by V. A. Dold
She glanced away and grew quiet. “Well… no.”
“Do you make the final decision about completing an assignment on your own?”
“Yes. I told you that already.”
“Have you ever suffered because you refused to complete a contract?”
Cassidy stilled and didn’t answer for a long time. Finally, she whispered, “Yes.”
“And yet you continued to refuse contracts against innocent people, anyway, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she whispered again.
“Last question. Being an assassin, you do it because Jones forced you to under threat of something happening to Colin. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes,” she said with a sob.
“A psychopath has held your brother’s life over your head. Of course, you’d do whatever it took to keep him safe. Do you really expect me to convict you for that?”
“No,” she answered on a breath.
The word was said so quietly, he doubted a human would have heard. But he did. A feeling of elation filled his chest.
Marcus reached for the box of tissues someone had left on the end table. He suspected they were there from when Anna and Rose had a girl’s night on the town and ended up watching chic flics. He offered one to her and waited until her sobs subsided, then broached the last thing he wanted to know before proceeding.
Cassidy’s emotional breakdown lasted only minutes. He handed her a fresh tissue and waited as she blew her nose and gave him a shy smile. “Feel better?”
She chuckled a soft, deprecating laugh. “No. I gave myself a headache. But you made your point. Had my life been different, killing would never have been my choice.”
“Good. I have one more thing I’d like to know. Did your disguise include playing a role like an actress? Have I fallen for you or the woman you pretended to be?”
Cassidy snorted. “I suck at acting. I’ve been me the entire time.”
Marcus let out a breath. “That’s a relief.” At risk of sounding like a sixth grader, he added, “I like the real you. A lot.”
Some of the stress of the conversation left her eyes. “That’s good because I like you too. A lot. So, did you mean what you said about wanting me to stay?”
“Absolutely. But I have four conditions.”
She let out a heavy sigh as if exhausted. “And they are?”
“I want to know why you’re so tired. I also want you to tell me everything about your childhood. After that, I need you to keep a very open mind when I tell you about me.”
She tilted her head and said, “That’s only three things.”
A smile tugged at his lips, and his eyes grew heavy-lidded. “The fourth is I want you to kiss me. Right now.”
He turned slightly and pulled her to him, his lips hovering a mere hairsbreadth away. When she didn’t stiffen in his arms or struggle to free herself, he gave into the roar of desire he’d held in check for far too long. Still, he sensed Cassidy had little experience with men, and he needed to take care.
His lips touched hers gently, coaxing her response until he felt the softness of her lips part. With just that small contact, his body screamed for the release he refused to allow. His mate needed to be eased into his world.
With a tortured groan, he increased the pressure. When a soft moan rose to her lips, he pulled her onto his lap.
He gripped her hip with one hand as he slid the other up her back and into her hair. Cassidy tilted her head, deepening the kiss, and he was lost.
Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck as she pushed her breasts against him. An agonized groan slipped from his lips. His body was as hard as a rock, screaming for the mate that he refused to rush. There was time enough for making love.
She moaned softly into his mouth while his tongue danced with hers. Then she rocked her hips over his aching erection, pulling a growl from his throat.
He had to stop before he lost control. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers as their ragged breaths mingled between them.
God, she was beautiful with heavy-lidded eyes and kiss-swollen lips. With every unsteady breath she drew, her pebble-hard nipples raked his chest, stretching his tight control to his limit. Very gently, he lifted her from his lap and settled her beside him again.
“Damn, woman, you’re potent. If we’re going to have an intelligent conversation, I need to keep you at arm’s length.”
Eleven
Cassidy raised trembling fingers to her lips. “Yeah. Arm’s length is a good idea.” She took a shaky breath and then a few more before she met his eyes.
Marcus reached out and tucked a length of hair behind her ear, the gesture intimate after the kiss he’d just blown her mind with. “You were about to tell me why you’re always so tired. Why aren’t you sleeping? And don’t tell me it’s the new apartment and bed.”
Chewing her lip, she played with the idea of skimming over the truth but tossed the notion away just as quickly. “I guess you’d call me an insomniac. I haven’t slept more than a few hours at a time since I was a kid.”
“Did your sleepless nights start after your parents’ accident? Or is there another reason?”
Cassidy snorted. “Accident, my ass. My parents were murdered. I just haven’t found proof of it yet. But I will.” She wanted to slap her hand over her mouth to shut herself up. Why was she telling him things she never said aloud? Ever. Jones had a way of hearing anything said aloud.
Cassidy leaned away from Marcus. Did his eyes just change? No, she must have been seeing things. People’s eyes didn’t glow like a cat’s. Though he certainly was focused on her like a cat.
“You think your parents were murdered?”
She shrugged away her faux pas of speaking her accusation out loud. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
“Cassidy.”
She leaned even further away. The way he growled her name made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. People mimicked animal sounds all the time and fell short. Marcus sounded so realistic if she closed her eyes, an angry dog could be with her instead of a man.
