Countermeasure (Countermeasure Series)

by Cecilia Aubrey

  “Ed,” Drew acknowledged, with a grin of satisfaction at Edward’s familiarity.

  Drew had worked under Edward for years and had built a somewhat close rapport with him. Drew had capitalized on his attention, weaving himself craftily into Edward’s inner circle and often inviting him and his wife over for dinner—another strategic power play.

  “Did Melissa enjoy the wine?” Drew had presented Edward and his wife with a nice bottle from his cellar the last time they’d dined together.

  “Yes, thank you. Mellissa asked just this morning if we would be getting together again soon. She really enjoys talking with Lorraine.”

  Drew smiled at the comment. Lorraine was the ultimate hostess—another of her many talents. “I’ll have Lorraine give Melissa a call to set a date. They can plan everything together. Women love that kind of thing.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Drew noticed Edward’s hesitation and casually asked, “Anything else?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is. What’s the status regarding your efforts on the recovery of the copied files? Have you received any more news regarding the investigation into Ms. Davis’s death? Was the hard drive found among her things?”

  “No, Ed. I sent our people to her parents’ house; they were assured that the police had not yet handed over her belongings. Their other daughter, the one who flew to Paris to follow the investigation and claim the body, is aware of what we are looking for.” Drew kept the information Niklas had provided to himself—a trump card to be used at the right time.

  Drew stared Edward in the eye. “You know how I feel about this whole thing. We could’ve done a better job protecting the formula’s files and trials data if only we had kept it in-house. Used our own resources to secure our own project.”

  “I know you were against hiring an external company to run the security from the start, Drew, but the board has their eye on the bottom line. Your budget estimate for deploying the extra security was higher than they had foreseen.”

  “Hiring James Security is costing the board way more now, isn’t it? If you had trusted my opinion in the first place, we would have never suffered an infiltration. I have more experience in my little finger than the two people James Security assigned to this case combined. Another reason you should have trusted the job to me.”

  Edward’s look hardened. “That’s water under the bridge. You got your point across. Have you met with anyone from James Security since the breach?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact; last week I met with the new guy handling the case. I think his name is Dillon. Yes. Jeff Dillon. Why do you ask?”

  “Did you discuss the case?”

  “No. He came to introduce himself in person. The entire time he was here he blasted the woman who had handled the case previously. Not a very good display of teamwork. Bad blood there.”

  “Oh?” Edward asked in a curious voice, “How so?”

  Drew smirked and then arrogantly continued, “There seems to be some sort of animosity between the two. He kept blabbering about how the woman had dropped the case and, out of the blue, had taken off to Paris. He apologized for her lack of professionalism in her handling of it. Can you believe that? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.”

  Edward suddenly stood up. “That explains a lot.”

  Drew cocked his head, trying to understand what Edward meant. “What do you mean, ‘explains a lot’?”

  “I believe you’re familiar with the loyalty forged during years of service to the armed forces, right, Drew?”

  “Of course I am, Ed.” Drew still didn’t understand what Edward was getting at and how the conversation had turned from the case to loyalty.

  “I’m not sure if you are aware that I served my country for many years. I was a Navy Seal, Drew. In fact, Robert James and I go way back. Served together in the Navy. Been buddies ever since our grueling training days.”

  The mention of James Security’s owner gave Drew pause. He narrowed his eyes at Edward. Was it a simple coincidence that Edward had chosen that moment to tell him that story?

  Drew realized instantly that he was walking on eggshells. It never dawned on him to look into connections between Bristol’s owner and the head of James Security. Edward had never voiced his opinion or been involved in the bid process that awarded James Security the contract. They had earned it based on merit, not through any favors. Drew had had no reason to believe there was any connection between the two men.

