Cassandra’s heart thudded in her throat at the thought of so many lost years, opportunities…. “I… I’m so sorry, Damon.”
“No offense,” Renzo interrupted, “but that Viktor guy is a bastard, Cass.”
Before he could add anything, his phone rang. Renzo answered it, frowning. “Dad?” A pause, then the frown deepened. “I’m at Cass’, stayed the night.”
Cassandra reached out, touching Damon’s hand. He glanced down at their fingers intertwining, and a smile tugged at his lips. “Some story, huh?”
“You could say that.”
“Wait, you want me there now?” They turned to Renzo just as he hung up, rolling his eyes. “Gotta bounce, dad needs me for something. See you guys later?”
Cassandra let go of Damon’s hand and stepped back, biting on her lip. “Oh, crap.” The words escaped her as she recalled promising Alain to meet him that night.
Stupid as it was, she’d agreed more out of courtesy than a true desire to be in a club after the attack. Considering what was brewing between her and Damon, she fully intended to let the Frenchman down easily that night.
She eyed Renzo, then Damon, but the latter’s intense gaze clearly hid an underlying frustration. “Umm…” Standing her ground wouldn’t be easy, especially since her ex-boyfriend seemed to have quite an aversion to putting her in the path of danger.
Which was exactly what would happen that night. After all, going out in a crowd after a shooter had tried to take out her best friend was not the best cover. Especially considering she was heiress to one of the biggest empires in the world.
“Go on, Cass,” Damon said, though it sounded more like a growl than anything else. So he’d known – or suspected – the reason for Alain’s call and was waiting for her to remember it.
Damn him, for being so perceptive!
In a rush of arrogance, Cassandra raised her chin up, and answered Renzo’s question, rather than Damon’s command. “You’ll see me at the club. I promised Alain I’d do my best to be there tonight.”
Renzo’s eyes widened and he darted a glance towards Damon. Cassandra refrained from doing the same, knowing fire would blaze in his eyes, since he no longer bothered to conceal it.
Renzo, now clearly expecting another row between her and Damon, cleared his throat and said, “All right then. Later.” With the parting words, the front door closed, and she was left alone with Damon.
Cassandra took a deep breath and turned to him. “I’ll be upstairs changing.”
Damon stepped in front of her before she could move, and with his free hand lifted her chin up. “So did it meet your expectations?”
She couldn’t pinpoint the tone of his voice, somewhere between bitter and hopeful. “What do you mean?”
“My explanation for leaving.” Damon searched her expression, then his own shuttered as if he’d found a disappointing answer. He let go of her and stepped back, releasing a pent-up breath. “Or did it only serve to make you hate me more?”
“I don’t…” Cassandra cleared her throat, in an attempt to forcefully get past the stubborn lump that was choking her. “I don’t hate you, Damon. And I don’t get what you mean by meeting my expectations, but your story did answer questions I’ve needed solved for a while now.”
Damon’s expression didn’t change, and she couldn’t figure out what to say to bring back the connection that had been lingering between them earlier. At a loss, Cassandra added, “I just need time, D. To wrap my head around the bastard my adoptive father is, and to figure out where I stand on this.”
Rather than argue, Damon nodded. His countenance made her even more wary, if that was possible. Not sure if his quick acceptance was good or bad, Cassandra swallowed past the lump in her throat and climbed the stairs back to her room.
♥ Chapter 18 ♥
Less than thirty minutes later, Cassandra emerged from her room. A dark purple wrap dress hugged her body, displaying her curves. The silk whispered against her skin, paired with three-inch-high stilettos. She hadn’t bothered with much makeup, other than her usual mascara and lip-gloss.
Though she was still shaken by Damon’s confession, there was nothing she could do for the time being. She’d meant what she’d said. Time was key. And still, part of her wanted nothing more than to run to Damon and admit all was forgiven, if only they could start anew.
