by V. A. Dold
Seth barked out a laugh and grinned even more. “Cher, you’re so much more than an employee.”
Clearly, Seth wasn’t going to be of any help getting her out of this mess. And evidently, the rat bastard found her predicament hilarious.
Ten
Marcus got in the limo and scowled at Seth, who was still laughing. “Take us to the condo.”
“No. Take me to the Hampton Inn near the office,” she countered.
Seth pulled away from her wretched apartment and glanced at Cassidy in the rearview mirror. “Sorry, cher.”
Cassidy narrowed her eyes at Seth then turned her glare on Marcus. “You can take me to the condo, but that doesn’t mean I’m going in.”
“Calm down, Cassidy. You already pissed me off by trying to sneak off with my brother. The best thing you can do right now is stop talking. Nothing sets off my temper faster than someone defying me when I’m protecting them.”
Cassidy jerked back as if she’d been struck. “Did you just insinuate that I’m required to follow any order you issue? I don’t follow anyone’s orders. Ever. You egotistical, self-important bastard.”
Seth busted out laughing. “She’s got your number, Marcus.”
Marcus just snorted and turned to look out the window.
Having found a possible ally, Cassidy asked, “How do you put up with him?”
Seth shrugged, “I’m a seasoned hunter with skills you can only imagine. Like Marcus, I’m usually the one protecting others. Although, my wife Sara is hell on wheels too. She saved my bacon more than once. I’ve learned over the years to listen to others and weigh my options. I listen to what Marcus has to say and then make my own decision. Sometimes what he says is spot on, and other times I do as I think best. It all works out in the end.”
Cassidy chewed on that for a minute. “He thinks I should stay in the condo, but I want him to check me into a hotel. Either way, my name won’t be on any reservation for my boss to find. I prefer the hotel.”
“True, but a hotel has a lot of traffic and eyes that can spot you and report back to your boss. The condo is private.”
“There is that, but there are ways of coming and going from hotels without using the lobby. I wouldn’t be any more exposed than I would on the sidewalk outside the condo.”
Seth shrugged again. “That’s an argument you’ll have to settle with Marcus.”
Cassidy settled back. She would have to handle this situation on her own. She stayed quiet for the remainder of the short drive to the condo, which she now knew was on Royal Street across from the cute little coffee shop Anna had taken her to. She had a plan that required she appear to comply for a little longer.
She allowed Marcus to help her from the limo and followed him to the trunk where her bags were. Thinking she would follow him politely to the condo, he released her hand and grabbed the bags. Cassidy had other plans.
The instant the bags cleared the trunk, she snatched them from his hand and started down the sidewalk on foot. She should have known better, but it wasn’t in her to come to heel. Apparently, it wasn’t in Marcus to take no for an answer.
She hadn’t gotten five feet before the bags were tugged from her hands, tossed to Seth, and she was staring at Marcus’s ass. A very nice ass she had to say.
Cassidy seethed. How had she ended up tossed over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes? “Put me down!”
“Quiet, woman,” Marcus ordered with a smack to her ass.
Cassidy sputtered. “Did you just spank me?”
“That wasn’t a spank, sugar. That was a love tap,” Seth said from behind her.
Grunting, she pushed with her hands, kicked her legs, and wiggled her hips. The man had an iron grip on her that she couldn’t escape. “Marcus,” she said in a warning tone.
“Not another word until I’ve had at least one drink and calmed down,” he warned back.
From her downward dog position, she saw stunning marble stairs with mahogany wood handrails. The wallpaper glowed with a gold-leaf fleur de lis motif, which had to cost a small fortune.
She let out a breath in defeat. For now, she’d pretend to go along with Marcus’s plan while she formulated a way to rescue her brother. Once she had a plan, she’d find a way to escape when his guard was down. Colin was her primary concern. Hiding out wasn’t going to get him back.