  Edward’s eyes held a hard edge to them as he studied Drew. “You know, when Bob approached me with new information pertaining to the case, I truly thought he had lost his mind. I thought he was wrong and that you couldn’t have known that his daughter, Cassandra, the little girl I used to bounce on my knee years ago, had taken off to Paris looking to recover the files for us. Heck! Not even her own father knew. Yet he had some pretty damning evidence. Recordings of conversations between you and a man named Niklas Möeller. Does the name Carl Kenyon ring a bell?”

  Drew panicked and began to sweat. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  Drew couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. Based on his the news report and his conversation with Niklas early that morning, Niklas should’ve already secured possession of the files. Had he been caught? Had he turned on him to save his own ass?

  “You son of a bitch. I know you sent Möeller to France on a murdering spree. We have it on paper, audio, and a whole lot more. You’re so fucked! What I don’t understand is why you did it. Were you going to sell it to one of our competitors?” Edward’s face held a mix of rage and confusion. “You were always so loyal. What the fuck happened?”

  “No!” he scrambled to explain; “I wasn’t selling it! I wasn’t going to sell it. On the contrary! I wanted to prove I could keep it safe! I thought you were going to downgrade my position within the company when you opened the door to outsourcing. I was becoming obsolete.”

  “You’re a dumb ass, Drew! I’d already considered you for my replacement. You had it in the bag. You were going to be groomed. You didn’t have to go to that extreme.”

  Drew was stunned. One minute he was on top of the world, the next he was falling from grace faster than the speed of light. Edward knew everything. His greed for prestige and influence had handed him a lesson in humility. He would have gotten what he had wanted without having to dirty his hands. There wasn’t much left to say or do but walk away.

  Without another word to Edward, Drew called to his secretary, “Susan, can you please send up a couple of empty boxes?”

  Her voice sounded through the intercom. “Right away, Mr. Caldwell.”

  “There’s no need to clear your office, Drew.” Edward’s tone was cold, void of emotion.

  Drew was filled with relief on hearing his words. Edward was going to let him stay, even after everything he had done. Drew allowed a small smile to spread on his lips. “So you’re letting me stay?”

  “No, Drew.” He watched Edward pick up his phone and make a call. “You can’t take anything. The FBI is waiting outside to canvas your office for more evidence.”

  Seconds later, a couple of well-dressed men entered his office and approached him. Drew’s heart rate accelerated and all his senses went numb.

  “Drew Caldwell?” the taller of the two asked.

  “Yes.”

  Immediately the other man circled him and pulled his hands behind his back. He felt the hard cold metal of the handcuffs closing around his wrists.

  “You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of murder, and industrial theft. You have the right…”

  Drew could barely make sense of what the men were saying as they read him his rights under Edward’s scrutiny. Everything he had worked so hard to build had crumbled beneath his feet. Edward’s scowl said it all. He was ruined.

  Drew had thought he was untouchable. Beyond judgment. He only had eyes for the climb. His warped sense of self-importance hadn’t prepared him for the fall. D
rew had never foreseen failure.

  What remained of his life after this wreckage didn’t make for a pretty picture. His already weak marriage, built on flimsy strings of deceit, money, and prominence, was over. His children—whom he’d so much wanted to protect from the ugly side of life—would be embarrassed by the disclosure of his actions. The frowns on the board members’ faces when the truth surfaced. All those images collided with the memory of his mother’s sneer and the sound of her harsh words, “You good-for-nothing loser! Just like your father.” He snapped. He couldn’t take it.

  Drew pulled free from the agent holding his arm. In a manic bid for freedom, he bolted for the other end of his office, toward the window. Reality slowed. He heard voices yelling, demanding him to stop. He didn’t. Instead he ran, picking up speed as he crossed the room, stepped on the seat of his leather chair, and launched his body against the glass pane, which shattered on impact.

  The air streaming past him as he jetted through the air held the same sensation as an amusement-park ride, free falling back to earth. He was flying. In a last conscious show of defiance, Drew quickly twisted his body so he could gaze up at the untarnished blue sky. He was still in control, he thought to himself, just before a horrendous burst of pain racked his body as it smashed against the pavement.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Come Back To Me

  Robert arrived at the hospital’s waiting room late the next day, disheveled and scowling.

