Cassidy

by Irish Winters

  Cassidy ended up not having to go very far.

  Oh, damn. Alex stepped around the corner of the living room. “It’s about time.”

  Cassidy cringed, not quite as excited as Judith might have expected her to be. If that wasn’t bad enough, Kelsey peeked around the corner, too. “Hi, Cassidy. Hi, Jude. Bet you didn’t expect to see us, huh?”

  What an understatement. No, Cassidy absolutely hadn’t expected to find her boss and his wife waiting for her in Florida. That put a crimp in her homecoming. “What’s up?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Just taking a small vacation.” Alex rolled his shoulders like he was actually relaxed, rare for a man with mega OCD. “I see you two made up. About damned time.”

  Judith giggled. “Dad says you left because you had a real important mission to finish.”

  “She was on a mission, all right,” Alex quipped.

  Cassidy caught the sarcastic barb. Leave it to Alex to poke at her. She blew out a big breath and prepared to face the music. “Actually...” she paused, not sure how much she wanted to say.

  “She’s the hardest headed of all my agents,” Alex interrupted. “I don’t know what I’d do without her. How was the flight?”

  Wow. She looked twice, not sure she’d heard right. Alex shot her a real, no-kidding smile.

  “Real good,” Jude answered, his hand on Cassidy’s waist. “Best I’ve ever been on, and I’ve been on a few lately.”

  She leaned into him. “I can’t believe you’re here, Boss.” So why are you? What’s wrong? Is it Cain’s brother?

  Alex looked away, but Kelsey spoke up. “We needed a break. When Alex suggested here, I thought, why not? I’ve always wanted to see Florida. Besides, Jude needed someone to stay with Judith. It’s a win-win.”

  Judith sidled up to Kelsey and linked arms, as if they were old friends. That was the thing about Kelsey. She never intended to make an entrance, but she always did. Dainty, with long brown hair tied back in an easy style, the woman was gracious and sweetly feminine. She had an almost motherly way about her that put people at ease.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you while you’ve been gone, Jude.” Kelsey beamed. “Your daughter is such a clever girl.”

  Judith grinned mischievously.

  “And what story has my clever child regaled you with in my absence?”

  “Well, now we know how she came to like sushi.”

  “Yes. That was one dare that backfired.”

  “But I also know how to make maki zushi. So do you, Dad.”

  “I do.” He murmured to Cassidy, still in his arms. “Judith dared me to stop at Benny Kim’s one afternoon. It’s a sushi hut in town. By the time we left, we were both hooked. We’re certifiable sushi addicts.”

  “Not me. Fish should be fried or grilled.” Cassidy figured he might as well know that about her right now.

  “Is that a challenge I hear? Did that sound like a challenge to you, Judith?”

  “Or a dare,” she giggled.

  “No,” Cassidy said firmly. “I don’t eat raw fish and I’m not going to start now.”

  Jude kissed the side of her head. “Oh, oh. It sounds like we’ll be visiting Benny Kim’s real soon, won’t we, Judith?”

  “Oh, tomorrow? Can we go tomorrow?”

  Cassidy had to smile. This father and daughter team was going to be fun. She changed the subject. “So where’s Lexie?”

  “This week she’s playing with Chai Yenn.” Kelsey still had her arm around Judith.

  David Tao, another agent out of the Alexandria office, had four boys of his own, then adopted a little girl after busting up the notorious Black Dragon child-smuggling ring. That was one really good thing about the men and women on The TEAM—they were all suckers for lost children. Interestingly, Zack had also been involved in the same sting. He’d adopted one of those lost little girls, sweet Song, the most beautiful baby girl ever.

  Cassidy glanced at Judith, wondering how long it would take to adopt her. She wasn’t lost, but she was definitely going to get a mother, or at least an older friend.

  “It’s gotten so Lexie thinks she needs a play date every other day,” Kelsey groused. “If not with Mark’s girls, then with Zack’s or David’s. I’m raising a diva.”

  That made Cassidy smile. She knew better. Lexie was the love child of two of the most romantic people she’d ever known. Just the sight of her handsome boss standing next to his lady warmed Cassidy’s heart. Kelsey was so feminine and Alex the ultimate badass. What woman’s heart wouldn’t flutter at the sight of two such sexy people together.