Lost in her thoughts as she walked down the hallway, Cassandra nearly jumped out of her skin when Damon walked out of the kitchen. Freshly showered – presumably in the basement shower – and changed, he was clad in a pair of blue jeans and a dark t-shirt. A leather jacket was slung over his left shoulder.
To her further confusion, rather than start a heavy conversation Damon’s eyes raked over her body from top to bottom, then slowly made their way back to meet her gaze. A blush burned in her cheeks, but Cassandra willed herself to remain composed.
As the outfit he was wearing implied he wasn’t staying home, she frowned. “Where are you going?”
Damon shrugged, seemingly unwilling to answer, and she rolled her eyes, about to leave. “You can order pizza if you’re hungry. Later, Damon.”
His hand shot out when she passed by him, blocking her way. Without a word, he reached for her palm and took her car keys out of her hand. He then placed them on the small table near the door.
Cassandra glared at Damon, tapping her foot. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m coming with you.” Only the slightest smirk accompanied his announcement, which further irked her.
“I don’t need a bodyguard, Damon! Haven’t we been over this already?”
He looked her up and down again, the distinct burning in his eyes sending a shiver down her spine. Cassandra gritted her teeth, determined not to let him see it.
“Oh, I think you do, Cass,” was all he said. Engulfing her hand in his larger one, he led her out the door and to his shiny car.
Despite everything in her that wanted to start a scene, Cassandra bit her feelings down. He’s impossible, there’s nothing more to it. And the more I show him this gets to me, the more he’ll do it.
When Damon slid in the car and turned the engine on, still wearing that satisfied smirk, Cassandra had to sit on her hands. The impulse to slap him was too strong.
♥∞♥
An hour or so later, Cassandra’s fury had abated. Damon was with her every step, either behind her or ahead, predicting her every move. Despite his earlier demeanour, the way he kept an eye out for trouble and manoeuvred them away from drama had its perks.
So although it still irked Cassandra that he saw her like someone in need of saving, she gave in. No rescue arrived from Alain, as the charming Frenchman was nowhere in sight – something Damon was all too happy for.
As he returned by her side with a drink, Damon scanned the crowd. He pointed to a booth away from the bar, and Cassandra followed him there.
“Remind me why we have to be in this forsaken place again?” His scowl had more than one girl scurrying away. “Because I really don’t see the point.”
“Well, let me enlighten you. A, I had a date tonight, but it seems to have fallen apart – and I’m pretty sure you had something to do with it.” Damon opened his mouth to protest, but Cassandra held up a second finger. “And B, me and Renzo like the music, and he wanted to hang out.”
Damon muttered something under his breath, but the conversation stalled when a shadow loomed over the booth. He tensed, turning his body halfway to hide Cassandra’s. They both relaxed when their eyes fell on Renzo – grinning and carrying a tray with drinks.
“I thought your dad wouldn’t let you out,” Cassandra said, reaching up and helping her friend set the tray on the table.
Renzo bent to kiss her cheek, then took a seat on her free side – she was effectively sandwiched between them. Well, I bet no one’s going to try anything now…
Renzo’s laugh pulled Cassandra out of her thoughts. “Old man’s getting weirder by the day. He was asking a
bout you, Cass.”
Damon’s attention zeroed in on Renzo’s words, and Cassandra sensed his body taut with tension once more. She wanted to smack her friend for throwing coal onto the fire.
“What was he asking?” Damon probed.
“Just how Cass is doing, if she’s seeing anyone… I asked him about his visit at the club the other night, and all he said was that I had everything under control.”
Damon didn’t answer, instead glancing out at the mass of people moving on the dance floor. He reached blindly for one of the glasses Renzo had brought and took a sip, but his eyes remained fixated on some unseen threat.
Cassandra sighed and reached for a drink, leaving the last for Renzo.
“How are you?”
Renzo’s question surprised Cassandra. She glanced towards Damon, then back to her friend, knowing he was alluding to Damon’s earlier revelations. “I’m okay. I… It feels good to have questions answered, you know. Not wonder anymore, thinking I had something to do with…”
She trailed off, and Renzo nodded in understanding, reaching for her hand.