  “Trevor Bauer?”

  “Yes, sir. You must be Cassandra’s father,” he responded, extending his hand.

  Robert James ignored Trevor’s hand and appraised him. “How is she? What are the doctors saying?”

  Trevor dropped his hand. “They couldn’t give me the specifics of her case, but I do know that they treated her for the bullet wound. No major organs or arteries were hit. They sutured the wound and, based on their assessment, she should be fine.”

  “What do you mean, ‘should be fine’?” Robert’s scowl deepened.

  “She hasn’t woken up since the anesthesia wore off. I overheard them talking and know they’ve performed neurologic assessments. She’s unconscious. They can’t seem to figure out what’s keeping her that way. You might be able to get more details since you’re her father. I tried, but they don’t consider me family.”

  “When can I see her?”

  “The doctors are in the room with her right now. They’ll call us once they’re done.”

  Robert settled in a chair facing Trevor and exhaled deeply.

  After a few minutes of silent scrutiny, Robert said angrily, “So, you’re the man who dragged my daughter into this mess?”

  “No, sir. I’m the man she chose to trust to have her back on this case.”

  “So much for having her back.”

  Robert’s accusation stung. Trevor knew he had basically signed Cassandra’s execution order when he had put himself and his resources at her disposal, but he also knew she would’ve gotten there with or without him.

  “If I hadn’t agreed to help her, she would have found another way to locate Allison. Your daughter is damned tenacious. Stubborn mule, more like it.” Trevor saw a spark of humor glimmer briefly in Robert’s eyes. “She would’ve possibly found herself under the muzzle of Niklas’s gun much earlier in the game. At least I was there to help her. Protect her.”

  “Protect her, my ass. You got her shot! She was hurt because of you.”

  “She was hurt because she chose to save my life. I’d have done the same for her. I love her and I’m pretty damn sure she loves me, too.”

  “How can that be? You just met a few weeks ago. How can she love you? She barely knows you!” Robert dismissed Trevor’s comment with a wave of his hand.

  Trevor’s eyes narrowed. “The same way you fell in love with Cecilia. Swiftly and deeply.” Robert’s eyes shot to his. “Cassandra told me about you both. You, of all people, should know it doesn’t take but a few seconds to realize that you need a person in your life as much as you need air to breathe.”

  Trevor’s words carried a truthful ring that not even Robert could deny. His eyes narrowed and he cocked his head, studying Trevor more closely. After a few minutes of silent scrutiny, he asked, “And that’s how you feel about Cassandra?”

  Trevor was once again being dissected and exposed, but this time by the father. “Yes sir.”

  “How do you plan on keeping her safe, happy?” Robert challenged.

  By his tone, Trevor could tell that Robert had no confidence in his ability to keep her safe. Trevor had no military training or background, and that made him weak in Robert’s eyes. Robert ignored the fact that Cassandra didn’t need someone to keep her safe or appeased. She had her own skills and could handle herself quite well, as she had proven during the fight with Niklas.

  “By being her wings so she can fly, a crutch for her when she wobbles. Definitely not by treating her like a child. I accept who she is. She is a self-sufficient woman with an intense nature and an amazing mind for details. She is not a little girl anymore, Robert, and she is not her mother.”

  “I know she’s not her mother. And of course I know she is not a little girl! You forget I raised her on my own? I am her father.”

  “Raised? She didn’t have a father. She had a drill sergeant. All she ever wanted was to call you ‘Dad’; instead, she got to call you ‘Sir.’ That’s not something any child should have to experience. I have to congratulate you. Not only did you train her physically, you taught her to avoid love the same way you’ve avoided showing her love all these years.”

  “What are you talking about? I love my daughter.”