  Cassidy turned to find Jude looking straight at her, a funny smile on his face. The heat of a blush covered her cheeks. How’d he just do that?

  Jude winked, but pulled Judith away from Kelsey and into a big hug. The happy girl closed her eyes in the comfort of her father’s arms. “I’m so, so glad you’re here, Dad. What’d you guys do in Seattle?”

  That innocent question sent another handsome smile from Jude to Cassidy’s direction, which she quickly deflected. “Your dad and I have been talking, Judith. How would you like to come to Washington for a while?”

  “Really? Like I could bring Miss Fluffy, too?”

  “Of course. You’ve been to my place. You know I’ve got room for all of you.”

  “Oh, can we, Dad?” Judith poured it on. “Cassidy has the coolest cat, and she’s got lots of room, and could we? Please? It would be so, so fun.”

  Jude tipped his head back and laughed. Damn, he became hands-off handsome in that instant. With his broad shoulders shaking and his Adam’s apple exposed, the man looked damned masculine and genuinely happy. Cassidy stifled an urge to kiss that neck again. Everything about this guy drew her in, the way he loved his daughter most of all.

  “Yes. We can go. I get it. I’m outnumbered.” He shot Cassidy a teasing look.

  Judith threw her arms around her father. “I love you so, so much, Dad.”

  Jude gathered his only child up, the tender glow on his handsome face almost reverent. He closed his eyes and kissed her strawberry blonde head. “Now get to bed,” he whispered before turning to Alex. “I assume you’ll be staying?”

  Alex put a quick stop to that. “No, thanks. We’ve got a room in town. We’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

  “And I’ll make breakfast,” Kelsey said. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “Come on. Let’s go. I’m tired,” Alex grumbled. “See you folks tomorrow.”

  “Good night,” Cassidy called out as he closed the front door behind him.

  And good riddance.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Jude had gone down the hall to Judith’s room, so Cassidy seized the moment to pull her handgun out of her suitcase. She meant to secure it in the guest bedroom like she had before, but why should she sleep there?

  Jude’s bedroom lay at the other end of the hall. She hadn’t been in there yet, hadn’t even peeked inside the last time she stayed in his home. Didn’t know what kind of bed he slept on, if it was brass or wood. Didn’t know the color of his sheets and comforter. Yet.

  A thrill of anticipation skittered up her spine. Soon, she’d know every last thing—and more.

  Tingling with expectation, Cassidy stepped out on Jude’s back deck to wait for him. It seemed as if she’d never left. Long-legged cranes, tinted silver in starlight, flew in a long line along the bank before she lost sight of them among the shadowy reeds.

  She set her pistol on the table between the two chaise lounges, glad to be back. Inhaling deeply of the warm, moist Florida air, she let it out slowly. The sound of Jude padding across the carpet behind her made her smile. In seconds his arms snaked around her ribs, and his heated breath spiked her desires all over again. He growled in the crook of her neck, trailing a moist path of nibbled kisses.

  Delightful sensations stirred in her belly. “Someone’s watching,” she cautioned huskily when she noticed the glint of an aluminum motorboat along the shoreline.
<
br />   “I doubt that,” he muttered, not bothering to look. “Private property. No trespassers.”

  Cassidy giggled, scrunching her shoulders at the sensual touch of his insistent lips and tongue. Heat coursed up her body. “You’re tickling me.” And I like it.

  He sent another wave of shivers over her shoulder before he lifted his mouth to her ear. “You’ve got goosebumps,” he breathed.

  “That’s not all I’ve got.” She wiggled against him, and gently, he cupped a breast in each of his large warm palms. Cassidy melted. His thumbs seemed to have reached through her shirt to the tender nipples beneath, the ones peaked and hardening at his touch. With her back to his chest, she circled her arms around his neck, willingly exposing herself for the taking.

  “You need to know something about my home,” he muttered. “I built this place after the divorce and I don’t sleep around. You’re the only woman I’ve invited into my bedroom since Rachel.”