By the time they entered the condo, all of her blood had rushed to her head, giving her a pounding headache. Seth dropped her bags inside the door and left, leaving her alone with a very annoyed Marcus.
She expected to be tossed onto the couch, but Marcus surprised her by gently lowering her and brushing the hair from her eyes.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m just hunky-dory. I’m in a condominium I don’t want to be in with the headache from hell,” she snapped, pouring sarcasm into her voice. “I just love being tossed over a shoulder and hauled around against my will. You’re an arrogant, pushy bastard, Le Beau.”
Cassidy glared at him. She tried to tap into her inner voodoo queen, not that she knew the first thing about voodoo, but she was in New Orleans, so who knew. Sadly, he didn’t wither on the spot. Instead of falling dead at her feet, he gazed into her eyes, completely unaffected. A voodoo doll. That’s what she needed. She’d visit one of those shops and buy one along with really sharp pins.
His hand shifted from her wig, which thankfully hadn’t fallen off, to her cheek. Her breath hissed out, and she tried to bite him when he stroked her lower lip with his thumb.
His mate was furious. He’d fix that soon enough. Angry was better than dead any day of the week.
Marcus was unfazed by Cassidy’s description of him. Why would he be? She was right, and he didn’t care. He was who he was, and he wasn’t about to change now. He was the best at what he did. She would just have to get used to it.
Pushing down his anger, he prowled to the wet bar, poured himself a whiskey from a crystal decanter, and downed it in one gulp. He thought about the rat-infested hole she’d been in and poured a second glass, downing that one as well.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed down his rage, then said, “I need you to explain to me why you chose that apartment when you could rent a nice place closer to the office.”
She glared at him, arms crossed, refusing to answer.
Marcus sighed. He’d screwed up when he manhandled her instead of talking sense into her so she would go to the condo of her own accord. But he’d lost his cool. Fear tended to do that to him. That was probably why he rarely allowed anything to scare him. And Cassidy terrified him.
He needed to approach this another way. Putting his glass down, he walked back to the couch and bent down to look her in the eye.
He leaned in so close, he could see tiny blonde hairs peeking out from under that damn wig. Her scent, heightened by her anger, called to him, surrounded him with oranges, grapefruits, and peaches.
“The things you do and the choices you make scare the hell out of me,” he whispered, his lips brushing hers with each word.
“Marcus,” she breathed, her tone soft and absent of the ire she’d been spitting only a minute ago.
Just his name on her lips made him groan. He doubted she realized it, but her body instinctively shifted toward him and her lips parted. “Tell me why you rented that apartment,” he said, his voice low and sensual. “You should have been in a better neighborhood, and you know it.” It took effort not to close the breath of space between their lips, but he needed to hash this out before seducing her. And he would seduce her.
She moistened her lips. Tempting him to the point, his wolf whimpered, and he vibrated with need. Her lashes lowered and regretfully, she sat back, increasing the distance between them when he was about to kiss her.
“I can explain. Sort of.”
Wanting her to continue, he stopped hovering over her like the hungry wolf he was, took a seat next to her, and stayed quiet.
“I have to—” She clenched her jaw. That told him s
he was about to tell him something she didn’t want to say. “Show you something first.”
He didn’t say anything, just waited for her next move.
Damn it. She was going to spill her guts. She didn’t want to see rejection or horror in his eyes, but it was time to tell the truth. The moment she opened her big mouth, she would lose her one chance with him. The only upside, and it wasn’t much compared to what she was giving up, was he’d kick her to the street. That’s what she wanted, right?
She got to her feet and grabbed the bag that held her clothing. Then she just stood there, her feet refusing to move. There was a long silence as they stared at one another. She could do this, damn it.
“You’re scaring me again, Cassidy. Will I need another stiff drink for this?”
Her gaze dropped to the shiny marble floor. “Probably.”
He got to his feet and made for the decanter again. With his back to her, he no longer held her in place with his mesmerizing eyes. That small reprieve unglued her feet from the floor long enough for her to rush to the bedroom.