♥∞♥
Damon tried to keep his expression blank, though it killed him inside. Cassandra thought he hadn’t heard, but he wouldn’t have missed her words for the world. He’d hoped at least his explanation would have fixed part of the distance between them, but it didn’t seem it had helped – not if Cassandra’s attitude was anything to go by.
The wayward thoughts were enough to distract Damon from his vigilant watch – at least until another man pushed through the throng of people.
His muscles tensed despite his best efforts to hide it, and Cassandra stopped whispering to Renzo, turning to him instead. “What is it?”
“Not what, who. Alain.” The words come out through gritted teeth, but already Cassandra stood and exited through Renzo’s side. Damon was too late to stop her. Yelling would have only drawn attention.
He watched with narrowed eyes as Cassandra sashayed to Wraith – Alain. They chatted for a bit, his lips way too close to her ears for his liking.
As a way to distract himself from the raging tornado that demanded he go and rip the assassin’s head off, Damon focused on assessing him. The lighting was dim in the club, but to his trained eyes it played no tricks. That’s how he noticed the purple skin under Wraith’s eyes, from where his nose must have been broken.
“What’s wrong?” Renzo asked, moving within hearing.
Damon clenched his fist under the table, and jerked his chin to Wraith. “That guy is what’s wrong.”
Renzo followed his gaze and his eyes landed on Wraith. “My dad warned me about him.”
His words were enough to catch Damon’s attention, and he turned away from Cassandra and her dancing partner. “What about him?”
“Dad said the guy’s bad news, known in their circles.” Renzo frowned, his eyes set on Damon. “He’s hiding something. What’s going on? Why his sudden interest in Cass?”
Why, indeed… It might warrant a closer chat with Mr. Moretti.
Rather than answer Renzo, Damon said, “Why didn’t you tell Cass any of this?”
The younger man gave him a look. “Because you don’t trust this guy and yet haven’t told her anything. So how about you tell me the truth, and nothing but the truth?”
Damon sighed, then glanced at Cassandra again. Only, she was gone – as was Wraith.
“Shit!” He jumped to his feet, drink forgotten on the table, scanning the crowd wildly. Not this again!
“They’re over there,” Renzo pointed out, now by his side. Damon shifted his gaze to a corner, where Wraith was leaning a bit too close to Cassandra.
He was about to stalk there and rip him away from her, when Renzo gripped his forearm. “Tell me.” His gaze was insistent, jaw clenched in determination.
Damon let out an annoyed breath, then wrenched his arm away. “He’s a hitman, all right? From what my team gathered, Cassandra’s dad hired him to kidnap her, so he could get his hands on her money. I’m here to protect her, but was ordered not to tell her and grab dirt on the guy instead to put him in jail.”
There was a long moment of silence as Renzo stared at Damon, then he exploded. “Are you kidding me?” His eyes were near black with anger. “I thought you loved her, man! But you’re using her as bait?”
Damon saw red. He grabbed Renzo by his shirt and slammed him into the wall, with no care for the attention he’d be attracting. “I do love her, dammit! But I was given orders.”
“And you listened like a good little puppy?” Renzo spit in his face, sneering. “I thought you’d protect her, man. That you were some big shot guy with a security firm. But you’re just another coward who takes orders, aren’t you?”
Damon’s fist punched the wall with enough force to put a dent in it, but still he didn’t let go of Renzo. “You don’t have a fucking clue, kid. None at all. This guy’s not going let her go, even if I take her away. I need to make sure he’s going to be somewhere he can’t get out of. But he’s a ghost! And yeah, to keep an eye on him, I have no choice but to let Cass do whatever the hell she pleases.” He threw a glance over his shoulder, his voice softening. “Even if it means getting close to him.”
“And you’re letting him dance with her!”
“I don’t want to!” Damon roared, slamming his fist in the wall again. “But it’s my best bloody chance to get something on this guy. Do you know the kind of monster he is?”