  Cassidy twisted her neck to peer at him. “You’re my first man ever.”

  He gazed down at her, his eyes dark and hooded. “You have no idea what that means to me.”

  “How did you afford this place?” she asked, lost in the love aglow on his face and thinking more about that bedroom she hadn’t seen yet. It had to be as sumptuous as the rest of his home.

  He lowered his mouth to her neck, answering against her bare skin with a panty-melting rumble. “I worked for the construction company that built it. I was their CPA. Saved them a ton of money. Invested what I could. The owner was grateful. He made me a deal I couldn’t refuse.”

  “Hmmm.” That mouth of his had struck a nerve that ran straight to her gut. And lower. One more nibble and she would never make it to his bedroom.

  Suddenly he stilled, the warmth of his hands gone from her breasts to her ribcage. He had her right where he wanted her, and he stopped? She glanced up at his jaw, now tight and hard, his gaze cast somewhere out in the river. Still breathing hard, he growled. “You were right. We’re not alone. Get down. Look there.”

  She crouched with him, following the direction he pointed. The boat she’d seen earlier still bobbed placidly along as waves lapped its hull. Nothing looked out of place. Even the cylindrical diving tank resting in the hull wouldn’t have caught her attention if it hadn’t been so large. How could a diver possibly handle that thing?

  “Cain’s brother is here,” Jude hissed. “Aloysius. He’s got ricin in that boat.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I placed six canisters just like it.”

  Icy fingers of dread crept down her neck, sending a very different kind of shiver to her toes. Automatically, her hand went automatically to her holster, but it wasn’t there. “Jude, I need my gun. It’s on the tab—”

  “You need nothing,” a voice snarled from behind them.

  Cassidy jumped to her feet and whirled. The man standing in the doorway could’ve passed for Lucien Cain. Tall. Angular build. Thinning gray hair. He had to have come through the house. The revolver in his hand, a .38 special, caught Cassidy’s eye. That meant he had five rounds. Maybe six. If he was any good with that gun. Dead was still dead, but his outstretched hand trembled. He wasn’t half the expert she was.

  “What do you want, Cain?” Jude asked, shielding Cassidy behind him.

  “I want what you took from me. I want my brother,” the man hissed, “but because I can’t have Lucien back, I’m going to take your whole family, Mr. Cannonball. Or was it Ball-o-Steel?”

  Jude growled, backing away from Aloysius, pushing Cassidy along behind him. But this was her game, and she knew precisely how this op had to go down. Draw Cain out of Jude’s home. Get the fight away from Judith. Then kill the bastard.

  She pinched Jude below his ribcage to signal her intent, then darted down the deck stairs. A man with a pistol had better be a damned good shot to hit a moving target. She was ready to gamble this guy wasn’t.

  “Stop!” Mr. A bellowed.

  No way in hell. Cassidy hit the ground running. Moving targets were hard to hit.

  “Keep going,” Jude ordered as he veered to the front of his house while she ran away from it. Now Cassidy became the only target, just as she preferred. Jude had Judith to live for. She intended he do just that.

  “You want me? Come and get me!” she yelled over her shoulder.

  Cain took the steps one at a time. She turned to face him, sucking up enough air to keep going, but making certain she had his full attention. Dancing back and forth like a prizefighter, she looked to see if Jude was out of sight, hopefully inside and calling the police.

  Blam! Bark splattered to her left. Just as she thought, Cain couldn’t hit shit. A few small splinters ricocheted into her bicep, though. She ignored the pain. She had a predator hunting her, and she meant to lure him to his death.

  “Missed,” she taunted, sure she could keep this lunatic occupied for however long it took for the police to get there. Ducking through riverside bushes and reeds, she led her adversary to the river’s edge.

  “Stop right there!” he yelled.

  Instead, she ran. A glance over her shoulder caught the glint off barrel of his gun. He fired, but missed again when she ducked, hands to her knees. Two rounds down. Maybe three or four to go. She had him right where she wanted him, out of breath and taking chances he shouldn’t. Firing before he’d settled into a proper stance. Dumbass. This won’t take long.