When she didn’t explain her suspicions, his eyes glittered dangerously with impatience. Finally, he took her hand and idly played with her fingers before raising them to his lips for a nibble. “Perhaps it would help if I made a confession first. After Cade found you at my desk, he demanded that I find out more about you. He feared you were planted in the corporation to steal secrets. I assured him you weren’t, but he pushed for my cousin Quin to create a file of information about you. Quin showed it to me. Based on the evidence, I also believe your parents were murdered. But I’d like to hear your reasons for suspecting it.”
Cassidy sucked in a sharp breath. “I should be outraged, but that would be hypocritical, seeing as I have a file on you as well.”
Marcus nodded as he nibbled her pinky. “That’s understandable. I was your target after all.”
She should pull her hand away, but her dang hand wouldn’t cooperate. She wanted to keep her thoughts to herself. It was just that, with his teeth and tongue doing erotic things to her fingers, it was impossible to think. She moistened her lips and forced herself to voice what she hadn’t told anyone.
“I never believed that I was related to Jones in any way. When I was able to get to a computer, I researched the so-called accident. The pictures I was able to find, show the car in a parking lot, not on the interstate as reported. That’s when I stole Jones’s password and got his emails. I found a couple of cryptic messages that hinted at explosives, but nothing that was usable as evidence. I also learned that the police officer involved is on his payroll. The entire report was falsified, and the car was crushed to destroy the evidence.”
“That’s what Quin and I thought as well. But don’t worry, mon amour. Jones will pay for murdering your parents. It won’t bring them back, but it will give you some form of justice.”
Cassidy tugged on her hand until he stopped nibbling. He didn’t release her, but
at least he wasn’t fogging her brain anymore. “If you already knew all of that, why did you ask?”
“I didn’t know all of it. I only saw pictures of the car explosion that didn’t add up to the story. The emails and crooked cops add new information to the file.”
Marcus got to his feet and headed for the kitchen. “I need a soda. Would you like one before you tell me about your childhood?”
“A cola would be awesome.” She waited for him to return and took a sip before she asked, “Don’t you have information on my childhood in your file?”
“Some, but there wasn’t much available to find.”
Cassidy tapped her fingernails on the soda can. “I see. Why don’t you tell me what you know, and I’ll fill in the gaps.”
“There was a picture of you and a bunch of kids when you were about thirteen, I’m guessing. Jones was standing with you.”
Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “I remember that. He wanted a picture of his prized possessions.”
“Quin had a newspaper article about your parents that showed a photo of a car on fire. But he dug deeper into the story. As you suspected, they weren’t in an accident. The car exploded. At that point, Quin searched for a connection between your family and Jones. He found a picture of your family on vacation at Disneyland. Jones was in the background staring at you.”
Cassidy sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes filled with tears. “He killed them because of me.” When strong arms pulled her against a muscular chest, she didn’t fight him.
“Don’t you dare blame yourself for something that bastard did. You were an innocent kid. Jones is the responsible party.”
After a minute or two, a tissue appeared under her nose. “Thank you.” She blew her nose and bunched the tissue in her hand. “Momma and Daddy died right after that vacation.”
“Yeah. It took him a week to make up fake paperwork claiming he was a relative. That’s why you weren’t in foster care very long. There wasn’t much information after that. I know Colin was in foster care until you turned eighteen and took over guardianship.
“As far as your time with Jones, I know you’re an expert markswoman, and you have black belts in several martial arts. But I want to know everything about what he did to you when you were a child.”
The growl was back in his voice, making the hair on her neck stand up again. Cassidy sat up and frowned at him. “You know something. You wouldn’t be so angry if you didn’t.”
“I know he’s a mean son of a bitch and doesn’t like you much.”
She made an unladylike sound. “That’s putting it mildly.” Memories of every ridicule and punishment assaulted her mind. Her fists clenched as her lip curled. Just the memories made her want to kill something.
Minutes or hours later, she glanced at Marcus, aggression burning through her body, but refused to take her anger out on an innocent man. His eyes went from soft to lethal, two bright silver orbs, steely and merciless and very, very deadly.
Clips of the mental and physical abuse flashed in his mind. Cassidy beaten bloody on the cold concrete floor of a cell, blood smearing the walls. Cassidy mocked and ridiculed for hours in front of all of the other kids her lower lip quivering as she refused to cry. Cassidy with knife wounds and broken bones after being forced to fight a boy twice her size until she passed out. Fury ten times stronger than the night Quin showed him Cassidy’s file raged in his blood. His wolf roared in his ears fierce and loud as the beast rose to the surface. He needed to eviscerate Jones. He needed to rip his beating heart from his chest and spill his intestines for the vultures to feast on.
“Fuck,” he spat under his breath, his fury dark and ugly. The black energy raging through him forced him to his feet. He had to move. Had to take action. The problem was, there was no target to aim his fury at. So it roiled and roared, building, building until he thought he’d explode.
Marcus stomped across the room to the kitchen. He opened a cabinet and slammed it shut. Then repeated the action with another, unsure what he was looking for. He needed—something. He had to release the pressure but wasn’t sure how. He tried the refrigerator. Unable to focus on the contents through the red haze of fury, he slammed that shut as well.
Giving up on the kitchen, he stomped to the french doors and yanked them open. Gulping in a lungful of sticky, humid air, he stepped up to the railing and gripped it hard. The wood groaned in protest under the punishment he unleashed with his white-knuckled hold.