Determined to go through with what she had to do, she got busy. First, she removed the contacts and threw them in the trash. She never wanted to see them again. Then she removed her weapons and set them carefully aside before stripping off the hideous suit and tossing it near her bag for later disposal. Seeing as she traveled light, she didn’t have many clothing choices. She grabbed a faded pair of blue jeans, her favorite, and a white T-shirt. Very carefully, she pulled the T-shirt over her head without dislodging her wig. That would go last.
Taking a few deep breaths, she returned to the living room. She couldn’t look at him. Not yet. She wanted just a few more seconds before she ruined the budding romance that would never have the chance to bloom. Finally, she raised her now blue eyes and held his gaze.
He didn’t question her sudden eye color change or yell at her to get on with her explanation. He simply gazed back and waited.
With a shaking hand, she closed her eyes and gripped the wig, pulling it off. When he still didn’t react, she dropped the wig onto a small decorative table. Then she began the process of removing the hairpins molding her blonde mass of hair to her scalp. After pulling the last pin, she dropped them next to the wig. As she ran her fingers through her hair doing her best to finger comb it into some semblance of a style, Cassidy took a minute to gather her courage.
Marcus smiled as he saw his mate without the hideous disguise for the first time. Well, except for the damn wig. Her eyes were as blue and clear as a cloudless sky, and as he suspected, his mate had a killer figure. He thanked Luperca she wasn’t one of those skinny women who lived on rabbit food. No, his woman had curves. Killer curves.
Then she pulled off the wig, and his breath caught. Finally, he’d see her true form. With each hairpin she pulled, lengths of blonde tumbled free. He found himself leaning forward as she loosened and fluffed the heavy fall of hair he’d only until now seen in a picture.
He licked his lips. Her hair was thicker and longer than he’d expected. The color was rich with various shades mixed throughout the length, from almost white to burnished gold.
With every move she made, the blonde tresses gleamed under the multitude of chandeliers his mother had insisted on installing. He had to agree, his mother was right. The expensive lighting made his mate’s hair glisten like strands of gold. He flexed his fingers to ease the ache his need to bury his hands in her hair caused.
Finally, she raised her head and met his eyes. The impact hit him harder than a rampaging bull. Heat flared in his blood, pooling low, waking his instinct to claim what was his.
He pressed his palm over the violent pounding of his heart. At the same instant, her hand pressed to her chest as she glanced around the room with wariness in her eyes. Ah yes, she felt the draw of mates, too. Then her gaze jumped to his again, and her eyes widened. When her lips parted on a gasp, his heart, now battering his ribs in a bid for freedom, nearly stopped.
“This”—she glanced down at herself, then back at him again—“is the real me.” She gave her confession in a voice so quiet he barely heard the words.
Before he knew what he was doing, Marcus was on his feet and across the room, forcing himself to calm down and take things slow. Cassidy was skittish and would make a break for the door if he pushed her too fast.
He settled his fingers around her wrist and drew her to the couch. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop his thumb from gliding over her petal-soft skin. He felt her pulse jump, but she didn’t pull away.
Cassidy licked her lips nervously and searched his expression for hints of condemnation. What she found was intense desire. She swallowed hard. His anger she could handle, but the heat in his eyes made it difficult to concentrate, and she needed her wits about her.
She tried to take her hand back, but he tightened his grip. Sighing, she tugged again. “We need to talk, and I can’t do that if you’re touching me. You’re… muddling my brain.”
A grin tugged at his lips, making it even harder to organize her thoughts. “And don’t smile, either. That’s just as bad.”
Marcus chuckled, the sound vibrated through her and made her shiver, but he removed his hand. “I agree. We need to talk. You’re not the only one who has secrets to confess. But let’s start with you.”