  Trevor’s anger flared. Robert was completely oblivious to how his actions had affected Cassandra. The fear she had of loving him was a simple reflex caused by years of conditioning.

  Unable to contain himself, Trevor blasted Robert. “You failed her. You forgot that she had lost her mother that day, the same way you had lost your wife. She needed you to be strong for her, to show her that she was not alone and that she was loved. But she was left to find her own way through her grief at her mother’s death and father’s lack of attention. She became an orphan the day her mother died, because you died with her.” Trevor watched as shadows fill Robert’s blue eyes—the same shadows he had too often seen cloud Cassandra’s eyes.

  Robert was deeply impacted by Trevor’s words. How could he have let his relationship with his daughter reach such a state? He finally understood the extent of the harm he’d done to Cassandra through those years when grief and loss were the only things filling his mind. He’d screwed up. He’d completely forgotten he had a daughter, someone in dire need of his love and affection during those first few months.

  Years had gone by, and when he had finally surfaced from the haze of his own pain, he had been at a loss as to what to do with his daughter. He was an ex-Navy Seal; he didn’t know anything about dealing with little girls. Cecilia had handled that department with games, dress up, and tea parties. It took the man standing before him, a total stranger, to point out his shortcomings.

  Robert studied Trevor some more. The man had balls. No one had ever stood up to him like that before. In the few weeks that this man had known his daughter, Trevor had learned more about her than he, her own father, had in all those years since Cecilia’s passing.

  “What do you plan to do when she wakes up?”

  “I intend to hold her and never let go.”

  “What if I don’t agree with it?”

  “What she wants is all that matters to me, Robert. I’m just informing you of my plans as a courtesy—not asking for your blessing. If things were different, I would’ve asked her father for her hand, as I always imagined doing one day. But, knowing what I know about her past, you have no right to dictate her future.” Trevor’s expression was as harsh as his words.

  Grief filled Robert at the truth thrown in his face. He had to give it to him: the pup had guts. Robert was not proud of how he�
�d handled his pain at the loss of Cecilia or that it took someone else to spell it out for him. He knew he needed to fix his relationship with his daughter. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

  Robert watched Trevor closely and held his chuckle to himself. He respected a man who spoke his mind and never held back. He was positive that this Trevor Bauer would be giving him a piece of his mind regularly in the years to come.

  “Just know that I will be watching you, Bauer.”

  “I wouldn’t expect any less.” Softening, Trevor added, “You still have time, you know. To make it right.”

  “I hope so,” Robert stressed. They sized each other up until they received the call to return to Cassandra’s room.

  They alternated vigil over her, watching for any change in awareness. Trevor’s determination to remain with Cassandra in her room until she woke up was driving the nurses batty. He had lied to them, saying they were engaged, and when they still hesitated to allow him access to her, Robert had supported his claim before leaving to check in to his hotel, but only after Trevor assured him he would call if there was any change.

  ****

  Trevor had been living in hell for three days. The wait had been excruciating. All he wanted was to see Cassandra’s whiskey-brown eyes open again.

  Sitting next to the bed, he leaned forward. Holding her hand, he rested his forehead against the bed. He had gotten into the habit of talking to Cassandra whenever they were alone in the room. He talked to her like they did back in Paris, sharing funny stories from his childhood, happy moments with his parents, and telling her he wanted to have similar moments with her. He needed her to wake up. He needed her, plain and simple. He kept with his routine, trusting it would eventually break through the new wall Cassandra had built, the same way his love had broken through the old one.

  Cassandra was adrift, floating back and forth between dream and reality. She heard Trevor’s voice in her dreams, but every time she hovered toward reality, she shied away from it. She didn’t want to wake up, if waking up meant facing one day losing Trevor. She wanted to remain in her own world where he was alive—where he was bigger than life—where he was hers to keep. He had taught her so much in such a short time. Taught her to face her fears, live in the moment—and yet she still couldn’t handle the thought of losing him. It was even more excruciating than she ever imagined it could be.