky hair in his fist and pulled her head further back until her graceful spine bowed slightly, bringing her nipples within reach of his lips. Quickly latching onto one, he pulled gently on the nipple with his teeth and then sucked on it hard.

  “God!’ Cassandra cried out, pressing herself down on him.

  He continued to move in and out of her, increasing his depth with each penetration. Cassandra’s fingers dug into his hair and she held him to her while he continued his assault, licking along her chest to tongue her other nipple before circling it and pulling it into his mouth.

  With each suck, Cassandra’s hips surged and ground against his, and soon he could feel her muscles tightening as her orgasm drew near. Releasing her breast, he took her mouth again. The tingle at the base of his spine and the tightening of his balls pulled a groan from him. He rolled her over and leveraged himself on his arms as he continued to pound into her, “Come with me, Cassie!”

  “Yes! Now!” she cried out, reaching her release. As her inner muscles rippled around and caressed his cock, he followed her into his own.

  Safe within the circle of Trevor’s arms, Cassandra’s body hummed and she felt as if she were floating. Waiting for their heart rate and breathing to return to normal, she could feel Trevor’s unasked questions beating at her. Questions she knew revolved around the events that had taken place while she had been trapped in Kenyon’s room.

  Almost as if reading her thoughts, Trevor asked, “Do you want to tell me about what happened in the room?”

  She was hesitant to break their comfortable silence, but knew it needed to be done. Softly, she blurted out, “It was awful. There was nothing I could do.”

  Trevor strummed his fingertips along her back. “Tell me everything.”

  Cassandra took a second to collect her thoughts. “It was going like clockwork, just as we had planned. I was able to open the safe and get the drive with no issues. I was on my way out when I heard someone at the door, so I ran into the bedroom. The only place to hide was under the bed, so I dove under it. The person who entered the room wasn’t Kenyon, as you know from the surveillance.”

  Taking a deep breath, Cassandra snuggled closer to him and Trevor tightened his hold around her. “Keep going.”

  “The man caught Kenyon by surprise. He introduced himself as Niklas. He knew about Allison and the hard drive. He was specifically looking for it, Trev. Kenyon tried to talk himself out of it, but Niklas shot him. Kenyon then confessed that it was in the safe. When Niklas opened it and found it empty, he shot Kenyon a second time. It looks like Kenyon had a partner, a woman. Niklas questioned Kenyon about her and when he didn’t cough up her whereabouts, Niklas killed him. One shot to the chest and two to the head. Execution style.”

  “Shite!”

  Cassandra pulled from his arms and moved from the bed. Searching the floor for her pants, she grabbed the hard drive from her pocket and returned to sit on the bed next to Trevor. She turned it over in her hands and then looked down at Trevor with regret and sadness in her eyes. “I killed him. I took this and he was shot for it.”

  “Cassie, look at me.” He pulled her back into his arms and tucked her under the covers with him. “From what you just told me, he was a goner anyway. He was dead even before Niklas opened the safe.”

  “It doesn’t change the fact that I let a man die. I didn’t even try to help him.”

  “Lass, you would’ve been killed if you’d tried. You’d have been lost to me,” he whispered, tucking his face into her neck.

  Cassandra shuddered at the memory of Kenyon’s cries. “I know, you’re right. I could tell from Niklas’s voice he enjoyed his job. Gloated about his skills. He would’ve had a field day if he had found me under the bed.” She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We need to find out what’s going on. See who this Niklas is and who he works for.”

  “I know, a ghrá.”

  Trevor took the hard drive from her and set it on the night table. “Sleep first. You need it. It’s been a tough night.”

  “But we should….”

  Hushing Cassandra’s protest with a kiss, he pushed the switch next to the bed and turned out the lights. The dark circles under Cassandra’s eyes had told him all he needed to know—she was exhausted.

  “Trev? You just called me something. What was it?” she asked with a sleepy yawn.

  “A ghrá. It’s an Irish endearment. It means, ‘my love.’”

  “Hmm, I like it. At least it’s not another word for asshole.”

  Trevor chuckled. “Sleep, Cassie.”

  “Yes… a… ghrá.”

  Wide awake and too keyed up to sleep, Trevor stared out into the dark listening to the sound of Cassandra’s soft breaths and rejoicing in the simple fact that she was safe in his arms. That she was finally his. Her body settled heavily against him and her breath grew
shallow. Trevor, sensing she was deep asleep, slipped slowly from the bed and watched her roll into his warm empty spot. Once she settled again, he padded to the sitting room and closed the doors between the rooms to keep from disturbing her.

  At his computer, he quickly scanned the video he had recorded that evening to the segments showing Niklas. Only his profile was visible when he had entered the room, but his face was in full view of the camera when he had turned to hang the Do Not Disturb sign on his way out. Trevor froze the screen and took a screenshot of the image.

  His attention was drawn once again to the sign hanging on the handle. He knew that the sign wasn’t going to keep hotel staff out once the body started to smell. He and Cassandra needed to be gone before that happened. Filled with a determination to keep her safe, Trevor opened the browser and booked train seats from Monte Carlo to Nice and a first-class sleeper cabin from Nice to Paris. He would have plenty of time to book flights back to the States from the train. They could focus their attention on tracking Niklas and finding any connections to the case from the safety of US soil.

  A yawn had him craving his bed and Cassandra’s warm body. He quickly called up the image he’d saved. He knew it would be a shot in the dark, but he still sent it to George in an encrypted email with a request for his help in identifying who the hell Niklas was and any known associates.

  Once finished, Trevor gathered their belongings and packed most of their things. He set the alarm and returned to the bedroom, slipping under the covers behind Cassandra. Trevor pulled her gently against him, spooned her, and buried his nose in the nape of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent as waited for sleep to claim him.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Search

  Cassandra woke to find herself in a cocoon of warmth. Trevor was wrapped around her; elated, she realized there was no other place she would rather be. A sound broke the silence in the room and it finally dawned on her what had disturbed her sleep.