She opened her mouth to spill all, but the words wouldn’t come. For a moment, she considered making a break for the door but forced her panic down. She wasn’t a woman to back away from a difficult situation. Steeling her resolve, she looked him directly in the eyes. “The only real thing about me is my name. As you can see, I was wearing a disguise. I had to be able to escape if need be, and if your family was looking for a brunette with brown eyes, a blonde with blue eyes would go unnoticed.”
“Why would you have to go unnoticed?” he prompted.
“You’re reputed to be a killer or hitman. Someone wanted retribution and contracted with my boss to have you killed. That’s why I’m here. I’m—I’m an assassin with the JARVS Corporation. Jones sent me to do the job. If I complete a job, I need to disappear. It’s much easier to do that when I look nothing like the woman the authorities are looking for.”
Marcus scowled. “You were an assassin, but you’re not anymore. You said yourself that you’re going to attend Tulane next semester.” He paused and looked at her for a long moment. “You didn’t believe that garbage, did you?”
Cassidy shook her head. “I never blindly believe what I’m told. I had to see for myself if you were a cold-blooded killer.”
“While you did your investigation, did you make a couple of tries at me? The car crash wasn’t an accident. Two vehicles worked together to force me off the road. And there was another attempt by someone who put poison in my coffee.”
Cassidy’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “I suspected the car crash when you told me about it, but you didn’t mention the poison. Neither of those were me. More than likely, it was Roger. Though, if there were two vehicles, he must have a partner we haven’t identified. The only other option is the person who took out the contract. He or she may have made a try, and when they failed, a contract was taken out instead.”
Marcus nodded. “That makes sense.”
She cocked her head and frowned. “How do you know your coffee was poisoned?”
“The barista, Judy, warned me that someone put something in my coffee when I wasn’t looking. I had my mother test it, and she verified it was poisoned.”
“Thank God for Judy,” Cassidy said on a breath.
“I agree. I had the Le Beau Corporation gift her a scholarship to Tulane in gratitude. Judy’s a tenacious woman who never gets a break and yet never gives up. She’s been working on her degree for five years, taking one or two classes at a time. I felt it was time for her ship to come in.”
Cassidy smiled. “That was very generous of you.”
Marcus shook his head. “Not as generous as Judy saving my life. So, now that you’ve gotten to kn
ow me, do you still think I’m a cold-blooded killer?”
She rubbed her eyes. God, she just wanted the nightmare to end so she could leave the past behind her and get on with her new life. But first, she had to finish this conversation with Marcus and get Colin back. “No. You’re innocent of the accusations made against you. And I refused the job. Actually, I notified Jones of that when I went to the lady’s room during our lunch date.”
Marcus couldn’t take another moment of not touching her. Taking her hand in his, he asked, “Is that why he kidnapped your brother? Because of me?”
“No, he took Colin because of me. He knew I’d find you innocent and refuse the job. He’s using Colin to force my hand. I have an idea where he’s holding him. I just need to work out how I’m going to get him back.” Cassidy sighed and eased her hand out of his. “But now that you know the truth, I’m sure you no longer want me anywhere near you or the office. If you’ll give me a minute to get my things, I’ll be out of your hair.”
When she tried to get off the couch, he grabbed her hand and pulled. Thrown off-balance, she had to either sit down or fall down.
“No.” He growled more than spoke.
Back on the couch, she righted herself and frowned at him. “No, what?”
“I don’t want you out of my hair. I want you to stay with me. If you want to keep your job, it’s yours. And you’re not going after your brother on your own.”
“Why? I was supposed to assassinate you. Why the hell would you want me to stay?”
“Two reasons. For one, you didn’t assassinate me.” He pressed her hand to his chest and took a big breath. “See, I’m still breathing. And for two, I’m courting you.”
“You’re courting me? Who says that anymore? And why would you want to pursue a woman who was sent to kill you?”
Marcus grinned and pulled her closer. “Let’s just say, I’m old fashioned. That aside, I can see that we need to put this killing stuff to rest. I have a few questions for you. Are you an assassin by choice?”