  But he didn’t follow. Afraid she’d lost him, she edged back through the shadows, needing him to pursue her, not Jude. And there he stood. His pistol trained on her. Shaking maybe, but damn. He’d gotten closer than she’d thought, less than twenty feet away.

  “Put your hands where I can see them,” he ordered, still breathing hard.

  She lifted her hands but offered insolence. “Happy now?”

  He bared his teeth, like she should’ve been scared of him. Get real.

  Cassidy upped the ante. Her heart pounded, but she didn’t think twice. Pushing off the balls of her feet, she screamed like the warriors of old and ran straight into the old guy. Sometimes shock and awe worked.

  His brows lifted in shock all right, but not enough awe. With a backwards swing, he caught the side of her head with the butt of his gun. It didn’t stop her momentum though. She latched onto his bony arms and took him into the slippery mud at the riverbank with her.

  “You’re going down,” she groaned, fighting to get that damned gun away from him.

  “Bitch,” he hissed as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and wrenched her head back. But Cassidy hadn’t trained in covert ops for nothing. Cain meant to unbalance her and shove her face into the mud before he either killed or raped her. Not going to happen. Rourke’s continual challenge on the wrestling mat rang out loud and strong. Make ’em pay for every inch, Butch. Give ’em all you’ve got, and then give ’em hell, damn it!

  She reached her muddy fingers to Cain’s face, tore at his lips, and scratched his nostrils on her way to dig out his eyeballs. Close quarters brawling gave her more personal targets, and all within reach. Yeah, he might have a hold of her hair, but so what? Hair she could live without. How would he feel about losing his balls?

  Bringing her knee up fast and sharp, she caught Cain straight in the groin. He rolled to his side, growling in obvious pain, but his gun still in her face. The demented bastard was too close. She didn’t dare move.

  “Disrespecter of men! Bitch!”

  Name calling? Seriously?

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. That all you got? Bitch-slapping a girl and calling names?”

  That damned shaky gun in her face stopped further heroics, but Cassidy still meant to make Cain mad enough to take chances. Lifting her butt out of the mud, she assumed her best tackle football stance, one hand to the ground and the balls of both feet poised for launch.

  With three, maybe four rounds left in that gun of his, another surprise charge might prevent an accurate shot if she were b
rave enough to try. Or dumb enough. Cain appeared older than his brother and in some pain, but his chances of hitting her this time were good.

  “Back off, you filthy...” He seemed at a loss for nasty words, but spat, “woman!”

  “Is that the best you can do?” she taunted. Disrespecter of men? What was that about? “You got a mommy complex?”

  She and Cain were eye to eye on a slippery playing field, him still on his back, and she on her cocky three-point take-off position. Her confidence never wavered. She summoned her inner Ranger, and her personal mantra: ‘…move faster and fight harder, though I be the lone survivor…’

  Without taking his eyes off her, he rolled to his knees, then to his feet. He staggered, but kept that weapon trained on her.

  Cassidy spat the mud out of her mouth, tasting blood along with grit, watching for an opening to knock this sucker back to hell where he belonged. She glanced over her shoulder at the ricin tank in the bobbing boat, wondering how long before Jude and help showed up. Her time was drawing short. If this conversation didn’t pan out, her last move might just be—her last move.

  “That your idea of world domination? Ricin?”

  “It’ll serve its purpose, bitch. Where is he?” Cain stood erect and still aiming.

  “Who?”

  “Your man whore.”

  “Don’t matter. You won’t like it when he gets here.”

  Cain snorted. “Then hurry. You’re the one I wanted anyway. Now strip.”

  “Excuse me?” This old guy thought she’d drop her clothes just because he’d said to? “I’m not one of your stupid followers, Mr. A. Drop dead.”

  He took a step toward her, his eyes narrowed with rage. “But you will obey. Take your clothes off and throw them in the river. You get to be the final sacrifice, and I need you naked when I open that can.”

  The business end of his gun bore down on her. Less than six feet lay between them. Not enough for a good, hard tackle. He could kill her. She had to accept that very real truth. With deliberate slowness, she walked to the edge of the river and crouched, swishing her hands in the water and stalling. Soulless eyes followed her every move.