One-handed, he pulled his cell out of his pocket and scrolled through until he loaded the pictures. When he pointed the screen towards him, Renzo went slack under his hand, paling.
Cassandra chose that moment to walk in, without her suitor.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Before Damon could answer, she shoved him away from Renzo and grabbed the device.
“Cass, no!”
It was too late to pull the images away, Damon knew it as soon as her eyes dulled and filled with tears. She held a hand to the table, as if unable to stand up any more, and leaned against it. With her free hand, Cassandra continued to scroll through the pictures for long moments.
Damon knew what she was seeing: dismembered bodies, mutilated children, decapitated women. Wraith had tortured anyone and everyone for money. Jack the Ripper had nothing on him, and even after all this time he couldn’t get the images out of his head.
He didn’t want them in Cassandra’s. With a look to Renzo warning him to stay put, he pulled the gadget out of her hands.
“You don’t need to see this,” he said.
Cassandra looked up at him then, but it was pure fury he read in those eyes. “What kind of monster does that?”
Damon hesitated, glancing at Renzo. The kid kept his mouth shut, but he could see in his eyes the disapproval over keeping silent. He glanced down at the pictures, and right then and there, he decided enough was enough. No more secrets.
“Your new admirer.”
Cassandra’s eyes widened, and she glanced over her shoulder to where she had presumably left the assassin behind. “Alain? But…”
“That’s one of his aliases, but his middle name is Anton. He’s a ghost, known through international policing circles as Wraith. Interpol has warrants galore on him, as does every police force in the world. None have been able to catch him. I wanted to kill him the minute he contacted you, but was told to bring him in – legally. With proof that would put him behind bars for the rest of his life.”
“Why not kill him?”
Damon searched her gaze, unused to Cassandra’s harsh tone. Realization dawned on him that the pictures had shaken her more than she would admit.
“Because they want the information he can give.”
“As if a monster like him would give that freely!” Renzo said.
“He wouldn’t, but there are ways…” Damon pocketed his cellphone, shrugging. “Once he’s behind bars, nothing stops the country that has him from getting whatever they need out of him through any
means they see fit.”
“You mean torture,” Cassandra whispered.
Damon met her gaze, and nodded. “He doesn’t deserve mercy.”
“No, he doesn’t,” she agreed. “But why him? Why does he have his sights set on me?”
Here comes the hard part. “Your dad set him on you. Alain is also the one that attacked you, in your home.”
Cassandra’s eyes hardened, and she lifted her chin that bit higher. “Then I want to help you catch him.”
“Cass…”
Renzo’s plea fell on deaf ears, as Cassandra stepped closer to Damon. “What do you need from me?”
And while the soldier in Damon was fist-punching the air in victory, his heart squeezed.
♥∞♥
The restaurant was beautiful, cozy and romantic, and the company was agreeable. It would have been a perfect first date, were it not for the psycho opposite her. All Cassandra could think of were the pictures from Damon’s phone, and his tortured expression as he’d filled her in on the operation.
She’d been angry at first that he hid all of it, but it had faded with the realization she could help nail the monster. And now, sitting across from Alain in a demure black dress, she willed herself to breathe evenly.
“Relax,” Damon said in the earpiece.
The device he’d given her was hidden behind her cascading hair. Cassandra tugged on her earlobe, the signal they agreed on for her to confirm she was all right. If she was not, and wanted to get out, all she had to do was cough into her elbow. Not that she planned to do that, after having spent the better part of the previous evening and morning convincing Damon to let her be his field agent.
I’m getting what I came here for.
“Something on your mind?” Alain – Anton – asked as their waiter left to bring their food.
“I’m sorry,” Cassandra smiled, sipping the last of the wine from her glass. “Old drama, is all.”
With a smile that made her skin crawl, he poured them more wine. Cassandra held the glass to her lips for an extra moment, inhaling the aroma. Could he have slipped me something?
Blood Ties, Love Binds Page 15