Marcus hung his head and prayed for control. He had to pull it together for his mate. She needed him rational and clear-headed. Her brother was in danger, and he was throwing a temper tantrum over something that was over and done. He couldn’t change her past, but he could ensure she had an incredible future. He took another deep breath and eased the death grip he had on the railing that was screaming uncle. Finally, he lifted his hands to his head and dragged them through his hair. Feeling calm enough to speak rationally, he returned to the living room.
Cassidy had watched Marcus bang around the kitchen and then step outside. She was unsure what was happening but had felt the aggression growing in the condo. Feeling antsy, she went to the windows overlooking the street and watched humanity walk by. She hadn’t said out loud what had happened to her as she recalled it, had she? No, she was sure she hadn’t. So, what the heck set him off?
After a couple of minutes, she heard him coming back and turned to see him carefully closing the french doors. She suppressed a smile when he was overly gentle with the fragile doors he had only minutes earlier tried to yank off their hinges. Then he glanced at her, and she saw the fire still blazing in his eyes. Apparently, the storm had passed, but the anger was still simmering under the surface.
When he strode toward her, she stood her ground for two reasons. For one, she was a trained fighter and had every confidence in her abilities. Secondly, and most importantly, she believed with absolute certainty, Marcus would sooner kill himself than cause her pain.
He didn’t stop until they were chest to chest. Reaching for her blond hair, he twirled a length around his fingers, then slipped his palm around to cup the curve of her neck.
“Kiss me, Cassidy. Please.”
It was the please, said with such longing and need, that got to her. Rising up on her toes, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his.
She was surprised by how gently he kissed her back after his show of aggression only minutes before. His lips were soft and pliant beneath hers. It was only when she initiated a deeper kiss that he parted his lips for her tongue to slip in. His tongue slid against hers, caressing and loving her with every soft touch. She ended the encounter with a little kiss on the tip of his nose, which brought a small smile to his lips.
“Thank you. I needed that. You don’t need to tell me what you suffered as a child. I saw it all.” The last he said through clenched teeth. Taking a deep breath, he blew it out, then took her elbow and guided her back to the couch. “I swear to you, Jones will be dealt with.”
She nodded because she didn’t know what to say to that. What did he mean by he saw it all? The man said the most confusing things. But no one had ever made her feel so desired. No one but Colin had ever believed in her. Oh, God, Colin—she needed to make a rescue plan and implement it as soon as possible.
She jumped when he said, “Tell me about your brother.”
“Are you reading my mind? First, you say that you saw my childhood, and now you ask about Colin just when I’m thinking about rescuing him.”
“Yes, I am. I’ll explain that after we discuss your brother. I need to know everything about him to better plan his rescue.”
“And that’s not freaky at all,” she groused sarcastically before saying, “Colin is amazing. He hates it when I tell him he’s a genius. But the truth is, he is.” She rolled her eyes. “He says being a genius makes him sound like a nerd and girls don’t go out with nerds. When he was in grade school, he tested off the charts for every subject. The foster parents didn’t want to
bother with the school system, so I stepped in and made sure he was placed in an accelerated program. The classes kept him with his age group but allowed him to take specialized classes. It was important to both of us that he grow up as normal as possible and have the chance to mature along with his peers. He was offered full scholarships to every ivy league college on the planet but refused to go. He justified that by telling me that I had his back his entire life, and it was his turn to have mine. He couldn’t do that from a college halfway across the country.”
Marcus smiled. “That’s why you saved up money to send you both to college together. He sounds like an honorable man.”
Cassidy grinned, tears swimming in her eyes. “He is. And I want him to stay that way. We have to get him back.”
“Is he trained in martial arts, too?”
Cassidy shook her head. “Colin is a lover, not a fighter. He’s intellectual, but that doesn’t mean he’s weak. He hits the gym religiously.”
“That’s good to know. We may have to fight our way out of wherever they’re holding him. Even though he isn’t a fighter, I’m sure he can defend himself if need be. And as smart as he is, he’ll figure out ways to outsmart Jones and stay alive.”
“I’m counting on that. If they question him, he’ll tell them just enough to stay alive but not enough to actually help them.”
Marcus nodded. “Do you have any idea where they may be holding him?”
Her stomach soured. “Jones is a creature of habit. He has cells in the basement of the training center. He’ll have Colin locked in one of them. He knows I’ll come for him, so he’ll lay traps for me and station a guard outside the door for added measure. He may even have a second guard inside with Colin as the last line of defense.”
“That’s excellent intel. I can help you execute a rescue mission with that. How much time do you think we have before Colin’s situation goes critical?”
“We have time. Jones will text me with all kinds of threats once he finds out Roger is dead.”
“Good. I’ll let Cade know we need to have a family meeting to plan the rescue. I’ll also contact a few friends who will want to be included. I’m getting hungry and would like to take you to one of my favorite restaurants, but before we go, I have a few secrets of my own I should share.” He lifted her fingers to his lips and nibbled the tips. A habit she was coming to associate with nervousness. “I need you to keep an open mind. Can you do that?”
